Chapter 101: Wedding Invitation
The warm sunlight streams down in the gardens of Prince Manor. The sky is deep blue with fluffy white clouds. A normally relaxing morning in the shade spent reading is instead filled with manual hard labor.
Raising to wipe the sweat off his brow, Severus tiredly mutters, "Are we done yet?"
Frankly, Severus still didn't know how, but Rowan had somehow managed to become friends with Dawn's husband. Not that they had ever met him before. Even more unbelievable Rowan with the aid of Tadbey had managed to convince their grandparents to permit them to do simple chores in the sun. All in the name of their health.
"No, young master, we are not," Tadbey acerbically replied as the house elf bent down to remove a twining weed from a primrose bush.
Severus sighs in despair before sending a fierce scowl at his twin sister. This was her pesky idea, to begin with! Unfortunately to Severus's dismay, Rowan pays little attention to him. Instead, she rather enjoys weeding and tilling the garden.
Irked by the appearance of Rowan, Severus shyly peeks at Lily. Lily looks quite lovely with her straw hat as she carefully weeds. By coincidence, Lily glances up and meets Severus' gaze with a lively grin. "Having fun, Sev?" She gently teased.
"Very much so," Severus lied as best as he could. Though something in his face must have given him away as Lily begins to giggle.
"Pft," Lily laughed holding on to her straw hat with one hand lest it falls to the ground. "I know you, Severus Prince, and you would much rather have your nose in a book than be outside."
"Some of us simply prefer not to labor in stifling heat!" Severus grumbled in good nature.
"I don't know sometimes it's nice to get your hands dirty," Lily jovially hummed. "Though tiring, it's nice to look up and see the efforts of your hard work. It's not always that easy-."
Abruptly Lily's expression becomes downcast. Seeing the abrupt change, Severus furrows his brow in thought. "Is it Petunia again?" He quietly asked.
"Tuney doesn't mean to," Lily hurriedly defended her sister.
Severus merely arched his brow in plain disagreement. He knew Petunia quite well and she was not a pleasant person to be around. She always had a sour face around him.
Seeing Severus's unconvinced expression, Lily's expression becomes more downhearted. "It's jus' Tuney's been teasing me. She calls me, freak, all the time now. And it hurts sometimes."
"And have you said as much to her?" Severus frowned.
"I told Tuney to stop and she will for a while, but then she'll do it all over again," Lily confessed.
"Sounds like Rowan to me," Severus grumbled.
"Rowan's not that bad!" Lily quickly objected.
"Rowan always steals my snacks, but she won't share when she has some!" Severus began to list his twin's faults. "Believe it or not, but she whistles in her sleep." Lily chokes with giggles as Severus begins to smile in relief at having caused Lily to brighten back up.
"Not to mention Rowan is incredibly lazy at times and stays in bed for half of the morning. She always starts some mischief and never gets in trouble! But the moment, I try anything, I always get caught!" Severus indignantly said.
Lily's emerald eyes widen rather wide Severus feels a cool gust on his neck. "That's because you're terribly loud at sneaking about," Rowan whispered into Severus's ear causing him to stumble in surprise.
Rowan is unable to hide a smirk. "And it's not as though you're without faults, Sev."
Severus begins quickly regrets his remarks as Rowan begins to methodically list his apparent flaws. "There is your snoring and let's not forget your hogging of the blanket. Quite horrible social skills and hedgehog tendencies that it is a sheer miracle, you've made any friends at all. I would dare say that my flaws aren't quite bad as yours, Severus Prince."
Severus turns both red and pale in outrage while peals of laughter escape from Lily. Lily claps her hands over her mouth trying to be quiet. However, the shaking of her shoulders and her inability to stare Severus in the face gives her away.
There is a dark expression on Severus's face as Rowan nonchalantly begins to remove her gardening gloves. Approaching the house elf, she says, "I am all done with my section, Tadbey."
"You did a fine job, young mistress," Tadbey sincerely replied as he carefully eyed the neatly weeded patch in approval. "Go on and head inside, I'll send these two lazy stragglers inside as soon as they're finished."
"Hey!" Severus protested at the last bit causing Lily to fall into a fit of giggles again.
Ignoring the glower from Severus, Rowan with a half-skip in her step heads to the shade offered by the manor. Feeling much better, she wanders through the manor towards the kitchen. There she washes the sweat from her face, before taking a kitchen towel to dry her face and hands.
