Disclaimer: All created by JKR, except my OC

Thank you to my kind reviewers!

It would be hard to say which rumor spread through the school faster, the one concerning the Snape/Merrill engagement or the one about Merrill being an auror. Barbara decided it was no surprise, then, when Neville Longbottom, Hanna Abbott, and Luna Lovegood stayed behind after potions class one day.

"Let me see...what do a Gryffindor, a Hufflepuff, and a Ravenclaw, have in common? What do I win if I guess Dumbledore's Army?" The students laughed.

"Well, professor, we've just been practicing now and again in one of the unused classrooms on fifth floor. Professor McGonagall lets us meet there. We wondered if you could come watch and give us some pointers, you know, as someone who's trained to be an auror," said Neville.

She laughed. "Well, I'll come watch, but I'm not sure what kind of pointers I could give you, from what I saw the night of the battle." She smiled and agreed to meet them.

After watching them practicing for a few minutes, Professor Merrill did have a few pointers here and there, mostly pertaining to discipline. "You would do well to have more economy of movement. The less you wave around the shorter time it will take to cast the spell and the less your opponent will know what's coming." Then, because they were having so much fun, she agreed to spar with some of the students, herself.

After a few exchanges, she found herself slammed back into the padded wall. "That was a good hex. Try it again." She meant to rebound it, but it went around where she expected it to come and she hit the wall again, this time losing her wand.

Professor Snape, having been told that he might find his fiancée on the fifth floor, had just come around the hallway when he saw her wand fly out the door and her voice say, "That is brilliant! You have to show me how to do it!"

Neville showed her, "The basic hex was taught to us by Sn...I mean Professor Snape, our sixth year, but Harry and I worked out this part of it so that the path of the spell actually bends a little bit."

"I want to try that. Accio wand! Accio..." The students giggled. Barbara looked around to see that her wand was struggling to come to her but was held in the hand of her future husband, who was standing in the doorway. "Severus! Come see what they've done with your hex! I couldn't rebound it!"

He walked up to her and looked at her carefully. "Are you okay? From the sound, you hit the wall pretty hard."

"I'm a lot tougher than I must look. See what they're doing here."

"I'm well aware of what they're doing. It was all I could do to prevent the Carrows from finding and killing them last year. The harder they fought, the harder I had to suppress them so that they would hide well enough not to get caught."

Neville looked up. "We didn't realize that, Professor. Wow. Thank you."

Luna agreed. "Thank you."

"Thanks, Professor." All the kids smiled their gratitude.

"Well, it's dinner time. I suggest that you all go wash up and head downstairs."

She waited until the students were all gone. "They'll never see you in quite the same way again."

There was no response so she looked up. There was an angry glint in his eyes. "Severus? Is something the matter?"

"Are you hurt? I cannot stand the thought that they've hurt you."

"I'm perfectly fine. You're going to have to get used to this, you know. Most of the time I'm just a school teacher, but some time I may need to be in a battle."

"I don't yet know how I'll react to that."

"How do you expect me to react when it's you?"

He had never had to think about this before.

"I don't know that yet, either."

As the weeks went on, their routines changed little. They spent the evenings grading papers, working on research, and playing chess or reading together. Since their engagement, Severus usually bid Barbara goodnight with a kiss. Some nights, though, he had to cut it short.

"I don't want us to come together as some sort of grand seduction or loss of control," he said. "For us, it needs to be after we already belong to one another completely. You have placed a great deal of trust in me and I want to do this right."

She took his hands in hers. "You are completely worthy of that trust. I love you so much."

He let out a long sigh. "I love you, too, but I admit I'm looking forward to the time when trust does not apply in this context. It's a long wait until the holiday."

"It's not that much longer. Maybe you should go find some snogging students and give out detentions. That always cheers you up."

He grinned ruefully. "Once again I leave you with a smile on my face."

Barbara relieved her emotions by working her students hard. They found themselves subject to quizzes and essays to the extent that the older students started wishing back for the days when Professor Snape taught potions.

The students actually started groaning during class during the last week before break when she handed out their assignments for the holiday.

