Mysterious Hearts

~~Tranquil~~~

"Good Morning," Tonks said rolling over and looking at her husband.  She smiled as he reached for her.

"When did you get here?" he asked blinking the sleep from his eyes. 

"Last night," she said, "you were already asleep."

"You should have woken me," Snape told her.  The two of them had worked out an arrangement on when she would visit him at the school.  She would floo to Hogwarts on the weekends that she did not have to work.  She also had what Severus considered to be one rather annoying habit.  She wrote him, she would send him short, sweet notes.  He would never admit it but he rather enjoyed finding the notes that she left him or sent to his office with, Englebert, her owl

"I couldn't have," Tonks told him, "you were so angelic."

Severus snorted.

"Okay, so maybe not angelic is the word, but you seemed so peaceful."

"You still should have woken me," Snape said again, "because I wanted to spend more time with you before I met Fletcher for lunch."

"We have all morning," Tonks smirked, "and I won't even ask about Mundungus Fletcher."

"I assure you that my business with him is perfectly legal, well at least the items being bought and sold are legal."

"What worries me, Sev, is the methods that he used to get them," she said sternly, "and if you get caught don't come crying to me just because I wear your wedding ring."

"I would not dream of it," Severus said and then rolled on top of his wife, "and speaking of dreams, I had a most pleasant one last night."

"Really," Tonks said before kissing Severus, "was I in it."

"You most definitely were."

Later Severus joined his wife in their small sitting room.  He smiled as he wrapped his arms around her waist.

"What are your plans for the day, Nymph," he asked resting his chin on her shoulder.

"My dad and I are going out, he has yet to get us a wedding gift," she replied.  "And when are you going to meet your business associate."

"Interesting term, not one that I would use to describe 'Dung Fletcher."

"It sounds better this way."

"I will be leaving within the hour," Severus said after he glanced at the large grandfather clock.

"Then I guess I will see you tonight," Tonks said kissing her husband before she flooed to her flat in London.

Snape followed her to London and then he made his way to Diagon Alley.  He was meeting Mundungus at a small relatively unknown pub.

Severus was not there long before Fletcher joined him.

"Sev, old boy," Mundungus said as he sat down.

"Mundungus," Severus said, "please join me."

"I would love to," he said as he sat down, "I got what you want if you got what I want."

"It's in the bag, plus I'm buying."

"Then I got what you want."  Said passing a small black bag across the table.  Snape then handed him the other bag.  Both me peered into the bags.  Severus approved of the item.  Mundungus approved of the fire whiskey in the bag.  He then went over to the bartender and ordered two scotches, one neat and the other on the rocks.  He carried the drinks over to the table.

"Severus," he said, "is that a wedding band?"

"Yes," Snape said.

"When did you get married?"

"At the end of the summer, right before the start of the term at Hogwarts."

"Oh, and why wasn't I, your best friend, invited?" Mundungus asked scandalized.

"What makes you think that you are my best friend, Mundungus?" Snape asked.

"Because I am the only one who willing spends time with you, that and I have know you since before we went to Hogwarts."

"It was a small ceremony."

"In other words, just you and the mysterious bride, and the old coot and another witness, was your mum there?"

"No she was not, in fact I haven't even told the old wench yet."

This got Mundungus and he let out a might howl of laughter.

"So are you going to tell me who you are married to or do I have to lift your wedding band and find out myself?"

"Touch my ring, Mundungus, and die."

"Shit Snape, just tell me."

"Fine, her name is Nymphadora Tonks, she works for the ministry."

"She is in the regulation department, if I do recall, not bad looking, but not really my type and all seeing as how I am on the other side of the fence," Mundungus said with a smirk, "isn't she a metamorphagus."

"Yes, she is."

"Then how do you know that she is that good looking?  I mean Sev she could look like a hippogriff or something."

"Don't make me kill you or worse take the whiskey away," Snape threatened.

"You wouldn't."

"Try me."

"Ok I take it back, she is the hottest woman that I have ever seen," he said and flinched as Snape growled at him.  "Ok, so I can't win."

Meanwhile as Severus was threatening what was probably the only person, other than his wife and boss, that actually enjoyed spending time with him; Tonks was with her father.

