S/V Quarters ~ Autumn 2019

At the front of the familiar portrait leading to her and Sevastyan's quarters, Viper whispered the password, opening the passage into their home as she stepped inside, inviting Eglantine to do the same with a slight tilt of her head.

"My poor husband..." she smiled softly to herself as her husband's sleeping form on the couch of their living room was revealed as she made her way further inside their home. Right beside him, protectively close was a small bassinette with their precious baby girl, beginning to stir from her slumber. Viper pressed a kiss to Sevastyan's forehead, conjuring a blanket to wrap over him before making her way to the waking infant, gently picking up her swaddled form and holding Lara against her chest. The smile already present on her face widened as Lara's eyes opened, emerald eyes meeting emerald.

"Hey, cookie..." she greeted her daughter warmly, making her way to Eglantine. "Professor Delanquar, this is our daughter, Lara. Cookie, this is Professor Delanquar. Someday she'll teach you all about transfiguration." she introduced the two.

Lara's eyes looked to the other, unfamiliar face in the room, observing her with interest, a small smile illuminating her face, as though she was saying hello.

Eglantine followed Viper into her chambers, carefully keeping her cane from tapping too loudly against the floor. After all, she would have hated to awake the obviously exhausted DADA professor or the young infant.

She watched with a gentle smile as Viper gathered up the baby, wondering how and when the younger witch had gained such maternal care.
"Oh she is lovely." Eglantine sighed, noting that Lara shared Viper's dark green eyes. The smile Lara gave her almost forced her to widen the small smile on her own face. "You and Sevastyan have good reason to be proud." she added, hoping it would be taken as a complement.

Viper smiled at Eglantine's compliments. "Thank you..." she replied, blushing lightly as Lara's gaze still observed Eglantine.

"Oh, the humidifier and incenses..." Viper said as she remembered that being the reason, or at least one of them, that Eglantine was here. She snapped her fingers slightly, opening a nearby drawer and levitating a small, metal box filled with an assortment of incenses towards Eglantine.

"The humidifier is over here in Lara's room ..." the Potions Mistress added as she led the way to Lara's nursery, opening the door with another snap of her fingers. "Right here." she said as she leviatated the flower shaped humidifer towards Eglantine. "Edwin won't mind a flower one, will he?" she asked with a hint of amusement in her tone.

Eglantine started slightly remembering that she had indeed followed Viper to not only see the newest Kaminski addition but also to get a humidifier for her son's cold among a few other things.

"Ah, thank you." she murmured, taking the box from midair. She followed silently after Viper into the nursery, blinking at the lovely arrangement in the room. A soft chuckled followed Viper's statement as she saw the humidifier.
"He is quite partial to them actually. I believe he wanted Horatio to charm his bedroom walls orange and pink with purple bluebells." Thankfully she had been able to change it back...

"The red ones are pomegranate, black is passionflower, white is japanes cherry blossom, green is mint, tan is vanilla, orange is citrus, yellow is lemon, blue is cotton candy, violet is lavender, and the gold ones are desire-based and based on the individual, much like the amortentia potion's fumes." Viper explained as she shifted the infant in her arms slightly to give Lara a more comfortable position.

A cadence of laughter escaped her at Eglantine's response. "Indeed? He certainly has a rather interesting sense in fashion. Is that the state of his bedroom at the moment?"

Eglantine nodded, more than slightly overwhelmed by how many different smells and colours there were. Thankfully, she would no doubt be able to simply smell them to figure out what they were later on.
"It is now a pirate ship with charm dolphins on the walls and heaven forbid a sea serpent for a bed." she smiled, even as she teasingly shuddered. "Why he enjoys snakes so very much is beyond me. He has all four house mascots to sleep with...but the snake one is the one he takes everywhere."

A playful smirk lit up Viper's face. "Oh come now, Professor Delanquar, I think the question is why wouldn't he enjoy snakes so very much." she replied with a laugh, pleased to see Edwin was teetering towards Slytherin.

Just then, Lara began to fuss, whimpering softly, but gradually progressing into louder cries, reminding Viper it was still her feeding time.

