Chapter 6

Skyrah avoided Severus all day long. No brewing lessons. No cooking together. They ate in absolute silence. Their gazes never locked. She read, did some chores and went to the garden. Alone. Each time her spouse tried to talk to her or to spend some time together, she had some kind of excuse ready to shoot.

"I feel tired."

"Maybe later."

"I'm busy."

"I don't feel like it."

"Leave me the hell alone, Severus," she even hissed once.

He didn't know what had happened, but she had started to behave like that since that kiss. Shouldn't have he kissed her back? She had been the one to initiate it, and Severus didn't regret it. He had felt something funny in his stomach which he quite liked. Just closing his eyes he could remember all the details, how her lips felt against his, her taste, the way she cupped his face. He also remembered her look before and after the kiss. She had been troubled, and she had put on her mask. Why? Why would she push him away, now that they had started to develop something? They took one step forward and two steps back. She was even colder than on their first day together.

Fed up with her illogical behavior, he snapped during dinner, "What has got into you?"

She lifted an eyebrow. "I don't know what you mean."

"Don't play dumb with me! We both know you are a smart witch! Figure it out!"

"I'm sorry, but you'll have to be more specific," she replied calmly, something which infuriated Severus.

"You've been avoiding me all day long," he huffed. "Why? Everything was fine before the kiss, a kiss you initiated, had you forgotten."

At the mention of the kiss, Skyrah's eyes got cloudy, but only for a second. She had her mask on. Again. Severus was starting to hate that mask.

"I fancied being alone. You have been able to work on your potions without my inconvenience for once. You strike me as a man who appreciates solitude from time to time. I don't comprehend why you are complaining."

Severus would have believed her if it hadn't been for the lack of emotions on her face. It didn't seem like her to wish to be alone all of sudden either, even less when she had been by his side nearly all day these few past days. Her tearful eyes when he mentioned the kiss hadn't escaped his notice either. She was hiding something. Before he could question her though, Skyrah changed the subject, "Dumbledore's coming tomorrow, right?"

Severus nodded.

"Good. We'll have to behave like a normal married couple. What did you tell him about me?"

"Not much, just that we had been dating in secret and that you were interested in applying for a job at Hogwarts. I did not reveal anything else about you. He just was happy I was settling down with a woman."

She nodded, putting an end to the conversation. She retired to bed soon after that, without talking to him.

Severus didn't like that Skyrah that much. He wanted the other Skyrah back, the Skyrah who smiled and teased him, the one who accidentally touched him while brewing potions and made silly jokes while they cooked. He wanted to hear her sing, to hold her hand while they took a walk around town. He missed his wife, the woman who kissed his cheek whenever she felt grateful. A nasty voice in his head kept taunting him, telling him that Skyrah was an illusion. The real Skyrah was cold. It was in her blood. She, his enemy, was pregnant with his child, and to cap it all, he wanted nothing more than to kiss her again.

He was fucked up.

Skyrah woke up. Her body was pressed against her sleeping husband. In his sleep, the hard lines of his face were not so visible. She smiled at the sight and moved a hand to caress his chest, but stopped right before touching him. She gulped. With a sober expression, she went to have a shower. The water fell into the bathtub. Steam enveloped her.

"I don't know what to do, Daniel," she muttered to herself, resting her head against a wet tile of the wall, letting the water pour onto her back.

She panicked, thinking that Severus might have woken up and overheard her, but the water kept flowing. She had spoken so low there was no chance he would have listened to her, that is if he was awake, to begin with. Don't be paranoid, she scolded herself. Later, she covered herself with a beige towel and got into the corridor. She was lost in her thoughts, and would have bumped into him on her way to the bedroom if he hadn't spoken.

"Good morning, Skyrah."

He could have easily glanced down his nose, into her visible cleavage, or her uncovered legs. Any man would have had. He did not. He stared at her face, looking for something, anything that told him she was not going to ignore him today.

"Good morning," she said in a passive manner.

She looked at him as if she wanted to add somethingm but her face grew cold. Again. She left him alone so that he could also shower. Albus arrived via floo network after they had a quiet, uncomfortable breakfast.

"Severus! My boy!" he greeted, removing the green dust off his shoulders.

Severus rolled his eyes.

"Hello, Albus."

In a blink of an eye, Skyrah's expression changed from ice cold to sweet. She was a decent actress. Severus would give her that. It only added to his worry. Had she been pretending to tolerate him and even like him all this time?

"This must be your lovely wife, Skyrah."

"The one and only, sir. Welcome to our house," she replied with a sunny smile.

"Call me Albus," he said, winking at her.

"It's a pleasure to finally meet you, Albus."

"The pleasure's mine."

Skyrah smiled even more brightly and offered, "We have just had breakfast, but if you haven't eaten anything I can prepare some coffee or something. Just ask."

"That won't be necessary. Thank you."

"Please, take a seat," she instructed.

The three adults sat down. Albus was on the big sofa of the room, next to Skyrah. Severus had summoned a chair from the kitchen and sat down in front of them.

"Severus was discreet regarding your relationship. I didn't know until you two were married."

"My husband likes to keep things private," she provided with a shrug.

"True, that! I am happy he's finally settled down with a lovely woman like you."

"I feel lucky to be married to a man like him," she replied, reaching for Severus's hand and squeezing it.

It was the first time she touched him since their quarrel.

