Chapter Text
A song caught his attention. He could not comprehend or understand why, who was singing on the street? It was a sweet melody and attracted anyone with its sound and lyrics. The lyrics captivated him. Two voices sang unanimously. Even if there was no music, he could almost hear the instruments playing in time with those voices. It seemed magical. He paid attention to the lyrics and followed those voices.
"... I'll hear you; you are the one I've been waiting for and looking for~ ¡show yourself! I hope I can understand ~Ah-ah, ah-ah~"
Every time he walked, he could hear the voices even closer. Though it was annoying, it was as if something had captured him, as if magic had directed him: he was enthralled.
"Finally, I'm sure I'll be complete. I came here for a reason, maybe that's the reason I was born ~"
As the voices moved away, he needed to reach them, and a harmonic sound called him, preventing him from hearing and seeing. He was delighted, knowing that this was impossible, music could not captivate him, it must have magic, that had to be.
"I was never like the others, I didn't live a normal life, but you will tell me, it will be clear, why do I have this within me?~ ¡¡Show yourself!~!!"
He felt a sense of identification with that part of the song, he had never been like the others, who sang that song? It must have been invented because he had never heard that song before.
"Can you see I'm not shaking?" I'm here for the first time, maybe you're the answer I have to find. Oh, show yourself! I'm going to me..."
The song broke off, but he had already found the source of the voice. It was two girls, two girls who barely knew how to talk (maybe he exaggerated). The woman who interrupted had black hair and amber eyes; she looked at the girls with clear embarrassment on her face.
As he approached, they didn't like being interrupted, but he could see the fun on the girls' faces. They had shoulder-length black hair and blue eyes, their skin was pale like their mother's, and they seemed amused by his frustration. And it was then when his eyes met, one of the girls looked at him. It was only for a second that her eyes met and she saw:
» A boy was flying on a broom, he was shaking and moving violently wanting to throw the rider. He couldn't see his face, just a mop of black hair.
» Dragons, sleeping children underwater... he couldn't see the faces.
» A man was carrying what appeared to be a horrible baby, blood, and the dead body of a student, again the faces were blurred.
» A dead troll on a bathroom tile floor.
» A baby, a woman standing in front of a crib, interposing herself with a subject holding a wand, and a green light
» Bodies lying around, a destroyed castle, students with wands, explosions, blood...
And suddenly it was just black; he hadn't seen the girls in any of those.
The girls couldn't be magical and what he had seen, what he saw... it looked like Hogwarts but it wasn't either, he knew, but he didn't understand what he saw, if he was a seer his mind must have protected him and he didn't want to see through from his memories, he didn't use legilimancy it was strange. He looked at the girls, who pouted.
"No pizza, no deal," one of the girls said.
"Aren't you ashamed that people listen to you? Many look at you..." The woman complained to her daughters. She seemed so tired and fed up.
The other twins snorted.
"In this life, you have two options; You are happy pleasing people and making yourself unhappy, or you can be happy being yourself and enduring people's unhappiness and the consequences of being you." The girl had crossed her arms looking at her mother, there was a touch of hate in her voice, he could distinguish it, hate towards others, he understood it, people judged you without knowing you, but those words were as if they had already lived it.
"I can't buy you pizza. Jack hasn't given me any money yet" she tried to explain to them. She could see the girls' faces.
And for some reason, he got closer. For Merlin's sake never in his life had he thought of that situation, but he needed to know what he saw.
They were Muggles. There seemed to be no magic traces in them. At least he hadn't seen accidental magic. The mother's name was Melinda Bristol, and her daughters Laila and Lara, identical twins who could speak perfectly and were 4 years old. He bought them pizza. Melinda talked to him about how difficult it was to deal with her daughters. Their obsession was singing all the time. They talked among themselves, while eating, ignoring everything around them. It was as if nothing existed for them. It was strange how they knew songs he had never heard. (However, it was not as if he was very interested in muggle music), the woman was divorced, and her ex-husband had lost his job, now she was looking for a job. He just listened to her talk about how annoying babysitting could be but loved them, because they weren't like the other kids throwing tantrums.
