Mysterious Hearts
Retreats
Severus avoided the headmaster as much as possible for the rest of that year. He was still very hurt from Albus' statements. And one thing that remained a constant for Severus in his lifetime was that he was very capable of holding a grudge. Severus tried to spend as much time with his wife, but she was busy starting a new job. She had passed her auror test and was now in the process of switching jobs. But now they had time alone and were getting ready for their annual trip. This year they were heading to Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming.
"Severus," Tonks said standing in the doorway. Severus was looking disdainfully at his suitcase, " I don't have to repack that again."
"No," he pouted like a petulant child. "I don't see why I cannot wear my robes."
"Because Severus, we are going to a very poplar place. Not only with wizards, but muggles as well. So you can't go around in black wizarding robes."
"Fine," he said and grabbed his bag.
"Poor baby," she said with a grin. They headed off to the airport where they caught a plane to Montana. Once there they got a rental car. With Tonks driving of course.
"Why are you driving?" asked Severus once they got their baggage in the trunk.
"Because I have the drivers license."
"Right," he pouted.
"Maybe, if you are really good, I'll teach you to drive.
They drive through Montana to the north and traditional entrance to the park. Stopping before the Roosevelt Arch, Tonks made sure that they got pictures. The drove into the park, and up the mountain a few miles to Mammoth Hot Springs. They were planning to spend a day there, after they settled into their room at the Old Faithful Inn.
After, some rather slow driving, animal s in the road, and frequent stopping they arrived at the Inn. The got their bags into their room and went to look around the Old Faithful area. They looked through the gift shops, and watched the geyser erupt. Severus became somewhat of a geyser gazer, enjoying visiting all of the geysers in the basin. He could have spent the entire trip in the geyser basin, if Tonks would have let him. But she didn't.
Over their stay they drove both loops of the park, enjoying the hikes and sites on the way. They spent a day by Lake Yellowstone. They spent the morning at West Thumb, where Severus was disappointed that they were hot springs instead of geysers. They enjoyed a meal at the Lake Yellowstone Lodge. Tonks fell in love the wooden rocking chairs on the porch, where they sat and enjoyed the warm day. They dined at the much fancier hotel that evening. Severus preferred the view from the sunroom to that of the lodge's porch. Tonks that he was crazy, well, crazier than normal.
They hiked several hikes and stopped at the old fishing bridge. They picked up some souvenirs at the general store to take back to England.
The next day they drove to the "Grand Canyon of Yellowstone". Tonks loved the yellow canyon. They hiked on the north and south rims. They even took Uncle Tom's trail; it was a few hundred steps to the bottom. They picnicked near the trailhead, where they had a great view of the upper falls. Then moved to artist point, one of the most picturesque spots in the entire park. Severus grumbled every time that Tonks found someone to take a picture of them. They stopped at the Canyon Lodge bar that afternoon, having already made reservations for the Snow Lodge back at Old Faithful. That night they watched Old Faithful from the mezzanine at the lodge.
They chose to drive through the Grand Teton Park the following day. They drove to Jackson Hole Wyoming. That night they drove up to the Norris Geyser Basin. They eventually saw as much of the park as they could before having to return home.
They headed back to London to get ready to go to the World Cup and return to their jobs. Tonks wasted no time getting their pictures developed. Proof that she'd gotten Severus in a pain of jeans.
Severus was not overly thrilled when he found out that Mad-eye Moody was going to be the next DADA professor. He never liked Moody and Moody liked him about as much. But it made Tonks happy if Severus refrained from offering his opinion of the older wizard's appointment.
Tonks spent much of her time working, and Severus returned to Hogwarts to prepare for the term. While there Tonks pressured him to repair his relationship with Albus. Severus grumbled and groaned but ultimately bended to her will. Severus used his 'charm' to remind the older wizard that all was not forgotten nor forgiven, but Albus was aware of that and just happy to have Severus' friendship back.
The Quidditch World Cup did not go unnoticed by the Snapes. Severus and Tonks did attend and found it very enjoyable; Severus was a little upset at Tonk's ogling of the Irish team, but his reaction veelas gave him little room to argue.
Severus was looking forward to most of the year at Hogwarts. The Tri-Wizard Tournament would be fascinating to witness, after all it had been years since the Wizarding world had one. Everything had been going so well, until the dark mark appeared in the sky and reemerged on his arm, reminding him once again of his greatest mistake.
To be continued…