The Herbology Assistant

Chapter Forty Six

"Have you thought of a name?" Minerva asked amidst the silence. Clarice furrowed her eyebrows, they hadn't even spoken about names; they didn't expect their son to arrive so soon. She cradled her newborn son and looked at him curiously. It took a few minutes for him to open his eyes and look around at the world. He had a full head of black hair, but had Clarice's pink eyes. 

"I wasn't sure if you had a name in mind." Severus told Clarice. 

"I don't." She replied, feeling sleepy. Minerva noticed and headed out, saying she had to make sure the school was still intact. That left the pair with just Poppy who decided to give them some privacy. 

"I was thinking..." Severus started. "And you can tell me if you hate it. I know how much the stars mean to you; now more than ever."

"Tell me Sev, what are you thinking?" She asked him. 

"Elio... after the brightest star in the solar system. The sun. Eli for short." He said, looking at Clarice for approval. She stared at him with tears in her eyes. 

"I love it." She choked out. 

"Elio Perseus," She added his middle name. 

"Beautiful." He said and after a few minutes, Clarice was crying again. 

"Oh Sev... What are we going to do?" She sobbed.

"What do you mean?" He asked worried. 

"We don't have a nursery and I can't work here anymore. I- We can't raise a baby here." She stated and Severus knew she was right. This was no place to raise a child. Especially a newborn. 

"I'm sure Albus will give us time off to get everything settled, love. We can go to Prince Manor. I've been having people work on it while we've been here." He assured her and he could feel Clarice calm down almost immediately. She was nervous she would have to move in with Gwen and her three kids. 

"I couldn't help but overhear you say my name." Albus casually strolled in. 

"Were you eavesdropping?" Clarice asked the man. 

"Me? Never. Oh little Elio looks so cute!" He said confirming he was in fact eavesdropping. Clarice couldn't help but chuckle. 

"Albus? We all know how unexpected this was..." Severus started. 

"No need to go any further Severus. You and Clarice can have the rest of the year off and you'll have the summer to get back on your feet. I do hope you know that help will always be given at Hogwarts as long as you ask." Albus said and then quickly added. "I think having a baby in the castle would brighten a lot of spirits, but that is up to you."

They sat in silence after Albus had left. Occasionally, Poppy would come in and check Clarice and Elio out, but after a few visits she confirmed they were both healthy and ready to be discharged. 

"Do you want to walk through the castle to your chambers?" Severus asked her worried about all of the attention she was about to receive. I mean, she was barely showing and now she was carrying around an infant. Who wouldn't stare?

"I think it's better to get the initial shock over and done with." She said while swinging her legs out of bed and using her wand to dress her body in sweatpants and her favorite chenille sweater. 

It was very odd for the couple as they walked together, Severus was cradling Elio in his arm as Clarice walked beside him. Of course, they earned multiple stares from certain students, but apparently word had traveled extremely quickly throughout the castle. They decided to go into Clarice's chambers first so she could back up her creatures, plants, and other belongings.