"They then started singing that song in the middle of the street just because they wanted to, but asked me for pizza in exchange for being silent. I don't even know where they heard that song!" Melinda complained.
When would she shut up? He just listened to her and did not interrupt.
"Thanks, uncle!" Both twins interrupted when they finished their respective pizza pieces.
Uncle? Did he look familiar or did they just assume he was familiar? So, he contradicted them.
"I'm not your uncle." He knew their expression could be intimidating at times, but both girls laughed as their mother scolded them.
"Of course, you're not our uncle," one of the twins answered.
"It's education, have you heard, uncle? Uncle, it's because you’re an older person. If you were younger, you’d be a brother," the other twin added, and they both laughed again, perhaps because of an inside joke, but... Did they call him old?
"Girls, behave yourself!" Melinda scolded. She looked at him with clear embarrassment in her eyes and a slight blush. "I'm sorry, I don't know where they learned to be so cheeky, perhaps from their grandparents, but I'll make up for it. I have to leave, I'll leave you, my number."
Melinda took out a notebook, wrote down her number and tore off the sheet to hand it over to him. Their first meeting was strange.
Sometimes they talked and saw each other but he wanted to learn more about the girls. Where had he seen them, but he could not find them no matter how much he looked into their eyes. That is, until that year when he was at Hogwarts, he received a call. It was late. Who was it? Normally phones didn't work in the magical world, but sometimes they put a spell on one to make it work. He did it to communicate with Melinda. When he answered he could hear the hoarse voice of the woman. There were sobs. His heart broke at that. What had happened? The first thing that came to mind was the twins because he had probably seen them through their eyes. It wasn't because they weren't magical, but perhaps because they never went to Hogwarts.
"Calm down, what's going on?" His voice is soft and cold.
Melinda takes a deep breath to calm her crying.
“Lara... my girl... my girl is in the hospital...”
Lara, the older twin is in the hospital. Why? What happened? He stayed calm. Calm is essential in situations like this.
“What happened?”
"She... she had a cold... she couldn't... she couldn't breathe... she coughed... struggling for air...
Struggling to breathe? He couldn't understand much, since Melinda was crying, but he kept calm. He knew what that meant to the girls, he knew what he saw, but if they died, he would never know.
“Hospital, I'll go there.”
Melinda told him the hospital name. He took the calming potion. He needed to use some drink to throw her off a bit, but he wasn't willing to approach her and tell her to drink the potion. He was worried Laila might be confused, so he left Hogwarts and used apparition, appearing far from the hospital. Why did he care about these Muggles? He couldn’t believe it. Because Muggles were cruel, not all, but the one he had as a father, many of whom he knew were. As he arrived, he saw Melinda crying in the arms of another man, which upset him for some strange reason. When she sees him coming, she separates from that man and clings to him. He wants to tell her that everything will be fine, but he can't. He doesn't know what's happening. He hugs her, hoping to comfort her.
When they separate, he notices that Laila is sitting on a chair, her gaze lost on the floor. She is not crying, she is in shock, and her hands are firmly clenched on a stuffed animal. This is so clear that he can see that she wants to break it.
"How is she?". He questions the man.
"We still don't know, no one has told us anything," the man replies, "I'm Jack, Meli's ex-husband and her best friend," the man is blond and light-eyed, he holds out his hand to greet him, he responds to the greeting.
“Severus"
Jack surveys him. There's obvious annoyance in his eyes. In the end, he clicks his tongue. He doesn't seem worried, is what Melinda said overblown?
"Well, I think it's better to take Laila to rest with my parents and I'll return later," Jack comments. He can see Melinda upset about that, but her ex-husband is right, Laila should rest. It is not suitable for a girl who turns 5 to be in hospital.
So, he gave permission. Jack approaches his daughter and talks to her, telling her calmly that she has to rest and tomorrow she will see her sister. (This is a lie because they don't know what is happening).
Laila stares at him blankly, her eyes filling with tears as she screams.
