A/N: Hello, dear readers! Thank you for coming back! This is a four chapter fic I've been trying to finish off for a little while. I hope you enjoy it. I basically wanted to do a date night fic for the Snarky Potion Masters, but the logistical challenges made it so much more fun to write.
The title is from a truly gorgeous Jess Ribeiro song of the same name. The lyrics hit me for them pretty hard.
"You can have everything right here beside me
All you have to do is
Take a risk and
Slip the leash"
Go listen to it, it's gorgeous.
Otherwise, enjoy the antics. I don't own them at all.
1
In the Current my Trust
Hecate Hardbroom and Severus Snape try to keep away from the gaze of others as much as possible. They are private people. They have managed to keep their marriage secret for years now, and don't wish to break the streak. To top it off, they are in near constant danger from Voldemort and his Death Eaters. While there are good reasons Hecate and Severus rarely venture to public places together, this has never quelled the couple's desire to imprint their history on new pieces of the world. They restrict their outings to evenings, two of the world's most skilled magicians slipping through the continents for a few hours at a time in the dead of night.
They take whatever opportunity for an evening outing they can, taking turns to surprise the other with their destination. The lover responsible for the destination is also responsible for the mode of travel. This is one of the small issues our pair chooses to quibble over in their relationship. Apparating still doesn't quite agree with Hecate, and Severus dislikes the lack of control he has when she uses transfer spells. But this is, of course, a minor rankle in an otherwise harmonious coexistence.
Severus also doesn't much like riding broomsticks. He can, at a pinch, but it has always seemed to him the least efficient mode of magical transportation. Given this, he is somewhat put out when his wife calmly hands him his broomstick before they set out for the night's outing. He has spent the afternoon relaxing himself into the idea of transferring, not flying.
Hecate is wearing a heavy travelling cloak, hat, and gloves. There is no indication she is joking. She eyes him with an eyebrow cocked, silently asking what he's waiting for. She is already perched primly on her own hovering broomstick. She is the archetypal witch at this moment in time. Were he not so confused by what they're about to do, he might kiss her.
"Severus?" She queries, snapping him out of his reverie.
"My apologies." He says, mounting the broom and kicking off from the ground. They fly ten metres into the air, and Severus turns to her. "Might I have some indication of where we're going?"
"No, you may not. You may follow along like a good boy." Her eyes flash wickedly, and Severus tries to quell his flash of irritation at the phrase 'good boy'. Hecate waves her hand and Severus' broom aligns itself to hers. She has cast an obedience spell upon it. He has never been more irritated by her, regardless of how much he loves her. They fly for an hour, at one point, frustrated, Severus decides to race ahead of her. His broom falls back in line with hers, bound by the spell. He glares at her half-heartedly, while his wife shoots him a wry smile.
"Let's restrict races to times we both know where we're going, shall we, Professor?" He can't help but be swept up in her, and the suggestion of a smile fights its way onto his lips.
He spends the rest of the flight trying to devise some kind of revenge to take against her when their destination is next his selection.
By the time Severus cannot feel his fingers from the chill wind whipping at him, Hecate begins their descent, landing them neatly on the tessellated-tile floor of an elaborate cast iron bandstand. The bandstand is located on a small island, and occupies almost the entirety of the space. There is no one else present; Hecate removes her gloves primly and waves a newly bare hand to make the lanterns spark to life. Severus looks about himself, noting the astrological chart depicted on the tiles beneath his feet. Particular points on the moon cycle are marked with symbols Severus has never before come upon. He knows the moon cycle well enough, however, to note that they have arrived here at a marked time.
"I take it this is more than a random visit?" He asks, gesturing to the tiles.
"You are a quick study sometimes, aren't you, darling?" She drawls with a provocative glint in her eyes. He would swear any oath that the longer they are married the more frequently this drawling tone pops up. If asked Hecate would claim she's caught the affectation from her husband.
Severus, irritable and frustrated from the journey, pulls his wife roughly against his chest. He is mid-way through deciding whether to kiss her or growl some playful threat at her, like tying her up and teasing her to near death.
Before he can decide which, a noise distracts him, the sound coming from the rocks beyond the island. Severus is too distracted to notice his wife gently bringing her hands to his elbows. His face is turned out to the ocean, while hers remains trained on him, watching him calculate and consider.
Slowly, he realises the sound from the rocks is in fact singing.
"Who is out there?" Severus asks her, tight and anxious at the prospect of being discovered.
"Mermaids." Hecate replies calmly.
