“Are we going to see Gramma Molly and Poppy Arthur soon?” Four-year-old Keeley Potter Snape asked, wriggling impatiently as Harry tried to fix her hair.
“Very soon love” Harry answered, reaching for a hair tie “Soon as Papa has finished cleaning up his lab we will leave.”
“Will papa be long?” Keeley asked.
“Not too long. There all done. Grab your coat and we can see if Papa is ready.”
Keeley hopped off the chair and fetched her coat as her father had asked. Following Harry from her room, they went downstairs to see if Severus was finished in the basement. He’d been working tirelessly perfecting a new potion to lessen the severity of Wizard Mumps in children. Keeley had contracted them six months earlier and had been unwell to the point she’d needed to spend time in hospital. This was what had set the expert Potioneer on the path to adapting the potion.
Severus was just coming up the stairs into the kitchen when his husband and daughter came around the corner. Keeley ran to him and wrapped her arms around Severus waist. She idolised the man, taking after him in many ways. She was fiercely independent, incredibly stubborn (a trait she’d inherited from Harry, Severus would insist) had a thirst for knowledge, loved to read or be read to. She had Severus’ eyes and Harry’s uncontrollable hair.
“Are you ready to go to Gramma Mollys and Poppy Arthur’s” she asked.
“Yes, princess I am” Severus told her “Should we take the floo or apparate?”
“Aprate” the four-year-old answered quickly “I don’t want my dress to get all messy.”
“can’t blame me for that one” Harry chuckled at the look on his husbands face.
“Nor me” Severus replied, “she’s been spending far too much time with Draco.”
People had started to gather around the long picnic tables in the backyard of the Burrow. Fairy lights floated effortlessly in the air. A charmed gramophone played music that echoed into the night. Harry and Severus walked the well-trodden path to the party, Keeley having raced off as soon as they had arrived on the edge of the wards, spotting Molly and Arthur. Harry saw Pansy, Seamus, Draco, and Bill over near the table that held the drinks. He gave them a wave as he greeted the older Weasleys and wished Arthur a happy birthday.
“Someone doesn’t look thrilled with our arrival” Severus whispered to Harry as they made their way across the lawn. At the farthest end of the tables nearest the back door, Ginny sat, hand clenched tightly around the stem of her glass, a murderous scowl on her face.
“I couldn’t care less” Harry replied, not sparing the witch another glance. He’d long stopped caring about Ginevra’s frequently voiced opinion on his marriage to Severus and how wrong it was.
Conversation flowed easily around the table, Keeley was helping George and Angelina’s son Noah who was a year younger than her cut up his chicken. It warmed Harry’s heart to be surrounded by those he loved. Molly and Arthur got up to dance awhile later, George and Angelina following.
“Dance with me darling” Pansy insisted, dragging Harry to his feet.
Knowing it was pointless to refuse, lest he be hexed, Harry obediently followed her out to the middle of the yard. Pansy grabbed him and began to twirl around in a circle. As they passed Molly and Arthur, Harry noticed that Keeley had wiggled her way in between the two and was swaying with them.
Charlie’s wife Ruby had convinced Severus to dance, the pair moved gracefully in time with the music. Draco and Seamus were making up their style of dance, while Bill happily watched from the sidelines.
Ginny’d had quite enough of the sickening spectacle outside and needed peace and quiet. Watching Harry with his arms wrapped around that disgusting, greasy bastard was too much. Coming into the kitchen, she spied the brat sitting on one of the kitchen chairs, placing two slices of her father’s birthday cake onto a plate.
The sight of the small child made Ginny’s gut twist in anger and revulsion. It was a constant reminder of what she was never going to have, the fact that Harry had allowed himself to produce a child with that twat made her physically ill. Shaking her head, she walked into a room off the kitchen, it was where her mother kept her potions, she was in desperate need of a pain-relieving potion. Finding the right one, she downed the contents quickly and was disposing of the vial, when she heard something like a plate smashing coming from the kitchen.
Walking out she saw the twerp crouched down on the floor, trying to pick the cake up. The more she tried the worse it became, the cake broke apart in Keeley’s hand, crumbs going everywhere. Standing up the little girl looked around for the broom Molly used to sweep the floor sometimes. Holding on to the handle of the wooden object as best she could, Keeley attempted to sweep the broken plate and came into a pile.