“No, no... I'm staying, Rey needs me... I have to be here... She, she must be fine, if something happened to her... no, nothing can happen to her...!”
It is heartbreaking and many look at that scene with pity. It is difficult to explain the situation to a child and she seems to have difficulty breathing because she inhales air excessively, but as a teacher he knows that it is a panic or anxiety attack, the one that needs a calming drink it's her and not Melinda.
"It'll be fine, honey" Melinda approaches her daughter, trying to calm her down, but Laila digs her nails into her stuffed animal. They're sisters and, understandably, she gets upset when they're separated from each other.
She tries to breathe better, but has more difficulties, perhaps because of tears and a runny nose. A nurse approaches Jack and says something about injecting her with a painkiller as the girl seems not to listen to her parents. He brings a small water bottle where he put some calming potion for Melinda, but he thinks Laila should drink it.
He approaches the girl who seems unable to listen or coordinate.
"La..." He was intending to call her Laila, but he remembered how they called each other. "Nina, listen to me, take a deep breath, try to do it." Hesitatingly, he placed his hand on the girl's shoulder.
Laila stops crying and her eyes focus on the man. He calls her Nina, as his beloved sister always does. For some reason, she obeys, calms her breathing, but he knows she is anxious. Even so, she cannot stop squeezing the doll into her hands. "Can you drink this?" He offers her a bottle of water. She looks at him, she doesn't want to drink the water, but her mouth feels hurt, it burns and hurts, she knows it's from crying and screaming, so she accepts it and drinks a bit when she hands the bottle to the man, she hugs him and clings to him releasing slight sobs.
"I want to see Rey, I want... please... Dad."
It is as if the world has stopped. He has just been called dad, but Laila must have been confused. He looks at Melinda who seems surprised and Jack is annoyed at that. He has barely known them for a year. He does not understand what he did to be called that, surely it is confusion. He wants to separate from Laila, but she clings to him more calmly. She looks at Melinda to get her to take the girl away from her, but the doctor arrives just then.
Lara is fine. She only had an asthma attack but will be under observation because she has pneumonia. However, she only needs to be hospitalized for at least two to three weeks. She seems to be improving, but even then, Laila is not allowed to see her, not even him. This is because Laila is a little girl and he's not related, so they just have to wait. He sits with a girl clinging to him. No one could believe it if they saw him. He can hear Laila mention her sister as she falls asleep in his arms.
Three weeks pass before Lara is discharged. She is asthmatic and had not received treatment, nor cared for a simple cold, which turned into pneumonia as a result of exposure to the snow. Luckily, she was brought to the hospital on time. Severus went to keep Melinda company, and luckily Laila didn't call him dad again. She was never able to go see Lara; she knew he might be able to help but never knew he concentrated on magical healing.
He came to see Lara. He didn't know what to bring to wish her well, he didn't know what children like, so he took two stuffed animals. Melinda received him. Lara was in her room with Laila. They were talking. They looked at him smiling when they saw him. There were dolls on their beds. It seemed someone had brought them. The room had two single beds, a wardrobe, and a shelf with dolls. Beyond that it seemed empty.
"Uncle..." Lara said, smiling at the dolls.
"Is it for us? If one needs to get sick to have gifts, I'll gladly do it," Laila joked.
Lara laughed as she looked at the cloth dolls, both of which were brown and black rabbits. Melinda shook her head at her daughter's joke.
"I'll put them on the shelf" Melinda replied receiving the dolls. She grabbed the dolls Jack had brought. He knew that their daughters didn't like stuffed animals or dolls, and she didn't understand why he kept bringing them something like that.
"Mel, can I have the teddy Uncle brought?" Lara asked, blushing.
"Sure."
"How do you feel Lara?" Severus asks. Laila looks at him and then at her sister, as if there is information that only they can understand.
"Okay," Laila answers in her place "Thank you for being there."
Lara looks at Severus. Her blue eyes are neutral unlike Laila who always gleams with fun and emotions. Lara's blue eyes sometimes shine with fun but only when she's talking to her twin. Today, he can see an emotion he doesn't distinguish.
