III.
Severus woke later to the sound of Ginny's delighted giggles. For a minute he simply enjoyed the sweet sound as it rang in his ears before he opened one eye and saw her stroking her stomach, speaking softly between her bursts of laughter.
"We already love you so much, little one. I'm so excited to get to meet you."
She stopped to laugh again and stroke the bulge of her stomach.
"I guess you are excited to meet us, too. You will grow up in a family with so much love. You'll see, my sweet little girl. We've waited so long for you."
More laughter, more rubs to her belly.
"Severus, I know you're awake. You have to feel her move!"
Ginny grabbed his hand and placed it just below her navel as he opened both eyes and pretended to look sheepish. His hand shook as he felt a good, hard kick against his palm. Jumping a little, he was so surprised by the force the action that he leaned over her belly to see if her skin was bruised. It was not; he was only greeted by the sight of Ginny's stretched out navel that made him smirk a little before she slapped his shoulder lightly.
"Now, now," she clucked. "Just think about how yours would look if you were in the same boat."
He shuddered a little at the thought before he placed his steadier hand back on the same spot. He felt more of the same, hard kicks against his hand.
"She is so strong," he said.
"Just like her father," she said, giggling as another sharp kick bumped his hand.
"Just like her mother," he replied, marveling as he always did at the sight of Ginny's skin moving and shaking with each movement of the tiny feet within her.
"She likes you, Severus," Ginny whispered as she placed her hand over his. "She always kicks harder when you are awake."
He moved up so that he was closer to her stomach, almost nose to foot with in the movements with in her.
"How do you – oh good gods," he exclaimed as he felt the kicks come even harder.
"I think she likes the sound of your voice, dear. You should talk to her. Whenever you speak she goes crazy. You can just feel it even better, now, on the outside," she said, wonder filling her voice.
"What should I speak to her about?" he asked, moving so that he could place a second hand on the mound.
"I don't know if it matters, love," she said, smiling happily at the sight of Severus's nose just peaking over her navel. "The books say it's good to read to them, even now. Why don't you tell her a story?"
He sighed, trying to find a happy story from his memory to share.
"You can start with 'once upon a time', like the Muggles do."
"Don't be ridiculous, my dear girl. I can be more creative than that." Except, that he couldn't. He paused while he tried to think of any story to tell.
"Anything," Ginny whispered. "While she's still awake."
Severus nodded and rolled his eyes a little, earning another light slap, when he began. "Once upon a time, there was a very sad young wizard. There was no happiness in his world, because he had lost everything that ever mattered to him." He felt the kicks continue at a gale force.
"Severus, don't make it a sad story. I think I brought a copy of The Tales of Beedle the Bard if – "
"Let me continue, Mrs. Snape," he said, glaring up at her from over her stomach.
She frowned at him and nodded for him to continue.
"The young, ugly wizard had lost everything that ever mattered to him, and he was very sad. He spent two years feeling very sorry for himself, indeed. In a dungeon, no less. There was no one for him to talk to about how sad he was, because his best friends had all passed beyond the veil before him in a War that almost cost the wizard his own life."
The kicks continued, and Ginny stayed silent, though he knew she was still frowning.
"Then one day, a great witch came to see him, for she needed guidance and a place to live, as her parents, the grand sorcerer and his even grander wife, wanted her to increase her knowledge. Since the wizard was a very learned man, many people sought him to increase their education. He decided, against his better judgment, to take on the witch as his student so that she could learn her trade from him properly. The witch was very beautiful, but in great coincidence was also very sad. But she made the wizard very happy for the first time that he could ever recall."
Great, hard kicks pounded against his hand. Ginny was so silent he wondered if she had stopped breathing, but he didn't think he could look up at her just yet.
"The wizard soon found that he was deeply in love with the witch for several reasons. Firstly, because of her great beauty, for he loved to watch her move and smile. Her hair, the color of the darkest sunset, also drew him to her like a moth to the flame. Secondly, because of her great knowledge, for she was a very bright witch, which the wizard greatly appreciated when she wasn't being careless and not following his instructions. And lastly, because of her great heart and her ability to love and forgive. It was that last quality that attracted him to her the most, because the sad wizard also needed much forgiveness, as he had once been a very bad man."
Ginny's hand squeezed his with the strength she had gained from years of lugging cauldrons around the dungeons, but still he didn't look up. Under both of their hands, the kicks were coming slower, though still present.
"When the witch forgave him of the great wrongs that he had done not only to her, but to the rest of their kind, he knew that he could never let her go, though he couldn't begin to think of how to tell her. So, one day he found an activity that they both enjoyed participating in," he said, smirking a little as Ginny's hand swatted his, "and they became very good friends indeed. He tried to bind her to him without her knowing, but the witch's brother, a he-wolf," another swat, "found him out, and made him promise to care for the witch in all ways as long as she was under the wizard's protection. And so he did, though he would have done so even without the he-wolf's meddling."
