Chapter Eighteen: One

Severus came to her again that night. One night waking with her, one night, and he was and addict. He couldn't even bare the thought of thinking about not being with her.

"Severus." Evelyn said opening her door to him. He had made sure to come to her early enough to ensure that he wouldn't get blasted into oblivion. He had made sure to also bring with him clothing so that effort would be minimal.

"Evelyn." Severus replied entering her chambers.

"Do you know who took my classes while I was gone?" he asked.

"I did." She replied with a smile.

"Evelyn!" Severus exclaimed. "You shouldn't have. Remember what happened last time, you need your rest."

"Are you going to let me sleep?" Evelyn asked wryly with an eyebrow articulation for good measure.

"You have my word, lady, upon my honor; you will receive the most restful of slumbers." Severus replied.

"Then I see no problem, is this gunna be common Sev?" Evelyn asked.

"Do you want it to be?" he replied.

"I asked you first."

"I asked you second." Evelyn sighed and colored.

"Fine, same time on three, Okay?" He nodded and held up three fingers before slowly ticking them off.

"Yes." Both answered. They laughed.

"That settles it then." Evelyn said smiling at Severus. He kissed her in reply. Evelyn quickly put his things away and sides of the bed were determined.

Severus watched in horror as Ezra and Tessa disappeared in a green flash. She had been crying and begging for his help, but he couldn't do anything.

"Severus! Severus!" Evelyn cried, firmly shaking him awake. Tears were pouring down his cheeks. She collected him in her arms and cradled him to her as he sobbed. He cried and cried burying his face in her unbound hair. She stroked his back and rocked him whispering softly in his ear.

"Its all right, it was just a dream. It's all right. Shhhhhhhh." He clung to her desperately taking comfort in her arms. Eventually he fell back asleep. Evelyn tucked him back in and soon joined him in slumber.

Evelyn knew that Tessa's tragedy had affected Severus greatly. He had a terrible night's sleep. He was skipping his meals and lesser obligations to go and fight Neville for Tessa's attention. He was neglecting things, one of them being her. She knew she was being selfish, but she couldn't help but miss all the time in the past that they had spent together. They would eat and talk, correct their homework together in front of his fire or listen to music in her room. The only thing that was moving a head in her relationship was the fact that he now had a shared space in her closet and in her bed. At her darker times she felt like she was just being used for the bed, although they never did anything, both being from the sexually immoral, yet still repressive generation, but only at bed time did she ever really see him. Not that she minded sharing her bed, it had been a week of the arrangement and she was more than happy to wake in his arms, she smiled at the thought of how it made her feel doing so.

Evelyn now approached where Severus sat, beside a studying Tessa. He had his nose in one of the books she had given him and was well into the story. Neville too was there, hardly leaving his betroth's side. Evelyn watched the three from a distance so that she wouldn't intrude. Seeing Severus act in such a parental manor, to have exhibit genuine concern made her heart leap. Of course just about anything he did made her heart do something or other. A very sensible woman you are, Evie! Just look at yourself. She thought.

Severus tried in vain to focus on his copy of 'The Age of Bronze'. His mind was churning up more than one chain of thoughts that made him see with out sight and think earnestly. He was becoming an old bee, he knew it, and he accepted it. Hell, he even enjoyed it. To wake up with one woman every morning, even if it only was for a week was a mind blowing pleasure for him. He wanted to make it a permanent arrangement. There were many things that he wanted about Evelyn; he wanted to always have her smile and laugh, her jokes, even if they were at his expense. In short he wanted it all. Perhaps it was the young happy couple beside him that brought it on or perhaps there was some form of a god, but at that moment he wanted to marry Evelyn and live happily ever after. He decided that he should, better to have and to hold than to be depressed. He stood and after saying good bye to Neville and Tessa then went straight to his office.

Severus knew that Evelyn had lost her parents sometime in the late eighties; he had found that out after one of their early on catch up sessions. He was slightly relived that he didn't have to write her parents, from what he remembered of them, while very nice and humorous, they were very protective of their daughters. Severus tapped his teeth and found a bit of parchment.

