Author's note:

Dear readers,

another update for you to enjoy. Thank you for reading, reviewing, favoriting and/or following my story. It means the world to me ;).

Have a Happy New Year's Eve and a Happy New Year,

Vani12

Chapter 4 – Sometimes your life can be turned upside down!

Forest between Hogsmeade and Hogwarts, August 1996

Tonks stumbled over her feet on the forest ground. Thankfully, Severus managed to catch her falling body and threw her in his arms. She felt a little dizzy from her fast apparition and was glad that he steadied her with his strong embrace. She inhaled his herbal masculine scent, smiled at him apologetically and addressed him in a playful tone. "Thanks, Severus. You're a life saver. Without you, I would have surely broken my neck in this beautiful forest. My apparation skills in uneven surroundings seem to be a little rusty." Severus chuckled at her joke, his deep baritone vibrating in his ribcage and sending shivers down her spine. He locked his onyx eyes with her indigo ones, embraced her tighter around her waist and mumbled into her face. "Well, I hope that you will train them, for I can't guarantee you that I will always be by your side. And as a bad-ass Auror, you should really be able to apparate into any environment. I would be devastated to hear from your death due to clumsiness." He smirked smugly at her, inhaled her strawberry and vanilla scent and basked in her embrace for another minute.

"Merlin, I could fall easily for this vibrant, brave and strong woman. Her smiles and closeness warm my heart and I'm ecstatic that such a beautiful creature wants to be my friend. But I can't effort to be distracted by a sordid love affair. Although my heart screams at me to be happy, to forget my sorrows and hardships as a spy and kiss her already, my logical mind shouts at me to keep some distance between us, enjoy her friendship and don't fuck everything up with some half-cooked kiss. Thankfully, my mind is always able to control my emotions, for I couldn't bear to endanger her and lose her like Lily." Severus thought in an emotional voice, breaking their embrace and trying to dissimulate his feelings. To his luck, he managed to keep his longing for love and happiness at bay with his Occlumency skills and nudged Tonks playfully in the side.

"Come on, we should hurry up to get into my chambers. Though the sun is still burning down at us and illuminating everything in a bright light, we shouldn't waste our valuable time enjoying the landscape of Hogsmeade and dallying around. Let's see who can get to my chambers faster with magical means. I will even grant you a head start." He expressed in an excited voice, his obsidian eyes sparkling like stars in the night sky and his facial features softened slightly.

"God, he looks ten years younger when he laughs and acts carefree. It would be easy to fall for this intelligent, brave and good-hearted man. His darkly handsome looks and mysterious aura intrigue me and it still baffles me that I managed to crack his protective walls to be his friends. But I shouldn't think romantically about Severus, although I can't deny that I dreamed about doing naughty things to him recently. He is my friend, taxed by the demands of Dumbledore and Voldemort and on his breaking point due to his sacrifices for the Light Side. While some happiness and love would undoubtedly do him good, I doubt that he would be open for a romance anyway. He is the guy how sacrifices his chance at happiness and love because he is scared of endangering his loved ones. Besides that, my twin pregnancy would certainly throw him off, for I can't imagine that he wants to play dad to some toddlers. No, Tonks. Stay in the friend zone with him before you mess everything up, although it's going to be hard." Tonks mumbled in a regretful voice inside her head.

She overrode her sad emotions with a beaming smile, locking her indigo eyes with his onyx ones and remarked in a humorous tone. "I bet that I can beat you every day, old man. I don't need a head start to wipe the floor with your rusty bones. I guess that you have managed to forget that I'm a wicked smart Auror who learned some nifty tricks during her training. On the count of three, we're going to try to get as fast as possible to your chambers." She nudged him playfully in the shoulder and counted down, "1, 2, 3. Go!", running at lightning speed through the forest with her Fast-Running Spell.

