The Herbology Assistant

Chapter Forty Seven

Being a mother wasn't easy. Clarice was completely overwhelmed in the best way possible with love, joy, responsibility, and selflessness. And let's not forget about how unbelievably tired she was. 

"You're turn," She whined at Severus as Elio woke up a 3am. It had only been a month and although difficult, she had never been more in love; with Severus and Elio. 

Clarice had been writing to Remus to figure out what he had planned on doing at the end of the year, but apparently he was still undecided. No one else knew of his condition,  but he was still concerned about the safety of the students. 

Although his birthday was a few months ago, Clarice sent Remus a gift of her own creation to persuade him to stay another year. It was a pocket watch with the lunar phases and in itself was a hidden flask of wolfsbane in case of an emergency. She also was a little harsh in the letter she sent with it stating that "You won't find a better paying job than the one you have right now. Businesses don't typically hire werewolfs, Remus. Just thought you'd need a reminder."

She found herself sitting in the parlor, reading a book about constellations and divination when she heard a loud yell. 

"Sev?" She called out. "Everything all right?"

"I need your help! Now! Please come quick! It's everywhere!" She heard him yell from the nursery. She stepped into the room, blasted with the smell and quickly waved her wand to get rid of it. Then she saw Severus gagging by the changing table. Clarice laughed knowing damn well what had happened. 

"What uh... what seems to be the problem dear?" She chuckled seeing the diaper explosion a little better. It really was everywhere. 

"I-" He gagged. "What do you do? You can't throw a baby away!" 

"I wonder if we still have the receipt." She smiled while taking over. She waved her hand and the mess was cleaned and she fastened a fresh diaper onto Elio. 

"All better now!" She cooed as Elio smiled a gummy grin at her. 

"Was that his first smile?" Clarice gasped. 

"I think it was." Severus said and kissed the top of the baby's head. Clarice buttoned his white onesie and slipped on a navy blue pair of sweatpants that seemed a little tight. 

"Hmm... guess these are a little too small for you... You're growing faster than I expected." She spoke to the baby as Severus listened. 

"What time did Poppy say to expect the healer?" He asked her. 

"Soon." She spoke. 

"And you're sure we can trust them?" He asked. 

"I trust Poppy." Clarice said. Her and Severus did not want their baby to become a science experiment, so they asked Poppy to recommend one of her colleagues to come to the house. She switched out the sweatpants for a different pair and brought Elio out to the parlor. She sat down on the couch and Severus went to answer the door once they heard a knocking. 

"Hi, it's nice to meet you two. I'm Healer Evangeline Saulot, but you can just call me Eva." She shook both of their hands and then placed her briefcase down on the floor. 

"Is this your little one?" She sat down next to Clarice to take a good look at Elio. 

"Yes, this is Elio." Clarice smiled. 

"I thought you said he was only one month?" Eva quirked an eyebrow. 

"He is...?" Clarice said back. 

"He... may I weigh him?" Eva asked while running her wand up and down his body. 

"Curious." She whispered. 

"I'm sorry... but what's curious?" Severus asked. 

"He weighed seven and a half pounds when he was born... he now weighs fourteen pounds." Eva announced. 

"That can't be right." Clarice said. 

"He was twenty inches when born and is now twenty five." Eva said. "Poppy told you had an unusual pregnancy."

"Yes, did she give you whole the story?" Clarice asked and she nodded; she was thankful she wouldn't have to repeat it. 

"I'm curious about the growth of him and if he will grow up faster than a normal child would." She said. 

"Have you ever seen anything like this before?" Severus asked. 

"No, But I can do some research for you." Eva said and finished up the exam which ended in a few shots for Elio. Clarice was shocked he didn't even cry. Eva asked Clarice how she was dealing with postpartum and if she needed any sort of anti depressants, but she refused. She was truly in the best state of mind. 

Eva had made a point to come back every week to check in with them and that next time she would be drawing blood to make sure there wasn't anything wrong. After she had left, Clarice turned to Severus with a worried expression. 

"He's growing too fast." Tears welled up in her eyes. "They always say they grow up too fast, but I didn't expect we'd lose out on precious moments."

"I know," He soothed her. 

Clarice had been so wrapped up in doctors appointments the next few weeks she completely forgot about what day it was as she rushed down the stairs in her robe to answer the door. Standing on the other side was... Hermione Granger?

"Miss Granger? What... what are you doing here?" Clarice questioned the girl who blushed. 

"I called her." Severus said appearing out of thin air. 

"Why?" She asked. 

"Did you forget what day it is?" He asked. 

"Saturday?" 

"It's your birthday you dunderhead." He spoke. 

"Oh right." She laughed nervously. "Come in dear."

"I thought you'd want some time to get ready." Severus said. 

"Ready for?" 

"Oh, Claire, you really think I wouldn't plan something for today?" He wrapped his arm around her shoulder and guided her back towards the stairs. She looked over her shoulder at Hermione who was already cuddling Elio in her arms. 

"Don't worry I'll fill her in on everything while you're playing dress up." He pushed her up. She didn't fight him. She was actually very excited for whatever he had planned for the night. 

She used her wand to curl her overly long blonde hair and then did a few touches of makeup. Nothing dramatic, but she wanted to cover up those dark circles around her eyes. Finally, she made her way to her walk in closet. 

Deciding to keep it classy and simple, she picked out a navy blue dress. It flowed down below her knees, cinched her waist, and had short flowy sleeves that reached her elbows. She slipped on her brown boot heels and grabbed her purse. 

"You look gorgeous." Hermione stated.

"Thank you, have you seen Severus?" She asked and Hermione nodded while pointing to the kitchen. 

"There you are." Clarice said and Severus turned around and raised his brows at her. 

"You look... ravishing." He spun her around and watched the dress flair out. "Stunning."

"Where are we going?" She asked. 

"It's a surprise." He told her. 

"I don't like surprises." She frowned. 

"You'll like this one." He smiled. The pair said goodbye to Hermione and made sure she was aware Clarice had a cell phone on her in case of an emergency. 

"You'd think wizards would give these a shot. They're much more efficient than owls." Clarice and Hermione joked prior. 

Severus walked out the front door and held Clarice by the waist before apparating.