"Shh, Cookie, it's ok, it's ok. Shh, you'll wake up your Daddy..." Viper whispered as she rocked Lara lightly, using one hand to summon a bottle for Lara, and bringing it to the fussing infants lips. The Potions Mistress smiled as the infant's tears were abated, pressing a light kiss on Lara's forehead.

Eglantine smiled softly, she had rarely seen Viper laugh before, and could not remember a time when she had done so with her. "Touche'." she chuckled. Of course she would not divulge the fact that it worried her... after all, Edwin had been Tom Riddle. And yes, he could be leaning toward Slytherin because of the Rosier in his blood...but there was always a chance of something sinister.
Lara's fussing roused her from her reverie and she cocked her head to the side as Viper carefully soothed the infant. Turning her head slightly, she checked to see if Sevastyan had been awoken.

Sevastyan lay on the couch in peaceful sleep. He was exhausted from watching Lara, his little princess, even though she was still very much an infant. The wizard didn't want to miss one moment of his baby girl's waking hours, often depriving himself of sleep to be with his wife and child. Every minute was worth it. He wasn't even quite sure when he'd fallen asleep. Last he knew, a pair of sleepy emeralds slowly closed as he rocked the bassinet and half murmured, half sang a lullaby.

The sleeping wizard hadn't moved an unnecessary muscle as his wife and Professor DeLanquar strode in, or as Amaranth placed a kiss upon his face. So deep was he in a dreamworld of him and a miniature Amaranth - basically his take on what Lara would look like when she got older - amidst a friendly game of one-on-one Quidditch.

Gray eyes opened about as slowly as he'd watched the emeralds of his and Viper's baby close... however long ago that had been. Sevastyan didn't recall hearing the baby cry. As he sat up and rubbed the remains of a deep sleep from his eyes, Sevastyan reached into the bassinet...

... no baby.

Immediately he panicked, checking the entire crib-like sleeping place even though it was clear he would not find the child within. He searched under and around the bassinet... even under the couch... his breathing quick and unsteady. "Lara?" he whispered, voice being particularly uncooperative with him.

He was just getting up off his knees when he heard Lara's fussing and cries, followed by a voice. Because they were whispering, he couldn't hear what was being said. Sevastyan padded across the room in his bare feet - he was still in his pajama bottoms and an open bathrobe - toward the assumed source of the hushed conversation.

If the person was a purger insane enough to even consider sneaking in here...

The knuckles of Sevastyan's left hand turned the color of snow as his grasp tightened around the handle of the wand in his pocket, short fingernails biting into the skin of his palm. He would do anything to protect those he loved...

And then he spotted Professor Eglantine DeLanquar.

Sevastyan heaved a rather large sigh of relief and relaxed. If the transfiguration professor was here, then chances were Amaranth was also. Sure enough, as he came closer, Amaranth stood next to the other witch, baby and bottle in hand. Or arms, as it were. Making eye contact with Eglantine, he nodded a silent greeting and moved to stand next to Amaranth.

Just as Viper placed a kiss upon Lara's forehead, so too did Sevastyan stretch forward. Unlike the contact between mother and child, Sevastyan was only able to reach the middle of Amaranth's neck. But, the wizard would take what he could get. No need to partially transfigure himself into a giraffe... amusing as such a thought was.

It was an innocent, chaste kiss. After all, they had company and a small child in their midst.

A smile illuminated Viper's face even more, if such a thing were possible, upon feeling Sevastyan's kiss upon her neck. As always whenever he kissed or touched her, a light tingly feeling lingered at her neck like wisps of delightful fire.

"Hey, love..." she smiled brightly in greeting, kissing him lightly on the corner of his mouth. Viper sighed in mock exasperation as she looked down at her eating daughter. "Look what you did, Cookie! You woke up your poor Daddy!" she mock-scolded her daughter in a laughter plagued voice, lightly tapping her daughter's nose in affection.

"I really am sorry, love." she added apologetically, meeting Sevastyan's grey orbs. She knew Sevastyan was tired, considering he often sacrificed hours of sleep to be with her and Lara and felt a bit guilty for pulling him away from restful slumber, and more than likely startling him at Lara's absence from the bassinet.

