A/N: Hey everybody I know it has taken absolutely forever to get this post up and for that I am truly sorry. I have been extremely busy with the internship and my computer crashed and I lost everything. So the half a chapter I had managed to find time to write disappeared, so I had to find time to dredge it out of my memory once again. I suggest that if there is something that any of you really want to save than you email it to yourself and keep it on the email server. It really does help and I was able to save and keep most of the things on my computer as a back up on the server. Well enough with my chatter and on to the next chapter. Thanks to everyone who has stuck with me so faithfully, I am ever so grateful.
Chapter 10
Making a House a Home
After Hermione's admission to being able to shift there was a moment of silence between the two of them as they each contemplated the statement the other had made. They had both just admitted to each other that they were aniamagis. True, Severus' sounded nearly as if it had been a slip of the tongue, while Hermione's had been significantly more straight forward. This though, seemed to fit in with both their personalities as well as their house traits.
"What are you and when did you learn?" Hermione asked him quietly after a few minutes.
"I am a Raven, I learned soon after I became a spy for Dumbledore. We both felt that it would be a useful skill to have in my arsenal. It certainly came in handy more times that in would like to admit in my time in service to the Order. You are currently the second person still alive that knows my secret. I would hope that it stays that way." He told her. "Minerva was the one to teach me."
"I guess I shall not ask if you are registered or not then." She commented. "I can understand why you would not want others to know about your abilities. Especially considering what you were able to do and the information you could collect for the side of Light. You needn't worry, I will not tell anyone of your ability." She told him.
"It does fit you though." She said after an almost thoughtful silence a few moments later. "A raven is a highly intelligent and pragmatic sort of bird that is seen as an omen of ill will by some, and by others seen as a good luck sign. A complex creature for a complex wizard and you are certainly a complex man Severus. I am extremely lucky to have you as my husband and for that I am grateful. There is no one else I believe who could have fit me as well as you do." She told him smiling and snuggling closer as he tightened his grip around her shoulders, reveling in the feel of her skin beside his own. "I love you so much." She told him. "I am a very lucky woman."
"And I am a very lucky wizard. I have a beautiful wife who I love and loves me back as well as we share similar abilities and powers. Being animagis is just one more layer of similarity which we can experience together. I don't think I could be much happier than I am now." He sighed, kissing her forehead as she rested her head against his neck and shoulder. Hermione smiled and cuddled closer, her eyes closing and drifting off for a nap before dinner. Severus followed her example as he let his eyes droop as the sound of her breathing and the feel of her breath on his chest lulled him to sleep.
Despite the lure of the library nearly the entirety of the house proper was investigated by Hermione within a week. She however had not conducted what she felt was a proper inventory of what the library held, nor had see seen more than the door to the labs. But the main place she knew about, but still had not conquered, and seriously questioned if she would ever be able to, was the attic.
Upon entering the attic for the first time she was struck by how much stuff had been accumulated and put in the place. She also found it to be surprisingly dusty. She knew that the house elves were notorious for making sure everything was spotless, or at least very near. But it seemed that even with the house left alone, without any humans to take care of, the house elves had been unable to attack or perhaps keep up with the deluge of dust. She was quite nearly convinced that dust had magical properties that drew it like a magnet to attics, even magical ones, no matter how much cleaning was attempted. She decided that she would make it her personal goal to empty, or at least make some sort of a dent in the attic's menagerie of things before she died. She was quite sure that it would be practically impossible to sort through it all in a lifetime as it seemed that it had taken many lifetimes and generations to build up in the attic.
Severus had spent nearly no time down in his labs in the basement yet. It had been around a week to a week and half since he had married Hermione and brought her to his childhood home to live. He had spent some time down in the labs brewing by himself new batches of common medical Potions, mainly things that would need to be stocked in a bathroom closet for the unlikely event someone got sick or caught a cold. He had also spent a good chunk of time modifying the wards to the house, the property and the boundaries of the manner so that Hermione could apparate within the general anti-apparation ward over the Snape family lands. For the most part he had spent his time being amused by his new wife's boundless curiosity and enthusiasm for her new mansion. He would follow her around for part of the day, watching as she searched each new room with a fine tooth comb, intent on learning the house's every secret. Other parts of time were spent in the library reading and catching up on a few of the Potions periodicals he had been unable to find time to read yet in his marriage.
He had not yet mentioned anything about drawing her away from her quest for knowledge of the house in regards to brewing in the basement labs. Although, this curtsey did not extend to the interruption of her investigations by more amorous ideas or suggestions; despite the numerous disruptions she was more than happy to participate in such a diversion. It was actually Hermione that was the one to bring up brewing.