"So, darling, grandchildren?"

"DAD," Tonks groaned, "Severus and I have only been married for three months."

"It is never to early to start," he told her, "and besides, I am not getting any younger."

"Severus and I want to wait a while before we have children."

"Fine, I will wait," he said with a grin.  "Nymphadora, will you be hosting your Christmas party?"

"I had planned on it, I have not brought it up to Severus yet."

Tonks and her father ate lunch and did some shopping.  He bought her a china cabinet as a wedding present.  Tonks shrunk it to a much smaller size and she took it to her flat. 

She buckled down and got some work done.  She was finishing up the report on Gringotts.  Once finished she owled the report to Caley.  She then flooed to Hogwarts.

She looked around Severus' rooms and not seeing him, she put her stuff on the couch and went to find her husband.  Tonks walked over to the office door.  She tapped on it with her wand and it swung open.  She smiled when Severus looked up from his grading and nodded as she entered his cramped office.  She wrinkled her nose at the potion ingredients that he had behind him lining his walls.

Severus placed his papers down on the desk.  Tonks rolled her eyes as she saw the large red marks that he delighted in placing on papers.

"How was your day, Nymph?" he asked as she sat opposite him. 

"Not bad," she smirked, "my dad wants grandkids, now."

Severus' eyes widened and he turned a paler shade, "He wants what?"

" Grandchildren."

"Certainly not by tomorrow," he said.

"No, whenever we have the time, but he said the sooner the better," Tonks told the only professor to be named most loathed for five years running.  There had been a few years where Dumbledore had hired more interesting, for lack of a better term, professors to teach.

"So your father is giving me his permission to bed his daughter as often as I want."

"Yes."

"Well then, woman, what are we waiting for?" he said with an unusually wicked glint in his eyes.

"SEVERUS!"

"Fine."

"Maybe later."

"I'll hold you to that, Nymph."

"How was Mundungus?"

"Great, he was under the impression that you looked like a hippogriff."

"WHAT?"

"That's what he said, not me."

"Fine," she said still seething.  "How are things here?"

"Well, Albus is allowing the boy-who-lived to play quidditch."

"Isn't he a first year?"

"Yes," Severus said, "Albus is bending the rules for Potter."

"I seem to remember that you broke plenty of rules in your days here."

"That was different I was a student, as a professor it is my duty to see them enforced and Albus as the headmaster should not bend them for students.  They were placed for a reason."

"So if he breaks them for Harry Potter, he should abolish them for everyone."

"No, they should not be broken for any student, without just cause and quidditch is not a just cause.  Whether Gryffindor has a seeker or not.  That and the boy is insolent and rather boorish."

"Boorish," she snorted

"You do know what it means don't you?"

"Yes I do, is there anything else happening?" she asked not wanting her husband to have an aneurysm.

"Quirrell is been behaving rather strangely lately."

"Quirrell, he was a Ravenclaw wasn't he a few years ahead of me?"

"I think so."

"He is behaving weird as opposed to what, if I recall he was always rather odd."

"That he is, but ever since he came back form his year gaining experience, he has been rather skittish," Severus tried to explain the new oddities of the DADA professor's behavior.  "That and he wears this foul smelling turban constantly and refuses to take it off."

"That is odd."

"That and he was hexing the Potter boy at the last quidditch match," he said.

"I thought that was your job?" she smirked, "he's honing in on your territory."

"Funny," Snape snipped, "and as my job as Hogwarts resident watchdog and one of the few who new the counter curse I of course attempted to stop it, when suddenly my cloak was set afire."

"That is horrendous," Tonks said with a worried look, "were you alright right?"

"Yes," Snape said, "but of course the rumors of my hexing the brat have been spread around the school, making everyone more distrustful already."

"I'm sorry," Tonks said taking her husbands hand in hers.  She softly kissed it.

"I plan on watching Quirrell from now on."

"Severus," Tonks said, as they were settling on a couch together.  "For a few years I have been having a Christmas party, and I was wondering if you wanted to help me this year."

"I'll try," he said with a large sneer, "but don't expect me to like it."

"Don't worry love, just show up and I'll be happy."

To be continued…