Disclaimer: Mood swings aren't limited to pregnant women, but they've got a great excuse for them! Oh yeah, I'm not Rowling, or 'expecting' either. ;-)
Don't Call Me Daddy
Chapter 5- Mood Swings
Lying across tangled sheets in a state of pleasant exhaustion, Severus lifted heavy eyelids to peer at the woman smoothing long black strands away from his face. His wife smiled and kissed him lingeringly before looking out of the enchanted window and exclaiming,
"What a beautiful day! I think I'll go get a short ru…jog…in before the staff meeting."
Bouncing off the bed in a disturbingly energetic, although extremely attractive manner, Lorelei drew on a track suit and sat beside him on the mattress to tie her trainers.
"Have you been taking a new prenatal vitamin potion?"
Perhaps his tone was rather petulant- usually he was the one leaving the bed while she remained- but surely not enough to merit giggling in response.
"No, love, I just need to work a little energy off."
"The last hour was insufficient exercise?"
Full red lips twitched with the effort to suppress mirth. Eyes like black velvet visually caressed his prone form,
"Is that an invitation?"
A rueful smile curved his lips,
"The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weary."
Leaning down to kiss him goodbye, Lorelei smiled,
"I promise to jog, not run, and I'll do my best to be on time for the Staff Meeting."
Nodding in gracious assent, Snape watched his wife leave the bedroom with eyes that slowly drifted shut.
A refreshing nap later, the Potions Master was ready to begin the day. In the back of the Staff Lounge, he sat on a sofa and perused a text. Usually, his utter absorption was enough to deter any irritatingly cheerful 'morning persons' on the lookout for a chat, but not today. Dropping onto the other end of the sofa, the newly voted 'Sexiest Professor Alive' in a female student poll glanced over and drawled,
"From Here to Paternity…a Wizard's Guide to Gestation…sounds riveting, can't wait to read it."
Raising a sardonic eyebrow, Severus asked dryly,
"Are you making an announcement or was that an attempt at wit?"
Amused at the flush that immediately arose, Snape repressed a smile when the younger man sputtered,
"Merlin, no, her psychotic…I mean over-protective…brothers would kill me!"
He couldn't prevent the corners of his mouth from turning up. The blond grinned,
"So happy to amuse, but I'm curious. What are you reading that's so absorbing?"
Severus handed over the book and pointed to the paragraph. While Draco read silently, the father-to-be recalled the information word for word.
Significant changes in estrogen and progesterone hormone levels can affect your partner's neurotransmitters, the brain chemicals regulating mood. Changes begin to be experienced at around 6-10 weeks. The length and severity of emotional upheaval varies and is a natural part of the pregnancy experience.
Handing the text back with a smirk, a white blond eyebrow rose inquiringly,
"Lorelei's what…twelve weeks? What kind of mood swings does she have?"
Before Snape could do more than frown repressively, the door to the Staff Lounge opened and his wife entered. His eyes met hers. She beamed and started toward him. Lean features softened. There was something primitively satisfying in knowing that he was responsible for the glow on her face and the child growing within that beautiful body. Lorelei's gaze became sultry. When the woman licked her lips, Malfoy growled,
"On second thought, don't tell me. Blokes living out the adage 'Abstinence makes the heart grow fonder' shouldn't have to hear about others' increase in affection. As it is, I'll probably give every class a pop quiz."
Standing abruptly, the younger wizard greeted the Potions Professor cordially before stalking off to sit in an opposite corner and stare brooding out the window. Sitting close beside him, the siren noted,
"Professor Malfoy seems rather out of sorts."
"Hmmm"
Albus cleared his throat and began the staff meeting. The upcoming Hogsmeade
Weekend was discussed after which various concerns were raised and addressed.
As usual, Lorelei insisted on holding his hand and paid more attention to him than the subjects under discussion. It became extremely difficult to keep his focus on the Headmaster.
"Severus"
Reflexively, his fingers tightened around slender ones, hearing the breathy note in his wife's voice.
"Yes"
"Will you join me for lunch in our quarters today?"
The book had advised to spend time with one's partner, to find ways to take care of them emotionally, and not let frustration build to an unmanageable level… After…lunch…he could always take another nap… Lifting her hand to his lips, Snape used the dark, silky tone his wife loved so much to respond,
"As you wish"
Striding into the Great Hall later that evening, the Potions Master halted just inside the staff entrance to observe an interesting sight. McGonagall and his wife were standing, conversing, several meters away. Minerva placed her hand briefly on Lorelei's arm. After a final few words, the older witch nodded and made her way to the staff table while the other woman pushed a stray spiral behind her ear and did the same. Once he was ensconced in his usual place, Severus slanted a covert glance down the table. He immediately became perturbed. Soft red lips were trembling. Midnight eyes gazing his way glistened with tears. One rolled down a creamy cheek even as she tried to smile. He attempted to curve his lips reassuringly. Lorelei's face crumpled. Standing abruptly, she said something to Tonks and rushed out, hands covering her face, shoulders shaking with repressed sobs.
