July

In their first months on Arki, he and Rose were rarely at home. Compared with life at Hogwarts, or even in muggle London, the amount of freedom they had on the island was astounding. They could go anywhere, do anything they wanted. They were even allowed to take the ferry to nearby islands as long as they cleared it in advance. And it wasn't just the freedom that was intoxicating. Everything here was so different and new.

The sere landscape was beautiful and alien. The magic was so old and so near the surface. The culture of the islanders was so incredibly warm and welcoming. It didn't matter who they ran in to, everyone was happy to spend a bit of time chatting with, and more often than not, feeding them.

Especially Mama. After comparing the morning offerings at the cottage with those down the hill, they quickly settled into the routine of taking their breakfast at her house every day. It let Severus and Mum make googly eyes at each other in peace, and it got them these crazy breakfasts that sounded disgusting (egg yolk and sugar on bread? Really? Really?) and somehow ended up tasting soooooo good. Not that Severus wasn't a good cook, he was. But he steadfastly refused to prepare anything more complicated that tea and toast in the morning. If they wanted something better, they were on their own. Rose claimed that this was his Slytherin way of manipulating them over to Mama's. If so, he had to admit that it worked pretty effectively.

At first, he'd worried about burdening Mama...after all, she was so old. So at Rose's insistence, he finally gave in and checked. It shocked him to realize that rather than feeling burdened, Mama was beside herself with joy at having them so consistently under foot. Having them around made her feel...satisfied somehow, though how having two ravenous teenagers show up at your table every morning was satisfying was beyond him. But it worked for her, and it worked for them, so he ceased fretting about it.

After breakfast, they'd run home, stuff their rucksacks full of food, and head off towards whatever destination appealed to them. They visited the sea cave where the crazy old magician lived when Mama was a girl. They explored the ruined monastery, the temple remains, the abandoned church. They combed beaches, explored tide pools, waded out to sandbars and small islands. They hung out with the villagers, milked goats, helped with cheese making, took rides with the fishermen, and spent long days floating like corks in the calm waters off Taganakia.

SSSS

The only rule to their summer existence was that they had to be home by sunset…or else. They'd never experienced the "or else," but with Severus in the house, they were utterly uninterested in doing so. So they were generally home well before then.

By the time they'd tromp in, dusty and tired, Mum and Severus would be sitting on the terrace, having a glass of wine, watching the sky. All four of them would hang out, give what Severus referred to as the debrief of the day. They'd hear about Mum and Severus' latest research project, and then they'd chatter about what they'd seen and done, all the while watching the sun quench itself in the harbour.

Once the sun was down, they'd all head into the kitchen to help Severus with dinner. Mum was allowed to slap the temporary extending charm on the space so that they could all work together, and she was allowed to chop basic ingredients, but otherwise was banished from the work. Rose had claimed baking as her culinary interest, so she would trot out whatever bread or cookie or cake she had learned under Mama's tutelage. He himself had proven to have a particularly good hand with marinating and cooking goat and lamb for some reason. So in general, Severus handled the surf, while he spearheaded the turf part of any meal. While that was going on, Mum would set the table on the terrace, and when it was ready, they'd all sit down to eat.

On the weekends, the conversation was free flowing and fun. But during the weekdays, Severus insisted that the four of them have an intellectual discussion over dinner. He insisted that their minds need not entirely atrophy just because it was summer vacation. At first these conversations had felt stilted and formal. But after a few weeks he found himself beginning to enjoy it, and it was obvious that both Mum and Rose loved the chance to dig in to whatever topic was at hand.

Muggle politics, Greek history and its relevance to the present day, theories of mystigenisis, moral quandaries, they were all fair game. After dinner, each of them would suggest a topic, the would vote on the one with most interest, and have 24 hours to go forth and find something of worth to bring to the table.

Given the intellectual make-up of the people at the table, the topic du-jour often resulted in cheerful, loud, and spirited debate. Rose and Severus, in particular, loved to fight opposite sides of an issue, nose-to-nose. But his favourite was watching Severus and Mum take each other on. He smiled to himself. They were so well matched those two. And though the issues got sometimes heated, the rule was, no one was allowed to take the table debates personally. And for the most part, strangely, no one did.

