Thanks to a solution found by healer Smethwyck, Arthur Weasley recovered in time for Christmas, which to Remus and Sirius' delight, everyone had decided to spend at Grimmauld Place.

Serena and Severus had the first week of the holidays off, and had both migrated to Spinner's End, settling into a cosy routine of winter walks, book reading by the fire, long intellectual discussions and rich, home-cooked meals. They tended to spend the morning working on self-improvement tasks, such as Occlumency practise or beginners potions for Serena, who had in turn agreed to teach Severus some of the spells she had designed herself.

Two days before Christmas, Severus and Serena were in the basement laboratory, working on a blood replenishing potion.

Severus was hovering over Serena, occasionally tutting if she was about to make a mistake. He had just vanished the hillyfig berries that she realised she had crushed instead of cut, when there was a loud crack from upstairs and the wards alerted them both to a presence in the apparition zone in Severus' back yard.

They froze.

Severus was the first to act.

"Stay," he barked sharply, "don't make a sound." He swept up the stairs and she heard him say "mascuro", the spell they had both conceived which would immediately send all of Serena's belongings to a hidden cupboard upstairs, and hide her magical signature in the house.

Serena swallowed and looked around the lab wildly as though hoping for a place to hide. She heard Severus' baritone voice rumble above her, and then another, female voice replied with a high-pitched laugh.

Serena's eyes narrowed.

She cast a stasis charm on the smoking potion, silenced her footsteps and crept half-way up the wooden staircase, sitting just two yards from the top and the wooden door that led to the living room. She could hear Severus pouring tea: it was a long visit then.

She heard the laugh once more and then the woman spoke in a slow, purposeful voice and Serena found herself leaning even closer to the door, but she still couldn't make out the words. She needed a bloody extendable ear. Was this a Death Eater? Was there a Death Eater in her living room right at that moment?

Of course there is, she thought scornfully, what other women knew where Severus lived?

She pulled her thoughts away from the muffled conversation and focussed on her own feelings. She was worried, of course, that whoever it was might notice some overlooked detail and realise there was someone else in the house. She knew Severus was the best occlumens but could he hide her smell or overlook a blonde hair on his shirt?

She also felt strangely annoyed. Who was this women that knew where he lived and even had the right to apparate directly into his yard? Shouldn't she know who was on the apparition list? To whom belonged that high-pitched laugh or those lips that were drinking her tea?

She zoned back into their conversation as Severus' tone of voice seemed to soften so that she could barely hear him at all. She frowned, she had been naïve enough to think that he only used that gentle voice with her. There were still so many facets to Severus that she didn't know.

Her eyes widened suddenly and she actually moved up a step as her ears heard the unmistakable sound of… crying.

The woman was crying and Serena could picture him now, on the sofa next to the faceless but beautiful woman, his arm stretching around her, and his gentle words whispering in her ear. She pushed that thought away, Severus rarely had gentle words for anyone.

She wasn't sure how long she sat there, but when she heard the two figures stand up, she scurried back down the stairs and scooped up a new handful of berries to cut up. She was just cleaning up the juice when the door opened and she heard Severus' familiar footfalls. She stood still and silent until he gave her a curt nod.

"All clear," he said shortly, smoothing the creases from his shirt and rolling his sleeves up again, ready to brew as though nothing had just happened.

"So?" Serena asked slowly, turning away from him to take the stasis charm off the cauldron. She didn't quite trust her face. "Who is she?"

"Narcissa," he said in a neutral voice from over her shoulder.

Serena waited but he didn't offer any more information.

"And?" she pushed, dropping the sliced berries one at a time into the bubbling cauldron. "Aren't you spending Christmas with her in two days' time? Why did she want to see you today?"

"I am," he confirmed, stepping around the cauldron to watch what she was doing. "You must reduce the heat at precisely the same time as you add the final berry."

She scowled but did as he said, stepping back as light grey steam rose from the cauldron.

