Disclaimer: All recognizable characters belong to J.K. Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story.

Thanks a lot to my beta-reader, saiyanwizardgurl, for correcting my mistakes.

I'm not a native speaker of English!

Dear readers,

finally I can post the Ivy/Severus story here. It doesn't really fit in the season because it takes place in the summer but I hope you will enjoy it nevertheless. It takes place in the summer between Harry's 3rd (the current year in Harry and his new family) and fourth year. It is for all those readers who ask me about a little background or more about Ivy and Severus. I'm sorry but I think this story won't make sense for you if you haven't read at least the first 20 chapters of "Harry and his new family" first. So please read it before you start with this story.

Please let me know if you liked this little side story!

Sunny

For the Love of My Life

The cold morning sun was shining in his face when he blinked. It was July and early in the morning. It was half past five, and Ivy was still asleep when Severus stood in the middle of the summer flower-covered meadow. His boots were wet because he never applied a Water-Proof Charm. He wanted to feel the morning thaw through his boots.

Every year he found himself standing in the same meadow, with wet feet and a freshly gathered bouquet of wild flowers in his hands. It had been his ritual for six years now. Each year, he set out at five in the morning and went to the meadow for twenty minutes. Yes, he walked there and did not Apparate. The walk was part of the present, and he loved to think about making Ivy his wife while the cold, fresh air slowly lost its humidity.

This time, the morning fog lifted very slowly and the air was very humid. Severus enjoyed this kind of weather the most. The sun was fighting her way through all the fog like Ivy had fought her way into his heart. He had tried to push her away. Never did he want to endanger a woman again. Lily was enough for him to dwell on in self-pity. No other woman should have made it into his heart, but Ivy did it. She stole his heart and changed him completely. She had fought away all the bad feelings, the guilt, and the fear in him like the sun was slowly fighting the fog. Ivy was his sun. His center. His light in the darkness. All in all his love of life.

On this very day eight years ago, she had married him. A man that was looked down upon by many people around them. A man who had committed terrible crimes during his time as a Death Eater. A man who tried to push all the people around him away to not hurt them or be hurt himself. Ivy never gave up. How often had he pushed her away, hurt her with words more than he could have hurt her with brute force, but she stayed at his side. She was something very special. Severus knew this and as he stood in the meadow, he tried to imagine her face and her soft voice in his mind.

This time there would be five people to celebrate their anniversary. They had adopted Harry last year, which brought their total of children to three. If Ivy was right, they would be one more next year. That sobered Severus, and he looked around for more flowers for his bouquet. Severus never regretted adopting Harry, but thinking about one more child made him feel a bit old. Four children, three of them very young. Would he survive? Eathan and Lysander were very challenging already, and Harry with his crazy ideas and problems was challenging in his own way.

A new baby would mean being woken in the middle of the night, loud noises, smelly diapers, and so many more unpleasant things. He had heard from Molly Weasley that older siblings could get jealous, and Eathan and Lysander still needed so much attention. Would they accept a baby? And what about Harry? He needed all the attention and love they could offer him. Would it be enough?

Severus shook his head to clear it. It was not even sure right now, just a feeling Ivy had. A shadow fell over Severus' face. She looked so happy when she had told him about it. What if the baby did not survive like Joshua? Would she break? It was so very hard for her when she lost Joshua shortly before he should have been born. At least Eathan and Lysander demanded so much attention from her that she was not able to rack her brain about it too much. The final battle and Harry's adoption distracted her as well. Yes, it was good for Ivy that they had adopted Harry. She loved him as if he would be her own son. At first, Severus feared she would see him as a replacement for Joshua, but he realized very soon that it was not like that. Ivy was still mourning for Joshua, but had made room in her big heart for Harry.

Severus picked up a very beautiful flower with many tiny, lilac, bell-like blossoms. Lilac was her favorite color. The sun had fought through the thick clouds and shown directly at the flower. The little drops of dew were reflecting the sunlight and it looked as if the blossoms were covered with little stars. Just beautiful. Only on this special day could Severus look at a flower like this and enjoy its beauty like he enjoyed Ivy's beauty. On any other day, he would just think about what kind of potion he could use it in. But not today. This day of the year was special and reserved just for Ivy and their children.

Once, Severus offered to take a journey with her on their anniversary. Without the kids—just Ivy and him—but she had refused. She said that they were a family, and that this day would always be a family day. For Severus, this was absolutely agreeable. He loved to spend his free time with his kids. They were very important to him. When he was not doing his job as a teacher and potions brewing for the Ministry and the hospital wing, he was spending as much time with his family as possible. Severus Snape was a family person. Who would have thought? He could see the beaming face of his mother if she saw him like this. His father would have raised an eyebrow, but Severus knew he would be very proud of him for thinking like this.

Thadeus and Elli Snape were very proud of him. Thadeus had almost given up on his son completely when he joined the Death Eaters. He had thrown Severus out of the mansion the moment he had caught wind of it. It took Severus years to get in contact with his father again after he had realized his mistake and became a spy. His mother forgave him easily, but his father remained cold for a long time. Only Albus' interfering and Ivy's indescribable way of sneaking into the hearts of people made it possible for the two Snape men to become friendly again. Now he was a man his parents could be proud of. A family man, a caring husband and father.

