Chapter Thirty-One: Soul Dance
When they were once more within the dungeon quarters that she remembered so fondly, Evangeline gazed around at all the open boxes strewn about with their contents in disarray and shook her head. "Severus weren't you ever going to put some of this stuff away, or did you plan to live out of boxes for the rest of your life?"
He raised an eyebrow at her as he was hanging their cloaks on a hook by the door. "I fully intended to unpack everything, Evangeline. I've had a lot on my mind since I've been back. I simply haven't been much in the mood."
Looking at all the empty brandy and whisky bottles that lined the otherwise clean desk, it was clear what sort of mood Severus had been in these past few days. Hopefully that was all changed now.
Turning her attention back to the boxes, Evangeline suggested, "Well, now we can do it together, I suppose. I'll need to get my things from the cottage, but perhaps we should deal with this mess, first."
Coming up behind his wife as she peered down into the nearest box, Severus encircled his sheltering arms around her and bent down to nuzzle her neck. "Perhaps we could leave all that for later, Evangeline," he murmured yearningly. "As I believe I told you yesterday, I haven't had occasion to make love for more than a year. Now that Poppy has assured me that everything is in working order, I very much want to take her at her word and put it to the test, but a test would be ever so much more effective…and enjoyable…if I don't do it alone. Would you join me my Angel and make love to me again?"
His quiet words sent a shiver all the way to her soul as she gently caressed the darkly clad arms that held her and leaned back into her husband's encircling warmth. "Oh, yes," she sighed contentedly. "I think a test is long overdue."
Sliding around in his arms, she took his face into her hands and gently brought his lips down to meet hers. Just the barest touch of their sweetness was enough to send waves of desire cascading through her body. Ever so slowly they deepened the kiss to touch, taste, and explore each other once more. Suddenly time stretched before them endlessly, whispering its promises seductively in their willing ears. The next few hours were entirely theirs to do with as they wished. No one to interrupt them, no one to hold them back, they needed to account for themselves to no other person. Long slow minutes and hours to be savored in a rediscovery of each other and the love that they still shared.
Evangeline entwined her hands in her husband's dark hair, enjoying the smooth feel of it slipping softly through her fingers, as she settled her body up against his, back once more where it truly belonged. Nothing had felt so right…so perfectly right in more than a year. Her hands slowly caressed the planes of his face re-memorizing its shape, its feel, its taste...as her lips gently followed her fingertips. She slid her hands across the expanse of his shoulders and down his arms to snake back around his waist and feel him pressed close to her again.
His hands played at the same game of touch and stroke and caress as they moved gently through her thick hair down her neck and slowly down the curve of her back to contently fondle the smooth roundness of her derriere at the end of his reach. Then with a burst of sudden intensity, Severus swept her off her feet and whirled around and carried her into the bedroom as she clung tightly to him. Her heart pounded out the staccato beats of her joy and happiness as she laid her head against his shoulder and anticipated being truly intimate with her husband for the first time all over again.
Reaching his goal quickly, he bent and gently laid her down on the unmade bed in the middle of the cluttered room and lay down beside her. Evangeline ran her hands over the uneven surface of the mattress and looked questioningly over at him.
"Severus, why isn't the bed made? You've been living here for two days already. Haven't you been sleeping here, too?"
A sigh escaped his lips and he gathered her up into his arms as he kissed her gently before answering her question. "I couldn't face sleeping in the bed without you. I've been spending my nights in one of the chairs in front of the fire, when I was able to sleep at all, that is. It was simply easier…less painful."
Anxious to ease the pain she heard so clearly in his voice she threw her arms around him once more and held him tightly. "Oh, Severus, I'm sorry that I hurt you so much. Causing you pain is the last thing I'd ever want to do."
Comforted by the familiar warmth of her body pressed against his own, he shook his head and breathed in the sweet rose scent of her hair as he spoke softly. "No. It's I who owe you the apology. You were trying for days to explain things to me, and I was too afraid to listen to you. You had every right to go on with your life when you thought I'd died. It was wrong of me to have ..."
