This is JKE's world, I am extrapolatinbg for my own enjoyment.
I Appararted to the edge of Hogsmeade near the tunnel entrance, then dismantled the wards to gain entry. Subsequently, I recreated the wards to allow me to Apparate directly into the tunnel. When I opened the panel in the alcove, I realised that nothing in his old rooms had been changed but it was all very clean. I went into the sitting room and found my husband reading with a pot of tea and two cups on the table.
"Welcome, Thera. To what do I owe this visit?" He smiled at me as he got up to kiss me.
"I delivered Moody to the cottage. I am here for the evening. I will return to London in the morning, but I will be back within the week for the duration. This is my place now, at your side, as you said so many nights ago. I will be helping the students and Minerva. Tell the rest that I am Madam Pince's assistant, or Minerva's. I can stay in these rooms if you so desire. That way we have access to the tunnel for both egress and ingress. You cannot dissuade me; I am going to stay here with you whether you agree or not."
He chuckled softly as he handed me a cup of steaming hot tea. "I knew you were coming, love. You have been ruminating over this in your mind for the last few days and your determination came through the link very clearly. I have no objection to your staying at all. In fact, I will be very glad to have you close. I miss you, my love. The conversation at the Head Table is stilted, at best. The Carrows are as stupid as they can hold together. Minerva and Filius refuse to talk to them. Filius refuses to talk to me. And Trelawney is getting more unbalanced daily. She has taken to drinking heavily. I believe that you will be her assistant teacher, forgive me but needs must."
"I can deal with Sybill. So, you want me as a teacher. Are you going to reveal our marriage? Most of the teachers already know. And some of the Slytherins must know if their parents are among the Dark Lord's followers. It is probably for the best. We will not have to hide it anymore. Let them think what they may, but I will be protecting the students."
"That was my thought also, Thera. To finally acknowledge you as my bride…. you have no idea how proud that makes me."
"Sev, I think Hermione and her two friends will not be returning this year. They are off on a quest, Viktor thinks. Are they possibly hunting the rest of the horcruxes? Won't that leave the remnants of Dumbledore's Army leaderless?"
"I doubt it. Longbottom was in the thick of it for the last two years. If the boy can screw his courage to the sticking place, he may very well be the leader they need. He has matured a great deal since the incident at the Ministry."
"Do you want me here for the Welcoming Feast tomorrow? I can go to Chelsea, pack and return before the train arrives. I will make sure to talk to Luna tomorrow evening, so she will not say anything untoward. Is that sufficient, my love?"
Yes, Thera, I will welcome you back here openly as my wife. I will make sure to warn Minerva and Filius. These rooms will be where we really live; but the Headmaster's suite will be where they think we are. It is best we have a back door for the sake of the students. I will call Trufy to bring more tea and scones. Don't worry about packing."
The House Elf arrived in a flash and expressed great joy at my return. He produced two pots of tea and a huge plate of scones. Then, when Sev had to attend to a minor contretemps in the halls with Filch, Trufy said "Mistress is most welcome. Master has been lonely without her. He drinks too much firewhiskey when Mistress is gone. He will be better now."
"Trufy, I want you to report to me whenever a student is harmed or hurt. I will give you potions for them. You must hide them in the Room of Requirement so the Carrows cannot find them. Is that understood?"
"Yes, Mistress, Master told us, also. Mistress Snape keeps all safe in the castle except nasty Carrows." Trufy giggled at me.
"Thank you, Trufy. We will eat late tonight, around seven, I think. Make sure there is only elf-made wine to drink with dinner. Bring his things down from the Headmaster's suite, please. I am going to be bringing my things tomorrow before the students arrive. We will be staying in these rooms again, Trufy."
The House Elf popped out to bring Sev's things down to these rooms and I set about rearranging some things. I had made room for two people to occupy the set of rooms by the time Trufy appeared with the last of Sev's clothes.
"Mistress, Master has sent for House Elf from house in Russia. Her is packing your things now. Trufy will help her when she brings things. He sends for her just before you came. He was very happy you came."