"When are we going to start work on the Wolfbane Potion?" She asked him one evening about a week and a half after moving into the house.
"Well I was waiting for you to get settled in. I knew you would probably want to explore the house a bit before I begin confining you to the basement labs to slave over hot cauldrons." He smirked down at her as she leaned against him on the couch. "I am actually surprised you have not spent more time here in the library." He commented off hand. "I would have thought that you would have hunkered down in here first and become impossible to dislodge."
"Well, normally in any place I find the library or a collection of books I become immovable. But I now have a whole house to look at that is suddenly all my own. I can not possibly leave any stone unturned or drawer unopened. I have to know what is around me. The library will always be here, but the novelty of having a whole new old house is just too much of a call to resist." She told him. "I will find out all the secretes the library holds eventually, but only after I discover all the nooks and crannies of this amazing old magical house. The only other house that has been the place of residence for anyone magical for any length of time is the Weasley's and Hogwarts if you want to be specific. The house I grew up in doesn't count because my parents were muggles. It has been tremendously fun to explore such a large old magical home."
"I am glad that you are enjoying yourself." Severus smiled. "It is about time someone enjoyed living within these walls. I find myself for perhaps the first time truly happy here at my home."
"Well that is a bit sad that you had to wait all these years to find happiness here." Hermione commented. "But I am honored and happy to be part of the happiness that you feel." Kissing him gently on the lips. "I would love to begin work on the Wolfbane Potion as soon as you are ready. I would like however, some help in the attic. I have grand schemes of either cleaning out, or at least cataloguing what is up there. Besides, perhaps with some organization all the dust that seems charmed to the area will lessen." Severus looked skeptical of this.
"Why do you want to clean out the attic? It is perfectly fine the way it is. There is still room to put things if we really need to."
"I know, but we will have our own memories to put up in the attic, if we are supposed to have at least six children." She smiled. "I would like to at least see what is considered attic worthy in the magical world. Besides I know that it should be possible some how. I was able to clean out the attic of my parents home before I sold it. I am sure that it won't kill either of us if we investigate what is within the deep dark recesses of the attic."
"Remember, this is the Wizarding world. There are thing that live in attics that you will not find in the muggle world. Are you really sure you want to embark on such a… quest?" Severus asked.
"Yes, I am sure. Perhaps we can split the time between me helping you in the lab and you helping me in the attic. I am sure that we will have to find some time in there for a ride or two as well." She looked up at him with her large, expectant honey eyes and Severus could not say no, at least not right then.
"Very well, I suppose it would be interesting to see what some of my ancestors didn't want but couldn't throw away." He sighed. "You do know that you are the only person that I would let talk me into this."
"I know, and I love you too." She smile and kissed him gently again. "I'm sure that it will be fun." Severus snorted at this seeming rather unconvinced on the fun front.
The next day Severus gave Hermione a formal tour of the labs. The labs were huge by any estimation, running the entire length of the ballroom above and were easily twice as wide. Pillars were spaced evenly through out the room to hold up the house, dividing the room into different sections. There were eight large work stations set up in two rows, each within a square area between the pillars. Along one of the long walls were cabinets floor to ceiling, just as in his labs at school, full of ingredients. There were also some ancient looking books in a few of the cabinets near one end. There were two large stone sinks against the other long wall, each with two basins. There were long counters as well that were for cauldrons to be set to cool or wait to be cleaned.
Along the short wall, opposite the door, was a large stone fireplace. From here the room could be heated as well as accessed by Floo. In front of the fireplace was a large couch that appeared to be able to double as a cot with the occasion called for it. There was a large navy rug on the slate floor in front of the hearth and a pair of end tables bookended the couch. On the same wall as the staircase that lead into the labs were three other doors. One leading to the bathroom and the other leading to a well stocked closet containing cauldrons and other hardware needed to brew. A third door lead to a corridor that connected to the kitchens.
"It would appear that you have all the amenities here." Hermione commented after seeing the bathroom, couch and hall to the kitchens. "Perhaps you don't need the rest of the house, just your labs to live relatively comfortably. There is certainly more space in this one room than the entire square footage of a normal sized home. I am surprised you ever ventured forth from such a well stocked and wonderful lab."
"Why do you think I am so pale?" He commented rather dryly, pulling a cauldron from the shelves of the closet. "But duty to the dunderheads has called me out of these wonderful accommodations every year since I became Dumbledore's man."
"Well it didn't seem that the occasional ray of sunshine did you any harm." She smiled. "You certainly got a little bit of color when you were helping me train the horses." Severus merely snorted rather elegantly (Hermione thought) like a horse through his nose and they got down to work on the Wolfbane Potion.
