Disclaimer: The characters here and the world they inhabit are the creation and property of JK Rowling and her assigns.
Severus and Andromeda went to the airport early in December to see Hermione and Tim onto their airplane. Dressing for Muggle situations always made Andromeda feel awkward, but somehow this situation was more so. She decided upon a rather sedate black dress in a jersey knit. She told herself that it was warm even if it did accentuate her figure. She told herself not to notice how good Severus looked in a black jumper and jeans of the same color. The kids, of course, looked perfectly normal in blue jeans and colorful jumpers of their own.
They made their way to the departure lounge, pushing the baby in his Britax and chatting about various things. They might be any family group dropping off some relatives traveling over the holidays. When the time came to part, Hermione clung to Severus until he gently pushed her away, and then the young witch gave Andromeda directions.
"Make sure he eats properly, and see if you can cheer him up."
"I'm right here," he growled, "and I'm not a child who needs to be managed."
Hermione ignored him long enough to pull Andromeda close and whisper in her ear. "And keep those Slytherin girls from flirting with him!"
Andromeda's eyes turned to circles, and she spluttered out something she hoped was suitable as she nodded. The girl smiled brightly and showed her ticket to the agent. Then she waved and went through security.
Tim pulled his mother into a last hug and said, "I love you, Mum. Look after yourself until I get back and can do it properly."
"Oh—you!" She laughed and pushed him toward the agent. He waved one last time, too, and barely turned around again before the tears finally escaped Andromeda's control.
"He'll be back in two weeks," said a voice right next to her ear. Severus had come up behind her and slipped an arm around her. She had snuggled into him without realizing it. How had these touches become so natural to them? She stepped away and turned around, reaching for the handles of the pushchair.
"I just don't know about these Muggle forms of travel."
"The train was invented by a Muggle, you know, and you've ridden the Hogwarts Express."
"I'm not going to argue with you, Severus. The feelings of motherhood go beyond rational thought, and you'll simply have to accept that."
"I'll accept anything that comes with you."
She looked up into his face, wondering how she would manage the next week and a half without succumbing to those eyes, that voice, or those hands.
"Look at that baby with the turquoise hair!" said a man walking through the airport. "I can't believe they would dye a child's hair so young."
"Yes, well look at his parents," said his wife with a sniff. "The whole family are weirdos."
Severus and Andromeda looked at Teddy. He had pulled his hat off and was chewing it happily. Then they looked at each other.
Severus brushed Andromeda's arm. "Don't worry. You look quite elegant. I think they just don't like the color. People are suspicious when they see a lot of black."
"It's not that." She looked up at him in mortification. "They thought we were Teddy's parents, that we're... lovers. I'm sorry."
His hand moved to the back of her neck. He caressed under her ear and down to her chin. "Don't be ashamed or embarrassed, my dove."
She knelt to fix the baby's hat. "I know that you have other plans."
"How do you know that?"
"Narcissa says—"
"Andromeda, my dove, your sister never once asked me. If she had, I would tell her it's none of her business. It's a little awkward, having people think I'm Mr. Lupin's father, but it's not critical, and they're only Muggles, after all." He helped her up. "Besides that, why should I mind if they think we're lovers? It's my dearest wish."
She had to remind herself to breathe. It might be his dearest wish, but she knew it was only for the moment. Unfortunately it was becoming her dearest wish as well, but she wished for something far more permanent.
They worked their way to an unused concourse. Severus unfastened the baby and handed him to his grandmother. Then he folded up the pushchair. Both adults Disapparated, taking the baby and his paraphernalia with them.
There wasn't much to do in the weeks before Christmas. The students prepared for a holiday by finishing a few lingering tasks. They all came at their usual times, helping Andromeda and Birdie in the kitchen while they talked over various events.
Severus spent a day on Diagon Alley. Based upon some of the comments Severus heard between the students, he had decided to visit with a solicitor while he made a few purchases for the holiday. He then spoke with a contact at the Ministry, and came back to Andromeda's cottage quite concerned.
"You need to move the bulk of your money," he told her. "Can you transfer your trust fund?"
"I believe I can. Do you really think I need to?"
"I've heard some things. Do you mind giving me a breakdown of your finances, the approximate value of the house, and your various sources of income?"
She outlined it for him, and he made some suggestions. "I believe this portion would be safer at Gringotts Helvetica."
"Zurich?"
"Berne. I've heard Lucius say that so many use the bank in Zurich that if someone wanted to find the money, that's a place they would look. The tellers there are a little too easily bribed nowadays."
"If you think I should..."
He was a little surprised that she would act so quickly on just his word. "Do you trust me so much?"