She passed trees and stones, looking out to not stumble and crack her head on the floor. She laughed deeply at her fast speed, for she could only see shadows and felt the warm summer air blowing through her red bob. She felt a little flutter in her stomach and hoped that she didn't stress out the embryos to much because she didn't want to risk their health. Dr. Rosenstein had explained to her that she could use all magical spells and means of transportations until her third trimester, although she needed to take care to not exhaust her magical energies and be attacked by a severe Stunning, Cutting or Blasting Curse. She would talk with the Auror Department Chief in two months about her pregnancy and ask for office duty.

She smirked victoriously on her crazy run, for she couldn't see Severus anywhere near her. "I guess I'm faster after all. He will be so annoyed to see my victorious smile in mere minutes. We certainly should have bet on something, so that he owes something to me. Perhaps a delicious self-cooked dinner because he makes the best Spaghetti Bolognese. It's so much fun to rattle him up and overstep his privacy boundaries. If I told my sixteen-year-old self that my strict bullying Potions Professor is one of my closest friends at 23, she would surely accuse me of taking the mickey out of her. How much war and hours of training your skills can change your perspective," she mused awed in her thoughts. She could see the towers of Hogwarts castle, increased her speed and raced to the entry gates of the castle.

To her utter disbelieve Severus Snape had managed to beat her on their race, for he floated down in front of her, laughing like crazy in her dumbfounded face and opening the gates for her. "How is it possible that you have arrived before me? You were never even close to me. And why does it seem like you apparated into Hogwarts? Only the Headmaster can apparate into Hogwarts. And last time I checked, the Headmaster was still Albus Dumbledore. How the hell did you manage to beam yourself into Hogwarts?" She asked in a fake enraged, curious voice. "And don't laugh at me, Severus. You only beat me by an inch with your Slytherin tricks." She stated in a staged annoyed tone, secretly suppressing her laughter at seeing him so carefree and relaxed.

Severus looked slightly alarmed at her, stopped his laughter and smirked smugly at her. "Tonks, don't overwork yourself and accuse me of cheating. I certainly can't apparate into Hogwarts, for I'm not Albus Dumbledore in disguise. You got your Hogwarts History right on this point. And you couldn't see me chasing after you, because I haven't taken your route. I guess you used a maximum Fast-Running Spell?" He questioned her with a raised eyebrow. Registering her nod, he went on to explain. "An excellent choice if you want to be faster on your two feet than your opponent. But it wouldn't help you very much if your opponent could fly without a broom. He would fly above your head in lightning speed and you wouldn't be able to beat him for his airline is shorter than your roadway. Hence, I beat you with my superior flying skills. I have mastered the Flying Spell ten years ago and improved it so much that I can fly as fast as someone on the fastest broom. Therefore, our race could only have one winner. The cunning Slytherin one." He exclaimed with a shark-like grin.

Tonks shoved him playfully on his chest. "You cunning snake. You never mentioned that you could fly as fast as the best Quidditch stars. That's awesome and so cool. I bet if your students knew that you could fly, they would certainly accuse you of being a vampire. Can you take me on a flying trip sometime soon? I love to feel the wind rushing through my hair and it would be even more fun if I could see the earth beneath me. But you should have really informed me of your abilities, for I would have never agreed to this little battle if I knew that I had zero chances of winning it. Next time, you will have to carry me on your arms and fly with me above the Hogsmeade forest to Hogwarts. Merlin, you're really some wicked smart and powerful bad-ass wizard." She exclaimed in a proud voice, with her indigo eyes sparkling in awe and her cherry lips opened slightly.