Eglantine smiled gently at Sevastyan as he nodded to her, subtly averting her eyes from his bare torso, which could be seen through the open robe. Being almost 52 years of age, she was able to keep herself form blushing from embarrassment, but not form wishing that Horatio was there to make the moment less awkward. And thank heavens, Esis wasn't there.
"You had a pleasant nap?" she asked.

"Hey," Sevastyan whispered from the opposite side of his mouth as Amaranth kissed him and then smiled, focusing his attention shortly thereafter on the infant in her arms. He chuckled lightly at Viper's faux rebuke to their daughter. With a gentle hand, he reached around his wife to caress the little girl's face with a finger or two. While he was at it, Sevastyan also embraced his wife from the side.

At Eglantine's question, Sevastyan nodded. "Qvite pleasant, thank you," he replied, then realized his robe was wide open. While he hadn't given it a thought Sevastyan suddenly had the distinct feeling that Professor DeLanquar, who was from at least a slightly different generation, probably had another opinion. Therefore in a single fluid movement, the robe was closed and fastened. "Are you and Edvin vell, Professor?" he inquired in kind, though noticed the humidifier and incense. That surely meant someone wasn't sleeping well...

The Russian wizard shook his head slightly in response to his love's appology. "I vould rather be avake and not miss a moment, than still be sleeping," he murmured in reply before returning his gray-eyed gaze, already softened by love, back to the baby. "Has she been avake long?"

Lara's already cheerful state, lit up even more at the appearance of her father. A soft gurgle of pure happiness escaped her at Sevastyan's gentle caress as one hand reached and wrapped around Sevastyan's index finger, holding it tightly.

Viper could only smile in response to the interactions between Father and Daughter as she leaned into Sevastyan's embrace, savouring the warmth, love, and security she felt. "Daddy's little girl..." she whispered softly, though the soft volume did nothing to conceal the love and affection.

A soft giggle escaped her as she noticed Sevastyan close his robe. She couldn't help but give Sevastyan a small, playful pout at the gesture, for she rather liked the look of Sevastyan's toned chest revealed, though she understood his reasoning. Perhaps later... she thought to herself with an inward smirk.

She nearly melted at Sevastyan's response to her apology and the look on his eyes as he spoke to her, nodding in comprehension and leaning towards him once more. "Not for long. Just a few minutes at most." she replied. "She missed you..." she added playfuly, following Sevastyan's gaze to return to their daughter.

Sure enough, Lara's other hand was now resting lightly on Sevastyan's arm as she shifted slightly in Viper's arms as the infant attempted to move towards her daddy.

Eglantine nodded, too caught up in the gentle scene of the small but nonetheless happy family to remember that her son was ill and that she was far from alright. "Yes... we're fine." she muttered, shrinking the supplies and placing them into her pocket.
"Your daughter is lovely." Eglantine stated sincerely, a smile lighting her green eyes. A thought entered her mind to ask if she might bless the child... it was a practice among those of her generation of witches after-all. But her thoughts were too full of Excessum to risk blessing little Lara... she would never forgive herself if she harmed the infant.
There were times she longed to give Edwin to Horatio and beg him to leave her... afraid she very presence would somehow harm his delicate mind. But she knew Horatio wouldn't leave her anyway and it would only cause him to worry.
Excessum whispered dark thoughts at her and she stepped away from Viper, Sevastyan and Lara. Her eyes misted slightly and she knew the cursed words were going to force her to see another bit of the future...the dark unchangeable future. Afraid what Viper and Sevastyan might say if she simply hurried from the room, but even more afraid of their reaction to her fainting and "convulsing" in front of them, Eglantine turned and hurried to the door.
However she only was able to wrap her fingers around the door knob before she fell to her knees, paralyzed by her father's curse and a slave to its dark passions. Her eyes were wide and full of fear as her mind wandered into what was to come.

Sevastyan could only smile in contentment at Lara’s happiness, the expression widening if at all possible when the baby took hold of his index finger. Gently he wiggled said finger, though at the same time held the rest of her hand within his fingertips. A murmur escaped him, though it was not meant to be understood. Purely for the glee of his child...

