52- Returning from a Journey

six years later

I was sitting at the airport (if you could even call that shabby building an airport) waiting for the plane that would take me back to London, to my husband. What I had once loved about my job as freelance Auror I dreaded now; the assignments that took me to some far-off places, chasing dark wizards. I had loved to travel, I still did. But with Severus and not without him.

We had just celebrated our sixth wedding in Venice (Severus could be so romantic) when Kingsley Shacklebolt had sent me to Southern Patagonia where a former Death Eater was supposed to be hiding. I had only found penguins, lots of penguins. Of course, said Death Eater could have been a penguin Animagnus but there was no proof for that. I had cast several Revelio spells over various groups of penguins and not a single one had transformed into a human being, instead the penguins had given me indignant glances. Merlin, I really wanted to be back home.

Six years after Lord Voldemort's defeat the wizarding world was still at peace- relatively, since there would never be magic without someone dabbling with the Dark Arts. Life was wonderful and when I wasn't called away for an assignment, I really enjoyed the bliss of marital life. It seemed we had grown even closer throughout the years. We complemented one another, Severus and I; and while I was like a fresh wind shooing all the dark clouds away that had darkened his pervious life, he grounded me.

I missed him so. Two weeks with penguins was really no fun especially when the phone connection was almost non existent in this part of the world. Owls weren't available either and penguins couldn't fly. I had only managed to call him just a few minutes ago (yes, Severus answered the phone when it rang; he was actually quite good in dealing with Muggle devices) and I had told him the time of my estimated arrival; it had been so good to hear his voice, full of love and longing.

Another voice told me that my flight was being delayed for thirty minutes, and I cursed. Of course there was no straight flight from this shabby airport in the middle of nowhere to London, I had to make a stopover in Buenos Aires and if I missed my flight connection there... I didn't want to think about it now. Instead I let my thoughts stray...

...to our honeymoon... After his birthday in January, celebrated with homemade chocolate cake- that had become a habit since both of us would never forget our first chocolate kiss- we had travelled to some remote African country... now, don't you even dare to think I had spent my entire honeymoon crawling through the jungle, looking out for rare plants or the roots of rare plants, let alone the various parts of magical beasts. I had granted him his fun, had slept in a tent without complaining about the lack of luxury or even the slightest comfort, because making love to him and falling asleep in his embrace was the only comfort I really needed... well, except for staying at least one week in an exclusive first class beach resort at the end of our honeymoon, that is. I had enjoyed lazying in the sun while he had sat in the shadows, reading.

We had also enjoyed the pleasures of flying carpets, wondering why they were banned in wizarding Britain. Well, as Kingsley had told me later they were on the Registry of Proscribed Charmable Objects exactly because their... um, abuse had mightily conflicted with the International Statute of Secrecy, keeping the Oblivators busy. I understood his point but that hadn't stopped us from abusing the one we had managed to smuggle into our house...

In the years that followed the satisfying experience of our honeymoon trip (he had brought home and sort of rediscovered various old and long forgotten potion ingredients from the jungles of Africa) we had hit the road quite regularly, mostly in winter, always to places of magical interest. I encouraged his thirst for knowledge about magic in other parts of the world since he hadn't had the chance to travel much in his life as a spy. Actually, there hadn't been much positive at all in his previous life... it had been a reoccurring nightmare of fear and threat, or guilt weighing him down, that even as the years went by I sometimes caught him staring at his new life in awe, still stunned at the idea of being loved for what he was and not in spite of it. I made a point to snog him senseless whenever I caught him wondering, and it helped.

Nevertheless, there were nights when he still had nightmares and they became more frequent around the first of May. Mayhap Fate reminded him that he had been supposed to die, then... if I hadn't challenged Fate and told her he was mine...