On one of the kitchen counters, there is a small platter of freshly baked raspberry tarts accompanied by a pitcher of ice-cold lemonade. Feeling refreshed, Rowan pours herself a glass of lemonade and greedily gulps down the cool drink. Licking her lips clean, she hungrily devours an entire tart before slowing down to enjoy the second.
After the third, Rowan prudently decides enough is enough. She hurriedly flees lest she is tempted to eat a fourth. She wanders over to her grandfather's study and in passing sees Severus and Lily heading back to the manor. She knew that after a break in the kitchens, the two of them would head over to the attic to visit Sir Knight Prince. Lily is rather enthralled with Sir Knight Prince which may make Severus a touch jealous at seeing Lily's besotted gaze.
Arriving at the oak door, Rowan turns the handle only to find the study door is locked. Her grandfather had never locked the door. With wary and concern, she lifts her hand to knock.
The door isn't immediately opened. Rowan presses her ear to the door and hears hurried whispers. However, she can't make out what is being said inside no matter how hard she strains her ears.
Abruptly footsteps are heard, and Rowan barely has time to step back, when the door is pulled wide open by Aunt Georgine. The face of Aunt Georgine is tense along with that of her grandmother and grandfather. The three adults exchange pointed glances.
"Are you already done with your chores, Rowan?" Sirsa asked her granddaughter.
"Mm, I finished before Severus and Lily," Rowan earnestly replied. "But they're done too. They should be in the kitchen enjoying tarts and lemonade."
Georgine's dark eyes turn deliberately toward her brother, before intentionally flickering toward a wedding invitation. Just as quickly Georgine glances at her niece in a subtle message. This is the best she could do without outright overstepping.
The midnight-indigo eyes of Rowan follow the path of her aunt's gaze toward an opened wedding invitation. "Is that a wedding invitation, grandfather? Whose wedding have we been invited to?"
Sensing her cue, Georgine shamelessly says, "I am simply famished, brother. I shall join Severus and his friend in the kitchen." Without awaiting a reply, Georgine briskly feels the study before anyone can think to stop her.
There is visible pain on Sirsa's face her gaze pleads with her husband. "Go on and rest dear," Reginald quietly said to his wife.
There is moisture gathering in the corner of Sirsa's eyes as she desperately holds her tears at bay. She could not show such a weak side of herself to her children. She had wept for countless days after Eileen eloped with that muggle. She had wept the day after her daughter had fled their home a second time cruelly abandoning her children. And now this!
Sirsa hurriedly brushes past Rowan and down the hall. Rowan wonders what could have caused the heartbroken expression on her grandmother's face. Yet her eyes flicker back towards the wedding invitation as a strange sort of dread begins to creep into her bones.
Reginald motions for Rowan to sit down as the door shuts behind Rowan (via wandless/non-verbal magic). "We received a wedding invitation from the Filch family."
"Filch?" Rowan furrowed her brow. "Is it a relation of Argus Filch, Hogwarts Caretaker?" Though the Filch family wasn't close or well known as far as she knew.
"Roderic Filch is Argus Filch's younger brother."
"Oh, is he a squib too?"
"No, he is a wizard."
"Is he a caretaker then?"
"No, a shopkeeper of some sort."
Rowan carefully phrased her question. "The Filch family are purebloods, but from what I understand they are not a family of means."
"The Filch wealth was rather badly administrated by previous generations," Reginald cooly answered. "There is not much left beyond a few pieces of property."
Eyeing her grandfather critically, Rowan slowly says, "The Filch's are unlikely to run in the same circle as you do, grandfather. So, why the wedding invitation?"
The silence grows as Reginald is unsure of how to answer the question despite knowing the answer. As if gathering courage, he finally says, "We are cordially invited to the union of Roderic Filch and Eileen Snape. They are to be married later this evening."
Rowan visibly flinched as though she had been slapped. Turbulent emotions flutter inside of her anger, sadness, disappointment, and more. "Why were Severus and I not informed?" She bluntly asked.
"The wedding invitation only arrived this morning," Reginald bitterly pointed to the letter. "With such short notice-," his voice trailed off.
Slumping down further in her seat, Rowan wraps her arms around herself. "Why hasn't mother written to us? We wouldn't have stopped her."
Moisture gathers in the corners of Rowan's eyes as she keeps them at bay. "Is mother-, is mother done with us?"
A weary sigh escapes from Reginald's lips. "Eileen, my daughter-, your mother is a complicated woman. I cannot speak for her thoughts or her decisions. I can only say that she has always suffered from melancholia. And what seems illogical to us may appear logical to her."
"The question is not what I think of Eileen," Reginald sincerely said, "but rather whether what you and Severus think." He paused to give Rowan a moment to think. "Would you like to attend the wedding or not?"