"Hell, she looks so kissable right now that I would do anything to feel her soft luscious lips on mine. But I can't fuck up our friendship. Although her belief in me and my abilities nearly makes me jump out of joy. I would gladly take such a beautiful witch on my next flying trip," he thought touched by her excitement for his magical abilities. "Thanks for your praise, Nymphadora. You're the only witch that can tolerate my company and boost my self-confidence. I will gladly take you on my next flying trip if you don't manage to distract me and let us crash down. If I had known that you love flying so much I would have certainly taken you on some flying trip over the landscape of Hogwarts ages ago. But let's not waste our time on idle chit-chat about my flying skills. We wanted to talk about the newest Charms research and you mentioned something of a secret you wanted to disclose to me. So we better hurry up to my chambers before Hagrid sees us and invites us to eat one of his stone cookies. I can't afford to lose one of my teeth now." He joked good-heartedly and signaled her with a hand gesture to walk onto the Hogwarts grounds.

"Send me a Patronus when you go on your next flying trip around the Hogwarts grounds. I will certainly floo as fast as possible into your chambers. Thank you so much for granting me this magical opportunity to see Hogwarts from above the sky. And I promise you to keep my clumsiness at bay and to not crash us down on the grounds. I love my life too much to die on a flying trip with the mysterious Severus Snape. And although I love Hagrid you're right. His cookies cost me two teeth already. So lead the way, Mr. Flying Superman." Tonks laughed sweetly at his annoyed face and followed him to the Dungeons.

Whenever she stepped onto the Hogwarts grounds again, she felt a sense of homecoming and happy teenaged memories assaulted her vision. Chasing with Charlie Weasley around the Quidditch Pitch, sharing her first butterbeer with Adrienne Fairchild and dancing like crazy with Xenia Green. Sometimes, she wished that her life would be as easy and carefree as it was in her teenaged days, though she could pass up the teenaged love drama, Hogwarts gossip mill and mood swings of her adolescence. She loved to visit Severus in his chambers because it helped her to forget the current dark times for some minutes and feel young again. Naturally, she also loved visiting Severus because she enjoyed his company, their academic debates, and his wicked humor. If she was totally honest with herself, she visited Severus because she liked him and sensed that he could use a friend. Due to her taxing missions for the Order and her exhausting Auror work, she also had very little time to talk to her friends and open up about her worries. She couldn't talk about her Order spying missions to Adrienne because she wasn't a member of the Order and couldn't know about them. Therefore, her friendship with Severus was one of the only ways to come to terms with her Metamorphogus missions and discuss Order business.

Lost in her thoughts, she walked mechanically down the corridors of Hogwarts, ignoring the whispers of the portraits and the gloomy darkness of the dungeons. Thankfully, the dungeons weren't ice-cold in the summer, so that she didn't freeze half to death. After some minutes of silent walking, they stood in front of a dark Ebony door with a twisted serpent handle. It was protected by a portrait of Salazar Slytherin who sneered at Tonks malicious and wanted to throw an insult at her, but Severus stopped him with a Silencing Spell and forced him to open his chambers to his password Belladonna. Tonks rolled her eyes at Salazar's behavior and inhaled the smell of Severus's chambers.

"The fool Salazar hates seeing a Metamorphogus Half-blood sully the chambers of the Slytherin Head of House. I'm glad that Severus managed to shut him up, for I would have tried to blast him out of his portrait if he called me a "twisted Half-blood whore" once again. I love the herbal and sandalwood scent of his chambers because it smells exactly like Severus. I can't wait to shock him with my twin pregnancy news," she mused in her thoughts, smiling kindly. Severus enflamed the torches in his entry hall and the fireplace in his living room with a flick of his hand.

They illuminated the Slytherin-green papered entry hall and living room and directed the focus on Severus's comfortable dark-grey leather couch and armchairs. If Tonks was totally honest, she would have never expected that Severus's chambers looked so modern. Hell, she had always imagined that the Head of Slytherin must live in a luxurious nightmare of gold, velvet, and marble. But instead of the marble floors, Severus's chambers were equipped with a warm oak parquet floor. His furniture wasn't some 1800s monstrosity in gold, cherrywood, and velvet, but classical functional oak cupboards, shelves, tables and chairs as well as leather furniture. The dominant figure in the living room was a huge bookshelf with hundreds of tomes on Potions, Defense Against the Dark Arts, Dark Magic, Spellcrafting, Mind Magic and Muggle literature. His rooms were decorated with abstract art pieces and Slytherin-green spots of color.

