Disclaimer - see part 1.
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Wizards Honour
Part 22
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"Are you sure about this, Severus?" Aurora asked quietly. "This isn't one of the pranks we've been playing?"
"I have answered both those questions twice in the last ten minutes, Aurora. Please do not ask them again, woman." Snape walked to the observatory door, "Yes, I am sure. No, I am not joking. Now go to bed and sleep, I will see you in the morning."
"Are you nagging me?" Aurora demanded as Severus opened the door.
"Someone has to do it," Severus said archly. He stepped through the open doorway and said, "Astrologer," over his shoulder before quickly closing the door.
"Always has to have the last word," Aurora grinned. She peeked out the door and watched Severus disappear from view, the Bloody Baron floating after him.
Sinistra waited a few minutes to be sure Snape had gone downstairs before she closed the door and, cheering quietly, danced around the room. She danced to the door, where she stood still and schooled her features into her best 'Professional Teacher expression' before leaving the room as though nothing unusual had happened.
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Fawkes sang mournfully and sat, dejectedly, on his perch.
"Yes, I know it is early for visitors," Albus chided his pet, "but you shall have to endure it."
The Headmaster checked that his hat was on straight, sat in the chair behind his desk and waited for his early morning visitors to knock on the office door. Three minutes later he was still waiting.
With a lazy wave of his wand, Albus opened the door to reveal the Slytherin teachers. Professors Snape and Sinistra jumped apart guiltily.
"While I applaud the display of affection, the foyer of my office is not exactly the best place for I believe the modern expression for it is 'snogging', or as it was known in my youth 'taking a stroll in the garden'." Dumbledore's rebuke was softened by the gleam of amusement in his eyes and a mischievous wink.
Sinistra snorted. For a moment the Headmaster had looked like an elderly Weasley.
Snape paled slightly. "I assure you, Headmaster," he said with as much of his characteristic cold dignity as he could muster, "that it will not happen again." He stepped firmly into the room; Sinistra followed more slowly.
"Oh, I am sure that Aurora will disagree with your, Severus." Albus said, dryly. "I have no doubt from the enthusiasm you were exhibiting that you will both be indulging in that behaviour again soon."
"I meant not here," Snape said in a sulky tone. Sinistra bit at her lip to smother the urge to laugh at Severus' expression.
"I was making a little joke, Severus." Dumbledore scolded lightly.
"Oh really? I would never have guessed," Snape replied sarcastically, a smile flitting briefly across his features.
While Dumbledore was absorbing the fact that Snape could smile and making a mental note to put this entire conversation into his Pensieve, Sinistra said, "Headmaster, there was something we wished to ask you."
"Yes?" Albus nodded, the 'we' making him very curious.
"We were wondering if you would witness the signing of a document." She placed a thin scroll onto Albus' desk.
The Headmaster picked up the scroll and opened it.
"I thought I was to ask," Severus snapped.
Aurora's acidic reply was lost in the noise of Snape's yelp of surprise. Albus had scampered around the desk and grabbed the Potion's Master in a brief hug, pinning the younger man's arms to his sides.
"Wonderful news, my boy, wonderful!" Albus stepped back from Severus and patted his protege on the shoulder in a fatherly way.
"Thank you," Snape spluttered.
Sinistra's smirk at the expression of horror on Severus' face disappeared when her own face was squashed against a long grey beard and her ribs were squeezed by surprisingly strong arms.
"I am so happy for you both," said Albus as he released Aurora from the hug.
"Thank you, Headmaster," Sinistra said politely. She deliberately ignored her smirking fiance until Dumbledore turned away and walked back to his desk, then she shot a 'just you wait' glare at Snape.
"Please, sit down," said Albus as he turned quickly. He caught sight of the Slytherin's expressions just before they had time to change them and smothered a laugh with a cough. "We shall have a cup of tea and discuss this matter."
Aurora bit back a smile. Albus had said exactly what Severus had told her the Headmaster would say.
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"Now before I sign this document," Dumbledore said ten minutes later as they were sipping tea, "there are a few matters I would like to discuss with you."
The Slytherin Professors looked questioningly at him.
"This is, I hope, the only wedding either of you shall have. Are you sure that you want only to sign a piece of paper? Don't you want something more?"
"What more, Headmaster?" Snape sneered, "A Weasley Twins joke spectacular? Or perhaps another teachers betting war? No, thank you."
"It need not be like that." Albus replied. "Aurora, wouldn't you like some sort of ceremony?"
"No, thank you Albus. It will always be like that for us." Aurora shrugged, "Even if it didn't happen that way we'd expect it to and that expectation would spoil the day. This will be enough."
Dumbledore sighed. "No. I will not allow you to ruin your opportunities like this."
"Albus -", Severus leant forward in his chair.
"Hear me out, Severus." Albus said firmly. "In these dark times we all need positive things. If you do not want to have a wedding at least allow me to arrange a feast for you. Friday night would be a good time. It would cause a minimum of disruption to the students' week and you can have the weekend to yourselves. It's not much of a honeymoon but I cannot spare both of you for long at this time of year."
Snape and Sinistra looked at each other.
