Disclaimer: All JKRs except for my one OC
Severus Snape woke several mornings later to the sight of his wife's toes peeking out from under the covers. Today they would be returning to Hogwarts and the start of their life together. He smiled and turned to look at Barbara, whose face was lost in the tangle of her hair.
Not a man to miss an opportunity when it presented himself, he started rubbing her feet.
Barbara Snape rose to consciousness with some ticklish yet incredible sensations down on her feet and lower legs. "What magic are you working down there?"
"I'm trying to decide which of your feet I love better."
"If you come up here I'll show you what I love."
Some time later, they leisurely walked down the stairs to the desk where their portkey would be waiting, when suddenly Severus pushed Barbara back into the hallway, and into a dark corner.
"Do you have any floo powder?"
"Yes, I have a tin in my pocket."
"Let's go back to our room." Suddenly Barbara saw what Severus had seen: the Lestrange brothers.
The crept back to their room, where they threw powder into the fire and left just as a knock was heard at the door.
They landed finally in the Headmistress' office at Hogwarts. "You've made it. We wondered what happened when you missed your portkey." Minerva was waiting for them.
Kingsley's head came through the fireplace. "The Lestrange brothers have been seen."
"Yes, they were at the inn," said Barbara. "If I'd realized it was them from the first I would have stayed and tried to capture them."
"It wasn't the best time or place. There's no evidence of a centralized power, but they seem to be focusing some kind of plan on you two. We're calling a meeting of the Order of the Phoenix. They are Death Eaters, and we want to consider all of the possibilities that this may somehow be connected to Voldemort. You're in this now, Barbara. You have to join the Order."
Barbara nodded her head. "Where are we meeting?"
Minerva looked at Severus. "The same place as before. I'm the secret keeper at the moment. I'm sure you will want to go to your quarters to pull yourselves together, but we expect you to follow us and meet us there in half an hour."
They both answered. "We'll be there."
It wasn't long before they were walking hand in hand through the school gate.
"Hello, Barbara, and you too, traitor. Sorry we missed you at the coast."
Severus barely had time to push Barbara behind him before Rodolphus Lestrange placed him under an impedimenta curse. He could see Rabastan starting to say avad- when suddenly a light came from his wife's wand and Rabastan's curse rebounded back onto himself. The impedimenta was lifted. Rodolphus looked at his brother's body and then faced the couple again, but not before Severus bound him with a curse of his own. He grabbed his wife around the waist and turned to apparate.
When the door of 12 Grimmauld Place opened, Kingsley had a teasing smile on his face. "We shouldn't have rushed the newlyweds--" Seeing Barbara's face, he asked, "What happened?"
"We ran into the Lestrange brothers just outside the gates."
Kingsley looked from one to the other. "Give me a minute. I'll find out what's going on." He went to the kitchen and flooed out of the house.
Barbara stopped Severus in the hallway. "We didn't have to rush off like that. We could have made sure he was captured."
"I wanted you safe, away from there."
"Hello, I'm the auror on assignment to protect you!"
"Not since months ago, and by the way, Mrs. Snape, have I told you good morning and that I love you?"
She pulled his head down and kissed him fiercely. "When I saw that curse..."
"Nice wand work, by the way."
"You're quite talented, yourself, and this isn't done. We needed to catch him!"
"I've never been in a situation like that with someone I loved. It's not the sort of thing I practiced for as a Death Eater. My instincts told me to get you out of there."
"It sounds so sweet, when you put it like that..."
When they arrived in the kitchen, several small conversations stopped.
"Can I get you anything?" asked Molly Weasley.
"Yes, some tea, please," said Barbara.
"Coffee, if you have some, Molly," said Severus.
"That's fine. I think there's room for the two of you down at that end of the table."
As they sat, they were greeted by Molly and Arthur Weasley and their children, Ron and Ginny, as well as Harry Potter, Hermione Grainger, and Minerva McGonagall, among several others. Kingsley came back.
"The aurors we had assigned in Hogsmeade found Rabastan's body. I'm going to guess that they will find a rebounding curse when they check your wand?" Barbara nodded. "Rudolphus gave them the slip."
Everyone looked at the table for a minute.
Kingsley Shacklebolt cleared his throat and said, "Let's begin by saluting our newlyweds: Severus Snape and his charming bride, Barbara Merrill Snape."
"Hear, hear!" was said all around the table. Barbara blushed and didn't know where to look.
Kingsley looked at his notes. "Chief Auror Monroe is not a member of the Order, but he has a loose understanding of our activities. It is my intention to keep it that way so that the organizations will remain separate, at least under the current circumstances."
"On to what brings us here. Some Death Eaters have been active lately, with their activities centered around the Snapes, here. We're not sure if it's just the Lestrange brothers or if others are involved. Severus is an obvious target and we have known that since the battle at Hogwarts. Barbara is a bit confusing, but she does appear to be a target in and of herself."
"Actually, I may know something." Everyone turned to look at Hermione Granger.
"Really?" said Kingsley
"A legal case turned up, and it involved tracing some family records through portions that have been removed from those families' trees. I had to wade through the birth records at St. Mungo's. It seems that Barbara Merrill's parents were both squibs. Barbara's mother, Bertha, was the sister of Albert Runcorn and Richard Merrill was a cousin to the Lestrange brothers, or rather their father.