"I don't know," Rowan honestly summarized her feelings.
"Will you regret it otherwise?"
"I'm not sure."
"It is acceptable to not have an answer, Rowan," Reginald genuinely said. "However, Severus cannot be excluded from this decision. He must know."
Rowan's hand loosened from around herself and form a fist. "Dawn," Reginald summoned his house elf.
A small pop is quickly heard as Dawn eagerly says, "What will Master have Dawn do?"
"Please bring Severus to me," Reginald instructed. "And please reassure Miss Evans and ensure she safely makes her way to Sir Knight Prince. Sir knight Prince will keep Miss Evans attention otherwise occupied."
With ears bobbing, Dawn squeaks, "Yes, Master!" A mere pop is heard as Dawn swiftly apparated away when another pop is heard with a rather surprised Severus mid-eating a tart.
Severus blinks in confusion at finding himself in the study while Dawn hastily adds, "Dawn will be staying with Miss Evan now," before leaving with a pop.
"Waz going on?" Severus mumbled with a mouthful of tart. "I-, was-, eating."
Without any explanation, Reginald hands the wedding invitation to his grandson. "Read this Severus."
Severus accepts the wedding invitation as he gulps down the last bit of his tart. He doesn't pay much attention to what he is reading until he reaches the name 'Eileen Snape'. The wedding invitation becomes crinkled in his tight grip and begins to tear.
Severus's hand visibly shakes with misplaced rage, pain, sadness, and more. "Grandfather how long have you had this?!"
"The invitation arrived this morning, Severus," Reginald calmly responded.
Feeling ill and weak, Severus slumps into his seat dropping the wadded-up invitation onto the floor. "Did-, did you know Rowan?" Severus' voice is full of hurt as he asked.
"Not until about ten minutes ago," Rowan bitterly replied.
Raising his ebony eyes, Severus meets the midnight-indigo eyes of his twin sister. The two of them silently communicate in the only way they have always been able to. Something painful passes between them, but they come to an understating.
Turning to face their grandfather, Severus softly says, "We'll go even if it's just to say goodbye," his voice breaks at the last word.
Sensing that he cannot change his grandchildren's minds, Reginald is determined to respect their wishes. "In that case, we do not have much time. Dress quickly, we shall depart promptly. We shall floo to the wedding, Dawn will apparate us back to the manor."
Something about that statement hits Rowan right in the face. "Wait, if Dawn can apparate anywhere, then why have you been driving us to and from King's Cross Station, grandfather?"
"To maintain the wizard secrecy act, of course," Reginald lied with a straight face as the twins suspiciously eyed him. "Come along now, we do not have time to dawdle!"
The twins hurry off to do as they are told, while Reginald stops in his wife's personal parlor. The room is a tad smoky as Georgine smokes her second cigar in a row, while Sirsa numbly pokes the same spot in embroidery with her needle. Reginald clears his throat causing both women to look up as Georgine puffs out a cloud of smoke, "Well, how did it go?"
Reginald gives his sister a bit of a dirty look before answering, "They both wish to attend."
"Of course, they would," Georgine huffed. "Even if Eileen is a twit, she is still their mother."
"Georgine!" Sirsa said appalled at the language of her sister-in-law, but not necessarily at the insult towards her own daughter.
"Did-," Reginald stopped to gather his breath. "Were Sirsa and I terrible parents, Georgine?"
Georgine purses her lips and frowns. "You were a far better father than our belated father and mother. Though you did spoil, Eileen, brother, while Sirsa tended to be stern with her. It was a rather good balance between the both of you. However, all your love and care could not remove Eileen's melancholia."
Reginald's face fell as Georgine continued, "There is no cure, but you did what you could. Though the two of you were far from perfect parents, you wholly loved Eileen. And I think that is what truly matters in the end."
"Thank you for your words," Reginald softly whispered as a sad smile appears on Georgine's face as she watches her brother leave to dress.
With her husband out of the room, Sirsa leans over and gently pats Georgine on the knee in gratitude, before returning to her embroidery.
Georgine lets out another puff of smoke as Sirsa sternly says, "That is the last cigar, Georgine. This is a lady's room, not a bordello." Georgine snorts in reply but does as she is told. Even she knew that her sister-in-law had been rather lenient in allowing her to smoke one cigar much less two.
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
EsliEsma
EsliEsma Divorce and parent's remarriage must be quite tricky in the wizarding world. I presume some spouses would accept the children while others would not. Probably a 50/50 chance of going either way.
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