Finally my flight was called up and I boarded the plane. Making myself comfortable in my seat I recalled the past peaceful years that had seen a multitude of weddings. Nearly all the Weasley kids married except for Charlie, who seemed to be more interested in breeding dragons than producing even more Weasleys- thank Merlin for the dragons since I still considered the Weasleys a plague I could live well without. Although, I liked Bill and the kids he had with Fleur.

Percy had married his long time girlfriend Penelope Clearwater, George got attached to Angelina Johnson, the former Gryffindor Quidditch Captain. Needless to say they had named their first son Fred in memory of his deceased twin brother. Ron had married Hermione Granger. But the biggest event, of course, had been the wedding of Harry Potter and Ginny Weasley. The Golden Boy and the Quidditch star, Seeker of the Holyhead Harpies.

We had received an invitation and actually attended to the wedding although Severus was still not overly fond of the boy. They managed to behave civil, though, whenever they happened to meet and I secretly suspected Severus of still wanting to keep an eye on Harry, even if he wasn't in the need of protection anymore. Nevertheless, he had sworn to keep Lily's boy safe and it seemed to have become a habit of his to, at least, stay informed on what he was doing.

Sirius Black had married Angela Pilar Corazon de la Cruz on the 9th of September 1999, on her family's estate in Puerto Rico; she thought with a date as easy to remember as that he would never forget their anniversary. It was also quite a big event with flower girls and bridesmaids, and me being the maid of honour in a soft pink dress a tad too frilly for my liking but hey, she was my friend so I caved in to let her have the wedding of her dreams. Although, there had been a moment in midst of all the preparations taking place on both sides of the world, she had almost cancelled the wedding.

I still remembered that episode quite clearly...

Angela came storming into our house drowned in tears and, with a heartbreaking sob, she flung her arms around my husband.

"I... I'm so sorry," she cried, "You must think me the... the most insensitive person for even considering to marry such a nasty, cruel, bullying- oh, I don't even know what to call him!"

Severus had tensed up, feeling very uncomfortable with a crying witch attached to his neck. Imploringly he glanced at me and I pried her arms from him, allowing her to continue sobbing in my arms. What the hell had happened?

"What has the villain done to you?" Severus asked, sounding murderous even though he hadn't considered Angela a friend before- I didn't blame him; he simply wasn't overly fond of werewolves in general.

She raised big, teary eyes at him. "To me?" She asked incredulous. "No... no, that's not the point... it's about what he's done to you." Angel shot me an almost accusing glance. "You should have told me, Raven."

We found out, then, that Harry must have made the mistake of letting something about Sirius' school days slip, assuming she knew about his past. But she had been blissfully unaware of the bullying so she had pressed the Golden Boy into telling her some details, and she wouldn't be my Angel if that hadn't shocked her. It hadn't helped either that Sirius had tried to diminish the bullying by calling it harmless teenage pranks.

"I cannot possibly marry such a person, even if he's the only man on earth who would willingly marry a werewolf. I'd rather take the veil and die an old virgin..."

"Angel!" I shouted as she was clearly overreacting now. First of all she would certainly not die an old virgin if she'd been living in the same house with Sirius Black for months. Secondly, her furry problem was caused while having sex on the beach with a stranger... and, bloody hell, I couldn't imagine any convent accepting a werewolf witch. But this was so typically Angel. Her understanding of outsiders in general and the sympathy she had for Severus conflicted strongly with the love she had for Sirius. It was in her nature that she would expand her loyalty and friendship from me over to Severus as if we were one and the same person simply because if any man could get under my skin the way he did he must be worth it.

"You are decidedly not insensitive," Severus told her, a slightly sarcastic undertone in his voice since he considered her exactly the opposite, fussing a tad too much for his liking.

He could destroy it now and ruin her relationship with the bloody Marauder just like the bloody Marauders had ruined his relationship with Lily. Angel wouldn't take Black back just like Lily hadn't taken him back, no matter how often he had tried to apologize. It was all in his hands now, and I gave him credit for not even trying to badmouth the mutt, for that would have been all it needed for Angela to believe she had made a big mistake in accepting his proposal.