"I will give you both a few minutes to decide." Dumbledore stepped out of the room and summoned one of the House Elves.
Four minutes later, Dumbledore returned. "I thought you said that would not happen again, Professor Snape?"
Snape blanched and muttered an apology. Sinistra hopped off his lap and returned to her chair.
"We would like to accept your offer of the feast, Headmaster," Snape said, hurriedly changing the subject.
"Excellent." Albus smiled at both of them. "Would you like to invite your families?"
"Must we?" Aurora asked Severus.
"If we don't it'll be worse for both of us." Snape replied decisively. "There are only two of them."
"Good. That's all settled. I shall delay announcing the feast until Friday morning, that will give you time to prepare and avoid too much disruption to the school." Dumbledore said before Sinistra had time to mention that their relatives would probably cause more disruption that a room full of overexcited First years.
The Headmaster opened a drawer in his desk and took out a long, gold-edged quill and a bottle of ink. He unrolled the Acceptance Form and passed it and the quill to Snape.
Severus signed the form and passed it and the quill to Sinistra. Aurora signed the form and passed it and the quill to Dumbledore. Albus smiled at them both and signed the form with a flourish.
The form glowed brightly for a moment and wedding rings appeared on Severus and Aurora's hands. A line of words appeared under the signatures. It read, 'Congratulations. Please register this form with the Ministry of Magic as soon as possible.'
"Lovely!" Albus beamed at Severus and Aurora. "Now, I hope you don't mind but I've taken the liberty of arranging breakfast for you in Severus' rooms. I thought that you might prefer to be alone for a while. I shall have the form owled to the Ministry immediately and, if you don't mind, I should like to send the invitations to your families."
"Thank you, Headmaster." Severus said shakily, he stared at the ring on his hand and fought the urge to cheer.
"You're welcome." Albus smiled. "Oh, Aurora, what name would you prefer to use? Professor Madam Snape?"
"Uh," Aurora too was a little stunned by the appearance of the rings and had to think for a minute or so. "It might be too confusing to have two Professors Snape. Would Sinistra-Snape be all right with you, Severus?"
Severus nodded his approval.
"Good," Dumbledore smiled cheerfully. "Now off you go and enjoy your breakfast." He shooed the newly-married couple out the door and sighed.
"And you," he chided Fawkes, "thought today was going to be a bad day."
To be continued
Author's note - thanks for your patience. I'm sorry this part took so long to post. I kept having second thoughts about it and rewrote it nine times before I posted the original.
Thank you everyone for all your comments. There will be a couple more parts to this story and then it'll be done.
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Wizards Honour
Part 22
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"Are you sure about this, Severus?" Aurora asked quietly. "This isn't one of the pranks we've been playing?"
"I have answered both those questions twice in the last ten minutes, Aurora. Please do not ask them again, woman." Snape walked to the observatory door, "Yes, I am sure. No, I am not joking. Now go to bed and sleep, I will see you in the morning."
"Are you nagging me?" Aurora demanded as Severus opened the door.
"Someone has to do it," Severus said archly. He stepped through the open doorway and said, "Astrologer," over his shoulder before quickly closing the door.
"Always has to have the last word," Aurora grinned. She peeked out the door and watched Severus disappear from view, the Bloody Baron floating after him.
Sinistra waited a few minutes to be sure Snape had gone downstairs before she closed the door and, cheering quietly, danced around the room. She danced to the door, where she stood still and schooled her features into her best 'Professional Teacher expression' before leaving the room as though nothing unusual had happened.
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Fawkes sang mournfully and sat, dejectedly, on his perch.
"Yes, I know it is early for visitors," Albus chided his pet, "but you shall have to endure it."
The Headmaster checked that his hat was on straight, sat in the chair behind his desk and waited for his early morning visitors to knock on the office door. Three minutes later he was still waiting.
With a lazy wave of his wand, Albus opened the door to reveal the Slytherin teachers. Professors Snape and Sinistra jumped apart guiltily.
"While I applaud the display of affection, the foyer of my office is not exactly the best place for I believe the modern expression for it is 'snogging', or as it was known in my youth 'taking a stroll in the garden'." Dumbledore's rebuke was softened by the gleam of amusement in his eyes and a mischievous wink.
Sinistra snorted. For a moment the Headmaster had looked like an elderly Weasley.
Snape paled slightly. "I assure you, Headmaster," he said with as much of his characteristic cold dignity as he could muster, "that it will not happen again." He stepped firmly into the room; Sinistra followed more slowly.
"Oh, I am sure that Aurora will disagree with your, Severus." Albus said, dryly. "I have no doubt from the enthusiasm you were exhibiting that you will both be indulging in that behaviour again soon."
"I meant not here," Snape said in a sulky tone. Sinistra bit at her lip to smother the urge to laugh at Severus' expression.
"I was making a little joke, Severus." Dumbledore scolded lightly.
"Oh really? I would never have guessed," Snape replied sarcastically, a smile flitting briefly across his features.
While Dumbledore was absorbing the fact that Snape could smile and making a mental note to put this entire conversation into his Pensieve, Sinistra said, "Headmaster, there was something we wished to ask you."
