November 1993

Great Hall

Saturday

The two Quidditch teams of Gryffindors and Hufflepuffs students walked into the Great Hall in their uniforms and the usual shouts and crazy bets emerged from both tables.

However, some students glanced at the windows with worry – a heavy rain was falling outside, the ferocious wind throwing the downpour against the glass, making the windows shake violently; thunders and lightning so loud and frequent that no one would dare walk outside in such a dangerous weather – therefore many wondered why the Quidditch match hadn't been postponed.

At the high table, Severus seemed surprised at the sight of the donned players.

"Madam Hooch," he turned to look at her, "Hasn't the match been cancelled?"

But the Quidditch teacher scoffed: "It needs more than just a little rain to get me to cancel Quidditch, Severus!"

"A little rain," he repeated, arching an eyebrow as he looked at the rattling windows.

"Why do you care, Severus?" asked Remus, sitting beside him on Florence's usual chair, a faint scar still crossing over his right eye, "Slytherin was supposed to play but I heard you got chicken and rescheduled their match."

"Exactly!" laughed Hooch, "You don't even have to go watch it, Severus!"

Severus glared at the man beside him, "No one got chicken, as you so eloquently put it, Lupin. Our seeker is hurt, as soon as Mr Malfoy gets better, we'll play!"

"Hurt since September," added Remus mockingly, "Sounds like chicken to me," he laughed, adding in a low voice: "I'm honestly surprised to see you here. Leaving Flor alone on the weekends now?"

"If you must know, Lupin, I had a very satisfying night's sleep at home," Severus replied with a smirk, clearly meaning he'd had sex, "But Dumbledore asked me to come here early this morning to discuss the possible whereabouts of a certain missing dog."

Then Severus turned to Pomfrey, for Remus' mentioning of his wife's name reminded him that she might be needed in the castle if the students were going to be playing in that weather.

"Aren't you alone at the infirmary today, Madam Pomfrey?"

"Yes, Severus. But I'll be calling Florence here as soon as I finish breakfast. As if dementors weren't problem enough! Now Quidditch in a downpour!" she glared at Prof. Hooch, who just rolled her eyes.


Florence got Pomfrey's message a few minutes after 9 a.m., so she took little Chris to his grandmother's house and went to Hogwarts.

The Quidditch match had already begun when she arrived, but she wasn't going to watch it, she went straight to the hospital wing instead.

"Hi, Poppy!"

"Thankgoodness you're here, Florence!'

"How does Hooch think the students will play in this wind?" she asked Pomfrey, as the windows rattled noisily due to the strong wind outside.

"That's why I called you, dear."

Sudden shouts in the corridor let them know patients were arriving, as expected.

A group of five people walked into the hospital wing. Severus in front of them, carrying a student in his arms, the muddy uniform letting her know it was a Gryffindor player.

"Put him here, Severus," Florence said, showing him a bed.

And he did, looking at her with concern – and she quickly understood why.

"Harry," she gasped as she looked at the unconscious boy, quickly performing spells over his body checking for injuries, "What happened to him?"

"Dementors," said Severus, sombrely, "Just about a hundred of them invaded the pitch."

"Why didn't Hooch stop the match?" Florence sounded furious.

"She tried, Ma'am," Oliver Wood said, the pin on his uniform letting everyone know he was the Captain of the Gryffindor Quidditch Team, "But we couldn't hear Madam Hooch's whistle with all the thunders. Harry fell off his broom because of the dementors and Cedric Diggory caught the snitch," he finished in a sad tone.

"The wind was too powerful, we couldn't fly on a straight line no matter how hard we tried," added Fred Weasley.

"Count yourselves lucky only one of you got hurt, Mr Weasley," Pomfrey angrily said, "The dementors could've attacked all of you!"

"That's the thing, Madam Pomfrey," Hermione Granger nervously said, "They went straight to Harry."

Florence frowned and glanced at her husband.

That's true. He confirmed. The boy had one dementor after another attacking him. Just him.

"Why do the dementors have taken a liking to Harry?" asked Hermione, having noticed that no one else had been attacked.

Florence finished checking the boy and looked at her with a sad smile, "I believe it's because there are true horrors in his past, my dear; and things like that can attract the dementors to one person more than to another."

"Harry says he hears a woman screaming when they are around..." added Ron, his voice still trembling from the scare, and in his arms something wrapped in a Gryffindor flag.

Florence gulped, looking at her husband. I know whose scream he hears. I was by the door. I remember it too.

Severus just looked at his wife, being surrounded by students as they were, there was nothing he could do to comfort her.

The horrors and the losses of that night still lived within him as well.


December 22nd 1993

Florence woke up that morning a little after eight, and turned around on the bed, finding herself alone.

