The Serpent and the Lioness

Chapter 75

"Toris what are all these?" Hermione had drawn a bath for the both of them, something she was sure would relax them both well enough to get some rest. Now, her son was standing before her in faded marker lines from head to toe. He'd shown her only a few on his leg when she'd picked him up but seeing him like this made her stomach churn. He was overly observant and apparently had her proclivity for retention as well.

"They're my stripes. Like Daddy."

Hermione went quiet then slowly turned the boys left forearm. Her scar shining in the lights of the bathroom with his tiny hand in her palm.

"Oh, baby, you don't want stripes like Daddy." Hermione couldn't look away from the black mark on the boy's arm, her heart torn in every direction possible.

"You got stripes too Mummy." His innocent little fingers grazed over the 'M' near her wrist.

Hermione curled her lips biting down hard. Taking a moment to collect herself, she turned her eyes up to the innocent face of her child. How could she possibly respond to that? How could she ever tell her son what she had been through?

"You're right... come on... let's get in the bath." Hermione stepped into the water carefully, a towel still wrapped around her.

When she settled down into the murky water she banished it away to the wrack. Toris bounced on his toes right in front of her while she held him partially above water. The color from the marker easily dissolving away. When the boy tired of his bobbing, he crawled into her lap sitting down. His eyes traced the line that curled over her shoulder.

"Do stripes hurt Mummy?"

Hermione pulled his hand gently to her chest resting it over her heart. "They can, yes." She couldn't lie to him.

"Do your stripes hurt?" His little fingers gingerly touched the groove on her shoulder while looking up into her face.

"Sometimes..." She watched his hand trace the line down into the water before drawing back to look down at his own chest.

"Will I get stripes when I get bigger?"

"Oh, I hope not sweetheart." Hermione kissed the top of his head pulling him just a little closer.

"If I do, will you still loves me?"

"Majestas Toris Granger, there is nothing in this world that you could possibly do that would make me stop loving you."

Toris smiled softly and leaned out of her hold trying to doggy paddle his way to the little basket of toys they kept for his bath time.

oOo

"You can't sleep in the jacket. You'll get too hot." Hermione was trying- rather unsuccessfully-to get the boy into his proper night clothes. Toris, however, had other plans; including screaming at near ear-piercing levels.

Hermione just shook her head and picked him up around his waist, log carrying him into his room. The boy kicked and screamed sending a few of the decorations that lined the shelves around the top of his walls flying across the room. When that didn't work, he conjured a very impressive representation of his father's animagus that Hermione swiftly dissolved.

"You're not going to win, young man. I've been doing magic well over the years you have walked this earth."

Toris let out another scream striking out hard. His tiny stone-like fist hitting the fragile dip in her back.