January 14th update: As you probably heard already, Alan Rickman passed away this day. It's extremely sad and the world mourns the loss of such an amazing and talented actor, who brought to life so many wonderful characters exceptionally. Hopefully, we find comfort in the fact that he will always live in his work.

Rest in peace, Alan.


Guyssssssssssssssssssssssssssss.

Today this fanfic is one year old, and the original version is two! So I thought it would only be appropiate to update! I was torn between updating on Severus' birthday or today, but as you can see I finally settled for the latter.

Ok. Moving on to the important stuff.

SPARKELS77: Thank you for leaving me three reviews! Even if you didn't say much I figured you were enjoying the chapters! :D

brightandglimmer: No, you are an angel! I'm so happy you love this story! Thanks for being so nice and I hope you enjoy this chapter like the others! *many hugs*

LyraxSlytherin: How do I even BEGIN! God I can't even explain how much your reviews made me SQUEAL with happiness! Thank you so much for everthing you said! Also, thank god you reviewed in English because I don't speak Portuguese! My first language is Spanish. So if you reviewed in Portuguese, instead of squealing I would've CRIED because I wouldn't have understood. Well, maybe a little on my own and with the help of Google I would have, but you know, it wouldn't have been the same as knowing exactly what you said to me. You are of course welcome to keep reviewing... lol. But it's perfectly okay if you feel like you can't or if it makes you uncomfortable, you have made me a gazillion times happier with the two reviews you already gave me.

Welcome nightmareparade, StarRose14526, Smashwashere, maggsPanic, WWE1990 and of course, LyraxSlytherin and brightandglimmer. Thanks for following and adding this story to your favorites!


XXIII

Union


Severus remained true to his word and for the rest of the school year visited four times a week─ not counting special occasions like their birthdays, Christmas and New Year. This, along with family vacations, was their routine without interruptions for two years.

It was in 1984, when a girl named Nymphadora Tonks started her first year at Hogwarts, that things began to change.

"Severus?" Juliana called one night when they were lying in bed together.

"Yeah?" He replied softly, on the verge of falling asleep.

"What do you know about Nymphadora Tonks?" Severus' eyebrows shot up in surprise at her question and he moved to look at her. He frowned, a little confused.

"What do you know about Nymphadora Tonks?" He asked back. Juliana shrugged.

"It's just that Pomona sent me a letter saying that there was a little Hufflepuff girl named Nymphadora Tonks who apparently wanted to write to me and ask me a few questions. Obviously she has to be your student."

"Hmm, Professor Sprout must've talked to her first year students about you. Anyway, yes─ I do teach her."

"How is she? Is she a good student?" Juliana asked curiously. He didn't answer for a few seconds and she shot him an accusing glare. "So?"

"Well… no. She's not. But before you say anything, it's not because she doesn't know how to brew potions. She's brilliant. But she is so clumsy that she ends up putting one wrong thing into her cauldron and ruins her work completely. Her technique, however, is flawless. She knows how to chop, cut, stir... she could be amazing. She's just too much of a klutz for her own good."

"Awww, I like her already!" Juliana beamed with a huge grin.

"And she's also a metamorphmagus." Severus smiled at her reaction, her mouth hanging open in surprise.

"You're joking! That's amazing! Oh my God!" She covered her mouth with her hand and rolled on her back on the bed, staring absentmindedly at the ceiling. "An 11 year old metamorphmagus, oh my God…" She whispered to herself with a smile.

"She's reckless as well. She gets into trouble a lot. Very short tempered. She gets especially angry when someone calls her by her first name." Severus continued and Juliana turned to him, looking absolutely taken aback by this piece of information.

"What!? But Nymphadora is such a nice name!" She pouted and Severus laughed before kissing her briefly.

"Yes, I agree. But don't you ever say that to her, it will definitely put you on her bad side."

"Have you given her any detentions yet?"

"Two, I believe."

"Ohhh... I'm dying to write to her! I will answer Pomona first thing in the morning! Oh, right. About that. I have an idea; I hope you agree with it."

"Yeah? Tell me."

"Well, it's not the first time I've talked with Pomona, and every time she sends a letter it's with that big owl that has to travel for two days to get here. And remember when we were in Hogwarts and I sent letters to my mom? It was the same back then. And it makes me feel awful. So, I thought that we could do some hocus pocus..."

"Hocus pocus?" Severus asked with a barely contained smile and she shushed him.

"Yes, hocus pocus. So every time someone tries to send me a letter from Hogwarts it gets sent to you, and then when I want to reply I give them to you and with some other hocus pocus you get an owl to deliver it to the receiver. You know… until I can finally convince you all that your post system is─ well… kind of a mess. Anyway, it would be more work for you so you have to be okay with it. If you feel that you don't have time, or that you can't do it, it's okay. It's just something I thought about."

"No, no, I think it's a great idea." She looked away with slightly embarrassed smile and he couldn't resist the urge to kiss her. "I will do it, it's no problem for me." Juliana grinned so widely, her cheeks hurt.

"I love you." She said, hugging him close.

"I love you more." He replied in a whisper, already lost in the warmth of her embrace.