It was sort of like a family scrabble game. They discussed and argued, and fought for every point, then put the board game away as soon as pudding was served.

It was a crazy little institution, but Hugo had to admit, he was fond of it.

SSSS

After dinner, Rose, whose curfew began at sundown, would disappear to her bedroom for one of her marathon mobile conversations with Scorpius.

He, however, being above the age of majority, was free to head out if he wished. He could walk the beach at night, or go to the makeshift outdoor movie theatre in the square. But more often than not, he went to the Taverna to play Backgammon with Tedo, and to flirt with Pikinos. The curvy waitress was young, pretty, and had made her interest in him so abundantly clear that one did not need to be an empath to feel it.

SSSS

So obvious were Pikinos' overtures that Severus was not overly surprised when Hugo finally approached him to speak on the matter.

"Severus, you know Pikinos, don't you?"

Severus lifted a single eyebrow.

Hugo coughed. "Well, of course you do. Sorry. Well, uh, the thing is...she wants, uh, wants to have sex with me. And she's projecting that pretty loudly."

"Is she?" Severus drawled. "I had not noticed."

Hugo blushed. "That obvious, huh? I didn't even have to look."

Severus lifted another eyebrow.

Hugo stammered. "Well, I did look, just to be sure you know, because girls can be weird, but the point is, I didn't need to. The invitation was pretty clear."

"Indeed." Severus closed his book and gave his full attention to the boy. "And what do you intend to do about it?"

Hugo looked at him as if he were crazy. "Well, I intend to take her up on it. Of course."

"Of course." The boy was eighteen after all, and only recently freed from the press of other people's emotions. But unless he was sorely mistaken, Pikinos was not the right match for this bright, loving young man.

Proceed carefully, Snape told himself. "And your feelings about her are..."

Hugo sighed. "Severus, stop worrying. And before you ask, no, I did not look. It's written on your face." He scrubbed a hand over his freckled forehead. "Look. I know Piki is not 'the one'. I'm not in love with her. And she's not in love with me. She's a little bored and she thinks I'd be fun to pass the time with. And she's funny and pretty, and she likes me as a person, and she thinks I'm cute and, well..." He trailed off with a tinge of hopelessness in his voice. "Can't that be enough...for now?"

He considered. Pikinos might not be overly bright, and she might be rather free with her favours, but she was good-natured, and unlikely to wound the boy. As long as Hugo's heart was not in danger of becoming engaged, he saw nothing wrong with the two of them enjoying each other. So he nodded his agreement.

"For now. But longer term, you will need someone with more…substance. However, you hardly need my permission. You are of majority. Which you know. So you wanted to speak to me on this matter because..."

Hugo rolled his eyes in exasperation. "Because I've never had sex before, and I want to be good at it, and I understand from good authority that you have, um, skills."

Snape, who had just taken a sip of his tea, had to use all of his body control to resist snorting it through his nose. While he had suspected something of the sort as Hugo's intention when he started the conversation, he had not expected the boy to be so...direct about it. Trust a Gryffindor to throw subtlety to the wind.

The idea of talking to this young man about the techniques and subtleties of skilful sex made him...well it made him bloody uncomfortable is what it made him. Now why should that be? He'd often discussed such matters with his Slytherins. Furthermore, he had always deplored the indirect and vague sexual information most parents provided their children. If only parents provided their children with clear, factual sexual information, he'd always believed, many of the pitfalls of young love might be avoided.

And yet here he was, being consulted upon this very topic, and for some reason his instinctive desire was to run as fast as he could. The last thing he wanted to be doing was offering sex tips to THIS eighteen year-old boy. But this communication, he reminded himself, was a privilege. The boy was treating him like a father, and he must act accordingly. But first things first.

"Rose, if you're going to lurk in the shadows, I'd recommend you disillusionment charm first. "

Chagrined, Rose emerged from her hiding place behind the sofa. "I would have if I were of age." She grumbled. "How did you see me there?"

Severus snorted. "I did not see you. I heard your smirk."

She snorted back. "Smirks are silent."

"Nonetheless."

"Just so you know," she said, with an exasperation that looked very much like her brother's, "…I never needed any charms before there was another Slytherin in the house."

"Well now you do. You may leave now; Hugo and I have things to discuss."