The Russian chuckled lightly at the whisper, not entirely certain what if anything could be said in reply. So, instead, he merely savored the moment: this was his family now. A family he’d created with Amaranth. Admittedly, the pregnancy was an accident at the time. But now... now, since the baby’s birth, Sevastyan had to declare it a blessing. How could it be anything but a blessing, he wondered, each and every time he gazed upon the tiny emerald-eyed face. A face that almost always had a big happy smile upon it.

“She’s Mommy’s little girl, too...” he murmured, noticing Viper’s pout about the fact he’d covered up as he kissed her forehead. Sevastyan made a note to himself that, if temperature allowed, to discard the robe completely for a time and simply lounge about in his pajama bottoms. It wasn’t a necessity to get dressed today, and he could have his meals taken here, so why bother getting dressed if there was no destination?

Besides, it was easier to clean spit-up off a bare, albeit a bit hairy chest than say his favorite robes. Not that that was a deciding factor...

Taking his eyes off the child briefly, Sevastyan nodded to Eglantine. “Good,” he said, upon hearing that she and Edwin were well. Because he’d spotted the incenses and humidifier he assumed her statement was not wholly sincere but didn’t remark upon it. Instead, he silently wished them wellness. “And thank you...” Sevastyan added, fairly certain the compliment was directed at both of them. “I’m hoping she vill be as beautiful as her mother-“ the brief pause in his statement being due to a sideways glance to his wife, “-even though she is already as an angel.”

The Russian smiled at being told the child had missed him. Possibly impossible, given the fact Lara didn’t know about the concept of time... but it was a sentiment he took to heart. “And I missed her, vhile I vos asleep,” he chuckled. “Of course, I missed you as vell...” Sevastyan whispered directly to Viper, so that Professor DeLanquar needn’t feel she was intruding. He couldn’t help but laugh lightly at his daughter’s antics in attempting to maneuver herself into his arms. “I guess it is my turn to hold her,” he said, amusement practically dripping from his voice as he hoisted the child into his arms. Though he was a little bit awkward, Sevastyan made sure to cradle her head and keep her from feeling as though she was falling. A single finger trailed down the child’s nose and gently tapped the tiny bulb that would likely become like her mother’s nose.

Sevastyan looked up when he heard hurried footsteps, finding the behavior of his colleague slightly odd. But, he assumed, perhaps she was truly not well... or that this had something to do with Excessum... the wand that had gone from protected study project to Professor DeLanquar’s main magical implement. He sincerely wished they’d found a way to unbind those connected to the wand and destroyed it. If it ever fell into the wrong hands... Sevastyan personally wasn’t sure if he wanted to see what all that wand could and would do in such a case.

Storm-cloud orbs widened as Eglantine fell. Sevastyan moved to help, but then remembered he was holding little Lara in his arms and would be rather restricted. Startled eyes sought out his wife. “I’ll put Lara in her crib... vould you...?” he asked, gesturing with his head to their fallen colleague. Without fully waiting, Sevastyan began heading to the bassinet.

“I promise I’ll hold you some more after,” he whispered to the child, kissing her forehead before gently laying her in the crib. Hurried hands tucked the child in and gave one final quick gesture in temporary farewell to Lara before Sevastyan hurried over to assist as much as possible.

“Professor, are you alright?” he inquired, though knew good and well something had to be amiss for this to happen.

... But what?

It was rather amusing to Viper when she thought of the contrasts between the life she always thought she’d have and her reality. Never did she think she’d part from ECHO. Never did she think she’d have a real, actual relationship that didn’t revolve around a schedule of when the other’s significant other would be away. Never did she think she’d come to what she, at the time, deemed hell on earth and find love. Never did she think she’d forsake a position higher than that she held in ECHO in the name of love. Never did she think she’d end up pregnant and eventually married to a man she would give her last breath for.

Never did she think she’d ever be this happy from a life that reigned like a winter storm: passionate, uncontrollable, yet at the same enabling and captivating towards greater joys and adventures.

Did that analogy make sense? Of course not. After all, life made no sense at times. Why should words to describe it be any different?