"Make sure you help her. Her name is Ptitsa. She has been with my family for many years, Trufy. Take good care of her while she is here."
"Master is coming. Trufy will go see to ordering of dinner and keeping watch for Ptitsa."
He popped out of the room just as Sev re-entered the door.
"So, you sent for Ptitsa to move me here? I am not upset, just touched that you had planned on me staying. Trufy will help her put the things away and bring us dinner. What was the problem?"
"Amycus and Alecto were trying to coerce the other teachers to bow to them by cursing them. I had to take those two idiots to the Dark Lord to be straightened out as to who is in charge here. He told them under no circumstances are they to try to usurp my authority. I have made sure that the House Elves lock them in their rooms at night and they are dosed with Dreamless Sleep in their evening tea. I informed him that you had joined me at the school. He was pleased you are such an obedient wife." This last was said with much rolling of his eyes and a shake of his head.
I nearly burst out laughing at his antics. "His intellect isn't strong, is it, love? He cannot fathom the most basic of human emotions nor see that it will be his downfall. His ego must be truly overweening for him to not realise that you wield more power and have more talent. The man is a complete fool."
"He is a fool, love, a blind arrogant fool of the worst kind. I have been working on a way to combine our shield charms with those of others to strengthen the whole network. If we can do the work then you can add the other teachers and the older students if or when it comes to a fight. Are you interested in working on this?"
"Sort of sharing the shield, Sev? Passing on a bit of one's strength to the next person in the chain would form an excellent shielding charm, especially if we include everyone. You and I could begin the chain and pass it on to the others, gaining strength as it is passed. But if and when a final battle ensues, I want an extra measure of shielding on you, Sev. You will be the one at most risk. Dumbledore was talking to Moody at the House in Petersburg about his wand. He said you needed to be reminded that Draco had disarmed him before you arrived. Is that important? Why should it matter if Draco had disarmed him?"
"Wand lore, Thera, it isn't taught anymore, but when I was a young student here, Ollivander taught a class in wand lore. Dumbledore's wand has a new master. Draco is the master of Dumbledore's wand. Dumbledore's wand is very powerful, it was Grindelwald's before Dumbledore defeated him. It is the legendary…."
"The Deathstick, of course, and the Dark Lord will want it, won't he? That is what Dumbledore was on about; if the Dark Lord thinks that you are the master of the Deathstick, he will find himself in the position of having to kill you to become the master of the wand."
"You have surmised correctly, my dear. The wand that was buried with Albus was his old wand. The Deathstick is currently residing in the same place as the Sword of Gryffindor. Our first efforts must be to find a way for young Harry to disarm or somehow defeat Draco at something, anything. If the three are not returning to school, it creates a problem. We must think on this."
"We must contrive something. I will talk to Minerva. If it comes down to it, I will use the Imperius on Draco and send a Patronus message to Hermione to meet me somewhere. We will think of something. We must. Harry must be the master of the wand. Both of your lives depend on that. The Dark Lord is arrogant enough to dismiss the information that Draco had disarmed Dumbledore, no matter how many people tell him that is what happened. He will choose to believe that you are the master of the wand. You know he will, Sev. He has a very limited world view. He thinks only in terms of how things apply to himself. He does not see that he is not the centre of the world. Childish, tragically childish, and extremely dangerous for you when decides to kill you. This all fits with that journal my father kept about his time in Azkaban. I left it back in Petersburg. I hope Ptitsa brings it. It had observations about all of the Death Eaters who were in Azkaban at the same time, especially Bellatrix and the Lestrange brothers."
"Igor always loathed Bellatrix. He said she was so obsessed that she was dangerous to everyone around her. Your father was an astute judge of character, Thera. He saw much more than others did. That is why he was chosen as Headmaster at Durmstrang. He believed that full knowledge of a subject reduces temptation. His stint as Headmaster turned out very few young wizards who have gone over to the Dark Lord. Your cousin Viktor is the prime example. He knows the Dark Magic but knows also, that therein lies the end of freedom and our whole way of life. Your father taught Viktor and his friends that might does not make right, that honour and integrity have more worth than pure blood ever will. You are a product of his teachings, also. You and Viktor both have strength of character and conviction that are Igor's biggest achievements."