Dear Maman,

I hope you are well, I apologize for not writing as faithfully as I use to. But I guess this is my third year of neglecting you, so it is not as much of a surprise as it could be, and we always knew even when I was faithful penmen that I was an abhorrent correspondent. I am terrible at keeping up with family, or in this specific case a close friend. I'm sure you remember Evie Blair, from my school days. The one Michelangelo liked to call my Hufflepuff Mistress. I always meant to keep in touch with her after graduation; I believe that even then I loved her. However, being the type of letter writer that I am, I never spoke to her again. Well, all that changed this past August. She took the Mythology position that had been vacated; she is a teacher here with me! Words cannot express how glad I am that she is here; meeting her again after all these years was quite a surprise for me. But I am quite happy to report that were back in the know and it's like those about twenty years never happened. But Maman, a lot has happened, and it is almost all to do with Evelyn. I don't know where exactly to begin with this mother, but thankfully Ziz1 is strong. Thus I will start from the beginning, bare with me Maman, please.

Evelyn came back into my life after being a fixture in it for seven years and beyond, I am no longer denying that Evie Blair had to have be the most special woman in my life, except of course, for you. But I'm getting off track…

Severus finished out the piece of parchment and reached for another one, on the first he had recounted everything that had happened between himself and Evelyn and every feeling he had along the way. He of course made sure to leave out anything remotely racy about his year; this was after all his mother. On the fresh sheet of manuscript he began the second part of his letter.

I write you not just to tell you that your son is a romantic fool, but to ask for some sincere, steady advice. I cannot ask Evie, and that aside it would be better for you to advise me anyway. I want to get married. I love her very much and wish to marry her so I can be with her always. Do I have your blessing?

Severus finished his letter and sent Ziz on his slightly lop sided way. He pushed his chair back and put his feet up on his desk. Asking his mother was out of the way, now he just had to ask permission from her friends. But who? Severus thought for a time before the answer came to him. She always talked about the Madams when she was younger; it was like some secret society with her and Poppy, Rolanda, and Rosmerta. He knew the women very well, if they weren't happy you weren't happy. Slowly he got up and paced. Should he talk to the women now or after he heard from his mother? He decided to wait. Exceedingly nerves he tried to get back to character, like nothing was going on.

It didn't take long for Ziz to return to him, his mother must've put a speed charm on him because it didn't take but a class period for him to receive a response.

It was your grandmother's. By God marry that girl, it's about time!

His mother had written on a scrap of parchment. Taped to it was a ring. The ring was silver and had a small domed jewel resting between two small hands. It was a scurry ring. He kept the parchment and pocketed the ring. Feeling emboldened he took a deep breath, thanked some form of God for Evelyn and his mother and then set forth to find the madams.

Whhhhheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee. Thock! Bounce, bounce, bounce. Whhhhheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee. Thock! Bounce, bounce, bounce. Whhhhheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee. Thock! Bounce, bounce, bounce. Rolanda Hooch sat cross legged on her desk tossing a red rubber ball against the opposite wall in an attempt to amuse herself, however mildly. The Qudditch season was over, she had time to kill. She had already done the paper work (Oh yay) and filed the statistics of the year. So she now had preverbal purgatory until the summer where she could watch the pros play and the next school year to watch her students play. Whhhhheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee. Thock! Bounce, bounce, bounce. This is fun, she thought. Whhhhheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee. Thock! Bounce, bounce, bounce. Perhaps it was cheating to have charmed the ball to always return to her and not break anything, but did one really expect her to run around her office like a child. She didn't need a trip to the loony bin that summer, white wasn't her color. She sighed and tossed her ball into one of her over flowing desk draws and hopped off of her desk. Walking over to her fire place she tossed a fist full of glittering floo powder into the flames, taking a second to admire the pretty colors. Oooooooo pretty colors.

"Poppy?" Rolanda called into the fire.

"Rolanda." Poppy replied, she sounded just as board as Rolanda was.

"I'm board." Perhaps it was a bit whiney but it was true. "Let's go grab Evie and see Rosie."

"Ro, we can't it's not a Hogsmead weekend, I have patients, Evelyn has work." Poppy said, God she sounded like a mother.

"Like we always listen to the rules." She said. Rolanda could imagine the look that she was receiving, some days she was physic. Or psychotic, it was a thin line really.

"Last time we broke the rules it was a madam's emergency." Poppy said.

"So is this!" Rolanda said.

"Ro, your being board is not a madam's emergency. You're easily amused; surely there is something you can do." Poppy replied.