"Thank you, uncle... for being there for my sister. It's not your duty to have been to the hospital. I know you couldn't come, but... Thank you for being there and sending encouraging vibes." Lara looks at him and feels shame and sadness.
Even so, he can only deny it, seeing how Lara hugs the stuffed animal and Laila gently grabs the brown rabbit.
In the summer holidays, it happened with Melinda. He saw that Lara and Laila were obsessed with literature. Being five years old, they should barely be learning English, but they can read, and he... he feels strange, a sense of protection towards Melinda, he feels captivated by Melinda, but she is a Muggle, he is not willing to risk anything for it, they are not worth it, even so, he is well aware of the girls. They are crazy, but they are lonely, as he always was, except that they have each other. There are panic attacks, and they always stop with his intervention and sometimes with a calming draught.
Laila calls him dad; Lara does not. She acts distant sometimes; derealization or depersonalization, it doesn't matter as long as she can be with them. He has become too involved with Melinda. When the girls were six years old, they started dating. Melinda is happy because Lara called her mom, as they both grew up. Sometimes only Laila called her mom, but Lara did, and curiously she called him her dad.
It's warm like those simple words fill him with emotion, like a poison he knows he shouldn't drink and still does. He shouldn't be playing house but he doesn't avoid it. He's guilty if something happens to his family if he can't protect them. They get married, and he knows he has made a mistake in his mind if what he saw from one of the Bristol twins is real, if Voldemort returns... Then he has to obliviate his family, give up what he has, he must protect their minds even more, why can't he allow himself to be happy?
But then the problems began. It was not strange for him to hear Lara call himself a he or they, also their way of dressing. However, Melinda had taken everything as a phase and the problems with Jack began. They fought because they needed a masculine figure in their life and that covered it. Severus wanted to deny it, he was there, there was no need to spend time with Jack, there was no need to argue about it, it was just different, there was no stage in it, or maybe yes, he just had to support her, so that nothing bad would happen, so that the girls' confidence was not destroyed.
But then she reminded him.
"They're not your daughters. They need Jack, their dad."
He hurt, but hidden with his mask of indifference, he could see Laila's tears, he didn't know why, and Lara's indifferent face. Both girls ran to their room and Melinda felt guilty.
"You're right, they're not my daughters, but I love them as such," he says. Although he knows his girls are young, he's determined to support them whether it's a stage or not.
It was never a stage, because although they lived with Jack for a long time, it continued like this: He/she/they. And Jack had to understand it like Melinda. It didn't matter what they wanted, it was their daughters and that was what mattered. Jack was a father, but Severus was a dad.
He bought them a pair of men's clothes, and he couldn't help but feel happy when Lara's eyes lit up as they hugged Severus.
"Thank you, Dad. I love you..."
"You're the best!" Laila congratulated. She could see her twin's happiness and that's the only thing that matters. Her dad was the best.
Melinda made a face but smiled. If her daughters were happy, she would be too. She looked at her husband. It seems she made an excellent choice, something Jack would never understand, even when she was his friend.
A scream had woken up Severus. He knew the girls had another nightmare. It was something that happened from time to time. He wanted to see their minds, to know what caused so many nightmares.
Melinda used to say that those nightmares had happened since they were small. Sometimes he wanted to give them a dreamless potion, but they could become addicted. He just got up with Melinda and watched as Lara hugged Laila consoling her that everything was fine.
"Hey... Nina." As he approached the girl, Laila broke away from her sister and rushed into Severus' arms.
“Dad…dad…” Laila sobs.
"I'm here, I'm here.”
He doesn't know how Melinda manages when he's not around, but she sure knows how to calm them down when he's not around. She's their mother after all, but when he was at home he cared for the girls, especially during their panic attacks. In their worst moments, he was there, that's why he was surprised to see them at Hogwarts when they were 11 years old. Melinda didn't tell him, nor did his daughters tell him, he felt hurt, and betrayed, but he had no right to claim them, because he also hid being a Hogwarts teacher and the worst thing is that they did not recognize him.