Severus and Hermione spent much of the next few weeks splitting their time between working on the Potion and attacking the attic. They also found time to explore more of the grounds around the house on horseback and together from the air. All in all Severus found that he had, even at his most relaxed time as a bachelor, not been at such ease. He found that he could truly relax in ways he never dreamed possible and slept exceedingly well wrapped in Hermione's arms or cradling her body to his as he slumbered. He even went so far as to refrain from frowning at all hours of the day and even spared himself a smile at least once a day. He still had stress, but he found that he could handle it so much better with his witch beside him and in his bed.
On one of their attacks on the attic Hermione stumbled across what appeared to be possibly a large mirror covered in a drop cloth. Removing the cover Hermione gasped in surprise at seeing a large painting of a beautiful woman sitting demurely on a cushioned stool. Unlike most wizard paintings she did not move as Hermione gazed at her. She did not think much of it at the time, but instead carefully studied the features of the woman before her.
The woman was obviously young, perhaps in her early twenties, perhaps not much older than herself. Her skin was the white of fresh milk and she had deep midnight hair that was swept up on top of her head in a French knot with tiny slightly pink flowers placed in her hair. She wore a dress of what appeared to be peach silk in an almost Victorian style that complemented her skin tone. Gazing at her eyes she was startled to see staring back at her the same deep fathomless eyes that she had gazed into so many times as she made love with her husband. Hermione's eyes wandered to the woman's jewelry and realized that she wore the same diamond and ruby earrings and necklace that Severus had given her to wear at their wedding. Finally she let her eyes wander down to her hands as they lay folded on her lap. On the left hand's ring finger sat the same engagement and wedding band as her own. She did not have to look at the name plate to know who this was, it was Severus' mother.
"She was beautiful." She breathed as Severus came up behind her, staring at the painting with both affection and despair. "You have her coloring, her hair and her eyes." Hermione said quietly.
"She was my mother. The woman I never met." Severus said sadly, with just a hint of bitterness in his voice. "She is the reason I exist and the reason I suffered for so many years. My father loved her and hated me, because I was the one that caused her death by my birth."
"That is in no way your fault." Hermione told him, wrapping her arms around him, nestling her head to his chest. "No one can choose the time, place or parentage of their birth. Childbirth has never been easy, nor has it been without its risks. You were not at fault for coming into this world."
"Well, my father believed that I was the cause of his beloved's death and it was his opinion that mattered, not anyone else's." He told her with a distinct amount of bitterness as he held her tight, as if doing so would make himself feel less of the flood of cutting memories that had come upon him as they discussed current topics. "He made sure that I knew why it was that he did not have his wife and I did not have a mother."
"I am sorry to hear that Severus." She said quietly, catching his lips in a soft, tender kiss, gently caressing his cheek as she looked into his face. "But, don't blame yourself for something you could not change, and certainly don't wish yourself ill because of it. I know I would be lost without you. I would certainly have been without much of the happiness I have now if you were never born." She held him close, running her hand along his back as if comforting a child.
"The Wizarding world would also not be the same, certainly a much darker and more dangerous than it already is. The work that you did in service to the Order was invaluable. Without the years of effort, blood, sweat and stress you put in on the part of a world that saw you with contempt, I suspect that the world as we know it would not exist. It would most likely be controlled by Voldemort and his loyal posse rounding up those they believe to be unworthy and murdering them in cold blood. You were the weight that tipped the balance back towards the side of good. You were invaluable to the Order, and you are eternally, unequivocally invaluable to me. I don't know what I would do anymore if you suddenly disappeared. I would be lost without your love."
"I would never leave you." Severus told her sincerely, caressing her back in turn and holding her tightly, as if he was trying to fuse with her. "I love you more that I could ever express. You are mine." He placed a searing kiss on her lips which Hermione deepened until they were forced to break apart for air. Hermione laid her head against his chest and he placed he chin upon the crown of her head.
"What shall we do with this beautiful painting?" She asked quietly. "I think that it is too beautiful of a painting to be left up here in the attic."
"I have only seen this picture once, when I was young and hid up here. I do not know how I feel about having a picture of the mother I never knew." Severus told her after a moment, after gazing at the picture. "All I know about the picture is that it was done soon after my parents were married. There was one of my father as well, but I have since his death disposed of it. I know that my father moved this painting up here soon after my birth, as it was considered too painful for him to gaze upon."
"I think that we should hang it up downstairs, in the entryway. It would be a lovely picture and it would give her a place in the family that she has not had in a long time. I am sure that it would help somehow. Come to think of it though, why is she not moving? It looks as though it is a muggle painting, but I can't imagine that your Pureblood ancestors would have approved of such a thing."