"It's time to let go of old school day grudges," he said instead though not sounding overly convinced of his own words. He still wasn't able to forget and forgive. The Marauders had made his life a hell and the scars of some memories just ran too deep to simply get over them; he was like an elephant when it came to that. Nevertheless, he didn't begrudge Angela her happiness with the mangy mutt so he glanced at me, asking me silently to settle this mess before he left the room in order to give us time for some much needed girl's talk...

Had I told her that day how often I myself had been the victim of the Marauders' strange sense of humour, she would have never married Sirius. She despised bullies, she had made that quite clear when he came, begging and pleading, giving her his most irresistible puppy eyes. He promised sincerely he would be a good dog... um, he didn't say that but it was definitely the meaning of his words and he also pointed out that he had apologized- many times- for his behaviour. True as that might be- he actually showed some remorse- actions spoke louder than words and still he failed when old habits got the better of him. Nevertheless, his sincerity convinced Angel and they married as they had planned to.

We saw to it that a little surprise would await them in their wedding night, remembering a bed of roses and all its thorns as we carefully plotted our sweet revenge by transfiguring their wedding bed into an overlarge dog basket. Angela took it with humour while Sirius took offence to the flea shampoo we gave him as a wedding gift.

But as years went by, Sirius had changed his attitude towards Severus so thoroughly that he had even asked him to be the godfather of his firstborn son, which Severus had rather grudgingly accepted. However, my dear husband liked to point out that he had only done it for Angela, and given how much he had actually done for my friend it was understandable.

"I'm not a real woman," Angela sobbed after her second miscarriage, "what am I worth if I can't carry out a child?"

Severus bit back what he had intended to say, that there was no shame in not producing another Black, because he didn't fail to notice how very devastated she was. Despite being a werewolf he had grown to like her for the kind woman she was, and without losing much words (he still wasn't very good at dealing with crying women) he had retreated to his private lab.

"My kind doesn't usually breed," Lupin had once said.

Apparently her problem was- and not only hers but that of all female werewolves- that although they could conceive they were not able to carry out a child. I couldn't even fathom how it affected the embryo in the womb if its mother went through her transformation into a wolf once a month, even if with the help of Wolfsbane said wolf was a tame one that liked to curl up by the fireplace and be slobbered over by a big, black dog.

So Severus started working on a new, improved version of the Wolfsbane Potion for the sake of a woman who had cried her eyes out over him, shocked about how badly her former fiancé and now husband had treated him, her best friend's husband and therefore also her friend, at school. Although he had pretended indifference when she had drowned in tears flung her arms around him, sobbing, sincerely shaken, it hadn't left him cold or untouched...

After a good year or more of intensive research he had actually came up with a potion based on some long forgotten African and Tibetan ingredients that was quite a revolution...

Aw, how I had loved our stay in Tibet! The sensational landscape, the gentle serenity of the Buddhist monks there... the secrets of the Kamasutra...

His new, sensationally improved Wolfsbane Potion made possible what no werewolf had ever dared to dream of since it not only turned them from dangerous beast into tame wolves but stopped them from changing at all. For the first time ever they could remain in their human form despite the call of the moon.

Angela got pregnant again and this time she delivered a healthy boy. Sirius wanted to call him James in memory of his dear friend but in the end Angela had the last word (as usual- she really had a knack for giving him a glance that would make every dog roll on its back and whimper for affection) She decided to stick to the old Black family tradition and name her kids after stars, so her first little star was called Regulus. The next was Cassiopeia, and she had recently told me she was pregnant again. I only hoped she didn't try to top Molly Weasley...

My plane landed at Buenos Aires domestic airport at about the same time when my connecting flight to London was due... from the international airport some distance away. Even if I Apparated I still wouldn't make it in time. Let alone that trying to get a flight was not an appropriate reason for breaking the International Statute of Secrecy and Muggles tended to freak out when someone materialized out of thin air.

