AN: My apologies for the short chapters. This is so I can update more regularly than I normally do (to date it has been daily!) - already this is the longest and most updated fic I have ever written :D I'd also like to thank you for reading this. Seriously, you have no idea how ridiculously excited I get as the 'visitors' count goes up, especially as it gets down in the chapters.
As always, many thanks to Beloved-Stranger! I am looking forward to eating my delicious dark ghana peppermint Whittakers tomorrow...
no-name - I am greatly heartened by your comments that the plot is new and interesting! As for the two realities - all will be explained as Severus understands more about his current predicament. I can, however, confirm that Dumbledore is not involved.
AND ONWARD! This is completely un-betad and fresh off my brain. I don't own diddly squat except Alexis and Freya.
Edit: Fixed, now with dustpan and brush.
"I do not expect this to be the last time we discuss this. I will take Freya with me to Hogwarts for the day and will return her in time for her evening meal. Please let Alexis know," Albus said, temper bleeding away with the sun. He turned and stepped out into the morning, more alive than Severus could ever remember seeing him.
It took Severus several minutes to move. This was … beyond comprehension. His mind and stomach churned. The pancakes had gone cold. It would be impolite to eat the pancakes, anyway, as they had been made for a man that was not he.
The dining area was warm and inviting, tidy and organised yet filled with things that only emphasised what he was not. A wizarding photograph caught his eye and he moved to pick it up. It was … himself, smiling, planting a kiss on Alexis' cheek with the child, Freya, perched on his hip. He had never really seen himself smile. He never really smiled. There hadn't been anything to smile about in a very long time.
He padded into the lounge. The Jarrah timberworked floor bathed the room in warmth. Cream-white couches and a Burlington slate fireplace dominated the area, with scattered piles of books and soft toys covering a mahogany and glass coffee table. Similarly deep-red book cases lined one side of the lounge, books half-hidden by a couch. A glance over the spines showed muggle works – Rudyard Kipling being the only author Severus could recognise.
The fireplace mantle was home to cards, drawings, little statues of cats, and above that … This Severus had a blessed existence. It was a photograph, a stationary muggle image, of himself and Alexis on their wedding day. He was struck with jealousy. Here was a man who could smile, whose eyes could fill with joy, and beside him was a woman in love.
It stung.
Shattering glass and a cry broke his thoughts. His feet were already carrying him out of the lounge and down the hallway. His hand wrenched open an unnoticed door and he hurtled through. He finally stopped himself at the foot of the stairs, at the entrance of the most immaculate and perfectly laid out potions laboratory he had ever seen.
The cause of the smash was easy to see – a glass vial of lavender flowers had shattered on the marble floor leading into a back room. Alexis, head bowed and arms wrapped around her stomach, slumped on the edge of a freshly made bed, staring at the mess. Severus edged forwards until his toes nearly touched the purple petals.
"I'm sorry," Alexis muttered. She pulled a dustpan and brush out from under the cupboard and quickly whisked up the glass and flowers and pushed the cabinet door shut. "I've prepared a bed for you down here, I hope you don't mind." Keeping her head low – an attempt at hiding the fresh tracks down her face – she brushed past Severus and ascended the stairs.
"Thank you," he said to the empty room.
Pretty please review with chocolate sprinkles on top!