Severus and Florence stood in the first-floor corridor, near the door of the Hospital Wing, staring at each other.
"Was that necessary, Florence?" he drawled, arms crossed over his chest, looking at his wife in annoyance
"Was what, necessary?" she replied, crossing her arms just like him, copying his pose, "That punch? Oh, yes, it was. You asked for it. I healed a woman that wouldn't think twice about jumping your bones if she had the chance."
He scoffed, shaking his head as if what she was saying was absurd, "She'd never have the chance."
"Sure," she agreed, still angry, "But I haven't forgot she called herself your fiancée for a couple of years."
He exhaled in annoyance, "Nearly twenty years ago, Florence! That's absolutely irrelevant!"
She snorted derisively, "Says the man who doesn't like seeing me hug Remus!"
"A man you kissed!" Severus growled.
"And that's a woman you used to fuck!" Florence shouted, pointing at the infirmary door.
They both fell silent, only the sound of their fast breathing filling up the empty corridor as they glared at each other; the heat of their argument combined with the adrenaline of the battle and the pent-up sexual frustration had clearly pushed them to their limits.
All of a sudden, Florence sprinted towards him, pushing him until his back hit the stone wall, and kissed him deeply; her tongue invaded his mouth to meet his in a violent battle for dominance that they both knew she loved to lose.
She fisted both hands in his hair as he ran his hands down her body, grabbing her arse and pulling her close, holding her tight against his body.
Florence gasped, feeling her body melting against his, shivering in need as soft whimpers left her lips.
Severus hoisted her up and carried her into an empty classroom, locking the door and pushing her against the wall, never stopping kissing her lips.
"I'm fucking you, princess," he said, his voice a sultry growl.
"Are you?" she teased.
"I'll shut your damn veela up," he growled, "The only bloody words you'll remember will be my name and 'more' and 'Yes, sir'."
"Promises, promises," she smirked.
He nipped and sucked on her bottom lip, his hands running down her curves, pulling her jumper and shirt off her and taking a moment to admire her, breathless and half-naked, trapped between his body and the wall, the imperial jade necklace above the sexy swell of her breasts matching her eyes beautifully.
"I love you, wife."
Florence smiled, kissing his lips and touching his face, quickly healing a cut he had on his cheek with a swipe of her fingers.
"And I love you, husband," she stared into his eyes, "Now, get your bloody clothes off and fuck me!" she vanished his shirt and bit his bottom lip.
And so he did.
When Florence disapparated them, they fell, naked and still entangled, onto a soft bed, Severus on top of her.
"We're home," he said, surprised as he raised himself on his hands and looked around, quickly recognizing their bedroom.
"Yes," she touched his face, "Melody has been popping here once a week to keep it clean."
He trailed kisses down her neck, nipping her skin as she exhaled happily under him.
"I love you, Sev," she whispered, caressing down his naked back.
"Mmm. I love you, Miss Peverell," he replied with a smile, touching her nose with his, "Will you marry me?"
Florence stopped her touches and stared at him with a concerned frown, "How hard did I hit you? What year do you think this is, Severus?"
He laughed, "I am well-aware of what year we are in, Florence!" he lay beside her on the bed, pulling her to him.
"Good," she laid her head his chest, "Just wouldn't want to surprise you with seven kids and a grandkid, in case you were suffering from a head trauma."
He laughed harder, "Now, that would've been one hell of a surprise!" he touched her face lovingly and pulled her chin up for a kiss, "So? Will you marry me?"
"We're already married, love. Twice by the way – by blood and paper."
"I know, but we've never got to have a wedding party."
She frowned at him, "Sev, why are you bringing this up now?"
"Because I know you've always dreamed of having one. A small party here in the backyard, with our friends and family."
"Well, yes, I used to dream of it..." Florence sighed, "But..."
"So marry me."
"But you hate parties," she said softly.
"Yes, I hate parties," he caressed her shoulder, "But I am a possessive bastard, and I want everyone to know that you're mine," he pulled her face up and kissed her again, slowly, savouring the caress of her tongue on his.
"Will you marry me, Florence?" he asked again.
She laughed between kisses: "Only if you promise to ask me again in a few years."
He smiled, pulling her towards him, his body moulding itself to hers.
"I'll spend the rest of our lives loving and marrying you, Flor – as many times as you'll have me."
She looked into his dark eyes, pushing his sweaty hair away from his face.
"Yes, Sev, I'll marry you."
And they fell asleep mid-kiss.
Next morning
Severus woke up before his wife, as usual, and watched her sleep, taking that moment to think of all that had happened the day before – the day that the Second Wizarding War had officially ended.
He looked down at his left arm and smiled; the Dark Mark was barely visible now, having turned into some sort of scar – the pale white lines still formed the skull and the snake but one would only identify it if they knew it was there.
Florence stirred beside him and opened her eyes, smiling at the sight of him.
"Good morning, princess," he kissed up her naked shoulder.
"Morning, Sev," she sighed, whispering: "Menta spiritus," before kissing him and sighing, "Tell me I didn't dream everything that happened yesterday."
"No, love, you didn't dream it; the war is over."
"And we're here," she said, kissing him again.
"Yes."
She moved to lay on top of him, deepening the kiss, sheer happiness and relief coursing through them both.
They were so focused on each other that they didn't hear the sound of Tiffany apparating into the room.
The elf cleared her throat and the couple turned towards the sound.
"Good morning, Mistress and Master."
"Morning, Tiff," Florence rolled off her husband sat up on the bed, holding the duvet against her naked body.
"Tiffany is sorry to interrupt her Masters' happy morning, but there are a few things that need Master and Mistress's attention."
"What happened, Tiffany?" asked Severus, worried about the elf's seriousness, "Has anything happened to my mother, Chris, Sophie, the twins?"