“Don’t do that, you idiot” Ginny snarled coming into the kitchen and snatching the broom from Keeley’s grasp. “You’re making it worse. God you’re useless, don’t know why your parents bother with you, I know I wouldn’t” she added spitefully, throwing the broom into the corner, and banishing the mess with her wand.
“I’m not useless” Keeley shouted, tears pouring down her face. “You’re mean and I don’t like you” with that she ran out the back door and into the yard.
Ginny didn’t make it to the picnic table before Harry rounded on her, eyes blazing with fury.
“What the bloody fuck is wrong with you?” He spat, standing mere inches from her face, teeth bared like a wild animal poised to attack “how dare you speak to my daughter like that. Just because you’re bitter does not give you the right to take it out on a four-year-old.”
“She’s an abomination” Ginny hissed “you should’ve had a family with me, but no you had to go and screw the dungeon bat and look at the result.”
“You be very, very careful how you speak about my husband and child” Harry snarled, his voice dangerously low.
“Who’s an abomination?” Pansy asked, her and Seamus appearing beside Draco, they had come from the direction of the orchard, where no doubt they’d been snogging or worse.
“Keeley” Draco said evenly “Weasley here thinks she’s useless, a rotten apple because of who her parents are.”
“Is that right?” Pansy intoned, moving to stand beside Harry “you have a problem with my goddaughter do you Weasley?”
“Yes, she’s a disgrace should never have been born, at least then Harry wouldn’t have felt obligated to do the honourable thing and stay with the Death eater scum.”
In a split-second Pansy’s clenched fist had connected with Ginny’s face, the sound of shattering bone could be heard as the redhead was flung backward with the force.
“You ever say anything like that about my goddaughter again, I’ll take you apart” Pansy loomed over the injured redhead, grabbing her shirt, and lifting her from the ground.
Fist clenched to strike again, Draco moved quickly and grabbing his friend around the waist, picked her up before she could do any more damage. “That’s enough Pans, she isn’t worth it.”
Fucking despicable pig!” Pansy bellowed, as the blonde sat her at the picnic table.
“Molly, Arthur I apologise for the outburst” Harry said solemnly, going to where Severus had been sitting with their daughter.
“No apology necessary Harry” Arthur replied, “I’m sorry you, Severus and Keeley were subjected to our daughter’s cruelty, she certainly wasn’t raised that way.”
“I understand Arthur, but I have to say that my family and I won’t be attending any more gatherings or visiting while she is here, I won’t subject my child to that level of spite.”
“You come as often as you want Harry” Molly said, wiping tears from her face. “After tonight Ginevra will no longer be living here with Arthur and I.”
“What!” Ginny hissed, hands pressed firmly to her fractured nose “I dared to speak the truth and get punched in the face by some lunatic and you’re kicking me out?”
“Yes” Molly answered plainly “Your father and I will no longer tolerate your antics. This isn’t the first time you’ve made comments about Harry’s marriage to Severus or about Keeley. More fool me for not putting a stop to it sooner, I really thought you would learn to accept that Harry made his choice and move on. I was wrong. Now go and pack your things. I’d advise you to contact Percy and see if he won’t allow you to stay with him for a while.”
Ginny turned and stormed inside, leaving a trail of blood in her wake.
“Let’s go home” Harry said, quietly, gathering Keeley into his arms. Severus nodded and together they walked to the edge of the property vanishing from sight.
Harry stood in the doorway of Keeley’s room, watching his daughter sleep. The little girl had apologised profusely for dropping the cake on gramma Mollys floor, stating she had to meant to make Ginny mad. Harry’s heart clenched painfully at the thought his precious girl blamed herself. Both he and Severus told her she wasn’t in any way to blame and how wrong it was for Ginny to have said the things she’d said.
“I don’t like Ginny, she’s mean” Keeley murmured as she drifted off to sleep.
“Ok?” Severus asked, pulling Harry to him.
“Yeah” he nodded “I was so mad Sev, I couldn’t believe she’d sink that low as to take her bitterness out on a defenceless child. Lucky Pansy stepped in when she did, or Merlin knows what I would’ve done.”
“Very fortunate indeed. I had several inventive curses in mind I could subject her to.”
“Thank goodness for Pansy and her left hook.”