"Yes." It was a little awkward to have it out there like that, so she hastened to add, "Besides, I've heard Narcissa say some things, and all those bachelors that keep coming have spoken about moving large sums of money abroad. Will it save us? I have to consider Teddy, and there's Tim's legacy from his father."
"Tim should be fine. They're hammering out language that will protect him. Most of the pure-bloods will use methods they've had for generations to protect their funds. It's you I'm worried about, my dove."
She considered the situation and looked at him. "Do you think this will work?"
"If what I have heard is truly going to happen, I think it's the only possible way to protect yourself."
She nodded. "How shall I do it, then?"
"I spoke with one of the goblins today. If you wish to proceed, you need only ask for him, and he will set the accounts up as he and I discussed. Then you will bring a certain amount of cash away from the bank as if that is what you intended all along. The transaction will be completely confidential. No one will know your true purpose at the bank, and no one will even know how much money was in your vault originally."
"Thank you, Severus." She couldn't resist touching his hand and squeezing it. "I'm sure I will owe you a great deal after it happens."
"I already owe you," he responded. He reached up to smooth a tendril of hair away from her face. "I feel so much for you, my dove, including an overwhelming desire to protect you."
She looked down, embarrassed, and saw their hands entwined on the table. She shook herself and stood up. "I forget myself. Please excuse me."
He stood as she did and wrapped his hand around her wrist. "It's nothing, Andromeda. When will you realize the power of what we share?"
She knew the strength of the passions between them, but tried daily to forget it. She had gotten into the habit of letting him kiss her as they parted for the night. She knew it was wrong, but told herself that allowing this small liberty was a way of avoiding a major catastrophe. The fact that she enjoyed it was something she ignored but couldn't quite escape.
It had started as a simple meeting of the lips before they whispered their good nights. He was always gentle to start and then more and more assertive. Within days it became an open-mouthed conversation that left her regretful yet aching for more. After a week, Andromeda went weak-kneed. Severus pulled her into his arms to steady her, which allowed him to kiss her more deeply and allowed her to notice that her innocent diversion had all-too-real effects on both of them.
An evening came when she and Theodore Nott were making eggnog and talking together. Ted told her of his troubles with his parents, and Andromeda gave him a word or two of guidance. Then Ted shared his troubles with a girl he liked.
"She's so childish."
"At your age, it's common enough."
"I can't help but compare her to a real woman like you."
Andromeda was checking the consistency of the custard and didn't see the look in his eye.
"She wrote to me that since I'm Slytherin, her parents would prefer that she stick to her own house. Can you imagine? Worrying about her parents?"
Andromeda missed the intonation entirely and asked, "Which house is that, again?"
"Ravenclaw."
"They can be snooty at the best of times, you know. It seems worse these days, since we Slytherins are taking the blame for everything." Andromeda touched his arm to reassure him as she spoke.
"Oh, Mrs. Tonks, you seem to understand everything!" He hugged her tightly. "Do you have a boyfriend?" His face came all too close to hers, and she ducked quickly to avoid what she hoped wasn't a kiss.
"Ted..."
"Isn't it kismet that I have the same name as your first husband?" he whispered into her ear. "I'm sure I can take as much care of you as he ever could. Certainly I'd be better than one of those geezers Mrs. Malfoy wants you to marry."
"Ted, please..."
"Anything... may I call you Andie?"
"Ted, you flatter me greatly, but I don't feel that way about you."
"I'm sure you could grow to love me."
"Please understand. Not every friendship, not every kindness, not even every touch has romance behind it. I wanted to comfort you as I would my son..."
"But now we know it's so much more. Oh, Andie, Andie..."
At that moment, Severus walked into the kitchen. He didn't need Legilimency to see Andromeda silently begging for help over the shoulder of his student. "Mr. Nott, please unhand Mrs. Tonks."
He finally let go and faced the angry wizard. "I'm going to marry her, Professor."
The look of annoyance that passed over Snape's face should have frightened the young wizard. It did worry the witch.
"I don't think so, sir. Why don't you look into my eyes?" The young man couldn't disobey his mentor, who quietly raised his wand. "Obliviate!"
Half an hour later, Ted had gone home, planning to write a note to the Ravenclaw he liked. Severus and Andromeda were left staring across the kitchen table at each other. She didn't know what to say. He spoke first. "You don't need a boy like that. You don't need anyone who isn't me."
She looked down at the floor. "I'm so embarrassed. I wasn't trying to attract him. Have I been forward with them?"
"You've been just as you should be. It proves what I've been telling you all along. You're a desirable, vital witch with a future of your own." He gently made his way around the table.