Tiffany shook her head and smiled, "No, Master, all the little ones are home; Masters James and Nicholas brought them here early this morning, the house is happy again. But Miss Tonks floo-called a while ago. The aurors have regained control of the Ministry and they want to know if Mistress Florence would be their Minister."
"What?" Florence exclaimed, "No! I don't want to-"
"Flor," Severus interrupted her, "Think about it."
"No!" she shook her head, "I don't want to deal with ministerial bullshit or the media! I want to stay home with the kids! And we have to rebuild Hogwarts!"
Severus took her hand and kissed her wedding ring, "Hogwarts will only reopen if the Ministry is organized enough to appoint a new Headmaster, love," he looked at her with an arched eyebrow.
She stared at him in disbelief: "You're not using my desire to fuck in the Great Hall to make me accept becoming Minister for Magic again."
"You're our safest option, Flor. And not only to guarantee we can fulfil your fantasy, but also to ensure the government will be correctly put together – with the right people in the right places."
She narrowed her eyes at him. "Last night I was the biggest threat to the wizarding world, now I'm the safest option to occupy the most powerful position within the British Wizarding government?"
Severus shook his head: "You know I was only teasing you, Florence. Don't play dumb, it doesn't become you."
She sighed, knowing he was right – they couldn't risk some closeted follower of her father's becoming Prime Minister and undoing all they had done when they ended the war the day before.
"Fine." She huffed. "But you know it'll take months to sort out the mess father left behind!"
"I know. And I'll be by your side every step of the way. The twins can assist McGonagall in the rebuilding of the castle."
Florence nodded, looking at Tiffany, "Tell Tonks I'll be in the Ministry this afternoon at two."
"Tiffany will, Mistress," nodded the elf, "And the whole family is downstairs waiting for Mistress and Master to get there to have breakfast. What does Tiffany tell them?"
"Breakfast with the whole family!" Florence said, smiling broadly, "I can't believe we'll be able to have that again!" she sighed happily, "We'll be going down for breakfast in a few minutes, Tiff."
But still Tiffany didn't leave.
"What else, Tiffany?" asked Severus.
"The house is surrounded by people and reporters and photographers, Master," the elf grimaced.
"They won't be able to get near the front door, Tiff," explained Florence, "Don't worry. They can take all the pictures they want from afar."
The elf nodded and disapparated.
"The media harassment will become our new normal once I'm Minister again," commented Florence, worried.
"It'll be temporary, love. As soon as possible, you'll call for new elections and then the people will choose who they want to lead them."
She just nodded, touching his face and kissing him.
"I'm giving you an Order of Merlin First Class," she said with a hint of threat, "And you'll have to attend the ceremony to receive it, since you're the Minister's husband."
"Gladly," Severus smirked, "And I'm shagging you on the Minister's desk."
She chuckled, "Mmm, now I'm glad I accepted the position!"
Half an hour later, when Severus and Florence finally walked downstairs, they found their family home very different than the last time they had seen it: the silence of the empty house was replaced by the sound of their loved ones talking and laughing; the neat living room had toys on the rug again, the toy basket was back on the corner; the pictures of Liz, Chris and Sophie were back on the walls as well and their dining table was back to its original rectangular shape.
Florence looked at James and Nicholas and walked towards them, hugging them tightly.
"Thank you, my loves," she kissed their cheeks, "You brought your siblings home, and the pictures..." her voice broke with the emotion.
Nicholas nodded, "We remember how hard it was for you when we had to take them away, mum."
"So we popped at the safe house and brought everything back," added James.
Florence nodded and sniffled, going to hug her other kids and check on the babies inside a crib near the table.
Stephen, Lily-Rose and Lynne were sleeping soundly despite the noise their family was making.
Eileen nearly ran towards her son, hugging him, "Severus! I can't believe it's over, after everything you went through," she kissed his cheek, "It's finally over!"
"Yes, it's over, mum," he looked at Florence and she approached him, wrapping her arms around his waist.
Eileen smiled with tears in her eyes as she looked at them.
"It's been twenty-two years since you entered our lives, Flor. Twenty since the twins were born," she sighed, "And we spent more than half of that time fearing the worst; fearing your father, fearing for Severus, for the kids."
"They're all safe now," said Florence, smiling at her and then at her husband, "We're all safe," and she pulled Severus for a long sweet kiss.
But the expected complaint from James never came.
Florence turned to look at her son and found that Hermione had her wand pointing at him.
"You have to stop that, James," Hermione said, "It's childish!"
"It's a tradition, kitten!" he defended himself, "I must always complain when dad gets handsy with mom."
"Let's all sit down," said Severus, rolling his eyes at his son and pulling Florence's chair for her to sit.
Then he sat at the head of the table and brought Florence's left hand to his lips.
She smiled at him, Look at what we did, Sev. This beautiful family is ours – seven kids, three in-laws and even a granddaughter! And Harry is home too!
Yes, my princess – our family. He replied, still holding her hand.
"At least she's not wincing at the breakfast table again," mumbled James, sharing a look with Nicholas, who nodded.
"Wincing?" asked Harry, confused, "Why would she be winci-"
"DON'T ASK!" shouted James and Nick.
Florence laughed and looked at all of them, relieved to see everyone around the table.
Their family.
Safe, at last.
THE END
Note: Thank you for reading this far!
We'll still have an extra chapter with a few glimpses into their future and an epilogue. And (in the future) there will be a short, romantic and smut-filled spin off about the next generation (where Sophie Snape will land herself one war hero – feel free to guess which!).
Finally, I just want to declare my love for this story. My first fanfic-baby, written thirteen years ago originally.
Thanks again for reading!
I'd love to know your thoughts and feelings about this.