Nonetheless, Viper, ever the Potions Mistress, endeavoring to solve all of life’s mysteries and riddles, attempted to solve this one, though in a slightly modified formula. To her, the question was not strictly why life happens the way it does, but more particularly, why was she so fortunate to have had life happen the way it had.

She had once stood lost and broken: her life and would-be legacy at ECHO torn and burned to ashes, scattering to be lost in time. Now, one year later, here she was, still where she had been a year previously, only this time, she wasn’t alone. She now had her family. And not just one of those odd, embarrassing groups one is often unfortunate enough to be born into. Quite the opposite, in fact. Viper had her husband, the love of her life, and their daughter: a family they had created together.

The smile now nearly constantly present on her features grew as she watched Sevastyan play with Lara, the infant gurgling with glee from her father’s attentions. She truly was Daddy’s little girl. Often, all it took to end an episode of fussiness was a little gesture of affection from Sevastyan whether it may a few minutes of play or a few moments being carried. Often, a short lullaby sang by Sevastyan was all it took to cause the emerald orbs, and sometimes not only Lara’s, to drift off to Dreamland.

It was only natural, in Viper’s eyes, that Lara would be daddy’s little girl. After all, seeing how amazing a Father and Husband Sevastyan was, Viper found herself falling deeper in love with Sevastyan , if such thing were possible, with every passing day. A rather funny amusing memory suddenly flashed into Viper’s mind as she thought of one moment where they had begun to put together Lara’s nursery and Sevastyan had made it a mission to build the crib himself, with little to no magical aid. She had been a bit confused at the thought, as well as a bit wary as Dracovan, who had been there as well to help the set up process, declared he would be Sevastyan’s assistant and help build the crib.

To say the process had been interesting would be an understatement indeed. The crib was complicated enough to figure out, but add Dracovan to any construction process and it was sure to be a disaster! Over and over again, as the instructions on how to place the parts together were read, particularly moments when it literally read “Insert Slot A into Slot B”, Dracovan would feel the need to grin widely, wink suggestively and say “That’s what she said! Bah-Zing!!”, laughing loudly as though what he had uttered was the funniest line ever to grace the world. Granted the line was rather funny. The first time it was uttered. All comedy was annihilated wholly after it was uttered the 13th time around. From that point on, all Viper could do was try and get Dracovan to shut up as she sat on the sofa watching them, one hand resting protectively on her swelling abdomen, shooting apologetic looks towards Sevastyan for her siblings antics.

In the end, the feat proved particularly victorious, as not only did the nursery have a brand new crib, but also, thanks to Sevastyan, Dracovan made it a point to refrain from stating dirty jokes during a construction process.

A blush tinged pale features at the compliments directed to her daughter and then to herself. “Considering half her genes are from you, love, I have no doubt she’ll surpass my supposed beauty.” Viper replies teasingly, yet genuinely, pressing her head against his lightly in affection. After all, considering how handsome her father, Uncle, and Grandfather were, and how beautiful her Aunt and Grandmother were, Viper had no doubt her daughter would be a dazzling little star in her own right.

Viper nodded in reply at Sevastyan’s whisper, whispering that the feeling had been mutual, as emerald orbs watched with affection and love as Sevastyan took the fidgeting child into his arms. A loud gurgle of happiness escaped Lara’s mouth as she saw that it was now her Daddy that now carried her, bewitching a soft giggle from Viper to follow. She noticed the hint of awkwardness Sevastyan had while picking up Lara, and found it adorable, knowing she still had quite a bit of awkwardness as well. Still, despite the awkwardness that remained, Viper still felt they had come a long way, and all because of Lara’s wonderful Grandmother’s loving hand and guidance.

Though she wasn’t too keen on admitting it, Viper was an absolute nervous wreck when the time came for her and Sevastyan to inform his parents of their elopement and the impending arrival of their first grandchild. She though she had fared rather well when they first met and liked to think they thought well of her, and was terrified at the thought that though they may have liked her, they may very well be against the thought of her joining the family. Various scenarios played in her mind regarding her new in-laws reaction, ranging from them being completely against the marriage and wanting nothing more to do with her or the child, being ashamed by their son’s actions and being embarrassed by the child that had been conceived out of wedlock, or the possibility of Sevastyan’s family being convinced that the only reason Sevastyan married her was because of the baby.