Little kicks continued to hit his hand, and Ginny was rubbing his bracelet thoughtfully with her fingertips.
"Over time, the wizard began to hope that the lovely witch might love him back. But he was afraid, as he was a very shy man and very afraid of the strength of his feelings toward her."
The kicks were rhythmic now, as though the little life within were trying to stay awake for the end. Ginny's hand stroked his, her fingers running between his own as he continued.
"Then one day, the witch and wizard finally found each other out. Despite the wizard's many faults, the witch was as in love with him as he was with her. And suddenly, both the witch and wizard were not sad anymore. They were very happy indeed, because they had each other. After a time, they were married, and now live in a castle, though in the deep, dark dungeon, as the witch and wizard are not your normal kind of folk. And they lived happily ever after, despite the meddling of the sorcerer, his wife, the rest of the witch's family - including their adopted son and his wife who are both total idiots. The end."
The kicks had stopped for the most part, now he only felt an occasional roll against his hand. He finally dared to look up at his wife and saw the tears in her eyes as she stared down at him.
"Oh, Severus," she whispered, sitting up so they could see each other better.
He cleared his throat, which had constricted a little in the last part of the story. His throat was now almost completely healed and he no longer needed to use the Throat Repair with regularity. He couldn't really figure out why it felt so tight now. It must have been the weather, he mused, as he slid back up the bed to lay next to his wife.
"That was beautiful, Severus. Thank you," she said, kissing his lips lightly.
"I didn't say it was a true story, Mrs. Snape," he teased.
"You are really an insufferable man, Sir," she sighed, kissing him again. "I didn't know Bill spoke to you after that first Christmas."
He grimaced. "He didn't as much speak to me as he immediately sent me a Howler. Apparently he walked into your room after we both left to go for a walk. We forgot to cancel the Muffling Charm, and he put that together with your bracelet and came up with the correct conclusion."
"Merlin's big toe," Ginny groaned. She touched her bracelet, thoughtfully, lost in memory. In all these years, she'd never removed it, as he had never removed his. "I knew I'd missed something."
"Well, Bill didn't," he said, wincing with the memory of the smoking red envelope waiting for him when he returned to Hogwarts. "The Howler … well, howled something to the lines of 'If you hurt my baby sister I swear I will either strangle you myself or sic my mother on you, you great big greasy bat. But if you are really happy together, then you better take care of her, or else I will strangle you, etc, etc.' It actually went on like that for a while," he said, snorting at the memory of the ten page Howler than rambled on about how he ' had better treat Ginny like the perfect treasure she was'.
"Then that explains all the lunches," she said thoughtfully, though he knew she was trying her best not to laugh. "He really was checking up on me."
"And reporting back to Granger when she couldn't attend," Severus said, thinking about the second Howler that arrived early the next morning that screeched only one word: "Careful".
"Why didn't you ever tell me?" she asked, looking genuinely confused.
"I didn't want you to worry," he said simply. "And I was an adult and had endured far worse than a few Howlers."
She nodded, looking sad and pensive for the first time since they came to the island.
"Don't think about it, sweet girl," he said, lifting her chin with one of his long fingers to meet his eyes. He kissed her, trying to rid her beloved head of any thought that could cause her any sadness. When he felt her respond, he deepened the kiss, seeking out her tongue with his before he pulled away to look at her. Her face was still a little sad and nervous.
He knew she missed their old afternoons together. As pleasurable as their substitute activities were for both of them, it didn't cause her the release and peace of spirit that the spankings did. Honestly, he missed it as well, and sometimes he felt his hands itch to bend her over any surface and yank up her skirts so he could have his way with her the way they both wanted to.
"Do you want to go again?" he asked, stroking her jaw gently, trying to work the muscles free from the frown.
"Not just yet," she said, stretching so that he breasts were right in his face. He groaned lightly. "I need to eat something first, I'm starving."
"For mangos?" he said, his voice a little too hopeful for his own taste.
"No, maybe not for mangos," she said, giggling. "At least, not right now. I have a craving for raspberries. I saw some in the kitchen when we got here and put a Stasis Charm on them to keep them fresh."
"Raspberries?" he whispered, eyeing her nipples and thinking how much they reminded him of the food she was craving. He licked his lips thoughtfully.
"Um-hmm," she said, arching her back so that her nipples almost grazed his lips. She got out of the bed and put on her dressing gown. "Raspberries are very good for the baby and me, you know," she said, winking as she left the room.
He groaned as he got out of bed and followed her.
As it turned out, raspberries were very good for all three of the Snape's, in one way or another.