"Now focus on stirring," he said in a low, instructive voice that would have turned her on had she not been annoyed. As she stirred in wide, anti-clockwise turns, Severus stepped a little closer, but she kept her gaze steadily on the potion.

"Narcissa wanted council," he said quietly. "Lucius has ambitious plans for his heir."

Serena raised her eyebrows but said nothing, trying to count her turns and listen at the same time.

"Draco will be sixteen at the end of this school year, he would like to get him a Dark Mark for his birthday."

His tone was bitter and Serena found herself meeting his eyes sympathetically. "We'll do everything we can," she said softly, jumping when he reached out quickly and stilled her hand.

"That's twenty five turns," he said confidently and she felt awe at his ability to multi-task.

She looked at the potions book and followed the next instruction, reducing the flames again and checking her watch. Five minutes. She wiped sweat from her forehead and leant back against the wooden table. Severus came to rest next to her.

"It is not just Lucius," he said heavily. "The Dark Lord expects a new generation to be trained and integrated. I fear the destiny of Crabbe, Goyle, Nott and Zabini will be the same."

Serena saw pain behind his eyes.

She moved to rest her head on his shoulder but swayed back abruptly, her fingers pulling a long, straight, platinum blonde hair from Severus' shirt collar. She vanished it with disgust.

Severus looked away which only worked to reignite Serena's jealousy.

"So what was she actually doing here? What did she want? Why you? Hasn't she got someone else's shoulder to cry on?"

"No," he said shortly. "Narcissa can't just go telling anyone that she does not agree with the Dark Lord's plans," he said impatiently. "She knows I am protective of the Slytherins, that is all."

"Well it sounded like she came to the right person, anyway," she said in the most casual voice she could muster. "You don't get that soft tone out for just anyone."

"What's going on here?" he snapped, turning to her angrily, "spit it out and stop swinging gnomes."

"Nothing at all," she said in a slightly more defensive tone that she would have liked. "Is that five minutes?"

He grabbed her arm as she made to move and she felt a familiar trickle of magic down her spine.

Severus snorted, "jealousy?"

She felt heat rise in her cheeks and she turned her head away, she knew she'd regret creating that spell one day.

"You should know better than to grab me,."

He released her immediately and she felt slightly guilty at making him feel bad.

"Serena?" his tone was surprisingly soft, and when she met his eyes reluctantly, she found them full of a rare patience. "I must admit, this is the first time I have been confronted with a jealous witch, but I do not wish to savour the moment. I have spoken to you before about my… friendship with Narcissa, and I assure you it is nothing more. You are my wife. No other woman could ever compare to you."

Serena felt small and she shrugged her shoulders begrudgingly. "She doesn't know you're married," she said childishly.

"Of course not, I would never trust her with such precious information, for nothing is more important to me than you."

Serena felt a smile form unwillingly on her lips. "Sorry," she said quietly, meaning it, and suddenly realising how much trust it must take Severus to see her with Remus and Sirius so regularly.

Severus leant in to kiss her and she met his lips willingly, all jealousy leaving her body. "Wait," she murmured between his kisses, trying to gently push him back, "the potion-"

"Is long ruined," Severus murmured, threading a hand into her hair. "you can try again tomorrow."

She gasped as he picked her up into his arms and kissed her even harder, lifting her onto the desk without breaking contact, his arms wrapping lightly around her and his thigh pressing in between her legs.

"You," she murmured, kissing him, "are a terrible-" she kissed him again and ran her tongue along his bottom lip, "teacher."

"Merry Christmas husband," she yawned, stretching under the cool, charcoal bed covers. Over the last year, the main bedroom at Spinner's End had slowly transformed from a functional bachelor's bedroom, to a cosy, stylish place that two people obviously inhabited. Severus' sheets, although of the highest quality, had all been Slytherin green, and his only furniture had been a small wardrobe and an old bedside table.