"But I'm not—"
Whatever she was going to say was lost in his lips. He had reached her and crushed her against himself. Now his mouth plundered hers, having learned many of its secrets over the course of the past weeks. He pulled her close and traced the curves of her back, but then allowed a little space in between them so that he could explore the neckline of her dress. He finally growled his impatience and dragged her toward his bedroom. She whimpered her reluctance, and he growled again. "You want this. You know you do."
She couldn't deny it. "Oh, yes... Severus..."
Once upon his bed, Andromeda found herself the recipient of attentions she hadn't experienced before. He whispered softly at the closures of her garments, and they seemed to fly apart. Then his lips returned to hers as his hands worked her arms out of first her robes and then her dress. Her own hands were unfastening his robes, and a while later they knew the bliss of lying together, skin to skin.
A moment of lucidity came to her. "I don't know..."
"I respect you, Andromeda, and I have the highest regard for you. Surely everything we've done together this year shows you that."
"But afterward..."
He kissed her temple as his knee worked between hers. "Afterward we will have even more to share. I don't want just your body, my dove. I want so much more."
"I—" Whatever she was going to say was lost in a whimper as he found just the right spot to caress. Her lips searched for his as they begged him—for what she no longer knew.
He answered in the affirmative to all her requests in his kisses and touches. His eyes glowed, and she wondered to herself if he knew she couldn't resist him when he looked at her that way. Her arms circled his neck as she waited for him to remove the very last bit of her clothing.
Then there was a banging sound from the direction of the kitchen along with a great deal of swearing. Quick as a flash, Andromeda was out of the bed, Summoning her clothes from every direction. "It's Tim," she explained. "He hates to come by Floo, but it's really the only option this time of night."
"You'll come back?"
How could she say no, but how could she agree? "I think this was Fate. I'll try to stay out of your path for a few days."
"How can you just leave me like this?"
"How can I leave you as I am?" she returned. "Somehow I'll manage, and you have a bride to consider in a future that will come sooner than you think."
"I don't—" he said, but she was already gone.
The puffiness of her son's eyes decided her. Andromeda pulled out her wand and tickled the kettle into action. "What happened?" she asked.
"I came back early, because I missed Sophy." He swallowed hard and looked at his mother. "She was out with another student we know. He's been telling me for ages that he planned to steal her from me."
"Has he stolen her?"
"She's not a piece of furniture, you know." He sighed. "She said she still loves me, but it's hard, Mum."
"You've told her about us, right? She knows your family is magical?"
"She was here for the funerals, remember? She understands that part. I'm a Squib and all, but sometimes unexpected things happen in little ways. I had to explain it to her years ago."
Andromeda nodded. "You used to spend a lot of time with her before the war ended, didn't you?"
"I still do... just not as much. I have to look after you, now."
"Timothy Tonks! I'm a grown woman, you know. Ruin your life if you like, but don't blame me for it."
"A grown woman with a great many distractions right now. I don't want someone to take you for a ride, especially not that Snape person."
Andromeda lowered her face into the steam of her tea to hide her blush. "Your inheritance is perfectly safe, dear."
"That's not what I meant. I've never known my mother to have so many buttons on her robe mismatched before."
He caught her looking. She couldn't hide the blush this time. "Let's not delve into that, shall we? What shall we do about you and Sophy?"
"She says we never spend any time together anymore."
"Well, that's easily fixed. Stop coming here quite so often. Once per week should be sufficient to look after your worries about me."
"What about Christmas?"
"It's going to be fairly quiet here. Draco is moving back to his parents' house on Christmas day. His mother says she can't do without him, but for some reason, he trusts Father Christmas here more than at Malfoy Manor.
"I'm having a big dinner with the Slytherin students on Christmas Eve, then breakfast with Draco the next morning, and after that very little. Suppose you bring Sophy around for breakfast, and then do whatever she likes the rest of the day?"
"Are you sure, Mum? That won't be like the Christmases we used to have with Dad and Nym—"
She patted his hand. "But it will be a far sight better than last year when I had none of you. We need to change along with all the things that are changing in our lives, dear. It's simply the way it is."
He stood and smiled. "Thanks, Mum. I'll ask Sophy and send you a note."
She sighed and looked at him for a moment. "You look so much like Dad when you smile like that."
He smiled more brightly because she mentioned his father and moved to the Floo. Shouting the name of a wizards' pub near the university, he disappeared into the flames, and she was alone. Just then, the baby cried.
"It never stops," she muttered to herself. Nevertheless, it was a relief to have a reason to shrug and pass Severus as he stood waiting outside his door. She waved the bottle in her hand and motioned upstairs. He could hear the child as well as she could and just rolled his eyes before moving back into his room.
A/N: Thank you to Trickie Woo for beta reading. I really appreciate the comments I've been getting in the reviews, too. You folks are very kind.