Blast, I hated to travel by Portkey but I didn't want to wait another day. I missed Severus. So I rummaged through my bag looking for something I could use as a Portkey when my searching fingers got hold of a little vial. It was labelled Travel-Sickness Potion and contained a pale green liquid. Apparently Severus must have slipped it into my bag... oh, he was simply the best. I gulped down the potion, it tasted of peppermint and ginger, and then I went to a quiet place where I could use my wand. I cast a Disillusionment Charm on me before I transform the now empty vial into a Portkey by the Portus spell.

A little later I was standing in front of our house in London and for the first time I didn't feel the urge to empty my stomach on the pavement. It was wonderful to be the wife of the greatest Potion Master alive; I couldn't wait to thank him.

Quietly I entered the house, wanting to surprise him since he wouldn't expect be back for a few hours. I hoped he was home at all. Then I saw him sitting in the library and my heart leaped at his sight. On tiptoes I snuck closer until I was right behind him, ready to throw my arms around him...

"You know, Raven, you should never approach a wizard in such a sneaky way because he might hex you first and then ask questions," he said in that silky drawl of his as he turned around, his black eyes glittering. A second later I was in his arms and he kissed me passionately.

"You know, Sev, you should never grab a witch sneaking up to you and kiss her because she might be someone impersonating me," I said when I could breathe again. Oh, it was so good to be home again.

"Dear, an impersonator wouldn't have managed to get through the wards set on this house, and besides, no one else kisses like you do."

"So even if someone else had managed to break through the wards you would have noticed it wasn't me by the way she kissed you?"

"Decidedly, although I doubt that anyone else would even want to kiss me."

I kissed him again, this time more gently and not like someone who was almost starving.

"I'm surprised," he admitted then, "weren't you supposed to arrive at London Heathrow in a few hours?"

"Oh, and you wanted to pick me up from the airport?"

"Indeed." He sounded as serious as if he had really considered that while I had problems imagining him in midst the hectic hustle and bustle of Muggles at the airport. But yeah, he would have done so, feeling mightily unwell and scowling all the time.

"Pray, tell me my love, would you have taken the Tube to get there?" I teased him.

"Insufferable woman to ask such indecent questions," he grumbled but his eyes looked at me affectionately as he ran hand through my long black hair, "Of course not. I certainly do not share your preference for Muggle ways of transportation. Now will you please tell me what happened? What gives me the pleasure of holding you in my arms sooner than expected?"

We sat down in his armchair together, snuggled up, before I answered his question. "I missed the plane because the other one was delayed and then I decided to make a Portkey instead of waiting for another day to see you again. By the way, that potion you smuggled in my bag was wonderful. I didn't have to empty my stomach when I arrived."

"I am glad to hear that."

Most of all he was glad that I was with him again; he had missed me too, I noticed sitting on his lap and he couldn't quite seem to keep his hands off me. It was so good to still feel wanted and desired although we had been married for six years now, that his passion for me hadn't ebbed. Mind, I really wasn't an expert on long-term relationships so I was still slightly at awe how wonderful it actually was to be with only one man, to kiss only one man, to make love to only this one special person- and we had a very fulfilling love life. Getting to know each other was exciting but it wasn't less exciting to really know each other and find deep pleasure in that.

His hands were under my shirt now, trailing up my back where his clever fingers undid the hooks of my bra. My breasts ached to be touched and a feeling of sweet sensation ran down my spine. I took off my shirt. My breathing increased as I fumbled with the buttons of his shirt- fortunately he wasn't that buttoned up today. Merlin, two weeks apart from him had really been too much. I madly, desperately longed for him, and apparently he felt the same. We got really heated up, then, eager to get rid of all the fabric between us until we were skin to skin. During the past years he had gained some weight and wasn't that bony anymore although he was still slim and willowy, with long, slender limbs. I admired his body, sinewy and perfectly shaped.