"Oh, calm down or face detentions. You've weeks to work on this and it's all going to help you with your finals. Pity me. I have to grade your efforts."

Students who had stayed over that Easter Holidays forever held it over those who were not there. They had helped to prepare for the wedding and then had witnessed it. It was simple, but they all agreed that it was beautiful in its way.

It started as soon as the train pulled out of Hogsmeade, with helping to put up decorations and ended with all of the students, and ended with the event itself the next morning. They couldn't believe Professor Snape looking like a bridegroom in new dress robes and actually smiling. And Professor Merrill in her white gown... how could she look so lovely and young and happy?

When the officiator near the willow tree said, "...and now I pronounce you bonded for life," a look of sheer delight passed over the groom's face. Those who were there could never quite make those who were not there believe that it happened.

The daffodils had come and gone and the Lilies were in bloom. They joyfully received the congratulations of everyone present as the party moved to the Great Hall. In after years Barbara would look at photo albums in amazement to see how many people she actually spoke with and how many pictures she and Severus were in. In her mind, the whole day had seemed like a blur, with only her husband clearly visible to her.

After a wedding breakfast that neither tasted, consisting of a great many toasts to the happy couple, they were asked to start the dancing. They had hoped to avoid it but it had become inevitable. Once again they danced the tango and once again those who watched were enchanted. After that, they were expected to dance with their guests.

Kingsley claimed the second dance. "Well, Barbara, you have made a lovely bride, at last. All my hard work has finally come to something."

"Listen to you! What about you and that--"

"Oh, well, I cherish some hopes."

"That's coming along then?"

"Yes."

"I hope she's good enough for you. Thank you for coming, Kingsley. You're the nearest thing I have to family."

"I am glad to be here, so long as you're happy."

Barbara waved to her husband as she saw him dancing with Minerva.

After several dances with the guests and faculty, including one rather breathless spin with Hagrid, Severus came with a couple of students. "Barbara, you know Alice and Howard Prewett. They have asked if they may dance with us."

Barbara made a curtsy. "I would be delighted." She took Howard's hands and went out to the floor with him as Severus danced with Alice.

After that all of the students wanted to dance and Barbara laughingly agreed. She enjoyed dancing and chatting with her young partners while watching poor Severus dance, too. Finally, though, he had had enough and came up to her. "Madam, I would be honored."

She smiled, "I thought you would never ask."

He swept her into his arms and pressed his lips to hers and then close to her ear. "Our baggage is in my office. We can floo to the Three Broomsticks and then apparate on from Hogsmeade. If we leave now, we can skip all the rest of this. What do you say?"

She took a look around. "I think the party is in full swing without us. Let's do it." She giggled. "I knew there were good uses for Slytherin qualities."

"My dear, you have no idea." He looked down mischievously.

"I look forward to continuing my education, Professor."

The song ended and someone came to dance with the bride. She saw the groom slip out of the Great Hall and took her first opportunity to excuse herself, too. Severus was waiting in his office, just as he said.

"Are you ready?"

"I had thought of changing..."

"Never mind that. They will come to look for us, soon." They picked up their bags and went to the fireplace.

After several moments of being toasted by the crowd at the Three Broomsticks, they managed to apparate out of Hogsmeade and they were finally on their honeymoon. Their first stop was a cemetery near Manchester.

Barbara put her wedding flowers between her parents' graves. "I wish you could have been with us, Mom and Dad. I wish you could have known this wonderful man. I love you."

They came later to a small inn near the coast. After settling in, Severus came out of the bathroom in his robe to see his wife still standing in her wedding dress, looking uncertainly at the dressing gown she had laid out for herself on the bed.

"Severus, I--" she started, and stopped. Suddenly she was the shy one. He gave her an encouraging smile. "My buttons. Could you help me?"

"It will be my pleasure." He undid her hair so that he could breathe in the scent while he undid the buttons, slowly and carefully, one by one. He traced the line up her backbone and slid his hands onto her shoulders. He could tell she was still nervous. He wanted to reassure her. "Barbara," he said while kissing the base of her neck, "class is in session." She couldn't resist a giggle and turned her head, offering him her lips. Then she was in his arms and they lowered together onto the bed.