"Yes?" Albus nodded, the 'we' making him very curious.
"We were wondering if you would witness the signing of a document." She placed a thin scroll onto Albus' desk.
The Headmaster picked up the scroll and opened it.
"I thought I was to ask," Severus snapped.
Aurora's acidic reply was lost in the noise of Snape's yelp of surprise. Albus had scampered around the desk and grabbed the Potion's Master in a brief hug, pinning the younger man's arms to his sides.
"Wonderful news, my boy, wonderful!" Albus stepped back from Severus and patted his protege on the shoulder in a fatherly way.
"Thank you," Snape spluttered.
Sinistra's smirk at the expression of horror on Severus' face disappeared when her own face was squashed against a long grey beard and her ribs were squeezed by surprisingly strong arms.
"I am so happy for you both," said Albus as he released Aurora from the hug.
"Thank you, Headmaster," Sinistra said politely. She deliberately ignored her smirking fiance until Dumbledore turned away and walked back to his desk, then she shot a 'just you wait' glare at Snape.
"Please, sit down," said Albus as he turned quickly. He caught sight of the Slytherin's expressions just before they had time to change them and smothered a laugh with a cough. "We shall have a cup of tea and discuss this matter."
Aurora bit back a smile. Albus had said exactly what Severus had told her the Headmaster would say.
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"Now before I sign this document," Dumbledore said ten minutes later as they were sipping tea, "there are a few matters I would like to discuss with you."
The Slytherin Professors looked questioningly at him.
"This is, I hope, the only wedding either of you shall have. Are you sure that you want only to sign a piece of paper? Don't you want something more?"
"What more, Headmaster?" Snape sneered, "A Weasley Twins joke spectacular? Or perhaps another teachers betting war? No, thank you."
"It need not be like that." Albus replied. "Aurora, wouldn't you like some sort of ceremony?"
"No, thank you Albus. It will always be like that for us." Aurora shrugged, "Even if it didn't happen that way we'd expect it to and that expectation would spoil the day. This will be enough."
Dumbledore sighed. "No. I will not allow you to ruin your opportunities like this."
"Albus -", Severus leant forward in his chair.
"Hear me out, Severus." Albus said firmly. "In these dark times we all need positive things. If you do not want to have a wedding at least allow me to arrange a feast for you. Friday night would be a good time. It would cause a minimum of disruption to the students' week and you can have the weekend to yourselves. It's not much of a honeymoon but I cannot spare both of you for long at this time of year."
Snape and Sinistra looked at each other.
"I will give you both a few minutes to decide." Dumbledore stepped out of the room and summoned one of the House Elves.
Four minutes later, Dumbledore returned. "I thought you said that would not happen again, Professor Snape?"
Snape blanched and muttered an apology. Sinistra hopped off his lap and returned to her chair.
"We would like to accept your offer of the feast, Headmaster," Snape said, hurriedly changing the subject.
"Excellent." Albus smiled at both of them. "Would you like to invite your families?"
"Must we?" Aurora asked Severus.
"If we don't it'll be worse for both of us." Snape replied decisively. "There are only two of them."
"Good. That's all settled. I shall delay announcing the feast until Friday morning, that will give you time to prepare and avoid too much disruption to the school." Dumbledore said before Sinistra had time to mention that their relatives would probably cause more disruption that a room full of overexcited First years.
The Headmaster opened a drawer in his desk and took out a long, gold-edged quill and a bottle of ink. He unrolled the Acceptance Form and passed it and the quill to Snape.
Severus signed the form and passed it and the quill to Sinistra. Aurora signed the form and passed it and the quill to Dumbledore. Albus smiled at them both and signed the form with a flourish.
The form glowed brightly for a moment and wedding rings appeared on Severus and Aurora's hands. A line of words appeared under the signatures. It read, 'Congratulations. Please register this form with the Ministry of Magic as soon as possible.'
"Lovely!" Albus beamed at Severus and Aurora. "Now, I hope you don't mind but I've taken the liberty of arranging breakfast for you in Severus' rooms. I thought that you might prefer to be alone for a while. I shall have the form owled to the Ministry immediately and, if you don't mind, I should like to send the invitations to your families."
"Thank you, Headmaster." Severus said shakily, he stared at the ring on his hand and fought the urge to cheer.
"You're welcome." Albus smiled. "Oh, Aurora, what name would you prefer to use? Professor Madam Snape?"
"Uh," Aurora too was a little stunned by the appearance of the rings and had to think for a minute or so. "It might be too confusing to have two Professors Snape. Would Sinistra-Snape be all right with you, Severus?"
Severus nodded his approval.
"Good," Dumbledore smiled cheerfully. "Now off you go and enjoy your breakfast." He shooed the newly-married couple out the door and sighed.
"And you," he chided Fawkes, "thought today was going to be a bad day."
To be continued
Author's note - thanks for your patience. I'm sorry this part took so long to post. I kept having second thoughts about it and rewrote it nine times before I posted the original.
Thank you everyone for all your comments. There will be a couple more parts to this story and then it'll be done.