Pinning Minerva with a malevolent glare, Severus gritted dangerously,
"What did you say to my wife?"
Taken aback, green eyes widened as the woman defended,
"I said nothing to evoke such a reaction. I merely…" Looking away for a moment, she exhaled sharply and then said awkwardly, "I asked her to call me…Minerva."
They shared a baffled glance before he rose and inclined his head stiffly,
"My apologies"
Tightly pursed lips relaxed,
"None are necessary"
Sweeping out of the Hall, ignoring the whispers of happily gossiping students, he found his wife waiting in the staff corridor. She rushed into his arms. Severus held her tight. Sniffing, she pulled back. He watched in amazement as she changed from tearful to laughing,
"She told me to call her Minerva…isn't that wonderful, Severus? I've been intimidated by that woman for years and now…it's like a miracle!"
His hand caressed her cheek, and then lowered to splay over her abdomen,
"This is the true miracle."
Sparkling black eyes became misty before glittering with laughter again. The mercurial swings in mood were quite unsettling. Taking both his hands in hers, Lorelei said smilingly,
"Wonder of wonders, miracle of miracles… That reminds me of a song from a Muggle musical. Shall I sing a bit? I'll take that scowl as a 'yes, please'."
His lips quirked as she sang declaring that of all miracles the greatest one was God giving him to her. Touched, he tried to avert another round of tears by saying,
"I am thankful also for whatever benevolence has brought us together, but I am also famished."
Tugging his hands, she giggled,
"Can't have our baby's father starving…let's go to the kitchen…"
Agreeably, he allowed himself to be led along to the chamber that had not changed since the Middle Ages. House elves bustled about, conjuring and magically transporting requested dishes to the Hall. One elf looked up from his chair by a small fireplace and shouted delightedly,
"Lorelei is come to Dobby's kitchen!"
Snape noticed the sour glances the elf dressed in a green sweater with the letter 'H' emblazoned upon it received and smirked. If the non-conformist elf offended his fellows and had his sock collection strewn from the battlements again, it would not be a surprise. The wretch did not know the meaning of the word 'tact'.
"Is you having another craving? Peanut butter and pickles is you wishing or something else? Ice cream and crisps again? Dobby is happy to be conjuring!"
"Heh heh…what a joker you are Dobby…no, no craving other than for dinner. Severus and I will go sit out of the way…at our usual table."
Ha. He hadn't imagined that extremely odd combination of scents upon her person a few weeks ago. Lorelei had snuck out of their quarters for a snack in the dead of night and returned chewing a brushing/flossing mint. Enjoying the sight of pink tinting her cheekbones, Severus murmured after seating her at the small work table,
"Shall I order you something with pickles in it?"
After scrunching her eyes closed, the siren opened them and purred,
"Did you know that they're an aphrodisiac to pregnant women?"
His eyebrows arched. When his smug wife ordered a plebian hamburger with everything on it except onions, he waited for Dobby to turn to him and drawled,
"Give her extra pickles…"
The next afternoon, the Potions Master was enjoying the peaceful solitude of his private laboratory when the door to the dungeon chamber was thrust opened with such force it banged against the wall.
"What a day I've had! I swear, every class today was deliberately trying to ruin my perfect record." Storming into the room, his wife unbuttoned her teaching robes with jerky, angry motions, exclaiming,
"Dennis Creevey would rival Neville Longbottom if I didn't watch him like a hawk! Enchanted cauldrons only turn red if a potion's about to turn disastrous…it doesn't Evanesco for me. Luckily, I had just gotten rid of another smoking failure nearby when Mr. Creevey decided to try and fix his Inflamarae solution." Throwing her robes onto an empty workbench, the agitated woman began to pace back and forth in front of his desk, voice rising in ire, "He threw water on it Severus, water! The potion had flames shooting up three meters! If I hadn't been so close, the cauldron would've melted, the classroom would've been engulfed in fire, and my no-accident record gone up in ironic bloody smoke!"
The Slytherin green wrap dress rose and fell strikingly with each angry breath. Leaning across his desk in a way that was deeply appreciated, Lorelei exclaimed,
"Today, I suffered as big a bunch of dunderheads as you ever had to teach!"
A snort of amusement escaped. Fine eyes narrowed,
"Do you think that's funny?"
Straightening, his wife stalked around the desk to bend and poke his chest with an indignant finger,
"I have one of the worst days of my life and you laugh at me? I ought to…"
He pulled his wife onto his lap, silencing the entertaining diatribe with a deep kiss. After a few minutes, the body pressing closer had changed from stiff and angry to soft and enticing. Long, slow, satisfying kisses later; she smiled against his mouth and sighed,
"Even on the worst day, being in your arms makes everything better."
