My Dad and My Mum
It still felt strange to call him Dad.
The word sat on my tongue like a spell I wasn't quite used to casting
powerful and foreign, but real. Every ti I said it, every ti I thought it, the world shifted a little under my feet. Not in a bad way. Just... new.
But sohow, the three of us my mum, my dad, and we were starting to feel like a family.
Tonight, they'd asked for sothing important. Dinner. Not just the three of us. With my grandparents.
It was the first ti since the truth had co out that all of them would be in one room. And the air was heavy with the kind of tension that ca before thunderstorms only quieter, sadder. The kind that cos from regret and ti lost.
We gathered in the formal dining room at Prince Manor. The table had been set for five, the silver polished, the candles burning low and golden. My grandfather sat at the head, as always, tall and composed in his tailored robe. My grandmother sat beside him, her lace collar perfectly pressed, but her eyes already rimd red. She was trying not to cry.
Dad sat beside Mum. Their chairs were angled slightly toward one another, like they were drawing strength just from being near
"I suppose there's no easy way to say this," Dad began after the first course had been cleared. "So I'll just say it plainly."
He reached for Mum's hand under the table.
"We'd like to marry. Soon."
The room went still.
"I know we don't need permission," he continued, looking at my grandparents, "but I'm asking anyway. Out of respect. Not just for Eileen but for Severus, too."
My grandfather didn't speak right away. He leaned back in his chair, watching the both of them with unreadable eyes. Then, slowly, he nodded once.
"You have my blessing," he said. "If that's what you both want, then it's long overdue."
Mum gave him a small smile. My grandmother's composure brokeher napkin rose to dab her eyes, and she sniffled softly.
"I was wrong," she whispered. "We were wrong. If we hadn't let pride get in the way... Eileen, you and Severus would never have suffered as you did."
Mum reached across the table. "We all made choices. What matters is what we do now."
They both looked at then.
"Alphard and I talked," she said gently. "We wanted to ask if... you'd like to change your surna. To Black. If you want to."
My grandparents looked expectant. Hopeful. Even relieved.
And strangely I didn't hesitate.
"I'd like that," I said.
Mum smiled, her eyes shining. Dad looked like he couldn't quite believe what he'd just heard.
I wasn't doing it to erase my past. Not really. But I didn't want that man's na tied to anymore. I didn't want the weight of it. I had a chance now to start fresh.
And I didn't want to carry soone else's legacy.
I wanted to build my own.
They were all smiling at now. Mum's fingers curled tighter around Dad's. My grandmother reached over to squeeze my arm.
The next day, Dad arrived again just after breakfast, a strange sort of energy in his step. Excited, but nervous.
"I want to show you sothing," he said, his smile tilted just enough to be mischievous. "Both of you."
We stood in the foyer. He held out a hand to each of us on one side, Mum on the other.
And then we Apparated
We landed at the edge of a white gravel path.
Ahead of us rose a manor not cold and stone like Prince Manor, but sothing brighter. Warr. The house was large and elegant, painted a soft ivory with tall windows that caught the sunlight like glass in a cathedral. The roof was dark slate, ivy curling up the sides like green lace.
The path led through a garden of lavender and white roses, soft lilac bushes in bloom, and trimd hedges shaped like phoenixes and stars. It slled like spring.
Dad let go of our hands.
"I bought it years ago," he said. "I didn't know if I'd ever have the chance to use it. But I kept it. I think... so part of always hoped."
He looked at Mum, and then at .
"I want this to be our ho. If you like it."
Mum didn't say anything at first. She stepped forward, her eyes wide as she took in the garden, the pillars, the carved door with the golden sunburst in the center. Then, suddenly, her shoulders shook, and she turned to Alphard and hugged him tightly.
"It's beautiful," she whispered, her voice thick with emotion. "I never dread..."
"I dread it enough for both of us," Dad said, his own voice quieter now.
And then rlin help she kissed him.
I looked away, cheeks burning.
Dad chuckled. "Sorry, Severus."
He ruffled my hair, and I ducked, grumbling under my breath. But I couldn't help the small smile that tugged at the corner of my mouth.
We walked up the path together and stepped into the entrance hall.
Inside, the house was bright and open. The foyer had a dod ceiling with floating lights, chard to flicker like candle flas. The floor was polished oak, and everything slled of lemon balm and old books
There was a fireplace in nearly every room, tall windows overlooking the gardens, and a library with spiral stairs that wound up to a reading loft. Upstairs, Dad showed a room he said would be mine larger than my room at Prince Manor, with blue and silver tapestries and a view of the orchard.
"You can change anything you want," he added. "This is your ho, Severus.
Mum stood in the doorway behind us, her arms folded, eyes soft.
"It feels like a place where things can start," she said.
Dad took her hand again, and I realized he was always doing that. Reaching for her, steadying her. It wasn't grand. It wasn't dramatic. It was just kind.
And for the first ti in a long, long ti, the future didn't feel like sothing I had to brace against.
It felt like sothing I could walk into hand in hand with the people I loved.
It still felt strange to call him Dad.
But less strange than yesterday.
And tomorrow, I thought, it might feel even easier.
......................................
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