Severus probably went to Hogwarts to check on the students that stayed in the castle for the Holidays.

She knew Harry had stayed there, as usual, but she was glad to hear that Ron and Hermione had stayed with him – so he wasn't going to spend Christmas alone.

Florence had already given Severus their Christmas gift for the boy: a new broom, for his had been smashed by the Whomping Willow after the disastrous Quidditch match under heavy rain and dementors.

Harry was going to find the Firebolt, sent by an anonymous person, under the Gryffindor Christmas tree on Christmas morning.

She looked at the vaulted ceiling above her bed and smiled, remembering that her kids would be arriving home that day.

Elizabeth was finishing her first four months at Beauxbatons and the twins had their O.W.L.s next year already.

Where did the time go? She constantly wondered as she thought about her kids and all Severus and she had gone through to get together.

She sighed heavily; thinking about the past always had her fearing about the future.

But before worry could take over her mind, Florence got up and dressed for breakfast.


"Good morning, Tiff and Mel!" Florence exclaimed, walking towards the table that they were setting and sitting down to have breakfast, "Are you two excited to be seeing the kids today too?"

"Yes, Mistress!" they both replied with smiles.

"They'll all be home again," Florence said, picking up a strawberry and eating it, looking at the elves with a sweet smile. "The boys are fifteen, can you believe that?"

Both elves shook their heads.

And Tiffany spoke tearfully: "Tiffany is still surprised of all the things Mistress Flor does. Seeing the little Masters grow amazes Tiffany. It feels like the Masters were born just yesterday." She sniffed, some tears running down her face.

"Yes, Tiff," Florence wiped a tear as well.

Then the sound of someone arriving through the fireplace made them look at the living room, where Elizabeth was scourgifying her clothes as she walked out of the fireplace dressed in an ivory dress and a light blue fur coat that Florence had never seen before – but could tell it had to have been expensive.

"Oh, my sweet baby girl," Florence stood up and walked to her daughter, hugging her tightly, "I'm so happy to see you, baby-girl! I won't even ask where that fancy coat has come from – for I have a very good idea."

Elizabeth laughed and hugged her mother back.

"It's good to be home too, mum! I missed you and I missed my room! Oh!" she dramatically exclaimed, "To have a room and a bathroom just for myself – I do miss that!"

Florence shook her head at Elizabeth's drama and watched her walk to the kitchen to say hello to the elves; then the fireplace turned green again.

"Good morning, love," it was Severus this time; he wrapped Florence in his arms and kissed her.

"Hello, Sev. Liz has just arrived. And I loved her coat, by the way," she arched an eyebrow at him.

Severus frowned, confused by her words, "I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Of course you don't," she shook her head, confirming her suspicions that he'd been the one to give her that expensive coat, "You probably don't even know how much that cost."

Then he remembered: "All I know is that Liz and Nick went shopping before their classes began. I just paid for it at Hogwarts."

Florence rolled her eyes. "Liz and Nick shopping. I can imagine the small fortune they spent. That coat alone was over three hundred galleons."

"Dad!" Liz exclaimed running towards them to hug him.

And Severus looked at his wife in shock.

Who's this girl? He asked Florence as Liz hugged him. Why the fuck did you have to make her so beautiful?

So that she has lots of boyfriends to make you angry. Florence replied with a smirk.

He shook his head.

Then the flames got green a third time, and Nicholas walked out of them, being followed by his brother.

Florence pulled them both into a hug, "My babies!"

"Hi, mum," the twins said in unison.

"How I missed you two," she tearfully said, kissing both their cheeks, "You're taller than me already!"

Elizabeth hugged the twins too.

"Hey, dad," Nicholas hugged his father, being followed by James.

Florence smiled at the sight of the three of them together. They looked so much alike.

Severus noticed her tears and walked to her, wrapping an arm around her waist, while the kids sat in the living room.

What's it, love? He asked.

It always brings me memories when I see you and the boys together. I remember when they were little and cute... now they're tall and handsome cocky teenagers!

I know, love. When I look at Liz... I wonder where has my little girl gone?

They watched their kids talk.

Yes. Liz is so beautiful and is doing so well at school. Madam Maxime sent me a letter praising her abilities and politeness.

"How do you like Beauxbatons, Liz?" they heard James ask while throwing himself onto the large white sofa.

"I love it! The castle is beautiful! The food is wonderful. And there's this super fancy tea court where we have tea served every day for the afternoon break – it's amazing!"

"Cute boys?" asked Nicholas.

"Oohh, yes! Lots! Nick if you had gone there, you wouldn't believe your eyes! Of course not all of them know how to behave or dress properly. I even saw one sixth-year wearing flip-flops!" she repeated to emphasise the absurdity: "Flip flops, guys! In a French Castle! It was outrageous and he was properly delt with! Thank goodness Madam Maxime doesn't take exceptions to the dress code."

