Chapter 3

Skyrah and Severus had just come back from the meeting with Lord Voldemort. There was an awkward silence which Skyrah broke, "Does Dumbledore already know we're married?"

"No."

A lie, of course.

Severus wanted to talk to Dumbledore alone first, and if he had told Skyrah he already knew about her, she'd probably want to meet him too. Not telling the truth was the wisest move. She bought it.

"Good. You should talk to him. Drop a hint about the Defense Against the Dark Arts position. We can meet altogether another day, after you and I know each other better and act like a believable married couple."

Severus nodded.

"Do you mind if I go to Hogwarts to talk to him now?"

"Not at all. I'll be waiting."

When Albus saw Severus and noticed his sober expression, he knew he carried bad news with him.

"Severus, have a seat, please," he offered, gesturing to the free seat in front of his office desk.

Severus complied.

"I assume you are here to tell me how it went."

Going straight to the point, Severus started, "Her name is Skyrah and she is not like I expected."

Albus quirked an eyebrow. "What makes you say so, my child?"

Severus rolled his eyes at his last two words but didn't complain about them. No time to waste on lost battles. Albus insisted on calling him that.

"Skyrah seemed a cold woman at first. Her expression was stony; she didn't let any kind of emotion show on her face. It made me feel uncomfortable."

Albus chuckled, causing Severus to sneer.

"I do not understand your sudden urge to laugh, Albus. I fail to see how this is funny."

"The description was familiar," he said, eyeing Severus meaningfully. "You don't show your emotions either, Severus. It certainly makes some people uncomfortable too."

Severus chose to ignore the observation. "This changed when we… Er-"

He trailed off and avoided eye contact. His cheeks turned bright pink. Albus had seen many faces of Severus. A flushed Severus, though? That was a new one, even for him. Only one thing would fluster Severus. Albus spared him his little embarrassment by saying, "When you two consummated the marriage? It is something natural. There is no need to feel ashamed."

Severus suppressed a snort. Natural wouldn't be the word he would choose to describe the intercourse. Forced was more fitting. Forced yet oddly enjoyable, especially when she pecked and touched his cheek. That, though, wasn't something he was willing to confess.

"She looked like she was going to burst into tears, Albus. She wanted to get it done so her father wouldn't get mad. Her eyes were desperate, fearful, edgy. She seemed to be as trapped as I was. She looked… human."

"So did Tom Riddle when he was a student."

"I know, Albus. As a matter of fact, I was reminded yet again of her blood when she interrogated me. The witch is as intelligent and cunning as the Dark Lord."

"What did she ask?"

"About my position at Hogwarts. I remained neutral and pretended to be pleased to have the perfect position to spy for her father. She did not buy it. Every time I avoided a direct answer, she pressed me. She wanted to get to know me, Albus, the real me. She argued that we have to know each other well to look like a credible married couple. What surprised me is that she had been teaching History of Magic in Ilvermorny, where she studied… In fact, she admitted to like the job and claimed she loved to inspire youngsters."

This seemed to shock Dumbledore as well.

"Interesting… What else, Severus?"

"Then I screwed up."

The headmaster didn't say a word but pulled a face which urged Severus to continue, "She seemed to be playing with me with all those questions, so I legilimensed her. She caught me before I could see anything. She threatened me, and she did look like the Dark Lord while doing so. Yet, she gave me another chance and acted the rest of the evening as if the incident hadn't occurred at all. She was... amiable and insisted we shared the bed to sleep." He paused, expecting Albus to tease him about that. When he gathered Albus would remain quiet, he added, "She had a pretty rough nightmare."

"Did you figure out what the nightmare was about?"

"That's the thing. I reckon it wasn't a current nightmare but a memory. She was screaming and begging that she'd do anything to spare some people's lives. I do not know whose, though. When she woke up, she was so agitated I had to give her a calming draught."

Albus hummed. "Maybe it's a good thing that she wants to get to know you better. You could gain her trust and uncover her secrets."

Severus pondered this for a second and agreed. He cleared his throat and spoke once again, "She puzzles me. Her arm isn't marked. She appears to be afraid of her father. In front of the Dark Lord, she acts so cold and as if her only desire were to please him, whereas, when we're alone, she keeps smiling and asking me questions as if we were friends."

"You've known her for a day, Severus. Give her time. You'll figure her out."

"What if she figures me out before, Albus? Of all the people in the world, I had to be married to the only one who seems to have my level of intelligence. I do not like it one bit."

"Then you'll just have to be extremely cautious," he said seriously.

There was a short pause.

"Skyrah believes I'm announcing you the wedding news right now. The Dark Lord expects me to talk to you about the Defense Against the Dark Arts job this week."