Severus picked a yellow flower. He smiled. Yellow, Lysander's favorite color. Lately, he drew almost everything in yellow, and he had pestered Severus to brew a yellow potion with him. Ivy has been furious when she heard that he had brewed a dangerous potion with Lysander. She had forbidden him to brew with Lysander for a month and that was the first time her little sunshine Lysander was angry with her. That really meant something because normally Lysander was the balanced, shy, and friendly twin. Eathan used that time to cuddle more than usual with his mother, and soon Lysander could not hold up his anger and became his cheerful and loving self again.

The fog cleared more and more. The sun was becoming more prominent against the clouds. The air still smelled fresh, and Severus breathed in deeply. He looked at his bouquet. The wild flowers stood up chaotically, and Severus had to think about the first time he had given her a wild flower bouquet like this. It was their second anniversary. On their first anniversary he had given her a very big bouquet of red roses, but the second one had to be different.

Flashback

He came back from one of the endless hearings at the Ministry late in the night. He was depressed after having to reveal his crimes again. The Ministry would never leave him alone. He felt guilty enough without their repetitive hearings. Ivy turned on her side to face him when he slipped silently into their bed. She gently stroked his cheek. "Was it bad?"

"As always," Severus said hoarsely, cupping her hand with his. He drew it to his mouth to kiss her palm. "Don't worry, I will cope."

"I love you, Severus. You know I do, right?" Ivy said.

Severus did not need to see her face through the darkness to know that she was crying. He reached for her face and wiped the tears away. "I know, and I will fight for you."

"And for them," Ivy whispered and took his hand and guided it to her belly.

"Yes, for them as well, my love," Severus said before he leaned over and kissed her. They had had a long discuss about having a baby. Severus knew that the Dark Lord was not dead and that he would come back again one day. Having children was something Severus was very scared of. Ivy was a big target if the Dark Lord found out about his disloyalty, and any children they had would be in danger as well. The Dark Lord even punishes his followers for slight mistakes, and it was not unheard of for him to kill or torture the loved one of traitors. In the end, Ivy convinced Severus to take the risk of having a family. He never could deny her anything.

Even long after Ivy had fallen asleep, Severus still lay awake. Around four, he stole out to take a walk to clear his head and ended on the meadow twenty minutes away from Dumbledore's mansion.

When he came back with a bouquet of wild flowers, she was already up and was falling into his arms, crying.

"What's going on, love?" Severus asked, worried.

"You were gone. No note left. You scared me," Ivy said into his chest while not letting go of him.

Severus realized his mistake and gently stroked her hair with his free hand. When she looked at him, he said, "I'm sorry, Ivy. I just wanted to get you some flowers. I wasn't able to get a red rose bouquet like last year. I hope you aren't disappointed." He lifted the bouquet in front of her. "Happy anniversary, my love."

Ivy laughed, relieved, and inspected the chaotic bouquet closer. "It is beautiful, even more beautiful than the roses. So many different flowers and so...beautiful. It's the best present you could have given me." She looked up into his eyes and smiled one of her famous heart-melting smiles and Severus was lost in it. He only came back to reality when he felt her lips on his.

Four month later, they become a real family. Lysander and Eathan were born. The last weeks and the birth had taken their toll on Ivy, but she was a fighter. Severus was surprised at how much he enjoyed being a father. It was very stressful and noisy because there were two little babies that needed all the attention of their parents. It was good that they got help from Albus and Minerva. Even Elli had come over during the first weeks to help while Ivy recovered from the birth and Severus was overextended. Now Severus was a father and he enjoyed it. He even forgot the Dark Lord for some time.

END OF FLASHBACK

Yes, his Ivy was a fighter. Severus caught himself smiling stupidly at the bouquet. Good thing he was not at Hogwarts, or else a student could have caught him like this. They spent most of the summer at the Dumbledores' mansion. His family was still sleeping, and Albus and Minerva were surely having their morning tea at the moment. One look at the position of the sun and Severus realized that he should finish his gathering and started to pick more flowers.

As he picked one flower after another, flashes of pictures formed in his mind. Ivy standing beside him during their wedding, Severus kissing her tear-stained face when he lifted the veil, Ivy screaming as she gave birth to Eathan and Lysander, Severus kissing her face as she held the twins in her arms, seeing her smile at him at the adoption of Harry.

Severus looked at the now very big bouquet. Yes, she would love it. The more chaotic it is, the more she likes it. She would surely spend over half an hour counting the different flowers with Eathan and were good at counting now. Much better than last year, but Severus had made sure the bouquet was much bigger than last year. Harry would surely help them count, so they would finish before the twins got bored. I'm sure Harry will think about the potions he could brew with these. I have to keep a good eye on the bouquet. My oldest son has a knack for brewing dangerous or stupid potions. Remembering the dangerous memory potion Harry had tried to brew last year made him shiver. Yes, I definitely have to keep an eye on Harry and the flowers. Maybe I should help count this time.

Satisfied with his wild flower bouquet, Severus made his way back to the mansion with the sun shining on his back and the picture of his lovely, smiling wife always at the front of his mind.

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