Who birthed that girl? Florence asked her husband, shaking her head. I blew up the stupid tea court; I hated the blasted dress codes. And look at her: she just loves it all!

But Severus wasn't listening; he was more worried about the kids' discussion of their potential love lives.

When did they grow up? He asked Florence.

But the three kept talking animatedly as if their parents weren't there.

"And how're things in Durmstrang?" Elizabeth asked, "New girlfriends? Boyfriends? Both?"

"Nah. Nothing labelled, sis. Just having fun," James replied with a smirk.

"Nothing for me either. Just glad there's a boys-only dormitory," Nicholas added with a wink, making his sister laugh.

"And I'm just glad this year we're not sharing a common room with the same people we were last term," sighed James, clearly relieved.

"No celebrities in the common room this year?" Liz asked, knowing who the boys had a problem with.

"No. But being a celebrity is not Krum's problem, Liz – the thing with him is the lights are on but no one's home," explained Nicholas, "Yeah, he's good-looking and plays for the Bulgarian national Quidditch team. But he's thick – and not in a pleasurable way."

Liz shouldn't be listening to that! Severus shouted in his wife's mind, before intervening: "Let's refrain from certain topics and expressions in front your eleven-year-old sister!"

James and Elizabeth rolled their eyes very similarly.

"Where's Chris?" Nicholas asked.

"Still sleeping," said Florence, "But I'm sure he'll be happy if you three go wake him up."

And Severus and she watched the three of them running upstairs to go wake up their little brother.

"They're good kids, aren't they?" she whispered, feeling her husband's arms around her waist.

"Yes, they are," he kissed her neck, "They have an amazing mum."

She chuckled and turned to look at him, "And a very sexy father," she winked at him, before wrapping her arms around his neck, kissing his lips – a delicate kiss that soon turned heated and Severus hoisted her up, having her cross her legs behind his lower back as he sat her on the back of the sofa and pressed himself between her legs, never letting go of her mouth.

"ALREADY?" they heard James shouting from the stairs, "I'M NOT HOME FOR A FULL HOUR AND I'VE ALREADY CAUGHT YOU TWO SNOGGING!"

Florence laughed, "I have to say I missed his awful timing," she whispered to her grumpy husband, "It's funny."

Severus arched an eyebrow at her, "Can we send him back already? It's nearly been an hour."

Florence just slapped his arm and walked to the table, calling everyone to get downstairs to have breakfast together.

"Are you two dressed?" James shouted.

"Of course, James!" she laughed.

However, Severus couldn't let the opportunity to annoy their kids pass: "But you'll be glad to know we've been working on making you lot a new sibling."

The three older kids groaned, predictably, and rolled their eyes on their way downstairs.

Meanwhile, Christopher was very happy with the news: "Awesome! Hope they look like me. I'm tired of being the only kid around here with brown hair!"


Third week of January, 1994

Hogwarts

Severus walked into his private quarters after his last class and was surprised by two beautiful brown-haired green-eyed people waiting for him; Florence was sitting on his armchair by the fireplace, while Christopher painted on his desk.

"Dad!" Chris exclaimed and ran to hug him.

"Hey, there, little man!" He hugged his son. "What are you two doing here?"

Florence walked to him with a smile and kissed his lips, "You mentioned you'd stay in the castle tonight, so I went home and we decided to come here to keep you company."

Chris is very upset that Liz and the twins went back to school yesterday. She told him.

Severus nodded. I'll do something to cheer him up.

"I have some essays to grade, Flor. You could do it for me, while I prepare some potions with my little assistant," he ruffled Chris's hair.

"Yes!" The six-year-old exclaimed.

"No problem. I'll start on them, Sev," Florence gave him another kiss and went to his desk to grade the papers for him.

As the hour passed, she graded the sixth-year essays on Dreamless Sleep Potion while listening to the calm voice of her husband teaching their son how to brew a Wiggenweld Potion. She smiled, wishing she could freeze time and make their calm happiness last forever.


A little after nine, Florence was enjoying some quiet moment with her husband in front of the fireplace, when someone knocked on Severus' door and she went to answer it.

"Remus!" she exclaimed with a smile.

"Flor? What a nice surprise!" he kissed her cheek, a hand caressing her waist.

She discreetly removed his hand and lightly glared at him, "C'mon in," she closed the door after he entered the room.

"Uncle Moony!" shouted Chris, running to throw himself into the man's arms.

Remus caught him, smiling, "Hello, little guy! Severus didn't mention you two would be here tonight."