...

Tonks and Juliana ended up sending letters back and forth very quickly, and Juliana grew really fond of her in no time. She even arranged visits with her parents when Tonks was on holiday─ without Severus being in the house, of course. Juliana had told them that Cassie's father travelled a lot because of his line of work.

Cassie had practically fallen in love with Tonks the first time she came to visit, and Juliana was absolutely delighted about it. However, the downside of that was that when it was time for her to leave, Cassie was crushed.

"Daddy, I miss Tonks. I want Tonks back." She said one day; she was becoming more and more comfortable with speaking in English as well as Portuguese as time passed.

Severus smiled inwardly and pulled her into his lap.

"I know, baby. But guess what I have here for you." He pulled an envelope from his pocket and Juliana smiled when she recognized the handwriting. Cassie's face lit up she grabbed the envelope immediately, tearing it apart. She looked at the letter for a few seconds─ not wanting anyone else to see it before her─ and then handed it to her mother so she could translate.

"Tonks says that she misses you and that she hopes you haven't changed her for a new friend."

"Never!" Cassie said seriously. Juliana and Severus shared a look and a smile.

"She says that she wants to visit again this summer, if you want to see her again." The truth was they had already talked with Andromeda about coming back the next summer, but Tonks wanted to make Cassie happy and surprise her.

"Yes! I want to see her again! Yes! Yes!" She said clapping excitedly on Severus' lap. "I'm going to draw something for her right now." She jumped to the floor and ran away to the living room.

"It's incredible how attached to her she has become." Severus said, looking at her from his seat in the kitchen.

"I know, right? She is completely enamored with her. How is she doing in potions now?" Juliana asked as they both began to cook dinner.

"She has gotten a lot better. Pays much more attention to what she's doing. Her last potion was very well done. You know, her techniques─ they almost reminded me of some of yours." He frowned in fake confusion and Juliana grinned, proudly.

"I might have been given her some advice..." She smiled as she felt his arms circling her waist from behind and his lips next to her ear.

"I know you did, and I'm glad." Severus whispered and kissed her neck before moving to chop vegetables with great expertise. "I hope you keep doing it, you're doing her some good."

"Thank you, love, I will." Juliana said with a smile. "And how are the other students?"

"You know, the usual. Many dunderheads." She laughed out loud and his mouth quirked up.

"Oh, I bet." She moved next to Severus and hugged him, successfully stopping him from what he was doing so he could hug her back. She leaned into him and buried her face on his neck, placing soft kisses that made him sigh in pleasure. "Are they giving you too much hell?" She asked softly. Severus tightened his hold on her; that was all the answer the needed.

"It's okay. I've gotten used to it by now. And the reputation is already made, so it's only getting stronger." Juliana sighed and leaned further into him.

"You haven't forgotten what I said to you on your first day, right?" She asked, looking up to meet his eyes.

"No. I'll never forget it. Sometimes what you've said to me is the only thing that keeps me going. You and Cassie are what keeps me going. I love you." Severus leaned down to give her an earth shattering kiss that left her knees wobbling. When he tried to pull away, she pulled him in again.

"Kiss me like that again." Juliana commanded, earning a grin from him.

"With pleasure, love." When Severus kissed her like that Juliana forgot about the rest of the world. Her hands moved inside his shirt, roaming his back as she pulled him closer to her body. Severus was enjoying this as much as she was, but he didn't forget the fact that they had a little daughter that could walk in on them any second. He pulled away a bit but she kept giving him little kisses whenever he tried to speak.

"Juliana─ Cassie─ next room─" Severus managed to say between kisses. Juliana stopped and rested her forehead against his.

"We shall continue this later." She whispered and gave him one last kiss before pulling away.

Ten minutes passed before Cassie appeared on the kitchen again, her drawing already on a sealed envelope. By then Severus and Juliana had already fixed themselves; there were no flushed faces or messy hair.

"Done!" Cassie yelled happily as she put the envelope on the counter. "Daddy, up!" She said lifting her arms to Severus, who was waiting for the food to finish cooking.

"You're getting a little heavy for this, Cass." He said as she started touching his hair, wincing in pain when she pulled with great force, deeply offended by his words.

"I am not!" She said angrily and crossed her arms.

"Okay!" Severus said with a laugh. "Sorry, sorry. It was my mistake."

"Yes. But I forgive you." Cassie said softly, moving to rest her head against his. Juliana smiled and moved to get her camera, careful to not get noticed or the picture would be ruined. They were both surprised by a flash of light and immediately turned to the source, which was, of course, a grinning Juliana.

"Mommy!" Cassie complained as she buried her face on Severus' shoulder.

"Yes, mommy. You're never going to change, are you?" Severus said with a playful scolding tone.

"Change? ME?" She asked in mock indignation as she walked to them, rubbing Cassie's back and giving him a small kiss on the lips. "Never."


Ahhhhhh we're getting even closer to the second part of the story! And talking about the second part, that's where Juliana and Tonks' story will be explained more thoroughly.

If you wanna tell me what you think of the story so far, I'd be happy to read it!