"The Lestrange cousins had a common grandfather who never thought his family would produce a non-magical heir, so he placed the family fortune in such a way that all the grandchildren stood to inherit an equal share. Not wanting to let that much money slip away, the Lestranges started looking for ways to remove the Merrills from the family legacy legally. Meanwhile, they started looking for ways to kill the Merrills, starting by using Umbridge's inquisitions. If they could kill the entire family, they would not have that competition for the family treasure."
Those sitting at the table absorbed the information. Severus looked at his bride. "My dear, it would appear that your blood is purer than we ever thought and you're an heiress, too.
Kingsley looked around the table and pondered this. "So we're dealing with common criminals and Snape is possibly not a target?"
"Common criminals who happen to be Death Eaters," said Harry. He cleared his throat. "I'm not sure how good this information is...Draco Malfoy...but he has told me that the former Death Eaters who aren't in Azkaban are waiting for Professor Snape, here, to give some sort of signal, when they will rise again and be more powerful than ever. Not like he was trying to give me information... more like he was bragging."
Everyone looked at the Snapes. "I have no intention--"
"No one who's known you this past year would believe that, Severus. It's clearly the imaginings of some people who are looking to get back into power and attaching themselves to the person who was previously one of their best hopes," interposed Arthur quietly. His wife nodded.
"Thank you, Arthur, Molly. Your confidence means a great deal to me."
"So, if the Death Eaters think that, it means Severus should be safe, at least until they get tired of waiting." added McGonagall. "And if we're dealing with common criminals who are simply after gain," She went on. "It would explain why there have been so few involved, except perhaps why they waited so long to attack again?"
"They were waiting for her to get some place where she was vulnerable," said Ron. "When she went to her parents' funeral, she was surrounded by aurors and since her parent's death she hasn't left the school grounds until last week. The real question is how they knew where to find the Snapes, and the answer must lie with the portkey they had registered to come back today. Someone at the Ministry gave the Lestranges the information."
"Runcorn." Arthur looked angry. "How can a man be so callous toward his own family?"
Kingsley wrote down a note for himself. "I'll take care of it." Looking up, "So where does that leave us? Barbara's true parentage, the hopes that have been mistakenly pinned on Snape, here, what else is there?"
Ron tossed a paper on the table. "There's this."
Snape/Merrill Nuptials
Rita Skeeter
The wizarding world will no doubt be eager to congratulate Professors Severus Snape and Barbara Merrill of the prestigious Hogwarts School on their recent marriage. Students of the school will recall Severus Snape as the demanding Potions Master turned dashing hero who helped Harry Potter destroy You-know-who. The bride, now Potions Mistress, is the unknown daughter of muggles who died recently under suspicious circumstances.
The bride wore her mother's wedding gown and carried roses. The groom wore dress robes. Seventh year student, Luna Lovegood, attended the bride, while our own Minister Shacklebolt acted as best man. Professor Filius Flitwick walked the bride down the aisle to her groom. After the quiet reception in the school's Great Hall, the couple left for parts unknown to take a brief honeymoon.
Barbara laughed. "That's actually kind, for Rita."
Kingsley thought for a minute. "Barbara, what would you say to some well-placed words of truth?"
"Speaking off the cuff, having just learned something my parents kept secret from me...I'm not sure...my grandparents clearly didn't want anyone to know about me. They allowed for their own children to get murdered, though, so perhaps their feelings shouldn't be considered. I'll say yes, depending upon what you are actually thinking."
"I'll let you know. I'll also mention to Monroe that he should keep those aurors in Hogsmeade. Lestrange is wanted, regardless. Well, everybody, keep your eyes open. Anything else? Well then, I won't keep you. I know most of us have other things to do, today."
The room emptied quickly, leaving Barbara and Severus sitting at the table.
She was mentally reviewing her whole life. "It makes so much sense. They were so open and willing for me to go to Hogwarts, not like most muggle parents, who'd never heard of the place. They knew, too. They probably knew what it meant for me to be an auror and they willingly took all those risks. They knew what was going on and arranged things so that I could easily get them away. And their estate was so well put together. Everything was in perfect order. How could I have not realized?"
"Were you in the habit of disbelieving your parents?"
"No...but now I don't know what to think. What will I tell our children about their grandparents?"
"The truth, as well as you know it. Just as I will about my parents," he said with a long sigh. "Your parents probably knew that their families wanted them dead all along. You know those families."
"I wonder if my relatives have much of a clue about me or even care. They must have known that I got married. Of course they know. They used the information against me."
He took her hand and kissed it. "Speaking of our recent marriage, would you be interested in going home, Mrs. Snape? There were some lessons I was hoping to... review... if you have the time."
"Why certainly, Professor."
"Potter!"
"Professor?" Harry stuck his head through the door.
"We're going to leave now. Is it okay to use the floo from here?"
"Yes, that's fine...and congratulations and best wishes on your marriage and all, Sir, Mrs. Snape."
"Thank you, Mr. Potter," said Barbara. "We look forward to seeing you in a few weeks for graduation."
A/N: a word about timing. As far as I can tell, Easter was the 4th of April in 1999, which is the year this would have been. However, in my experience most schools try to keep the spring/Easter break within a fairly consistent time span, usually starting the last week of March. So in my mind the wedding would have been the week before actual Easter, probably the 27th of March.
Thank you to my kind readers and reveiwers.