"I will visit you on Spinner's End on Monday to discuss it. Thus, you will have time to inform me if something strange occurs before another meeting."

"I'll let her know."

"Good."

The spy was about to leave when the voice of the old man stopped him, "Severus, be careful."

Severus got home. Skyrah was not in the living room. He was about to shout her name when he heard a singing voice that came from his garden. Severus walked silently towards that part from his house. Skyrah was giving her back, but the singing voice belonged to her, without a doubt. Severus forgot for a moment about everything and became absorbed in her warm mezzosoprano voice. It was sweet yet powerful, and it had a great raw edge – a mix of contradictory adjectives, much like her personality. Who would have thought that Voldemort's daughter would have such a pleasant voice? That wasn't what astonished Severus the most though. No. What really shocked him was the song. As soon as he heard the lyrics and the melody, he recognized it: it was a very famous muggle hit. Why would she know this song?

Imagine no possessions

I wonder if you can

No need for greed or hunger

A brotherhood of man

Imagine all the people

Sharing all the world... You...

You may say I'm a dreamer

But I'm not the only one

I hope someday you'll join us

And the world will live as one

Interrupting her would be awkward, so Severus went to the living room without making a sound, far enough she would not acknowledge his presence, close enough to hear her voice. When the song ended, he stood around a few more seconds and finally reached her.

"Skyrah?"

She turned around and Severus could see her eyes and nose were red. She had obviously been crying. The question was why. He had no time to ask her about that, for she was already inquiring about the meeting with Albus, "How's it been? Did he take the news well?"

"He did. He seemed happy that I've finally found someone to settle down with."

Skyrah chuckled. "It sounds like something a father would say."

My child, Severus heard Albus's voice in his mind. Yes, he did not like being called my child much, but he did not hate it, either. Albus was the most similar parental figure Severus had ever had, despite their complicated past, and he found himself thinking about how Albus would have reacted if he had actually got married to somebody for love. Then Severus got scared. What if Skyrah had somehow found out about his relationship with Albus? What if she was testing him, waiting for the right moment to tell Voldemort about his not so faithful servant? She was shrewd. He wouldn't put it past her. But then he realized something. She had been chuckling, yet her tone had been nostalgic. She wouldn't sound nostalgic if her comment had meant to be a trap.

"Have you told him about the Defense Against the Dark Arts job?" she asked.

"Yes. He'll come here to meet you and talk about it on Monday."

Skyrah smiled softly and thanked him for everything. "I didn't know you liked to take care of your garden… It looks beautiful."

"Thanks," he said rather awkwardly, trying not to blush. "Have you been here all this time?"

"Yes. I needed some fresh air and when I saw this place I just had to spend some time here… Lilies are your favorite flowers, aren't they? There are plenty."

An image of a certain woman with emerald eyes and auburn hair passed through his mind.

"Mine are white and red roses."

Shit. She was in a talkative mood, again. He wasn't, so he cleared his throat, and said, "I'll go and cook something."

"Oh! I'll help you! I've never been good at it, but you seem to be an excellent cook. I'm sure I won't burn anything with you by my side!" she joked happily, grabbing his wrist and taking him to the kitchen. At the contact, Severus's heart skipped a beat. Sweet Salazar. His body kept betraying him whenever she touched him. He had the urge to linger, but he made no move to stop her when she let go and opened the refrigerator. She turned to face him and pouted.

"What did my dear husband believe we could have for lunch?" she wondered with irony, tilting her head to the empty fridge.

Dammit! Severus thought. He had been so nervous about the mess he was into that he had forgotten about something as basic as food.

"It's late now. The shops will be closed…" he finally uttered.

"Are there any good restaurants nearby? We can buy some food this afternoon."

"They are muggle."

She rolled her eyes.

"I don't care. I am hungry, and it can be good to be seen as a normal couple by other people, muggles or otherwise. We need practice."

She transfigured her robes into a simple flowery dress that reached her knees. "Put on some muggle clothes, come on."

So that was how Severus found himself in an Italian, muggle restaurant, having lunch with You-know-who's daughter. Any muggle out there would believe he was on a date. While they ate, Skyrah kept on trying to talk to Severus.

"So tell me, what are your hobbies?"

Severus raised an eyebrow.

"Are we seriously going to have this conversation? We are not teenagers… and we are already married."

Skyrah rolled her eyes. "Excuse me for wanting to know you better, Severus. We may be married, but be realistic: we know nothing about each other. I meant what I said yesterday, we need to trust each other, and to do that, knowing each other well is fundamental."

He still didn't reply. She groaned.

"Okay! I'll start! But you have to answer me…" She waited until he nodded and then, proceeded, "I enjoy singing. I used to sing a lot when I was a child. It makes me forget about everything."