She drew back and reached up a hand to cover his mouth and gently stop him from going on.
"No, Severus. We can both apologize until the giants come home to Britain, but it won't change anything. I know you're sorry, and you know that I am. Let's just try to leave things at that and go on. I want so much to leave all the pain of the past year behind us and just look forward to our future. I finally have you where I've so longed for you to be…in my arms again. This is the miracle that I wished for so often in the last year even though I had no true hope that it would ever happen. I don't want to think about anything else. Let's just enjoy this moment. Together."
Together. That one small word had the most wonderful sound imaginable to it. Once more life was surprising him, and for once the surprise was a pleasant one. This time things would go well. He'd see that they did no matter what he had to do. No one would separate them again. No one. Never again.
He hovered over her body as she lay on the bed and looked up at him with shining eyes. Once more his fingertips caressed her face and hair with wondering gentle strokes. Then with a small knowing smile on his face, he began to unfasten her gown and ease it off her shoulders, revealing the white silk shift that she wore beneath it. Slowly his fingers moved from button to button gently easing the fabric-covered nubs through their holes, one after another in a simple rhythm, while she breathed in and out and her chest rose and fell beneath his light touch.
Finally he opened the gown completely and eased the soft woolen fabric down off her body and discarded it on the floor by the bed. He then slipped off her shoes and ran his hands lightly up the side of her silk clad legs as he bent down to kiss her once again. His wife had been nothing more than a dream to him for so long that he was determined to savor his reintroduction to the reality of her intimate presence. Her smooth skin felt as enticing as he remembered and he was determined to reacquaint himself with every inch. In his absence she'd known another as intimately as she'd once known him, so this was his chance to wipe those memories from her mind, to reassert his place in her life, and to remove any lingering reminders of Remus Lupin from her thoughts forever. He'd grind them into the dust if he could, but that thought was for another time…not now.
While Severus was exploring Evangeline's lightly clad form, her fingers were eagerly releasing the fastenings on his clothes as well. His loose black robe fluttered down to join her gown in a pile on the floor quite quickly, but she struggled a bit with the heavier frock coat due to the delicious distraction of what he was doing to her neck and shoulders while she was trying to make her fingers work the buttons properly. Once he obligingly shrugged out of the unbuttoned coat, she sighed with relief at finally making some progress. The man had always worn far too many layers of clothing for her taste…at least under certain circumstances.
As she smiled at her husband when he turned once more to her after laying the jacket aside, a gleam of bright silver behind his head caught her attention. Involuntarily she gave a soft gasp as she recognized the herald of Slytherin's study twinkling brightly on the stones waiting silently to be noticed and heeded. Severus frowned at the surprise on her face and twisted around to discover its source. They both sat up and stared at the small serpent charm, and then turned to contemplate each other. A warm rose scented wind caressed them both as they returned their gazes to the snake. It was obviously an invitation, and as Severus at least knew, perhaps it was also a command.
Evangeline was the first to utter a word. "Should we accept?" she whispered hesitantly, her last trip to the study still ached in the back of her mind.
Severus sighed as he too remembered the pain of his last visit to Slytherin's study. "As I discovered a few days ago, if it wants us to come, it has ways of enforcing its wishes."
"Really? Has it appeared to you since you've been back?"
He nodded slowly, "Yes. It was quite emphatic in its wish that I visit. It wanted to welcome me back and to tell me how to live my life." His tone was dry and slightly irritated which peaked Evangeline's curiosity.
"What did it want you to do?" she asked softly.
With a snort he turned and looked at her, amusement gleaming in his eyes. "It wanted me to take you back. I, of course, was still furious about not finding you wasting away with grief over my absence and so I'm afraid that I wasn't particularly sympathetic to the room's desires at the time. Though it was right, of course. Having you with me once more was what I truly needed. I just didn't want to hear it then. I was rather rude when I left. Who knows what sort of reception we'll find if we return."
