Severus interrupted at once. "While I can't stand the sight of that little shit Potter, we all have to admit the boy is rather hard to kill. Trolls, basilisk, dementors, the Dark Lord - all have tried and failed."
Shaking her head at the interruption, Cissi stated clearly that was certainly not a road she wanted to travel down. "I'm not suggesting killing him - though I wouldn't lose any sleep over his death - I'm simply suggesting neither Draco nor I being Malfoys in the near future."
Severus' snort of disgust clearly indicated his opinion at the chances of that happening. "I hardly think the new Lord Black would welcome you and Draco into his family."
Stopping herself from becoming angry, that was the last thing that would work for her here, Cissi laid her cards on the table - face up so there could be no more misunderstandings. "I wasn't intending to marry Sirius. I was actually hoping you might like the idea, and the position of my husband?"
Severus was rarely surprised, but this had knocked him for six. Before letting his feelings on this matter show, there was a question he needed the answer to. "Cissi, take a good look around you - we're currently living in a tiny muggle house. What can I possibly offer the current Lady Malfoy, and the heir to the Malfoy family?"
"The Lady Malfoy thinks you bring rather a lot to the table, Severus, and you're already Draco's godfather. It was me who insisted you be given that position, I wanted my son to have at least one male figure in his life that he could depend on. Draco would give up being a Malfoy in an instant to get out from under this blood feud, and whatever's left of the Malfoy family fortune is in my bag upstairs. Draco and I are not exactly penniless, but I'm certainly going to take Dumbledore up on his offer of free tuition for my son."
Realising that her pitch sounded more like a business deal, Cissi softened her approach. "With both of us working at Hogwarts, we can save towards having a life together after Draco graduates. We might possibly have children of our own by that time too. I'm not expecting an answer right this minute, all I want is for you to think about this."
Severus was certainly thinking seriously about the best opportunity he'd had since leaving Hogwarts as a student, but Cissi wasn't quite finished yet. There were a couple of conditions tied to her proposal.
"I've already lost one husband, and a family fortune, to this madness - I will not lose another - or my son. If you can't let Dumbledore, Potter and the Dark Lord fight this out amongst themselves, then I need to search for someone else to possibly make this offer too. I don't intend to let any of the men in my life be involved in this senseless war that's certainly coming our way."
Once more Cissi softened her approach. There was only one wizard she wanted to make this offer to, and he was currently sitting right in front of her. "We could even leave Britain, starting a new life elsewhere. Please think carefully about this, Severus."
Cissi didn't know that condition just sweetened the deal for Severus. As well as admiring Narcissa from afar - one did not make a move on Lucius' wife - he was also sick of Albus' manipulations, and had no wish to see his former master returning. If the price of having Cissi permanently at his side meant ignoring Black and Potter too, Severus was sure he could handle that as well. He didn't give an answer right away, that was just who he was, but both parties were sure what Severus' answer would be when he judged the time right to make his decision known.
...
When Ginny awoke to the sunshine streaming through her bedroom window, the first thought of the morning was exactly the same as her last had been before falling asleep - her mother was visiting today.
Harry had rather cleverly offered a visit to his Italian home for the Weasley parents, knowing Ron and the twins would have to still be staying in Italy for Arthur and Molly's visit. Everyone else who was currently staying at Harry's had no trouble at all receiving parental permission to extend their holiday beyond the initial two weeks originally planed.
With both Ginny's parents visiting, Poppy had arranged for her Mind Healer to be present for that meeting too. Depending on how the visit panned out, there was also the possibility of her mum and dad having a talk with representatives from the Italian Ministry. With assurances from Bill, Poppy and Harry ringing in her ears that she wouldn't be returning to Britain any time soon, Ginny finally thought she was ready to face her mother.
Meeting up with the gang and heading down to the beach for their training was Ginny's favourite part of the day, so she was more than willing to face her mother to give Ron, Fred and George the opportunity of spending longer in Italy. Her Mind Healer was convinced training with her friends was helping Ginny more than just physically, an opinion both she and Poppy fully agreed with.
Watching as the entire gang took turns at verbally picking on Sirius, a Sirius who sported a ridiculously wide grin on his face after his first 'date' with Francesca last night, had Ginny almost forgetting what was scheduled for her later on this morning. They had finished the physical portion of their training and were just moving onto their wand work when the strangest sight any of them had ever seen banished all thoughts of training - and anything else - from their minds.
.....
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