"It is of magical origin." Severus assured her, holding her close, feeling her comfort and warmth. "As I understand it, magical paintings can take on a muggle appearance after they have been placed in storage, with absolutely no interactions with people or elves. It is like they go into something similar to hibernation or torpor. Once they are re-exposed to an adequate amount of interaction and talking, they will 'wake up' and be like a normal paining once again." Severus explained to her.
"Well that all depends on what you call normal. I can certainly assure you that in the muggle world, 'normal' pictures do not move one bit in their entire lifetimes." She grinned, knowing that she was playing devils advocate about normalcy, trying to lighten the mood that had hung heavy in the room since she had found the painting. "Besides I would have thought someone as intelligent as you would have already figured out by now, that there is no such thing as normal, only average."
"Insufferable Gryffindor." He huffed, nuzzling her neck affectionately. "How ever do I put up with your cheek?"
"You put up with it because you love me." She told him with a chuckle. "And because no one else would put up with your snarky dungeon bat routine. And because you value my help and insight in the lab."
"True, true." He said looking thoughtful. "But I object about the dungeon bat comment. If I were a bat I would certainly not live in a dungeon, it would be far too cold. I aim much more towards the dungeon panther; far warmer with a fur coat, as well as much more lethal with big claws and alike."
"Such big talk from such a tiny kitten." Hermione purred with a devilish grin.
"What?! Tiny kitten indeed!" He huffed, trying to sound cross, but failing and sounding more amused that he realized.
"Yes." Hermione nodded vigorously with a chasseur cat grin. "A tiny kitten with a tiny little roar."
"I will show you a roar my wayward lioness." He said with a grin and reaching out to give her a playful pinch on the rear, making Hermione jump and squeak in surprise. "I know how to roar much louder than you at any time."
Hermione cocked an eyebrow with a grin and then snapped her fingers, calling for one of the house elves. One immediately appeared bowing and scraping as usual. "Clair, please take this beautiful painting down to the main entry way and have it hung below the antlers above the fireplace." Hermione really didn't spare too much attention to the house elf as her attention had been diverted to her husband exploring the contours of her neck.
"Yes Misteress, I will Misteress!" The house elf squeaked over enthusiastically. "Clair will need some help she will. Clair will be back immediately with another to help Misteress!" The house elf then winked out.
"With that out of the way," she almost giggled. "I do believe it is important that I show you how very much I love you, and for you to prove how loud you can roar at the drop of a hat." She drew away from Severus and started sliding towards the door leading to the stairs.
"You really are a straight forward Gryffindor." Severus chuckled as he followed her towards the exit. "Whatever shall I do with you?" He reached out to try and grab her hand.
"Less talk more walk." She grinned, slipping out of the door and down the stairs before he could catch her. Severus merely growled his aroused frustration and stalked out the door to corner her, ready to extract her proof and to have her rescinding her comment about him being tiny. He was anything but tiny.
As the door closed behind him and before the house elves came to relocate her, Selena Snape's portrait blinked and a faint smile tugged at her lips. She knew her son had not had a happy childhood, though there was little she had been able to do. At least now she knew that he was happy as an adult. It seemed that he had come upon the same kind of love she had had with Severus' father. Hopefully there would be a different outcome to her childbirth, resulting in only a birth and not an accompanying death. With a soft chuckle to herself and a slight shake of her head she thought about what she had heard, her Slytherin son had married a Gryffindor and a muggle at that! What an interesting life he would lead indeed! Besides it was high time that some new blood got introduced into the family. She couldn't wait to see what their kids would be like.
A/N: Well I hope you liked it, and that it was worth the wait. I hope to have the next chapter up soon, but do be patient; I don't have any of this written ahead like I did with the first story. So between the internship and the super cute little foals being born and running around things are a bit busy. Hopefully I will have the next chapter up in a week or two, but I know that it will be up, I will not leave this story dangling. It has become my baby and I won't leave it out in the cold. It may take a little while, but it will certainly be posted.
As always, I must thank my wonderful beta Skydancinghobbit for putting up with me and my wild ideas, as well as helping me remember what was in the first portion of the chapter after it was lost in the giant pit of electronic failure when my hard drive died. If you get a chance, take a look at some of her work or look at some of my other fics if you have the time.
As an aside I write these author's notes, while sitting in the barn there is a baby swiftly approaching. Don't know what it is yet, but before the night is through there will be another baby to take care of. Yeah! Well, as I leave you with that joyous thought, I hope you enjoy the chapter and can wait patiently for the next chapter to appear, soon I hope. Live, laugh, love- Dragons Quill