Evangeline ran a comforting hand down his arm. "The last time I was in the study, the room was in deep mourning for your passing. As hard as it was to be there without you, I found it rather comforting to see such an outpouring of sympathy and grief. I do believe Slytherin…or whoever's spirit controls that room, wishes us well, Severus. I think we should go…see what it wants."
The Potions Master nodded, "All right. Let's see what it wants of us now. Perhaps it simply wishes to rub my nose in the fact that it was right, and I was wrong."
Evangeline smiled at his mocking tone, and the two of them got up from the bed and approached the snake on the wall. While Evangeline watched, Severus extended a hand to the silver charm and opened the passageway that led to the serpent door and the study beyond. When they traversed the tunnel and again twisted the crystal doorknob, they found a room that had once more undergone a transformation.
The sunlight that streamed through the colorful stained glass and small diamond panes of the windows was the warm and inviting light of a bright summer's day. Every bit of wood gleamed with the application of fresh polish and huge bouquets of flowers filled the room. Dozens and dozens of roses cascaded from every surface interspersed with sprigs of heather and olive and phlox, with their welcoming messages of love and unity. The fire burned cheerily in the grate and the floor in front of the hearth was strewn with colorful rose petals. No furniture stood before the fireplace instead there was a soft white fur rug of immense size, which graced the floor and beckoned them closer to experience its comfort. A large ornate silver urn stood nearby containing a chilled bottle of wine and two crystal goblets with entwining silver serpents for stems sat beside it awaiting their pleasure.
Evangeline took Severus' hand in hers in silence and turned her head to look up at him. "I think it still wants you to take me back, Severus. Are you willing to?"
In answer, he pulled her across the room onto the soft rug and down onto her knees as he captured her face in his hands and kissed her deeply over and over until she could barely breathe. "I never intend to let you go again. Never." He murmured fervently as he kissed her hair and her eyes and her neck in rapid succession. "You're mine, Evangeline. No one else's…mine alone." His whispers became more raspy with his desire and his fingers slid the straps from her shoulders and let her shift slip seductively down her torso catching gently on the curves beneath it only to be persuaded on its way by a gentle shimmy of her body as she pressed herself against him and kissed him back with equal fervor.
Carefully, as if handling fine china, he laid her down on the soft rug and quickly removed the last vestiges of her clothing while he gazed with longing at her nude form finally viewing her as he'd longed to see her for so long. He ran a gentle hand up along the contours of her body, lightly caressing the smoothness of her thighs, lingering momentarily on the slight curve of her abdomen, remembering with a twinge of sadness…and then finally pausing to cup a full breast in his palm. Slowly and deliberately his head descended to her breast and he took her nipple into his mouth to suck and nibble at it gently while his hands stroked her tenderly and she moaned her pleasure at finally receiving his welcome touch in such a familiar manner.
"Is this to be a one person game, Severus, or may I play, too?" she whispered breathlessly.
His dark head came up in response to her voice and his eyes smiled teasingly down into her own. "It's always more fun with two, my Angel."
With a loving smile on her lips, she reached up and began to unfasten his shirt. "Good…because I want to see the final result of Poppy's first treatment."
A slight shadow flickered in his eyes at her words as if he'd forgotten in his happiness at her return to his arms that he himself was no longer quite the same man that he'd been when they were last here in such an intimate embrace. Still he forced a faint smile and allowed her to slowly unbutton his shirt and push the halves aside, sliding it smoothly over his slim shoulders and down his arms to reveal his naked upper body. He found himself holding his breath as he waited for her to pass judgment on the result of Poppy's first attempt to remove his scars as he shed the shirt completely. Knowing that while the mediwitch's treatment had resulted in a big improvement, he was still far from a handsome man in any way, not that he had been before. He'd bear many of the remaining scars for the rest of his life. No matter how many treatments Poppy gave him, having an unmarked body was forever a thing of the past. None of that seemed to matter to Evangeline, though. He'd never truly understood what had attracted her to him; had simply decided that for once in his life he wouldn't question his good fortune and would simply accept the wondrous gift that she offered to him with such open and genuine love.