Severus untied the bow holding the dress together with one hand and cupped the nape of her neck with the other. Slipping one set of fingers inside the gaping fabric while using the other to hold her mouth in place, he reminded, before using actions to speak louder than words,
"Slytherin are not satisfied with 'better'…we must make everything the best."
A few days later, his laboratory sanctuary was invaded by a metamorphmagus that entered after a hesitant knock. Lingering in the doorway until curtly told to come in and stop acting like a first year, the woman bit her thumbnail while she slowly moved forward. Impatiently, he snapped,
"If you have something you wish to convey, say it and allow me to return to my work."
Tonks ran her hand over purple spiky hair in a nervous gesture before standing on the other side of his workbench and admitting,
"I…uh…I think I may have upset Lorelei…accidentally…"
Shrewd dark eyes evaluated the woman's expression. It was guilty and miserable. Resisting the urge to cuttingly demand what unthinking foolishness had gone into her brain and out of her mouth, Snape waited a moment before prodding levelly,
"Explain"
Eyes the color of violets shifted away,
"Well…you know how mates are…or not…anyway, I overheard some boys in my…er…class talking, and I shared it with her, like she tells me things, but…" Meeting his gaze, she shrugged unhappily, "she didn't laugh like I thought she would. Instead, Lorelei got all sad-looking and said she had to go get something from the restricted section of the library."
"What did the boys say?"
Surely his tone did not merit gulping and taking a step backward before the changeable woman related,
"Uhm…one boy insisted that Lorelei would've gotten 'Sexiest Professor Alive' if the guys had been as dumb as the girls to make a poll and…"
"What boy?"
"Oh…I can't remember…" She hurriedly continued, "Anyway, a couple of the other boys jokingly wondered if he'd think Mrs. Snape was so sexy when she got big as a house with little…"
Tonks flushed beet-red. Severus gave a swift, searing look that encouraged the professor to finish with a cringing,
"Snorelei"
The Potions Master's voice was icy,
"You thought that would amuse?"
"Uh huh, she's got a great sense of humor…usually…I'm sorry, I just thought maybe you could go talk to her, make sure Lorelei's not too…upset or anything…Bye…"
He didn't yell 'Get Out! Get Out!', but the metamorphmagus acted like he had, rushing out the door like the hounds of hades were after her. Quickly placing a stasis charm on his experiment, Severus left the dungeons for the library.
Inside the hushed chamber, his prowling walk had students rushing to scurry out of his way. Disregarding rude stares, he swept down the aisles to reach the Restricted Section. Stifled crying made his gut clench while he stepped toward the window seat. His wife was sitting with her head bent down against the knees drawn up to her chest. Taking a seat beside the distraught woman, he debated on which tactic to use. Clearing his throat, the wizard said softly,
"What upset you so…hearing our child referred to as 'Snorelei', or the thought that boys might not find you as sexy when you are…quote…'big as a house'…"
Lupin had once told him that the softer his voice got, the more dangerous it sounded, but his wife had disagreed, vowing that it got 'sexier'. In normal circumstances, his tone would have her melting over him in an attempt to snog his lips off. Under the influence of fluctuating hormones, Lorelei began to take gulping breaths as she lifted her tear-streaked face to confess,
"It…it wasn't…the boys…it…it was thinking about you." Body shuddering with the attempt to control her emotions, she wailed, "What if you don't think I'm sexy anymore when I'm b-big as a h-house!"
Stygian eyes stared in consternation. His wife was worried that she would lose her appeal when her body expanded with their child? He almost laughed, but contained the urge to a thin lipped smile. Moving closer on the seat, he bent down, shifted raven tresses away from a delicate ear and whispered silkily,
"Have I failed to show how the changes in your body make me feel?" Unfastening her robes and slipping a hand inside the top underneath, clever fingers glided over pliant softness as he dropped his voice in a manner that seemed to mesmerize, "Everything about you is beautiful. The fullness and sensitivity intrigue me and make me long to explore." She sighed when he promised, "After you grow large with our child, I will stand behind you in front of the mirror so you can see exactly how fascinating, voluptuous, and desirable I find you."
Tears dried as if by magic, Lorelei turned her head to seek his mouth. Time passed while they lost themselves in a passionate embrace. Trailing kisses along his jaw, she murmured,
"If I transform the enchanted window into a mirror, could you show me how…you feel…right now…?"
"Yes"
Jumping off the window seat in flattering haste, his wife fastened her robes haphazardly while pulling him out of library with the husky promise to show him how she felt in return.
A/N: Thanks to Berekka for using the name 'snorelei' in a review and inspiring me! You guys knew Lorelei would be singing sooner or later, didn't you? LOL The song was from Fiddler on the Roof. My mood will swing on your review, so make me happy, dear readers!