Thankfully, it was none of the scenarios. Much to Viper’s relief, the family had welcomed her with open arms, just as excited, if not more than the couple, at the arriving addition to the family, offering a helping hand and a plethora of helpful advice. Especially Praskovya.

Praskovya had been, and is, immensely helpful, not to mention patient through Sevastyan and Viper’s orientation to parenthood, especially when they had brought Lara home. Praskovya had been kind enough to stay with them for a bit at Hogwarts, introducing them to the foreign word known as parenthood. She had showed them how to bathe, change, feed, burp, dress Lara, and more in both magical and muggle means, all with an immense amount of patience. She had also offered strong support and encouragement when it seemed as though the task was far too challenging to even hope to succeed.

One incident, in particular stood out in Viper’s mind and memory, where it would stay forever with all of her most treasured memories. Lara had been particularly fussy one late evening/early morning. Despite being changed, fed, burped, and all, Lara still wouldn’t stop crying, causing Viper to panic and become convinced that if she couldn’t even get her child to stop crying, then she truly was a horrible and failure as a Mother. Her tears soon followed her daughter’s as she took the crying infant to her Mother-in-law, tears pouring down her face, crying tears of frustration. As always, Praskovya knew exactly what to do, and had the situation resolved with a now content, sleeping infant in her arms as she whispered comforting, reassuring and encouraging words, setting Viper at ease.

Had Viper not felt it would insult her Mother-in-law to compare her to the piece of work like Anette had been, and still is, Viper would have told Praskovya she thought of her as a Mother.

The sound of Eglantine hurrying away broke Viper from her reverie as she looked up to see Eglantine on the ground, clearly at unease about something. She nodded hurriedly towards Sevastyan as she quickly approached the older woman’s side.

“Professor?” she breathed out worriedly “Professor, what is it? What’s wrong?!?”

There were flashes of light... a man screaming, either in pain or anger... a sharp blade... mixing with a song, a cheerful blurred image of what appeared to be a party... dancing flames on a cake... screams... a locket dangling from tiny fingers... A young boy falling. Closing eyes... Viper's eyes, but not her face... Purgers... "Crucio!" The awful unforgivable colliding with a young boy's chest; ripping his life from him.

Eglantine's eyes stayed wide open, despite her mind having wandered, so to speak. She could faintly make out Sevastyan and Viper's forms somewhere above her. Her body shook slightly as she slowly recognized the man in the flashes... Sevastyan...

He was holding a young child, a girl, her eyes closed as if she had been transfigured into a porcelain doll. No breathing... no life in her pale cheeks. Sobbing... there were tears, in torrents coming down the man's face, the child held closely in his arms. And the other girl...

The image too terrible for Eglantine to handle, she sought to close her eyes, to rid her mind of the flashes of death. The smell of blood permeated her senses while the dripping of it splashed onto her hands and stained her clothing...
"S-s..." she whispered, unconsciously, the blood staining her vision while in reality there was no blood, nothing save her delusions of it.

The child... so innocent, helpless, frail... bloodied, screaming for her parents... no mercy... no respect for human life.

Tears ran down Eglantine's cheeks. "no..." she whispered, agony tinging her word. "Stop..." she begged the unseen purgers. She could guess what would be next and began to curse the day her father had died. He had smiled at her, taking her hand, whispering that he forgave her... the bastard. If anyone should have begged for forgiveness it would have been he. The cursed words... forcing her into what could be... what would be.

Another scream... she knew the face... the vivid green eyes... the ivory skin... frozen in forever's sleep... a Penthesilea, slain not by Achilles sure spear but by the cruel scythe of death himself. Rachel's moaning for her children... the torn field of battle, but a silent one... no banners to flit in the breeze... no horn to finish and claim victory... slain as lambs within a fenced pen... slaughtered... slain.

It faded away, echoes of the blood still painted within Eglantine's tormented mind. Hyperventilating, eyes wide and biting her lip to the point that drops of blood ran down her chin, she gasped in the peaceful quiet. It was silent, the screams fading into the back of her mind, where she avoided at all costs. January 7, 2029... the Kaminski family was going to die.