"I resemble that." Rolanda sighed, Poppy was right as usual, God that was annoying, "Fine, you go back to what ever you do and I'll find something shinny." Rolanda turned to her desk. She played 'find your desk', lost to the papers. She filled her already painfully short nails and tried to remember all the words to the Beer song. After a fruitless five minutes she cleared a spot on her desk (By making her other piles that much bigger, who wants to clean any way?) and laid out her stress reliever matt, she wasn't stressed but the matt was something to do. She poised her head to bang it on the circle when she heard a knock at her door.

"Com'in." She called, quickly trying to look like she was busy. It was Severus. She indulged in a couple of seconds of mental obscenities directed at him, specifically what she would like to do to a certain appendage of his if she had a pointy object. She had just like thirty seconds ago gotten over what he had said to her Evie that cause the first madam's meeting in about twenty years. Seeing him so soon made her fall back into mentally beating his scrawny white ass down.

"Severus." She said, pretending to be pleased. "What brings you?"

"A madams emergency." He said. Rolanda's jaw dropped. How the hell did he know about us? She thought. He looked a bit nervous, Is there something wrong with Evie!

"Is there something wrong with Evie!" she cried.

"Oh, no. But its about her, um, uh, can I call the meeting please?" He was genuinely uncomfortable. Good. Rolanda was not about to argue with her sallow colleague. So she stood, motioned him to follow her and called again on Poppy.

"Poppy. We had a D.F.M. emergency." Rolanda said.

"Tell me you didn't bully Evelyn into making something up so you could kill your boredom." Poppy replied.

"No this is serious, see you in five." Rolanda said not elaborating. "We're going to Rosmerta's." Rolanda said before setting up the floo again and pushing him into it shouting "The Three Broomsticks." Severus was gone in a second and Rolanda soon followed. She arrived along with Poppy moments later.

"What is he doing here?" Poppy asked staring at Severus like an exhibit.

"Don't know but it better be good." Rolanda said, "I'll take him to the back, you grab Rosie." And with that she grabbed his arm and marched him, a bit comically to the back room and sat him down in a chair at one end of a small table, she sat directly to his right. It was her spot at the meetings. A short static silence later Rosmerta and Poppy entered the room.

"Why are you here Severus, what is this about?" Poppy asked, she actually cared. Rolanda didn't like the idea of him being there, he was in Evie's seat. The man ran his hand through his slightly less slimy locks. He exhaled with a huff.

"I know I'm doing this the wrong way, backwards and what not, but it's uh, important to me to know, um, God how do I say this?" The last part was more to himself than the table. The madams gave him a gaze of scrutiny. He fished about in his pocket and placed something on the table. The three women looked at it. It was a ring. The gaze turned from the ring to Severus then back to the ring.

"I love Evelyn very much. I'd like to ask for her hand in marriage. But I won't do that if you object, she loves you all very much and listens to you and I don't want to make her un anything…" he was rambling but was cut off by Rosmerta's girly squeal and Poppy's gasp. Rolanda kept her eyes locked on Severus. Was he serious? She thought he was. Did he love her? He better.

"Do I have your blessing?" He asked, he was on pins and needles, she could tell. Well, she'd let him marry her Evelyn, but she wanted to watch him squirm for a bit. Rolanda narrowed her eyes.

"Yes!" Poppy exclaimed. She then obviously started visualizing Evelyn in wedding clothes. Poppy was so much like a mother.

"Yes, yes, yes, and yes." Rosmerta said. Looking at the ring, studying it from a jeweler's stand point.

"Do you love her?" Rolanda asked. Poppy instantly stopped playing dress up and gave Rolanda a stern look, Rosmerta joined her, putting down the ring. Severus swallowed.

"Yes."

"Will you always love her?"

"Yes."

"Will you make her happy?"

"I'm not worthy of her, you definitely know it, I know it. She is much too good for me. But God help me I love her and if I can make her happy I would do anything. If you don't give me permission then I won't ask her." He said giving the table a serious look. Romantic fool. They'll do well.

"Make her happy." Rolanda finally said before giving him a smile and shaking his hand. "Congratulations."

Severus left giddy stupid a short time later. It was wildly amusing watch the very serious young man be a complete and utter, total dipshit. It was wonderful.

"I knew it!" Rosmerta said after Severus had gone. "They're just too cute, too perfect for each other."

"We all knew that." Rolanda said. "We've known that forever."

"I believe that it'll work." Poppy said.

1 Ziz is a bird from Psalms that protects other birds, if I remember correctly. Severus' owl, Evelyn always had a lasting mark upon him.

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