She lounged herself on the dark-grey leather couch, stretching out her limbs and waiting for Severus to address her. Severus removed his black Wizarding robes, stored them onto a kitchen chair and graced her clad in a dark grey t-shirt and skinny black jeans. "He certainly looks years younger and more modern with Muggle clothes. Though I can understand that he doesn't want to sport his Dark Mark in public. If most people already condemn him for his past and dark aura, I don't know how malicious they would get if they were faced with the Dark Mark on his milky-white left underarm every day," she mumbled darkly inside her mind. He smirked slightly at her relaxed posture and uttered in an amused tone, "Make yourself at home, Nymphadora. I cast every breakable object away so that you can't hurt yourself. Do you want to have some Firewhiskey?" He asked in his velvet baritone.

Tonks shook her head. "I can't restrain myself from lounging me on your comfortable couch. I don't believe you that you aren't using a Cushioning Charm and Warming Spell on it, for it always feels so cozy and warm. And you don't have to treat me like a walking danger sign. I sometimes manage to not stumble upon everything, thank you very much. I originally thought that we would discuss our Spellcrafting work first, but I can't help myself but blurt out my secret to you. I can't drink any alcohol for the next nine months, for I'm pregnant with twins. I'm going to be a mum come May." She stopped and looked at his shocked face. "I know. Scold me already for my reckless decision to welcome two tiny babies as a single mum into a world full of darkness and war. But I couldn't help myself. You know how much I longed to be a mum and I couldn't wait any longer before it was too late. I used in-vitro fertilization and a sperm bank. Can you believe that my sperm donor has a 90% magical compatibility with me?" She babbled on in an excited voice.

Only as she heard his whiskey tumbler crashing to the ground, she stood up from the couch and faced his trembling back. "Severus, I know it must be a shock for you and I'm selfish for risking the lives of two innocent babies, but I hoped that you would understand me. You always encouraged me to make my dreams come true, and Dr. Rosenstein's methods were the only chance for me to get pregnant. Aren't you happy for me? You're trembling like a leaf. Did you endure a Cruciatus session yesterday?" She asked in an empathetic voice, touching his trembling shoulder blades gently. As if her touch had burned him, Severus turned around and looked at her with panicked onyx eyes. "He looks as if he has seen some Inferi," Tonks thought frightened.

"You don't understand, Nymphadora. The Dark Lord didn't put me under a Cruciatus session on my last meeting and I'm not suffering from some aftereffects of nerve damage. And although your twin pregnancy is foolish in a time of war, I would never condemn you for it. I'm happy that your dream of becoming a mum comes true. And you will undoubtedly have your hands full with twins. But I'm curious to know who your sperm donor is. It's very rare to meet someone who shares a 90% compatibility with your magical signature. What do you know about your sperm donor?" He asked in a determined tone that stroke Tonks as odd.

"Well, I don't know much about him. You only get a number and a sheet with basic information. He is a Half-blood in his thirties with black hair and dark-brown eyes who works in the education sector, loves Muggle literature, sketching, and Potions. I doubt that I will find him with his ID 5799." She answered in a regretful tone, frightened by his widened obsidian eyes and labored breathing. "Severus, what is wrong with you? Do you have a seizure?" She questioned frantically, embracing him tightly to lessen his pain. He mumbled "It can't be, it can't be, it can't be" into her ear and gazed at her still flat abdomen in wonder. Noticing her distressed state, he composed himself and embraced her closely around her waist. "I'm physically okay, Nymphadora. But my emotions are on overdrive right now. You turned my life upside down with your news. I'm sperm donor 5799." He uttered in a dazed voice, locking indigo eyes with dark-brown ones.