"And why would I tell you that my wife and child were coming here, Lupin?" Severus asked, glaring at him, wrapping an arm around Florence and pulling her towards his side.

She rolled her eyes at the gratuitous rudeness, "He didn't know we'd be coming here, Remus. It was a surprise."

"Wish I had that kind of surprise," Remus replied smiling, "I'd certainly be more grateful and less grumpy than some."

Florence chuckled but stopped suddenly when she felt her husband's anger through their bond and turned to see he had his wand in hand and was walking towards Remus.

"Severus? What are you doing?" she asked.

I can see the way he looks at you. He replied through their connection. He acts too familiar to my liking.

Well, that's your fault. She pointed out. You're the one who more than once let him watch us fuck.

Severus stopped and looked at her. What has that got to do with it?

She arched an eyebrow at him. You're the one to blame for his staring at me as if I'm werewolf meat.

Severus lowered his wand and narrowed his eyes at the other man, "Never again," he said out loud.

Remus frowned at his words, "What are you talking about, Severus?"

"You're not watching us ever again."

"Oh, ok," Remus glanced at Florence and shrugged slightly, "Can't say I'm not disappointed, but I can accept that. Just let me point out that you're the one who made me watch."

"Were you tied down?" Severus growled.

"No. But what man would pass on the chance of..." he paused and glanced at Christopher, who was back to painting on Severus's desk, "Watching Flor being..." he mouthed the word: "fucked?" Then he added: "Not me."

"Not anymore," Severus growled.

"Alright," Remus raised his hands in defeat.

"I only did it because she enjoys it..." Severus tried justifying it.

But Remus scoffed, "Did you now? Or were you rubbing on my face the amazing witch you have?"

Severus had his wand in hand again and Florence put herself between them.

"That's enough! It's not happening again. We all got it," she looked from her angry husband to their amused friend, "Now, what brings you here, Remus? You didn't know I was here, so you came to speak to Severus."

"Yes, I was thinking about our next step regarding Sirius. We should try to find out if he is staying inside Hogwarts grounds."

Severus smirked, his voice dripped with irony: "Have you reached that conclusion yourself? Genius."

"Yes. We should," agreed Florence, ignoring her husband, "Do you have any idea of how we could find out? The castle is too big and filled with secret passageways that Sirius might be aware of and we aren't."

Remus nodded, "I thought about that and there's one thing that could help us: The Marauders Map."

Severus and Florence stared at him for a moment, surprised to hear him talking about that.

"Do you still have it?" she asked.

"Nope. Filch confiscated it from James in our seventh year."

"So Filch has it?" Severus asked.

"Not anymore," Remus seemed upset, "Students stole the map from him, five years ago."

"Five years ago," Severus murmured, thinking who could've taken that map. "The Weasley twins. They entered Hogwarts five years ago. If anyone stole that map, it was them."

"I'll try to find out," Remus said.

"Mum, can you help me?" Chris called and Florence walked to the desk.

"What is it, baby?" the two men heard her say softly.

Severus watched as Remus kept his yes on her and growled, "Get out, wolf."

"At least you know the treasure you have."

"She's mine," he stopped very close to the other man, not in the least afraid of the werewolf.

Remus raised his hands, "I know, Severus. I've seen it. More than once," he looked at Florence again, "I'll be going now, Flor."

She went to him and gave him a hug, "If you find the map or a way to find out what Sirius wants, you know where I live."

Remus smiled at her and she returned to the table with her son, then he whispered just to spite Severus: "Well, I can still put my memories in a pensive and watch them all over again, from different angles. Closer."

"Get the fuck out, Lupin!" Severus opened the door and pretty much shoved the man out.


Some Slytherin students that still hung around the corridors despite curfew saw their DADA teacher walking out of the dungeons.

"What do you think he was doing in Prof. Snape's quarters at this hour?" asked Blaise Zabini.

"Some are saying he is a new addition to the fuckfest between Snape and the mediwitch." said Marcus Flint, smirking.

"She's certainly too much woman for one-"

Blaise stopped talking, for a small brown-haired, green-eyed boy unexpectedly ran out of their Head of House's quarters and hug Remus in the corridor.

"Bye, Remus!" the little boy exclaimed, hugging the man.

"Good night, sweetie," and he kissed the boy's forehead.

"He's so cute, Professor. Is he yours?" a female Slytherin prefect asked, "He looks like you."

Remus chuckled, shaking his head, but before he could say anything, Florence appeared, "Chris! You know you shouldn't run in the corridors!"

"I know, mummy. But I wanted to say bye!"

"Thanks for catching him, Remus," she said, holding the boy's hand and taking him back into her husband's quarters.

And the students looked from that scene to one another, believing they had just met their DADA professor's son with the mediwitch.