Trufy popped into the room with Ptitsa just then. Ptitsa handed me the journal we had been talking about. The two House Elves served dinner after Sev thanked them for getting things done so fast. Ptitsa said she would return to Petersburg to continue the renovation of the rooms for Persephone.
Sev and I sat down to eat at last. After dinner, Sev started through the journal. He read the first third of it before he let out an excited yelp. "Thera, come here. Tell me this says what I think it does. His writing is very tiny here. Does it really say that Bellatrix put Hufflepuff's cup in her vault at Gringotts? And that she knew where the Dark Lord had put the Diadem of Ravenclaw's here at Hogwarts?"
He thrust the journal at me. I looked at my father's writing and used an enlarging spell on it. I smiled and handed the journal back to my husband. "Indeed, it does say exactly that, Severus. Now we have something to help Harry with. I will send a patronus message to Hermione. Wait, there is something else. He writes that he has learned something incredible about the Dark Lord. Bellatrix was raving, singing and talking to herself one night when she called to him. She was carrying on a conversation with an absent, apparently defeated Dark Lord. Father writes that she was berating the Dark Lord for having a son with another woman. She was saying she was the only woman worthy of giving him a child. What can this mean, Sev?"
I turned to look at my husband only to find him with a horrified, fearful expression on his face.
"No, no, it cannot be. So long ago…. It is no wonder she hates me so. Thera, do not ask me. I cannot tell you yet. Please." He slumped back into the chair before the fireplace and took back the journal.
He refused to look at me for the rest of the evening. He finished reading the journal after copying out the most important parts for later use. Then he conjured flames in the fireplace and threw the journal in. He went off to shower and retire for the night. I did not like what I was thinking, it was almost too horrific to imagine. I put the thoughts from my mind and followed him to bed.
In the middle of the night he reached for me, drew me close and spooned against me. In the morning, he and I made our way to the Great Hall for breakfast.
He removed to disillusionment spells on our wedding rings so that all could see them. Then he gripped my hand as we walked to the Head Table. Everyone was looking at us strangely. He made the announcement abruptly with no fanfare whatsoever. "This is our new assistant Divination Teacher. She is also my wife, Thera Leonidas-Karkaroff Snape."
My old teachers smiled at me. The ones that had not known before reacted with totally shocked looks. Sybill Trelawney smiled at me. Rolanda Hooch smothered a laugh before winking at me. The Carrows looked very taken aback. Sev placed me at his right hand. He motioned for them all to begin eating. Minerva who was at my right side quickly put something into my skirt pocket as she asked me to pass her the cream for her tea. When I turned to hand it to her she mouthed the words, "My office 11."
"Here you are Minerva. May I try some of your tea? Thank you." I winked at her in answer.
Sev announced some changes to the teaching roster and some class location changes. Then he specifically told the teachers that I was the liaison between the teaching staff and the House Elves. Any problems with the House Elves had to be presented to me for resolution. I was also going to do evaluations on performance. And that the Duelling Club was to be reinstituted under my tutelage. The rest of breakfast passed in a blur. Sev and I returned to our rooms where he pulled me against him for a passionate kiss.
"Merlin's Golden Blade, Thera, the news will spread like wildfire now. The students will even know by the time they arrive. Amycus is owling Lucius this very moment, I am sure of it. We are freed from one constraint, at least. You had best send to Viktor who can tell Hermione. It came to me that the Duelling Club was the best way to have Draco defeated. If Hermione was to disguise Harry as Viktor and we invite Viktor to do a demonstration for the Duelling Club…….. would it work?"
"It is possible, Sev. We must wait to see what transpires in the coming months. I have a meeting with Minerva. I will return when it is time to prepare the Great Hall for the students' arrival. I plan on talking to Sybill also. It was inspired to make Firenze the Astronomy teacher also. Who better to explain the stars than one who has studied them his entire life? I believe he was pleased as well. I will keep you informed."