Rose planned her next statement carefully. Discarded the instinct to whine or to wheedle. This was Severus after all. An emotional ploy would get her booted directly from the door. Logic, however, might do the trick. "If you please, I would prefer to stay; this information may be of use to me in the near future."

It just got better and better. "Rose," Severus said, pinching the top of his nose, "your mother is far better placed to instruct you on the female aspect to these matters than I."

She rolled her eyes. "Yeah. I've already heard all that stuff. I want to hear the male side. I want to know what your side of it feels like, and what men think about, that sort of thing." Her eyes flashed craftily as she found another tactic. "If you won't tell me this, who will? Do you want me asking Scorpius these questions?"

Severus shuddered, and barked an emphatic "No." He then looked somewhat desperately at Hugo, but he got no help there. The boy was long since immune to his sister's interference in most aspects of his life, so he simply shrugged his shoulders in acquiescence, indicating that he didn't mind as long as Severus didn't.

Severus sighed. He minded, but not for any rational reason. Having Rose there shouldn't make him feel any more uncomfortable just because she was female. Therefore he wouldn't let it.

"Very well." He sighed again, and plunged forward. "If you wish to be a skillful lover there are some basic principals that you should know..."

SSSS

Hermione clutched her sides laughing. "Seriously? Both of them at the same time?" She roared. "Oh, better you than me, lover. I had a hard enough time with the required reproductive talk. And that was separately. Together? And they wanted sex tips from you?" She laughed again. "Oh, Merlin. I can just imagine the questions now."

He hadn't really seen the humour in it, but Hermione's reaction was pulling him in. "I'm not sure that you can." He chuckled. "Rose's imagination is...impressive. I almost pity poor Scorpius."

Hermione chortled again at length, to the point where Severus began to worry vaguely about the lack of oxygen to her brain.

He shook his head. "The worst was discussing techniques for delaying ejaculation. I had just introduced the 'dead pups' technique..." He had to pause for a moment to make himself heard over Hermione's roar, "when everything got truly out of control. Hugo was horrified, while Rose was laughing so hard I was sure she would do herself injury. Very much as you are doing now."

Hermione unsuccessfully did her best to dial down her laughter, while Severus simply watched in amusement. At length, she succeeded in bringing herself down to a dignified giggle...until she looked at his face and began to ramp up at him.

Gods, how he loved this woman. Loved her ability to simply surrender to the joys of life, to laugh and laugh like there was no pain anywhere in the world. But if she didn't breathe soon, she was going to pass out. He smirked. If he couldn't calm her, he would simply have to...redirect her focus. It was a skill he'd been honing over the months that they'd been lovers, and he had it down to a science.

He stalked over to her. He knew she watched him when he moved, read the tenors of his emotions in the movements of his body. So he approached with mock ferocity, and took her into his arms. Using his deepest voice, he ground out the word "Enough." That tone of voice, he knew from experience, had the surprising, but felicitous, effect of turning her legs to water. Sure enough, her laughter died rapidly as he pulled her body into contact with his.

"Granger," he said, drawling and enunciating every word"…after today's conversation with your children, it appears that once again, you...owe...me."

He paused, held her still against the entire surface of his body, felt her breathing go shallow, and watched with satisfaction as the dominant emotion in her eyes shift from mirth to arousal. Invitation had been offered, and her body moulded into his in a gesture of complete acceptance.

"How, oh how," she said in her throatiest voice, "can I make it up to you?" She tipped her head back, baring her throat to him in a gesture of surrender. Apparently, she knew his triggers too.

The sight of her offering her neck to him sent blood flowing to recently discussed parts of the male anatomy. "I am sure," he growled, as he lowered his mouth, "you will think of something."

SSSS

The next day, Hermione was preparing to practice yoga on the terrace when Rose came and sat next to her. Normally, by this time of day, she and her brother would be out adventuring, but today Hugo was off with Pikinos, and Rose had been left behind. From the look on her face, Hermione knew that her daughter was troubled by something more than losing her travel partner.

"Hello you." She said, in their traditional greeting.

"Hello you." Rose answered back, dispiritedly.

"Looks like you're chewing on something. Want to talk to me about what's up?"

Rose nodded, sighed, walked into the comfort of her mother's arms. After a moment or two, she began to cry.