She had asked him why there was such a difference between the rich, comfortable bedroom at Hogwarts and this personality-less room, but he had merely shrugged and allowed her to put a mirror on the wall, buy two new bedside tables, add a light shade, and choose new bed covers.

She had wondered if he had ever brought women back there, and that was why it was so void of personal items.

"Good morning," he purred, rolling over and pinning her lightly with his arm. She smiled as his morning erection pressed against her thigh. They had both slept naked that night and the feel of his leg hair against her smooth thigh sent a thrill of excitement down her spine that was all too familiar as that inevitable build-up of feeling where her whole body was suddenly on edge and so was his, too. They both knew that they were going to have sex, but the slow, teasing accumulation of kisses and caresses still had their bodies tingling in anticipation.

Severus' heavy thigh slid further onto her body and he leant over to kiss her languidly, his rumpled hair dropping either side of his face, creating a private curtain as though to hide their intimacy from the world.

She still marvelled at how she got to see him like this, the private, mysterious Severus Snape, naked and laid bare just for her.

Serena's arms wrapped slowly and naturally around him, one hand sliding down to squeeze his firm arse cheek possessively. She heard Severus inhale deeply and she squeezed again, rubbing against him slightly and trying to position his thigh in between her legs.

"You really do have a perfect arse, Professor Snape," she murmured against his lips, moaning as his thigh rubbed against her mound and his hot hand found her bare breasts and stiff nipples. He palmed a breast and pinched her nipples, tweaking them just as she liked it, almost on the edge of pain, but not quite, her body always translating his touches into tantalising pleasure, and soon she was squirming against him, silently asking for more. As she caressed his scar-torn back firmly, his head ducked down and it was his mouth making love to her breasts now, his hair tickling the sensitive skin around her nipple, his tongue swirling and his mouth sucking.

Serena reached a hand down between them and took Severus' cock into her hand firmly, running the pad of her thumb along the underside, smiling as Severus hissed with pleasure against her breasts. When he looked up at her, his eyes were heavy and hooded and she repeated the movement again, revelling in the power she had to make him feel good. As her thumb caressed the thick head of his cock, she felt a slick cream of pre-cum, lubricating him nicely, and a jolt of magic shot through her body right down between her legs, as though telling her body that he would soon be inside of her.

But first, she wanted to give him pleasure. Just as she had that thought, Severus had started trailing kissed down her stomach towards her bare mound.

"Move round," she breathed, lifting her head from the pillow, "move round, like this."

She guided Severus with an arm around his thigh to turn around, until he was on all fours above her, his head hanging over her thighs and his hard, dripping cock dangling above her.

He looked around at her with wide eyes but she only smirked and pulled his hips down towards her, taking him into her mouth.

"Merlin's balls," he mumbled, and his head must have been so close to her pussy that she felt the air from his breath on her clit and she rubbed her legs together, desperate for friction.

When his tongue ran through her slit she groaned loudly, the sound vibrating around his cock and causing Severus to curse against her again. It was hard to concentrate on her task when Severus was doing such sweet, sweet things to her, but she was soon rewarded with more pre-cum and Severus was quickly scrambling off her and positioning himself at her entrance, pressing his forehead against hers and staring almost as though drugged into her eyes.

"You have the most delicious cunt," he murmured wickedly against her lips and she almost came right then with his dirty talk, her eyes closing of their own accord and the word 'cunt' revibrating in his voice in her head, but then the tip of his cock was pushing into her and her eyes flew open to stare into his, both still amazed at the intense pleasure and satisfaction it gave them as he pushed into her tight walls slowly.

When he was fully seated inside of her they both sighed with fulfillment and Severus kissed her hard.

"Perfect," he said in a raspy voice, "just perfect."

