Harry Potter - Series Fan Fiction ❯ When the Spirit Breaks, When Does the Body Follow? ❯ Indelible: Drabbles XXXI-XXXIII ( Chapter 10 )

Drabble XXXI: Bonny Babe

Giving birth to Severus was a patch on her heart. It didn't ease the ache of her past choices, nor the apprehension she began feeling 'round Tobias. However, she knew one thing, and it was enough: her baby was magic. It was a sensation absent when she held her other children, a knowing deep in her bones, a flutter under her breast.

Eileen cradled her son, her bonny babe, and vowed that she would do things right this time. No matter what happened between her and her husband, her child would be safe.

She was determined to make this so.

Drabble XXXII: Be Well, Daughter

"Dear Eileen,

We are glad to know that you're alive. We'd feared the worst after you stopped writing us nearly thirteen years ago. We hope you have been thriving, even though you failed to mention where you've lived and what you've done prior to marrying your [Muggle spouse]* Tobias.

We are equally pleased to hear of Severus' birth. You must have some heretofore unidentified prognostication capabilities to know he has magic, given that his father doesn't.

We've placed backdated announcements in Wizarding World News so that others may celebrate your joy, too.

Be well, daughter.

Love you,

Mum and Dad"

Drabble XXXIII: Black Cat Flu

She never heard from her parents after that short missive, no matter how many letters she sent them. Eileen begged forgiveness for her disappearing act, asked for updates on their lives, detailed Severus' milestones. She did not, even once, address her life as Virginia Dursley. It was not theirs to know.

Their silence pained her. Eileen considered copying down the New Testament parable of the prodigal son and sending it to them, along with the note, "See? This father forgave his wayward child!"

Her paternal uncle Drystan finally messaged her: "I'm so sorry, lass. They succumbed to black cat flu."

*I very rarely add author's notes to the end of my story chapters, but this one was necessary. When I wrote the letter from Eileen's parents in MS Word I used the strikethrough feature so it looked like the words "Muggle spouse" were crossed out in favor of writing Tobias' name. Unfortunately, this feature is unavailable in MM's text editor. Therefore, I'm making do. :)

If you want to see this drabble properly formatted, go to AO3 and look up this story under TheGirlIsSilver.