Becoming Familiar with a Man of Misery

Chapter 77 ~ Homecoming

Eli puttered around the nursery, making up for the mistakes he’d made. He’d ordered another crib, rocker and storage unit and finished rearranging the room to accommodate two children instead of one. He looked around the room and sighed.

How could he have made such a mistake and let his Master and Mistress be caught awares? He was supposed to serve them. And how had he served them? By giving them erroneous knowledge, knowledge which left them unprepared for having two children. Well, he was ready to receive clothes. He just didn’t know where he would go. Maybe to the Hogwarts kitchens…then again maybe he would just walk into the forbidden forest and let himself be eaten by one of the creatures there. He could see no life without the Master. No purpose to his existence if he were not in his service. He was a bad house elf. Untrustworthy. How could the Master and the Mistress ever trust anything he said again?

It had been two days since Eli had seen either Severus or Hermione. The floo network was still down so the couple…no the family remained at Hogwarts in Severus’ rooms until the floo could be reconnected.

Eli was in the kitchen, stocking the extra bottles he had ordered when he heard the “foomph” of the fireplace that indicated someone had entered through the floo. That would be the Master and the Mistress and their twins.

Eli’s ears drooped and he walked out into the living room. Severus and Hermione both had a baby carrier, and two dark-haired infants peered out of the folds of the blankets they were wrapped in. Eli stopped a distance away, his hands clasped in front of him and his head lowered. Hermione thought she’d never seen a more depressed looking house elf.

“Hello, Eli,” she said softly placing her baby carrier on the sofa.

Eli lifted his eyes for a split second then lowered them quickly.

“Hello, Mistress,” he replied, his voice cracking a bit. Severus looked at the house elf imperiously as he set his carrier on the sofa

Eli looked up at Severus, then bowed his head.

“I is ready for clothes, Master,” the elf said, his squeaky voice full of sorrow.

Severus looked at the house elf he had known all his life.

“Eli, I am not giving you clothes. Now come here and meet your new masters,” the Potions Master commanded the elf, his eyes glinting.

Eli looked up at his Master.

“No clothes sir? Even though I fails you and the Mistress?” he asked, rolling his claws over and over anxiously.

Severus sighed.

“Eli, everyone makes mistakes. This is your first mistake I’ve known you to make in my entire lifetime. I think we can let one slip by.”

Eli looked up at Severus and smiled broadly before bowing again, relief on his wrinkled face.

“Oh thanks you Master. Thanks you so much,” he said. He approached the carriers. Hermione picked up one baby and Severus picked up the other. They pulled the blankets down so the elf could see the twins clearly.

“Oh Master, they looks like you did,” the elf exclaimed, “They is beauteous children, Master. Beauteous. What is their names, sir?”

Severus looked at the child he was holding.

“This is Demetrius,” he said and he looked at Hermione, who smiled gently at the elf.

“And this…this is Eli,” she said softly.

The elf’s eyes widened to a humungous size.

“Eli, Mistress?” he repeated, beginning to tremble.

“Yes, Eli. We named him after you,” she replied. “You were the closest thing Severus had to a real father, and have always been there for him. You always showed him love and understanding…just like you will do these children. And you cared for me the entire time I was pregnant, and accepted me as if you’ve known me all my life.”

Severus looked at the elf, then said, “It is only right that you be remembered and honored in this way, Eli. You are more than a servant. You are family. The only way you will ever be given clothes is if you truly want them, and even then you will always be welcome in the house of Snape.”

Eli’s bottom lip began to tremble.

“Oh no,” Severus thought, “here it comes.”

Sure enough, Eli burst into tears, crying his heart out, water streaming down his face and dripping off his chin.

“Oh, don’t cry, Eli,” Hermione said, moving closer to him and holding the baby securely in one arm as she caressed the little elf’s head. “It will be all right.”

Eli looked up at her tearfully and sniffed, wiping at his eyes with his tunic.

“Eli knows it will be all right, Mistress. I cries for happiness. I has two young Masters to love and one bears my name. No house elf has been blessed likes me. Not one, Mistress,” Eli sniffled at her. “Thank you, Master. Thank you, Mistress.”

“Would you like to place little Eli in the nursery, Eli?” Hermione asked the elf.

“Oh yes, Mistress! Yes!” he said, reaching out his clawed hands for the baby. Hermione handed Eli to the elf, who cradled him gently.

“Hello, young Master,” Eli said, turning with the baby and walking down the hall. :I am Eli too, and I will takes good care of you…”

He disappeared into the room with the child. Hermione reached out for Demetrius, but Severus turned a bit away from her.

“I’ll take him,” the doting father said. “You bring the carriers.”

Hermione put her hands on her hips as Severus walked away with the baby, following Eli.

“Look, already your mother thinks I can’t handle a simple thing like putting you in the nursery,” the Potions Master complained to the baby as they entered the nursery.

Hermione laughed and shook her head, picking up the carriers and following her husband and the house elf into the room. She put the carriers down against the wall and looked around the nursery. Eli had rearranged it, adding the furniture necessary for two babies. Then she gasped as she looked at the wall that separated the nursery from her and Severus’ bedroom.

“Eli, is that a door?” she asked…obviously it was but she still said it. A door, painted in baby blue now stood where nothing but wall had been before.

Eli nodded.

“Yes, Mistress. I puts it there so you can check on the little ones, though Eli will always be here to watch over them,” he said, smiling and pointing to a child-sized bed in the corner. “And a lock and one side silence so you and the Master is not disturbed and do not disturb during the in-outie,” the elf added, looking a bit lascivious.