Singing, eh? Figures. He thought. He had to admit though, that she was extremely good at it, although he couldn't say it out loud. Just like he couldn't say out loud why she did not appear as disgusted about eating in a muggle restaurant as he would have figured. Practice, she had said. She's putting on our act as a credible couple, he convinced himself. The only thing that made no sense was Imagine by John Lennon, but he let it slide for now.

"I like brewing potions and cooking, but I guess it doesn't come as surprising."

She smirked. "No, it doesn't. Your turn."

"Excuse me?" he asked with a raised eyebrow.

"You have to ask me something simple like I did."

Her eyes were expecting. Severus was fully aware he had to play the game, so he gave it some thought and finally inquired, "Favorite book genre?"

The conversation was fluid, and Severus had to admit he had had a good time. He hadn't let his guard down, but neither had his wife. Despite that, Severus could tell Skyrah was a curious and accepting woman and he found that they were quite alike: they sometimes could be a little rude, were introverted and intellectual, and sarcasm seemed to be their common language. Skyrah gave the impression to talk a lot, but she was also a good listener. Severus was actually glad he had forgotten about buying food this week. They paid for the meal and headed home.

"You know, I actually enjoyed it very much."

"Italian muggle food is tolerable."

She gave him a lopsided smile. "I found the food delicious, but I was talking about the company."

He stopped dead in his tracks. He didn't dare look at her face.

"It felt like a first date." If he had faced her, he would have distinghished her reddish cheeks. His own cheeks were not as pale as usual either. "I've finally got to know you a little better, even if we talked about insignificant things. Thank you."

Thank you. Severus noticed she uttered those two words an awful lot. Why would Voldemort's daughter be such a grateful person? He had no idea, but then again, he hadn't expected her to be understanding and friendly either. Cold, calculating and astute? Sure. She could be that, but she had demonstrated to be so much more. Whether she was pretending or not, he could not tell.

"I liked it too," he replied, terrified of his honesty.

His response drew in Skyrah's face a shy smile. She hesitated a little at first, but she finally grabbed his hand on their way home. Against his better judgment, Severus let her. It felt too good not to.

At home, they brewed for two hours until Skyrah needed a break from all the fumes the potions released. Then, they went to the grocery store and bought all the food they would need for one week. Severus had insisted in going to a wizard town nearby for that, but Skyrah had persuaded him. She didn't want wizards and witches who could recognize them to see them before they played their roles as husband and wife well.

Reading occupied the rest of the day. It turned out that Severus had a big library, and Skyrah couldn't resist it. She borrowed a book and they read: he, the potions book; she, the borrowed book. For hours, the only sound which could be heard was that of turning pages. They had dinner and went to sleep.

This time, it was Skyrah who woke up in the middle of the night. Severus was the one with nightmares. He was sweating and he kept on repeating a name.

Lily. Lily. Lily.

Skyrah frowned and shook him. His eyes opened. He took his wand from under the pillow and pointed it at Skyrah, the tip touching her throat. His eyes were red in fury and his breathing was harsh. Her pupils dilated.

"Severus? It's me. Skyrah. Please, lower your wand. You had a nightmare, I won't hurt you."

When Severus recognized her voice, he came back to his senses. His wand lowered. "My apologies. I didn't mean to scare you."

Her expression softened.

"It's okay. Do you think you'll be able to sleep again? I will get you a calming draught."

"It's not necessary."

"Are you sure?"

Skyrah wasn't convinced. After all, his breathing was still irregular and he hadn't stopped sweating.

"Lie down and close your eyes."

He obeyed. He had assumed she would follow suit and sleep. He tensed when she grabbed his hand. He was about to ask her what she was doing when she began to hum a sweet lullaby.

Too-ra-loo-ra-loo-ral,

Too-ra-loo-ra-li,

Too-ra-loo-ra-loo-ral,

Hush now, don't you cry.

Too-ra-loo-ra-loo-ral,

Too-ra-loo-ra-li,

Too-ra-loo-ra-loo-ral,

That's an Irish lullaby.

"Better?"

"Yes."

It was true, her voice had appeased him, yet he couldn't help but wonder, "An Irish lullaby?"

"My grandmother was Irish. She used to sing it to me."

He doubted she was talking about Voldemort's mother. No. She was talking about the mother's side. He mentally kicked himself. Why hadn't he wondered about her mother's side before? Who was her mother? Did he know her? Was she a Death Eater? Was she dead? Was that why neither Skyrah nor Voldemort ever mentioned her? Realizing that mulling over the subject did nothing to relax him, he occluded. With a blank mind, it was easier to sleep.

Meanwhile, Skyrah's mind was reeling.

Lily. Lily. Lily.