Slowly she ran her hands over his shoulders and down over his chest touching his flesh delicately and making him shiver at her simple caress. He'd almost forgotten how wonderful it felt to have her hands exploring his body. The scars had definitely faded greatly. There were now places where the skin looked practically normal again. Most of the painful ridges of heavy scar tissue were greatly reduced if not eliminated completely. Even the slashes of burn marks looked better than they had despite Poppy's fear that they might not respond greatly to her treatment. To Evangeline's eye the improvement was truly remarkable, and if she closed her eyes it simply felt like the same smooth warm skin that she'd always enjoyed caressing so much.
Evangeline raised glistening eyes to his and smiled, "It really looks so much better, Severus. How does it feel? Does it hurt when I touch you?"
Immensely thankful to be able to answer negatively, he shook his head and gently combed his fingers through the soft length of her hair. "No. There's a slight tingle that wasn't there before, but the burning stiffness of the heavy scar tissue is gone." He rotated his shoulders and stretched out his arms. "I can move much more freely which is such a relief. I can truly feel your touch against my skin again, and it feels indescribably wonderful. It's been so long…too long since you've touched me. Please don't stop, I've missed you so much."
Once more he drew her against him and covered her mouth with his. With delicate pressure he invited her lips to open and slipped his tongue inside to taste and explore as she did the same to him. She ran her fingers through his thick hair and slid them down to fondle the sensitive skin on the back of his neck; he moaned softly into her mouth as her feathery touch sent shivers coursing down his spine.
His lips left her sweet mouth and began to blaze a trail across her skin, down her slender throat, and across her shoulders before heading inexorably down toward the soft flesh of her rounded breast with its hardening nipple. As his mouth met its goal once more, waves of desire began to crash through her so hard that she felt like the hapless beach as it was over run by the waves of the relentless ocean.
Sudden need overcame both of them at once and Severus quickly shed his remaining clothing and they pressed their bodies against each other, exulting in the sensation of warm naked flesh coming together as it was meant to.
Evangeline slid her hands eagerly down over the expanse of her husband's strong back as he began to kiss the crook of her neck avidly, sucking at the tender skin and nipping softly with his teeth, marking it as his own, claiming her body once more as he'd forever claimed her soul. A low moan escaped her lips as she dropped her eyelids over her eyes and lost herself momentarily in the wealth of sensations coursing through her at the touch of his wet demanding mouth on her sensitive flesh. His strong hands clutched her against him possessively as they stroked her body roughly in his ever increasing desire.
As need built within her, she slid her hands around his body to grasp his cock firmly in her hand and smoothly stroke it's satiny length. Slightly relieved, despite Poppy's reassurances, that it seemed to be responding normally. Thankfully no trace of the constricting scar tissue remained to mar its sleekness. As her supple fingers stroked him with more insistence he moaned against her throat and grasped her buttocks roughly pulling her closer to him.
More than ready to feel him within her once again, she spread her legs wide and guided him inside her, not that he didn't know the way, wrapping her thighs tightly around his body as the two of them began to move together in the smooth rhythm of love.
Severus found a tremendous satisfaction in finally burying himself deeply once again within the warm loving body of his wife. This was the way it should always be for them. Together they rode a wave of ecstasy up to the heavens as they once more found their destined place within the heart of each other. Higher, faster, harder, holding tightly to each other and vowing never to let go again.
Gradually coming down to earth, Evangeline felt her pulsing heart finally beginning to slow when she opened her eyes to meet the intense dark gaze of her husband as he lay beside her on the soft rug and watched her face intently. The familiar and long desired sight of him looking at her with love in his eyes warmed her thoroughly. She felt a pleasant flush spread outward across her sweaty body as it began again to respond to the desire and warm regard in his eyes. Gracing him with a loving smile, she rolled towards him and reached out a languid hand to let her finger trace a line down the center of his strong nose and along the curve of his cheek following a path down along his jaw and further down across his throat ending up on the firm muscles of his chest as it rose and fell with the aftermath of his exertions.