She let out another strangled moan as he began to move and she felt every single nerve end on edge, the foreplay which had wound her up so tightly had seemed to have woken every inch inside of her and she could feel her orgasm building urgently, tightly, intensely-

She could feel herself shaking as she came. Her pussy walls clenched and unclenched so tightly that she could hear Severus swearing somewhere in the distance as he came too, but all she could focus on was her own body, her own powerful orgasm shaking through her again and again and again and god it felt so good.

Severus' kisses brought her back down to Earth. She could feel his lips pecking gently at her cheeks and her lips and when she opened her eyes, he was staring at her in amazement. "That was…"

A laugh escaped her. "God that was wasn't it? Jesus, Sev. That was so powerful… I think I was lost in it for a minute then."

He smirked his usual smirk and she saw a spark in his eyes that made her heart swell with pride and love. This was her man.

"Merry Christmas," he said silkily, before pulling slowly out of her and stalking off to the bathroom.

After a long shower, they settled on the sofa with a mug of coffee and a small pile of presents before them.

"Me first!" Serena insisted, moving the carefully wrapped present she had bought him further away with her mind. "You went first last year."

Severus, who always looked uncomfortable at moments like these, always afraid his gift would be somewhat inadequate, shifted uneasily on the sofa, before revealing three small black boxes with elegant satin ribbons on them.

"Three presents?" she said, her eyes wide. "I am spoilt this year."

Severus cleared his throat, "one is not exactly a present, it may not have any effect at all, here, open it first. It is a gift from Remus and I."

Serena looked at him, surprised, a slight frown on her face as she searched his eyes for answers and found none.

Still frowning, her fingers fumbled with the ribbon. She had painted her nails a deep red for Christmas and the colour shone vibrantly against the black box. When she managed to open it, she saw it was slightly deeper on the inside. She plunged her hand carefully inside and brought out a small glass jar filled with a thick-looking off-white paste.

She raised her eyebrows, "anti-aging cream? You two are adorable," she said dryly, but Severus didn't react.

"It is scar-reducing paste," he said quietly, and she could feel him watching her reaction closely. "We have been developing it for quite some time now as you know… it has proved efficient in reducing relatively new scars of about a year or so. The scar will not disappear completely, but the renewal properties in the congealed Aloe plant, complete with a magically modified crushed unicorn horn-"

Serena kissed him. She didn't know what else to do, she didn't want to cry on their Christmas Eve, and he was obviously so nervous about the cream that she didn't know how to convey her gratitude in any other way, so she had crushed her lips to his and hoped that it would suffice.

Rather sweetly, when she drew back, Severus' cheeks were less pale than usual and she was sure that if he could blush then he would have done.

"Don't go thanking Lupin in the same manner," he said in an annoyed voice that only made her laugh. "Before bed, cover the scar thoroughly, every night."

She grinned again, gave him another kiss and picked up the second box.

"May I?" He nodded, seeming a tad more relaxed now that she had opened the first.

The second box contained a large, handbound book of sheet music for her guitar, which almost made her cry again when she found some of her favourite songs and realised that Severus had chosen each song individually.

The third box was not magically enlarged inside, and held a beautifully delicate silver bracelet. She examined the gorgeous piece carefully and smiled when she saw two small letters engraved into the clasp.

SS

"Is that for Serena and Severus, or Serena Snape?" she asked teasingly.

"Which ever you prefer," he said softly, reaching to fasten it around her wrist and tapping it with his wand to shrink it to her size.

"It's perfect. You have utterly spoilt me, I wasn't expected such personal presents, Severus. Thank you so much."

He merely took a sip of his coffee and avoided her gaze, so she knew that he was touched by her gratitude.

"Your turn now, there's only one I'm afraid."

He waved her comment away with his hand and took the present that floated towards him with both hands. It was about the size of a large watermelon and wrapped in silver paper.