"Thera, when you return, we must talk about your birthday. Go now. Tell Minerva, thank you for me."
I arrived at the staircase to find the Carrows waiting for me. They tried their best to ingratiate themselves with me but I pretended that I did not understand them.
"I really am sorry, but I want to visit with my former teachers. Could you excuse me, I really must go. I am sure Severus would not want you to interfere with his wife." I smirked at them as I swept up the stairs. I diverted to poke my head into Filius's office and say hello, then on to Slughorn's office and so on until I arrived at Minerva's.
She opened the door immediately and we both cast imperturbable before hugging each other.
"I could not believe he announced it today. He was so matter of fact, Thera. Yet, I sensed how glad he is that you are here. He is very proud of you. I think I will send off a note to the Daily Prophet that your marriage was announced today. And remind them of your NEWT scores ,of course. That should tweak some noses. I am so happy you are here, dear. He will be better with you beside him."
"He sent me to tell you thank you. We must all work together this year. He is going to be keeping the Carrows on a tight lead. I will keep an eye on the rest of the staff. Especially Sybill. She must wonder what has happened. I am wondering whether or not to simply use an Imperius on her for her own protection. If I am pulling her strings she cannot get into trouble. And perhaps she will drink less."
"Oh, dear, Thera, that is perfect. I worry about her, truly I do. She may still come out with some prophetic statements, however. I want us to work on evacuation plans for the younger students if it comes down to a battle here. Keep me informed, Thera. I know you and Severus can probably manage most of this by yourselves but share some of the burdens. I have heard from the occupant of the cottage. He sends you his thanks. Now, go back to your husband. We two will do the preparations for the students this afternoon. And watch the Carrows closely. They try to undermine Severus at every turn. Bless you, child." She removed the imperturbable spell and slightly raised her voice. "I was so delighted at your NEWT scores, dear. You are a credit to both your father and your husband. Take care and come back to visit any time." Then she mouthed the words 'Carrows outside the door' at me.
I raised my voice also, "Thank you so much for the tea, Minerva. I think I will order some of your blend as a change. I will come back again."
I opened the door and swept by the Carrows. I turned to confront them. "Are you two by any chance following me? I think I shall have to complain to the Dark Lord. He was very pleased that I was here. I do not think he would appreciate you two interfering with me or my husband. Do you understand me?"
They blanched and scurried away. I climbed the stairs again to Sybill Trelawney's domain. She was as dithery as I had remembered but greeted me with a smile. I used a modified Imperius curse to keep her dithery but sober. She would not voice any prophecies but write them out and give them to me. I assured her that I was only her assistant and would not really be taking any of her teaching duties away from her. She was drinking the tea I had ordered for her when I left.
Going down the stairs I encountered Peeves. The poltergeist looked at me strangely. I spoke more harshly than I intended. "Peeves, you must behave this year. You may bother any of us, but the Carrows must NOT be bothered. Do you understand me?"
His answering cackle gave me a smile. He would be creating havoc for the Carrows as much and as often as he could. I ran into Filch going from the main hall to the Dungeon stairs.
"No students are allowed here before classes start! You are going to the Headmaster! I'll make sure he lets me punish you for the wicked girl you are."
He had grabbed my arm in a painful grip when Sev's voice rang out from the bottom of the stairs.
"Filch! Unhand my wife this instant! What are you doing?"
"Headmaster, this is a student here before classes start. That isn't allowed. I get to punish her now, don't I?"
Again Sev's voice sounded from halfway down the stairs. "Are you incapable of understanding me, Filch? That is my wife, Thera Snape. She is no longer a student, she is now a teacher. Get your hands off of her if you want to survive another hour. NOW, Filch."
Sev appeared in front of us as Filch looked from me to him and back again. He dropped my arm and ran from the hall.
"Did he hurt you, Thera? Let me see your arm. Have Poppy put some bruise salve on it. I will deal with Filch. He had no right to touch you. He was put up to it, I am sure. Go see Poppy and I will meet you in our rooms afterwards."
He touched my cheek before hurrying off after Filch.