Now that their initial hunger for each other had been sated, they returned to a more unhurried re-exploration of each other. Evangeline relaxed against the softness of the fur rug beneath her as her husband's questing fingers reacquainted themselves with the intimate curves of her body, and he pressed his sensuous lips to whatever part of her caught his fancy as he pursued his unhurried investigations.
"Well, I'd have to say that the first test was a rousing success from my perspective," she said with a satisfied sigh and a happy playful smile. Sobering slightly, she added with reluctance, "Was there any discomfort for you, Severus? Poppy seemed to think that there might be for a bit."
Severus lifted a brow and smirked down at her with satisfaction written all over his still overly thin face. "Thankfully Poppy seems to be wrong in this instance. Making love to you again was as wonderful as it ever has been. More so, if that could be possible."
"Do you want to perform a contraceptive spell?" she asked quietly watching his face with careful eyes.
He hesitated, realizing that she was asking for more than his momentary desire in this matter. "Are you asking me if I want to try again to have a child, Evangeline?"
With a slow nod of her head, she acquiesced, "Yes, I suppose I am. You said that you regretted letting your fear of fatherhood stop you from participating fully in the experience when I was pregnant. Has losing our daughter changed your mind about becoming a parent? Do you want to try again to start a family…or is this something that you'd prefer to consider at another time. Perhaps it's too soon to think about it. I shouldn't have even mentioned it. I forget that you haven't had as long as I have to mourn Adriana and wish … I'm sorry."
Reaching down he tenderly kissed her lips and silenced her fears. "No. Please, don't apologize. I've actually thought about being a father quite a bit over the last few days. I realized that although I was…concerned …that I might not be particularly good at it, I had been looking forward to the experience. I'll regret the loss of Adriana for the rest of my life. We can't simply replace her, but that doesn't mean that we should give up the idea of having a child. If you feel that you're ready to try again, I…would not be adverse to the idea."
"So…then no spell?"
He glanced away from her and into the fire as words that he didn't want to utter spilled reluctantly from his mouth. "Are you certain that it's not too late for a spell to be effective?"
A shiver ran through her as she realized what he was asking. She sat up beside him, took his face gently in her hands, and turned him back to her, searching his slightly shadowed eyes with her own earnest ones. "I am not pregnant, Severus. I promise you. I will not have anyone else's child but yours. I may have been weak enough to take a lover in your absence, but I would never have taken another husband or had another child. Only you could fill that place in my life. No one but you…ever."
As doubt still haunted the back of his wary eyes, she pleaded with him to understand just what he meant to her…what belonged to him and him alone.
"Do you realize how deeply I love you? What you mean to me? I've been connected to you since the very first day that we met. When you took me shopping and I raised my eyes to yours and realized that you were imagining me wearing that beautiful negligee you held in your hands, it sent shivers through me. For a moment in time as you stared into my eyes and your strong face blushed ever so faintly I was certain that the connection was real and there, but then you turned away and I thought I must have imagined it. I couldn't completely shake the feeling it left in me though, and I found myself looking for connection whenever we met again. In that moment in your quarters when you kissed my hand and spoke my name for the first time I felt its presence once more. With every conversation we had, no matter the subject…with every look that we exchanged…I found myself sinking deeper and deeper into my attraction for you. I realized just how bad it had gotten when you massaged an ache from my shoulders and I found myself wishing that those wonderful fingers of yours would move on to touch more intimate parts of my body."
"Still I refused to completely admit to myself how much I wanted you…until the night of the Halloween Ball. I dressed only for you that night. Thought only of you. Wanted to be in your arms alone…no one else's could suffice."
He ran a caressing hand up along her body sending tingles of desire through her from her head down to the soles of her feet. "I wanted you as well that night, Evangeline. Do you have any idea how difficult it was for me to take you into my arms and actually dance with you…in public? I could've destroyed my carefully constructed reputation so easily that night. I told myself that no one would know it was me beneath the mask and so I could take the chance which was a foolish conceit, but I grasped at it anyway because it was the first truly legitimate chance that I'd had to hold you in my arms, and I wanted that so much. It was all that I'd dreamed it would be, too. Dancing with you…holding your body against mine. I've never wanted anyone so badly…never. That night held such promise…and delivered such pain."