He placed it gently on the table in front of him and tapped the wrappings with his wand. They immediately fell away on every side and revealed a small, stone basin in the shape of a septagon. The stone was an inch thick and was engraved with small symbols and runes that Serena knew translated into old magical proverbs. In the centre of the basin was a strange, silver swirl, neither gas nor liquid, floating and moving, casting a silvery haze onto Severus' face.

Serena watched him closely. His face was rigid, his eyes were empty and protected once more and he merely stared at the basin in front of him.

She knew better than to rush him or to start panicking about his lack of reaction, so she forced herself to wait patiently.

He reached out both of his pale hands slowly and picked up the basin carefully, turning it in his hands, the silver light reflecting in his dark eyes. His eyes flew over the runes and Serena knew he was translating them in his head.

He then placed it gently down onto the table and swallowed hard.

"Wherever did you get this?" his voice was deep and throaty.

"Abroad," she said mysteriously.

He picked it up again and examined it more closely before placing it back down on the table with great care.

He finally looked up and met her eyes.

"A pensieve."

"Well… I know you often feel as though you have too much stuff in your head. It's not as powerful as Albus' of course, it can't hold as many memories but-"

"Serena," he interrupted her seriously. "It is the most precious thing I own. Thank you," and when he reached out his hand to squeeze hers, she felt the intensity of his gratitude.

He lifted the tip of his wand to his temple and concentrated for a moment before drawing away a long, silver thread which he lowered carefully into the surface of the pensieve.

Serena watched with a small smile as she saw her own figure swim to the surface, a younger version of herself, holding out a hand to him in Albus' office.

"It's just perfect," he murmured, watching the image in a trance-like manner. "I never thought I would own a pensieve, they are so rare… so expensive… I…"

"You are well worth it, my love," she said softly, planting a kiss on his shoulder. "I know you will use it well."

Serena spent the morning learning a new song on her guitar whilst Severus tested his pensieve. They cooked a traditional Christmas dinner together and went for a long walk in the Scottish countryside in the afternoon. The day had been so perfect that Serena had almost forgotten that Severus would be at the Malfoy's mansion the next day, and when they settled down for bed she couldn't stop the foreboding, dark feeling inside of her that something bad was going to happen. Would Malfoy invite other woman for Christmas? Would Severus be forced to do things again against his will? She stared up at the dark ceiling, feeling the weight of his arm on her chest getting heavier and heavier. She shifted slightly and pulled his arm down and off her body gently, taking deep breaths and trying to use her occlumency techniques to calm her over-active mind.

Severus shifted on his side and the tip of his wand lit up the room with a soft glow.

"What's wrong?"

He propped himself up on his elbow and his shadowed face looked down at her with concern.

"Nothing, nothing," she said quickly, clearing her mind. "Nothing at all, I was just hot, sorry."

Severus frowned and pulled his arm around, pointing his wand into her face. She squinted in the light.

"Sentimente Assimile."

She closed her eyes, unable to look at him as he felt her emotions. She knew it was only fair, the amount of times she had stolen his feelings against his will, but still, sometimes she didn't share her feelings in order to protect him.

She felt his lips on her neck and she opened her eyes. He kissed her chastely and looked at her with dark eyes.

"Don't worry," he breathed in a barely audible voice. "There is no risk… Christmas is a time for family, for Lucius. Narcissa will be present at all times."

Serena let out the breath she didn't even know she'd been holding and nodded, slipping her arms around his neck and pulling his head down to her chest. She held him against her body as tightly as she could, kissing the top of his head and breathing in the smell of his hair deeply.

He let her hold him for as long as she needed, and when she loosened her grip, the light of his wand went out and he pulled her back into his arms against his chest.

"Don't worry," he murmured again into her ear, his thumbs caressing her skin soothingly. "Don't worry, my love."

She fell asleep in the warmth of his arms with his whispers echoing in her ears.

...

Thank you very much for all of your lovely reviews, and hello to all the new readers!

And yes, for those that asked, this is a re-write of a story I started ten years ago!

I hope you are enjoying the ride. x