I visited Poppy and had her apply the salve which gave me a chance to chat with her. Once she had released me I hurried back to the dungeons.
Sev was waiting for me with a scowl on his face. He was furious about something; I hoped it wasn't my doing.
"Filch has been dealt with. He had been imperiused to harm you if you came to the school. The Carrows let Bellatrix onto the grounds some days ago. This was her doing. I will be reporting to the Dark Lord tonight after the Welcoming Feast. The fact that the Carrows still think they are above my control is going to anger him immensely. The added fact that they aided Bellatrix in a plan to harm you will send him into a rage. You may have to accompany me to attest to their following you around and the harassment the teachers are being subjected to continually."
"I can do that, let me sit for a bit and have some tea. Minerva and I will be preparing the Great Hall for the students' arrival. We should begin in about three hours. Until then, I need your arms around me. Suddenly, I am very wary of this year. I know our preparations are strong, our charade good enough to fool the Death Eaters, and our love secure enough for anything, but I have this unreasonable twinge of fear. Hold me, make love to me. Let me lose my fears in the exultation of your loving. Please, Sev?"
"Come here, love. Take that ridiculous clip from your hair and let me relax you." His voice caressed my bruised sensibilities. His hands were stripping me out of my clothes as his lips travelled along my neck to my jaw line. I pressed my lips to his as the last of my clothes hit the floor. He carried me into the bedroom and began a sensuous assault on my body. His clothes vanished almost as rapidly as mine had done. He was beside me on the bed in moments. His hands and lips traced intricate patterns over my body as I writhed in anticipation. He moved over me replacing his fingers inside of me with his swollen erection. His movements started out slow and deliberate then, as I matched his thrusts he increased speed until my nails tore strips in his shoulders and I screamed his name. He collapsed next to me and kissed me.
Within moments he raised himself on his elbow and faced me. "Are you now relaxed enough to discuss your birthday, Thera?"
I laughed and shook my head. "No, I do not want to discuss my birthday. I want luxuriate in bed with my husband for a while longer. Was it really Bellatrix who Imperiused Filch? Why would she make these attempts to hurt me?"
"Yes, love. She wants something, what I am not sure of yet. But both you and I stand in her way. She is so totally deranged that it is difficult to follow her thinking, but I will report it to the Dark Lord. Have you sent a message to Viktor yet? Send him the information about the horcruxes for Hermione. Word it carefully. Add that Albus thought that the snake might also have been made into one. Tell him to have Hermione send a patronus to you here, and that we have declared our marriage to the world. There will be things you must tell her about Harry and things you must tell her about me. It will be imperative you keep in touch with her these next few months. I do intend to keep repeating the questions about your birthday until you give me a satisfactory answer. Lie here and get a little sleep before we need to appear in the Great Hall. I am not pleased that you have bruises on your skin. If Filch ever comes close to you again, I want you to use the Cruciatus on him. He is a squib tool of Bellatrix's, therefore completely expendable. Sleep, love. I will wake you in time to meet Minerva."
He pulled the covers up around me and I slept. When he woke me two hours later the bruises on my arm had faded to a soft yellowish grey. He kissed the bruises and brought me my clothes. I showered before dressing in my Slytherin green dress and robes. I had Sev fasten the Karkaroff necklace on me. I put the earrings into the holes in my lobes. I dressed my hair high on my head with the jewelled comb I had worn at our wedding. My boots had four inch heels so I would appear more impressive to the new students. Sev nodded his approval before we left for the Great Hall.
Minerva and I had the candles floating and the ceiling covered with stars by the time we heard the thestral carriages pull up outside. Minerva squeezed my hand before we took up our positions in the hallway. We could hear Hagrid chivvying the first years up from the lake. I watched familiar faces enter and make their way to the House tables. Only Luna smiled at me. She walked serenely to the Ravenclaw table. There were very few students who had returned. The tables were over half empty this year. There were only thirteen first years to be tucked into the room off the Great Hall to await their sorting.