Hermione’s mouth dropped when she realized how thorough the elf had been. A one-sided silencing spell would make sure no sound could be heard from their bedroom, but they would be able to hear the babies in the nursery.

“Thank you, Eli. In-outie will be resuming quite shortly,” Severus said, looking at Hermione who blushed furiously.

It would be good to feel him on top of her again. From the back was good, but there was nothing like looking into her husband’s eyes when he took her.

And speaking of eyes, Severus’ eyes dropped to his wife’s breasts.

“You seem to have sprung a leak,” he said.

Hermione looked down. She had. Two large wet spots graced the front of her robes.

“Oh dear Merlin,” she complained, pulling the wet robes away from her breasts. “I’m going to the kitchen and get the bottles to fill,” she said, stalking from the nursery.

Severus smirked as he watched her go. He had plans for those leaky breasts.

The Potions Master sat down in one rocker with Demetrius and Eli sat on his little bed with little Eli, neither willing to put them in their cribs.

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Hermione was truly grateful to be a mother in the wizarding world as she located the small bottles, sterilized them, put her wand down and lined them up on the kitchen table. Her breasts were hard with milk and uncomfortable. When she had the bottles positioned, she opened her robes, unbuttoned her blouse, then picked up her wand.

She tapped it to the tip of her right breast and felt immediate relief as the bottles began to fill. When the filling stopped, she repeated the act with her left breast. When she finished, she had filled eight small bottles.

“Gods, I’m a cow,” the witch muttered as she looked at them.

Hermione capped six of the bottles, put a stasis spell on them to insure freshness and placed them in the cooler. Now she could see about getting out of her wet robes.

As she walked out of the kitchen carrying two bottles for the babies, she heard a “foomph” and watched as Isadora practically ran out of the floo, her ebony hair flying. She saw Hermione.

“Where is he? Where is my grandson?” Isadora asked Hermione, smiling as she kissed the new mother. Then she paused, looking down at the dark spots on Hermione’s blouse. “My, your boobies are big…and wet” she observed, grinning.

Hermione ignored the comment and handed Isadora the two bottles. She didn’t tell the witch she had twins, and Isadora was so excited it didn’t register Hermione had pushed two bottles into her hands.

“Down the hall, in the nursery,” Hermione said, smiling. Isadora was in for a surprise.

Isadora ran down the hallway and swung into the nursery, where she saw Severus, sitting in the rocking chair, rocking slowly and holding a squirming Demetrius, who was starting to squall. He was hungry.

“Oh my gods,” Isadora said softly, walking over to her son and his child. She pulled back the blanket a bit and stared down at her grandchild.

“Oh Severus, he’s beautiful. He looks like you did at this age…except for his nose,” she said. She handed Severus the bottle. “Here, feed him,” she said. Then she realized she had another bottle in her hand. She looked perplexed.

“I wonder why Hermione gave me two bottles,” she said to Severus. “Does he drink that much?”

Severus smirked at her, realizing she didn’t know Hermione had twins.

“Well, the first bottle is for Demetrius here,” the Potions Master said, “and the second…”

Suddenly there was another squall from the corner of the room. Isadora’s head jerked in that direction.

“The second bottle is for my other son, Eli,” the Potions Master said just as his mother’s eyes fell on Eli and the baby he was holding. Isadora looked back at Severus.

“Eli?” she repeated.

“Yes, Mother…Eli,” Severus confirmed. A smile lit up Isadora’s face as she looked at the house elf, tenderly rocking the hungry baby.

“Oh, Severus,” she said, kissing his cheek. “You’ve made Eli so happy.”

Severus scowled, though she could tell he was pleased.

“Go feed your grandson,” he griped as he began to feed Demetrius.

Isadora walked over to the small bed, and sat down next to Eli. She held out her arms.

“May I?” she asked the elf.

Eli smiled at her and handed her the baby. Isadora sighed, and kissed the tiny forehead. She placed the bottle against the baby’s cheek and the tiny head turned, his mouth questing birdlike for the nipple. He found it, and drank contentedly.

She and Eli watched the baby drink.

“Brings back memories, doesn’t it Eli?” she said softly to the elf, who nodded.

“Yes, Mistress…of the young Master,” he agreed. Then he added rather proudly, “He has my name.”

Isadora looked at the elf affectionately.

“Yes, and it’s such a good, strong name,” she replied.

Eli smiled happily and looked back down at the baby.

“They will be tall and strong like Master,” the elf predicted. “Potions Makers too. Is in the blood, Mistress.”

Isadora looked over at her son, who was staring down at the tiny child he held in his arms. The Potions Master was talking to him, but Isadora couldn’t hear what he was saying.

She turned back to Eli, her eyes soft from witnessing Severus spending a tender moment with his son.

“If they are anything like the Master, Eli, then they will be fine wizards indeed,” she replied, looking down at little Eli and kissing his tiny brow again.

The house elf heartily agreed.

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A/N: Awwwwwwwwww! Lol. I just had to do it. Just too many sweet moments. Isadora’s booby remark…yeesh. She’s something else. And naming one of the babies after Eli…oh so nice. All right. The babies are home and settled in. Hermione has a little time left before Sev’s driving her across the bedding again, Marcus has an appointment to see Isadora, and Isadora and Remus have some unresolved sexual tension. Lots to tie up yet. Please review.

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The Burning Pen

Becoming Familiar with a Man of Misery
by Ruth Solomon

The story content is adult in nature and can contain graphic sex and violence. Those under the age of 18 are asked to leave this site immediately. You are not welcome here. The author is not responsible for those under-aged who view these works.

CHAPTER 78

Disclaimer: All recognizable characters belong to JKR. All situations are mine. No $$$ is being made from this fanfic.
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