Later we proceeded to our bedroom and celebrated our reunion more thoroughly, more gentle than our first passionate encounter in the library. Later, we were lying breathlessly and satisfyingly spent in each others arms, so very happy and completely sated. Our kisses tasted different then, in the aftermaths... so much sweeter. He was toying with my hair, running loving fingers through strands of black while I caressed his dear face, taking in the features I had grown to love so much.

"I've been thinking..."

His lips curled up in a lazy sneer and I elbowed him teasingly.

"Yes, I am perfectly capable of that, thank you very much."

"I am aware of that. Do you believe I married you only for your body? Now what have you been thinking about, dear?"

"Well, actually it has to do with my body- sort of. I consider to give up my job before... you know, I like my body with all my limbs still attached to it..."

"Hmm," he purred in agreement, trailing his hand down my back to underline that.

"...and I don't want to end up like Moody. I don't want to travel to remote parts of the world anymore. I'm not the only one who can chase Death Eaters or count penguins. I don't want to be separated from you anymore."

"Though I like to hear that I never complained about your job. I understood it was something you liked to do, that even fulfilled you."

"Yeah, you're right. I used to love my job but lately... it's getting tedious." I rolled on my back and stared at the ceiling. "I mean, I still like being an Auror and it is still satisfying to bring down an evil wizard but honestly, most off the assignments are only offered to me due to the incompetence of many Aurors to blend in decently with the Muggle world."

I heaved a sigh. Severus propped himself up on one elbow to watch my face.

"You could teach other Aurors the advanced art of Muggle Studies. If I remember correctly your courses in wizarding crime scene investigations are quite popular."

"Yeah, but I don't know if I'd be happy with even more teaching."

"What would make you happy, then?"

I snaked an arm around his neck and pulled him closer so I could kiss him. "You make me happy, Sev."

He smiled at me, caressing my cheek. "And you make me happy, Raven. I never thought I would ever be rewarded with so much happiness; I still fail to comprehend what I have done to deserve that."

"Shhh," I gently placed a finger on his lips, not wanting to hear any of that now. He was brave, he was so very talented, one of the greatest Potion Masters alive... he was the most wonderful husband I could ever dream of so of course I wanted to make him happy. He had gone through so man dark and lonely years in his life that he clearly deserved whatever happiness I could give him.

"Hm, I could also write all the books you're too busy to write," I mused. "Or I could write a book about penguins..."

"Those penguins seem to have been a haunting experience from your latest excursion."

"Indeed... I have no idea why Kingsley thought there might be a Death Eater hiding in Southern Patagonia because all there is are penguins. Millions of them. At least along the coast. If you travelled further inland you saw less penguins and more wasteland. Miles and miles of boredom that has never been bothered to be spoiled with the Dark Arts, and the only people I saw where some whale-watchers or penguin-counters."

"I wonder what gave Kingsley the idea that there was still a Death Eater on the loose anyway. Those who survived the war are incarcerated in Azkaban and no one has been reported missing. I racked my brain on who possible could have escaped justice so far but failed to come up with any name."

"Me neither."

"Anyhow, I do have a problem to envision you busying yourself with all my notes in order to make them presentable in book form."

"Ah, you're right, love. I should rather bathe in your glory and do what the wife of a rich and famous Potions Master is best at, like spending your money going shopping or inviting the wizarding high society to dinner parties and charity balls."

Severus scowled at me and I giggled, which caused him to say in a dark voice. "Would you excuse me please? I have to call Sebastian and ask how much it will cost me to get divorced."

I flung myself at him and rolled him over, pinning him down on the mattress. "Oh, you wouldn't do that, would you?" My hair fell like a curtain around his face, locking out the world around us as I bent my head to kiss him. He yielded to the touch of my lips on his and parted them willingly, so soft and pliable, to allow the sweet dance of our tongues. His hands were all over me again, raking through my hair, caressing my face, wandering along my side, barely touching my breast... just so it made me shiver with longing and anticipation. He knew how he could undo me.