"Yes…there was pain…a lot of pain, but I at least learned something so important that night. It was the first time that I truly realized how much I'd come to love you. I was so utterly devastated to think that you'd deceived me…that you could have been one of those who sought to take my life and freedom from me. When Remus explained the truth, the relief that I felt was so strong and overwhelming that I had no choice but to finally acknowledge how much I loved you. Then I was devastated again to realize how close I'd come to absolute happiness and then lost it all by not believing in you. From that moment on I've always believed in you Severus."
Gently he gathered her into his arms and held her body against his as he stroked her hair and enjoyed the feeling of her warm skin beneath his finger tips and the feeling of her arms encircling him tightly, the feeling of her heart beating against his chest. "That night made me realize just how much you'd come to mean to me as well, Evangeline. In much the same manner, actually. I was devastated when you ran from me in horror, knowing that in my fear I'd hidden the truth for too long. At first I didn't dare to let myself hope when you returned. Then just when I started to open the door again, I realized that once more my past had come back to haunt me, and this time it would deprive me of the one thing I had come to desire above all others. As I realized my guilt in your mother's death, I could feel all the hopes and dreams that I'd only begun to nurture crumble to nothing in my heart. I had come to realize that I loved you…just in time to believe that I'd lost you forever."
"Oh, but Severus…we were both wrong. We found our way through all that pain and much more besides…and each hurdle we overcame just strengthened our love for each other. My love for you is deep and real. It knows no bounds and no end. Your death couldn't destroy it. It took me a year of trying to come up with the courage to look past it, to think beyond it's scope, but I could never deny it…and I could certainly never replace it."
"Yes…I could have sex with Remus, but I could never make love to him. He knew it. Deep down inside, he had to know it. Having a child together is the deepest expression of love that I can imagine. Do you think that I'd take even the slightest chance that I'd be forced into the position of having to bear the child of a man I didn't love when there were simple ways to prevent it? I will never have a child with anyone but you. I will never truly love anyone but you."
Relief spread warmly through his body as she laid to rest this concern that he hadn't even been able to articulate to himself. The idea that she might have been carrying the werewolf's child had nagged at the back of his brain but he hadn't been able to face even the thought. Somehow he was going to have to put to rest the demons that danced in his brain whenever he thought of them together. That was the past. Rehashing it…reliving it was only going to cause pain to both of them. Now was the time to move forward into the future. She belonged to him…from here on out they would belong only to each other. That was all that he needed to focus on.
Gently he laid her back down on the rug. Then he loomed over her prone figure and lightly kissed her forehead, then moved on to press fleeting kisses on her eyelids and the tip of her nose, across her cheeks, and the curve of her chin, to finally settle on her breathless lips, sucking gently on their swollen softness as his fingers lightly caressed the side of her face and trailed slowly down her neck.
Her restless hands stroked the lean corded muscles of his arms as they supported his weight while his lips moved slowly down her body leaving a glistening path of wetness on her already moist skin. His silky hair tickled her flesh as he moved ever so slowly down her chest toward the fullness of her bosom as it rose rapidly up and down in anticipation of the touch of his desire.
Severus raised his head from her breast and clasped its soft fullness in his hand, enjoying the way it settled warmly into his palm filling it perfectly as if it had been created to rest there. Slowly he brought his mouth down onto the rosy nipple once more to nibble and suck gently as Evangeline groaned softly at the feelings his touch evoked within her and arched her back in response, desiring only to get closer to him.
She ran her hands delicately over his shoulders and down his arms letting the tips of her fingers wander wherever they wished across his warm flesh. With a sudden shock, she realized that she'd been unconsciously tracing the lines of the scars that still twined their way across his chest and shoulders. She moaned regretfully and jerked her hand back from his body causing him to pull back slightly and gaze down into her suddenly shadowed eyes.