"Mermaid song cannot be heard above water." Severus says, turning back to her. His tension is amusing her, but she attempts to conceal it. She knows she's at very real risk of aggravating him to the point where he no longer enjoys the evening.
"The Hogwarts mermaids are freshwater mermaids, Severus. Saltwater mermaids have long tempted sailors to their death singing from the shore."
In truth, Severus' knowledge of magical creatures is rather restricted to those he can use in potions. He's never paid that much mind to mermaid songs, has never felt let-down enough by not hearing the Hogwarts mermaids sing to seek out a different species of the creature. As the song begins in earnest, twelve chairs rise from the floor of the bandstand, for the regular viewers. Hecate frees herself from him gently, leaving one hand curved around his so she can lead him to a seat.
Sensing his reluctance, Hecate says "People don't often come to see the mermaids sing this late. The light attracts them back for the later performance."
With this in mind he sinks willingly into the seat beside her
Having never heard the music of mermaids, Severus is quickly taken by the beauty of it, drawn into their warm, alluring song. Severus comes to understand why muggles shipwreck themselves to find the source of such beautiful music.
Hecate loses herself in the sound of the waves, the gentle saline breeze whispering over her face, and lets these qualities enhance the music. The song is enchanting, and the mermaids performing it beautiful. Saltwater mermaids are more humanoid than their freshwater counterparts, closer to those that pervade muggle fairy tales. Hecate studies the rich hues of their gleaming tales, the wet lengths of their hair cascading over their bare torsos. or a brief moment, Hecate wonders at the wisdom of taking her husband to listen to the entirely enchanting music of bare-breasted women, but when she turns to him, she finds his gaze already upon her. Severus lifts his hand and caresses her face. His eyes are soft as he runs them over her, and Hecate almost shies from the intensity of his affection. She nuzzles into his hand, before peeling it from her face and leaving their fingers laced together, dangling between their chairs.
The mermaids sing of love, and desire. They sing of the ever-changing but constant nature of the ocean, of the world no human will ever truly know. Severus lets the words wash over him, the melodies calming, even though some of the mermaids' words are hitting rather too close to home. The love of which they sing is eternal and earth shifting. The kind of love that alters one to their very molecules. It is the kind of love Severus feels for his wife.
Even if they were in the middle of a crowded London street rather than some unknown corner of the ocean, Severus would feel they were the only people for miles, with the mermaids' song directed just at them.
A love that's fit to outlast time
Is but a breath away.
Yet such a love, beest thine,
Slips further every day.
With this love you must entwine
And trust us when we say
For reasons, ill, true, or divine,
Should someone gift their heart to you
That bond you never can undo.
When the mermaids have been reached their threshold for being in the air, they draw their performance to a close and dive extravagantly back into the ocean. When the mermaids have been reached their threshold for being in the air, they draw their performance to a close and dive extravagantly back into the ocean. The couple rises, and the chairs are absorbed once more by the tiled floor. Severus rests his forehead against his wife's, holding her softly by the waist.
"Thank you for educating me on the subject of mermaids, Cate." He mumbles.
Hecate smirks. "Someone needs to continue your education, darling."
She moves away from him, handing him his broomstick. Hecate sees, rather than hears, her husband groaning at the thought of the return journey. She crosses to kiss him, to soothe his displeasure with her mouth. It works momentarily, but as soon as they part his expression clouds over a little. She moves his unoccupied hand to her waist, and with her eyes glinting wryly, Hecate transfers them back to the cottage.
Severus is turned about when they land, taking in the familiar room suspiciously, as if she's transfigured the bandstand simply to lull him into a false sense of security. While he's adjusting to the idea, Hecate transfers their broomsticks to the stand in the kitchen and sheds her travelling cloak. Severus looks to his now empty hand with a frown.
"Dare I ask why we were required to fly towards our destination but not home?"
Hecate looks at him levelly. "'Required' is somewhat an overstatement." She continues moving about their kitchen, making unnecessary little adjustments to the objects about the room. She can feel his eyes bore questioningly into her back. When she turns to face him once more, she answers his unasked question. "The journey there was for dramatic effect."
She can see his blood-pressure increasing from across the room, decides to catch it before he gives himself a headache. Hecate ghosts up behind him and breathes against the back of his neck "You should never underestimate the benefits of anticipation, Severus…"
He can no longer find it within himself to be irritated with her.
A/N2: The chapter title is from the song In The Current by Tim Freedman.
"In the current my trust
And to the sea -
Surrender and obey and please
Send my love and say the mermaids sing to me"