We made love again. I would never get enough of him, of the way he made me feel when he was within me, making me complete as if he was a part of me that had gone missing, and I... I wanted to crawl inside him and give myself to him so that he, too, would feel complete.

It was the most inopportune moment for the doorbell to ring so we ignored it, cuddled up close together. Whatever the world wanted from us would have to wait. Our anniversary trip to Venice had been much too short as we had planned to leave behind the daily grind of our working lives that often left not much room for cosy togetherness. Actually it had been Severus' idea, his surprise. He had even booked the hotel, a small, romantic one near the Canale Grande with view to the famous Rialto bridge; it was run by a Squib that was distantly related to the Zabinis...

-

We had just made ourself comfortable on the big four-poster bed when an owl pecked at the windowpane. Severus got up, a crease forming between his eyes since he recognized the Longbottom's barn owl.

"Oh no, how did he manage to track us down here?" He growled as he opened the window, seized the parchment tied to the owl's leg and dismissed the poor bird without giving it a treat. Frowning he read the message and tossed it aside before he joined me in bed again.

."Where did we stop?"

"Aw, has Neville sent you another happy whatever note?" I asked amused, toying with a strand of black hair that had fallen into his face. I curled it around my finger before I smoothed it back to where it belonged.

Severus sighed, grumbling something about overly thankful dunderheads. Neville sent cards for Christmas and Easter, for Sev's birthday and mine, for whatever anniversary he could think of and even when he read something about my husband in the papers.

"Will you please bear with poor Neville, dear. Of course he is overjoyed he got his Mum back."

"She's a Squib now," Severus gave pause to consider as if it was his fault alone that Alice had been deprived of her magical core when in fact she had decided to give up her magic for her son.

"But she adopted the Muggle lifestyle fairly well- after all, she hasn't missed a single episode of Coronation Street or EastEnders since she discovered the joys of TV."

Severus rolled his eyes, reminiscent of all the other joys I had introduced her to, like beauty parlours and shopping malls...

-

The doorbell rang again, this time more insistently. A moment later a bright, bluish light lit up above our bed and took on the form of a lynx.

"Open the door. It's urgent. Need to talk..."

"Kings! Get your bloody Patronus out of our bedroom!" I yelled as I jumped out of the bed and wrapped my naked form in a crimson satin dressing gown. With bare feet I ran down the staircase to the front door. Taking a deep breath I smoothed my hair and grabbed my wand, before I opened the door, ready to hex the Minister of Magic into oblivion for once again interrupting a moment of privacy with my husband- I still hadn't forgiven him for sending an owl to Venice, informing me about a Death Eater on the run in Southern Patagonia.

"What's it now?" I snapped, fidgeting with my wand in front of Kingsley Shacklebolt's face."Death Eater sighting at the North Pole?"

"No, it's more serious this time. May I come in, please?"

The look on his face made me lower my wand and I let him in; I hadn't really intended to hex him anyway. He was accompanied by Williamson and Harry Potter, two more Aurors were waiting outside. All of this indicated that it wasn't about sending me to some remote corner of the world.

"Ah, our humble house is blessed with the golden grace of a real celebrity," Severus drawled as he joined me, glaring at Harry Potter. The night couldn't get worse, his eyes seemed to say.

"Yeah, I'm happy to see you too... um, Sir."

The boy stared at him; clearly he had never seen his former professor clad so casually before, let alone with tousled hair. Did I also look as pleasantly flushed and dishevelled as if I had been loved thoroughly?

Before Severus could retort, Kingsley spoke. "Now, this is not the time for mindless banter, Severus."

"Whatever it is, Kingsley, it had better be important."

"There was a mass breakout. Several Death Eaters escaped Azkaban today, including Xavier Yaxley."