With a pang of dismay, she bit her lip and looked up at him sorrowfully. "I'm sorry, Severus. I wasn't thinking…" she whispered.
Bringing a finger up to caress her lips and stifle her apologies, he shook his head and smiled wryly. "Sh…don't apologize. I'm well aware that my skin still looks a bit like the bizarre map of a Knot. I don't mind that your fingers travel along its pathways. Your hands feel so good against my skin. Please, don't stop touching me. The scars don't hurt me any longer, Evangeline, only the loss of your touch would do that."
Relieved at his reassurance, she slid her hands gently up over his chest and encircled his neck pressing her body tightly against his once more. Exulting in the feeling of his long lean length draped along her body. The firm bulge of his reawakening arousal pressing tantalizingly against her thighs.
Slowly he trailed his fingers up her legs and along the soft flesh of her inner thighs as he gently urged her legs to part for him once more so he could caress her most intimately. He rubbed his thumb teasingly against the warm moistness of her clitoris, smiling contentedly as her body shuddered against his, and he once again felt the wetness of her readiness for him against his exploring fingers.
Evangeline lay flat on her back as Severus leaned up on his forearms and gazed deeply into her eyes as he gradually entered her once more. She gasped at the strength of the feelings coursing through her as he penetrated her body and then withdrew himself with long slow thrusts increasing incrementally in speed and depth as he pursued a mesmerizing rhythm. Their communication became a harmony of soft moans and sighs of communion intoxicating beyond anything either ever experienced in another. As the intensity continued to build Evangeline felt herself thrusting forward to meet him faster and faster until once again they attained a mutual orgasmic release and collapsed in each other's arms in relaxed fulfillment. Reunion complete in all ways.
With a sigh of absolute happiness, Evangeline ran her hands gently over her husband's strong sweaty back as he lay atop of her breathing heavily and whispered in his ear once her own breathing had stilled enough to attempt speech.
"Oh, Severus…I don't think I even realized how much I've needed you. Your absence from my life left such a deep void in my soul…for the first time in unbearable eons I finally feel complete once more. Please, don't ever leave me again."
His lips curved slowly upward as he lifted his head to kiss her gently. "If I have anything at all to say about it, Evangeline…I never will."
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Author's Notes: Special thanks to my friend Zagzagael for her advice on this chapter. It's much appreciated. :)
Dark Jezebel: Thank you. I'm glad you liked it.
Werecat99: Well…now, as you can see, they are going to get reacquainted…as often as possible, I'd imagine. :)
Lina Lupin: Thank you. I promise not to be too hard on Remus, you'll see.
Elaine Lahey: Thank you. That's a really nice thing for you to say. I'm glad that you've enjoyed my stories. I do hope to keep writing…if the ideas keep coming. I don't want to start repeating myself.
Rickfan37: Once again I think you've given me too much credit, but thank you for the kind thoughts. :) I'm really pleased that you're finding the wrapping up to be emotionally satisfying. I hope this chapter was as well.
Jasara: I'm glad you liked the naming.
Cloudshape: The last chapter is an epilogue dealing entirely with what happens to Remus. Thanks for the kind words. :)
Arsinoe3: I wish I could promise a sequel, but I can't. At the moment, I have quite a few ideas of things I'd like to see happen to them, but I don't have a fully realized plot. Other than a couple of one-shots, including one about Remus' way of handling Sirius' death, I don't have anything else ready to go when I finish this story. I'll keep working on it, though.
Whale of the World: Thanks. :)
Zagzagael: Thank you…for all your help and encouragement.
P. Veronica Tyler: As I told Cloudshape, the last chapter is all about Remus and what happens to him. I wouldn't want to leave that hanging.
Arachne's Child: For the moment, at least, the portrait will remain at the cottage…while Severus and Evangeline remain at Hogwarts.
Katty: Two more chapters after this one, but I don't know yet if there'll be a sequel.
Sage and Snape: Thank you. I appreciate your kind words. Don't worry about Remus. A suicide note wouldn't help any of them face the future more easily.