Hermione let her weep for a while, stroking her back in response. After a few minutes, she began to probe. "What's wrong, baby?"

"Mum," Rose said, her voice heavy with tears, "I almost called Severus Dad yesterday." Her voice hitched, and she had to take two deep breaths before she could speak more words. "He was talking to us about sex, and we were pushing his buttons, and he was so earnest, trying so hard to do the right thing, and it was so much like tormenting Dad that it just, almost, slipped out." Her shoulders shook with the force of her emotion. "I feel horrible."

Rose buried her face deeper into her mother's shoulder, and took another deep shuddering breath. "I promised him I'd never forget him, and now it hasn't even been three years since he died and I'm already calling another man Dad. I feel like...I feel like," her voice rose to a wail, "Oh, Mum, I feel like I've betrayed him."

Rose sobbed in her arms, and Hermione took a shuddering breath of her own. Where was the parenting manual that told you the right way to handle moments like this? Where was the book that gave one detailed instructions on what to say to help a child rebuild from the deepest loss a young person could endure? She longed for answers, a textbook, a roadmap…but in her heart, she knew that there were none. So she sighed, and proceeded to do what good parents have done since the dawn of time. She followed her instincts, and gave her child the deepest words of her heart.

"Oh, my Rose. My sweetheart," Hermione said, rocking her child in her arms. "I can understand how you might feel that way. I felt that way a little when I started to fall in love with Severus. But I know your dad wouldn't have minded." She ran her fingers over her daughter's silky hair, and hoped that she would get the next part right. "Whether you choose to do so or not, your father would be thrilled to know that you found someone you trusted enough to want to call by that name."

She could feel Rose calming in her arms, so she kept rocking, kept stroking that hair. "He told us, remember? He said we were to go out and live 'brilliant beautiful lives' after he left us. Remember that? Those were his exact words. Brilliant beautiful lives. Don't you think he would be upset if any of us passed on happiness out of loyalty to him? Don't you think that having someone you can love like a father is part of a brilliant beautiful life?"

Rose pulled away. Hermione's heart broke at how adult her sixteen year-old daughter suddenly looked.

"Brilliant beautiful lives." Rose said, ruefully, a bittersweet smile on her face. "He did say that." Then her eyes teared up. The adult look vanished, replaced by a vulnerability that made her appear suddenly younger than her years. "But, Mummy," she said, the tears once again streaming down her pale cheeks, "...Are you sure that he meant it?"

This, at least, Hermione knew how to handle. "Rose Molly Weasley, first Weasley in Slytherin House in three generations," Hermione said, her voice stern, "Did your father love you?"

The voice had its intended effect. Rose sat up straight, pulled herself together and nodded, "He did," she sniffed, "He loved me. He really really did."

"Then" she said, putting all the love and encouragement she could in the smile she beamed at her beautiful daughter, "I am absolutely sure."

Rose nodded. Looked her mother in the eye. Took another shuddering breath. "Then if you don't mind, I think I'm going to change my mind about the whole oath thing. Would you tell Severus I said yes?"

Hermione shook her head. "Nope."

"You're going to make me do it myself, aren't you?"

"Yep."

"Mum."

"Yes."

"I'm scared."

"I know baby."

"But I'm going to do it anyway." She took a deep breath, gave her mother an arch glance. "You know, Slytherins can be brave too."

Hermione pulled her daughter into her arms for another hug. "Yes, my love, they sure can."

SSSS

Author's Rant du Jour: When we lose someone with whom we are in romantic love, there is the societal expectation that eventually we will love again. (And thank goodness for that; it's just about the only part of dealing with grief that our culture gets right.)

But the cultural expectation when one loses a parent is that person can never be replaced. And that may be true. What one can do, however, if one is extremely lucky, is find someone who can fill the role the departed parent has left empty.

Sometimes people who are lucky enough to find a second parent call them by a parental name, sometimes not. But names have power. I believe that calling a person by the name of father, or mother, or any derivative thereof elevates the relationship to another level. Rose knows this in her heart. To call Severus Dad is a terrifying thing. It says goodbye to her beloved father, and opens the door to loving someone else just as much, which is a scary thing when your heart is still healing.

Thanks for reading,

Theolyn