Disclaimer; I do not own anything, nor do I profit from this story.. unless you count the happiness it provides. :]
Note; Geez.. I feel like a butthead. Sorry for the long wait.. I've been thoroughly sucked into True Blood/The Sookie Stackhouse series. I also apologize for the confusion of the last note. I wasn't meaning that I'd stop writing the story by any means, I just wanted to know if my story was losing it's gusto and would just turn into an overall lame story.. or if I was still on the right track of writing an awesome story. So, let me know what you think, if you want, and it will encourage me to put out another chapter quicker. :]
P.S. Oh! I'm also sorry for the shorter chapter, but I felt bad for the terribly long wait and wanted to update sooner with a shorter chapter rather than later with a longer chapter. :]
P.P.S I tried to post this several days ago, but fanfiction is being stupid. So I'm sorry for the even longer delay. :[
Unexpected Affections
Severus awoke early the next morning with his armed comfortably wrapped around Ophelia, who had shifted in her sleep. They were spooning – even though he would deny knowing the terminology later – and the warmth of her body was one of the best things that he had felt in a long time. He carefully lifted his hand to move the hair out of her face, and openly stared. Ophelia was beautiful, even though she was so young. The shade of her hair reminded him of Lily's, but it was a much lighter shade with a little brown mixed in. He watched the rise and fall of her chest for a moment, and then his gaze lower to her belly. His child was inside that womb, and he surprised himself by being excited to see his little girl grow up to be one of the best witches of her age.
His large hand moved to cover her belly, and he could have worn that he felt the baby kick. He jumped slightly, causing Ophelia to stir awake. Her eyelids revealed sharp gray eyes, and, upon seeing seeing Severus watching her, smiled. She stretched, groaning slightly as she did, and then turned to face him. She moved towards him, snuggling back up to his side as she murmured, "Good morning, Severus."
"Morning, Ophelia. How did you sleep?" His voice was relaxed, and tired but not uncommon since she had come to live with him. Her fingers trailed softly up and down his chest, leaving goosebumps as she went.
"Mmm." Was all she replied with, but she was smiling. Her eyes closed once more, and Severus had half expected her to be asleep again. He was still admiring her looks, surprised by how she had seemed to grow up in the last months. Her eyes held a maturity that he hadn't seen in anyone that was young enough to attend Hogwarts in a long time. Ophelia was almost glowing, and maybe it was because she seemed to be quite happy at the moment, but it was almost contagious. Just looking at her overwhelming happiness made him want to smile, which was so completely opposite to his norm. "I hope that I haven't made you uncomfortable, Severus," her voice startled him. She was just reveling in his warmth, and was oblivious to his stare and train of thought. She slowly sat up, and looked at her former professor straight in the eyes. He shook his head, and she spoke again, "Isn't it weird, though? The whole situation, I mean."
Severus couldn't continue looking into her eyes, so he stared at the blankets covering their bodies. He could hardly begin describing his feelings at the moment! Anger, shame, desire, happiness... everything was so mixed together that he didn't understand. He nodded, but decided to change the subject immediately. "I must be going back to the school, but I will be coming back home tonight," his voice was no louder than a murmur. He paused, pondering that he now considering this home, but until this moment he had always considered Hogwarts his home. His face softened into what Ophelia could consider a smile, "If you'll have me."
"Oh! I would love it if you came back!" she grinned at him. She slowly sat up and stated that she needed to use the restroom, but would cook breakfast immediately after.
Ophelia reminisced those mornings events , as she was resting on one of her walks. She had taken this walk earlier on in the day than she had been over the last several weeks, but that was because she and Severus actually had plans for once. It had been a couple months since that morning, and their relationship had been much better. They had settled into a routine; he would come home around 10 pm, Ophelia would have a cup of tea with him and then they'd go to sleep. Their morning breakfast was quite early the next day, but she was happy to cook for him before he left. The weekends were different, however, and they were a treat for her: Severus would make breakfast for her – often delivering it to her in bed – and they would just relax until he was needed at the school.
Even though their relationship had drastically changed for the better, they hadn't spoken much of it. Ophelia's last decision had been that she would, at the very least, tell Severus of her feelings for him, but to try to get him to love her, just as she loved him. So she had been constantly contemplating their relationship, and was watching it grow. One thing that she had noticed, was that he always avoided talking about his past but would constantly ask her about hers. She assumed that he was ashamed and afraid that if he shared the story, she would hate and runaway from him. This complicated things just a bit, because that made it harder to coax him to love her.
Her thoughts were interrupted as she came back into the clearing that the house was settled in. She grinned, starting to waddle a little quicker to freshen up before Severus came home. They were going to be magically adding another room to the house. The addition itself was going to be fairly easy, but they were also going to be decorating the room. Ophelia was excited because this meant that the birth was getting closer, and that raven haired vixen in her womb would have the perfect room to grow up in. As she finished freshening up, she heard Severus enter the kitchen. She called to him from the bedroom, "Severus! I'm in here!"
Severus smiled, genuinely smiled, as he hung up his cloak and went to her. He had had a long day at the school, and was looking forward to remodeling his new home. After exchanging the normal greetings, she excitedly laced her fingers with his and pulled him outside to start. They're hands were still linked as Severus muttered the incantations to stretch the roof and allow another room to form underneath. This process may have only taken fifteen minutes or so, but Severus couldn't help feel her hand entwined with his every moment. Once the rebuilding was done, she rushed him back inside to redecorate. Ophelia stopped short of doorway in awe, admiring his work, and he stood right behind her. Their bodies were touching, and Severus subconsciously leaned forward to whisper into her ear, "Do you like it?"
There was a large closet to the right of the entrance, but Ophelia wouldn't be surprised if Severus would need to enlarge it later on as their daughter became a teenager. The window gave a gorgeous view of the deep blue ocean and allowed an even better view of the sunset. Ophelia turned her steel gray eyes to meet his deep, dark eyes. "Oh, Sev! It's perfect! She's going to love it," she exclaimed with a bright grin. Fighting the urge to lean in and kiss Ophelia was impossible, and Severus loved the way that her soft pink lips molded to his, and was only slightly surprised to feel her smile into the small kiss. His smile was smaller, but no less genuine.