When I walked with the rest of the teachers to the Head Table several heads turned. Neville Longbottom looked at me strangely as did Ginny Weasley. When Sev seated me next to him Ginny and Neville turned to look at Luna. Then all three stared at me. After Sev had made his announcements about teaching changes and new classroom changes he repeated his announcement of the morning.
"And the new assistant teacher in Divination is Madame Snape, my wife. Now let the feast begin."
I saw Luna look to Neville and Ginny and smile. Both the Gryffindors looked confused. Draco Malfoy looked stunned, then his expression changed to anger. He was glaring at Sev. After the feast we were making our way to the Headmaster's office when Draco ran to catch up to us.
"Headmaster Snape, Uncle Severus, you did not tell my father you had married"
"Draco, it is none of your father's business. My marriage was known to the Dark Lord and approved by him. Her father had been my friend. The marriage was arranged years ago but celebrated only recently. My wife has been presented; that is all you need to know."
"Yes, sir. Your pardon, sir. May I offer my felicitations, Madame Snape?"
"Thank you Draco. If you will excuse us, we must see to things in the office."
Sev was furious with Draco for questioning him. He gathered his Death Eater robes and mask before making his way to the disapparation point outside the grounds. He told me to stay in the office until he returned.
As I was waiting for him I sent a message to Viktor to be forwarded to Hermione about the artefacts they were searching for. And the hint that someone's 'pet' might be another such artefact. I told him that Sev had announced our marriage to the staff and the students which effectively removed the ban on discussing it. I told him that I had been manhandled by the caretaker and Sev had found that Bellatrix was behind it. I also told Viktor that I thought I knew what had been bothering Sev but I would not discuss it until I was sure. I mentioned that I needed to get directly in touch with Hermione, could he please relay that message?
A white Siberian tiger brought me his answer in Russian a few minutes later. Hermione would contact me by patronus tomorrow night.
I was staring out the windows of the office when I heard Dumbledore's voice behind me.
"Young Thera, is he gone to Riddle?"
"Yes, Belle Pere, Madame Lestrange has been meddling with things here and he is reporting on the conduct of the Carrows and the numbers of students who have returned. It was not wise of you endanger him with that wand."
"If I am not mistaken, you and he are taking steps to rectify that situation. So, he announced your secret today. And you are serving as Sybill's assistant. Draco Malfoy was not pleased, I imagine. He will be a problem this year. He is being pushed beyond his abilities, poor boy. You may have to meet with Longbottom, Weasley and Lovegood to establish an alliance. Since you already have a rapport with Miss Lovegood, she would be the best contact. Is he dealing with the situation well, Thera?"
"As well as can be expected, Albus. Lupin is not dealing with anything well right now. He and Dora married earlier this summer and now they are expecting a child. He is worried and agitated. He has figured out things as has Minerva. Her husband was injured in the fiasco when Harry was moved. Everyone thinks him dead. I am going to go back to your cottage by the way. I liked the directions. Were you by any chance borrowing from J.M Barrie when you came up with the directions?"
"Barrie was a great gentleman, Thera. We had some few philosophical discussions when I was In Edinburgh. He understood a great deal about magic. Theoretically, of course. I think your husband is back. I recognise his steps."
And seconds later the door was opened.
"Good evening Severus. Thera and I were discussing current events. How are you?"
"I am well, Albus. I have given Filch his walking papers. He assaulted Thera earlier today and I will not have him near her or the students. He had been imperiused by Bellatrix to stir up mischief and harm Thera if possible. I reported the behaviour of both Bellatrix and the Carrows to Riddle tonight. He gave me leave to punish Bellatrix as I saw fit. I do not think she will attempt to harm what is mine again. You have left me vulnerable, old man. How am I to transfer mastery of the Deathstick to Potter? Yes, we know what the wand is. We also know they are hunting horcruxes. If I am not mistaken, Thera has sent a coded message to Hermione that we know where two of them are, the diadem and the cup. I intend to bring a new caretaker, one I can trust, Remus Lupin. Riddle does not know of his marriage so we can install Lupin in Filch's cottage. Dora can change her appearance and accompany him. It will make protecting the students that much easier."