He let out a small gasp. His eyes shut in longing for a few seconds. Details Albus missed not. Blue eyes sparkled curiously behind half-moon spectacles. Severus mentally kicked himself. He had let his guard down. A spy couldn't afford that.

"Severus told me you were interested in working at Hogwarts…"

"Correct. I would love to have a job which could give me the possibility to stay close to my husband."

"Which position do you wish to apply for?"

"The Defense Against the Dark Arts position although I would be happy working in the kitchens with the house elves. Like I said, I only want to be close to Severus. I would understand it if you didn't want to have me at the school, after all, you don't know me. There must be a lot of people aiming for the job… I merely request you consider it."

Albus could see the traits this woman had inherited from her father. Physically, she had the same dark eyes and hair and pale skin young Tom Riddle did. They had a similar character too: both of them managed to sound polite and humble to get what they wanted. She was definitely an attractive, charming woman. Albus didn't trust her one bit but knew that he had to offer her the job or else, Severus could suffer to the point of blowing his spy cover.

"I will gladly consider it. An interview is in order. We shall start now. Severus, would you mind leaving us alone for this?"

Neither Severus nor Skyrah had expected this to happen so fast, but really, it was even better. Voldemort would be pleased.

"I will be upstairs, may you require anything."

With that said, Severus left.

"I know it may sound precipitated, but I hope you don't mind it."

"Not at all, Albus."

"Good... Where did you study and what were your NEWT marks?"

"I studied in Ilvermorny, North America. I got outstanding marks in History of Magic, Ancient Runes, Defense Against the Dark Arts, Transfiguration and Charms and exceeds expectations in Arithmancy and Divination."

Albus noticed she had had the same results in the same subjects as her father, remarkable results. The witch was intelligent, all right. The only difference was that instead of Potions, she had chosen History of Magic and Charms, which meant she was more ambitious than Tom, at least, academically speaking.

"That's impressive," he mumbled, in all honesty.

"Coming from a wizard like you it means a lot. Thank you, Albus."

"Do you have any teaching experience?"

She grinned. "I do. I taught History of Magic in Ilvermorny for nine years after being in an apprenticeship for two years."

Albus acted surprised and exclaimed, "That's good. Do you consider yourself a good teacher?"

She gave it some thought and finally replied, "I always give my best and try to make my students feel at ease in the classroom. If they're tensed, they can't really learn. I'd say I have the patience, dedication and communication and interpersonal skills which are necessary for the job. As a con, I believe I should work more on my creativity and explore new ways of teaching. So to answer your question, I frankly don't know if I'm a good teacher or not. What I do know is that this profession makes me happy. It's my vocation, it's what I want to do."

Either, she was a talented actress, or she was genuine. Albus hoped it was the latter, considering he would be hiring her no matter what.

"You have taught History of Magic before. Are you certain you can handle a Defense Against the Darks Arts class? The subjects are quite different."

"History of Magic is mostly theory which helps us understand the world we are living in. Defense Against the Dark Arts has got theory too, but the aim is for students to be able to defend themselves, so most of my classes would be practical. I have given some practical lessons in History too, reading manuscripts and visiting places of relevance for America's History, so I'm not foreign to it. I will adapt to teaching Defense Against the Dark Arts."

He grinned softly.

"We could keep up with this interview for a long time, but I can already see that you are the ideal applicant for the Defense Against the Dark Arts position. The job is yours. Congratulations."

Skyrah's eyes widened and a big smile appeared on her face as she thanked him.

"No! Thank you, Skyrah. I'm sure you'll be a great teacher. We shall call Severus back."

"Wait!" Her face had changed from blissful to fearful. Her whole body tensed. "Don't call him yet. I need your help."

She had spoken in such a low voice Albus thought he had heard wrong.

"Help?"

"I need to tell you something which you will probably dislike, but please, let me finish. I-I'm not just Severus's wife. I'm You-know-who's daughter. I need your help, but it's not for me. My father has kidnapped my family. If I don't do what he says, he hurts them. Please you have to save them! Severus… He's his most loyal Death Eater! I can't trust him." Tears started to slide down her beautiful face. "My mother and my sister… Help them! I- I can tell you about my father's plan in exchange. I'll do anything! Please!"

Albus kept his usual calm pose.

"You understand that I have to corroborate this and make sure you aren't lying. This is very serious, Skyrah."

"I understand. I'll take veritaserum, you can use legilimency… Whatever! You have to believe me! I have nobody else to turn to!"

Albus was still skeptical of her. Severus had described her as cunning and intelligent. It could be a trap. But then again, what would she win by telling him Severus wasn't loyal to him? And why would she be willing to show him her mind, when she had raised her occlumency walls on Severus?

He stared at her eyes and legilimenced her. He saw a woman and a teen - mother and daughter, judging by their curly red hair - being taken away by a masked Death Eater. He saw how she refused to obey Lord Voldemort, only to be tortured and to witness the death of a young man about her age. He saw her tears and heard her desperate cries. He saw her falling on her knees, feeling like her whole world had been destroyed. He felt her fear, her impotence, her nerves when her father ordered her to have a child with his most loyal Death Eater.

Albus had seen enough. He didn't wish to invade her privacy anymore, so he got out of her mind. He was horrified. Severus had been right. This woman was just as trapped as he was in this marriage, and what he had seen was the memory that had troubled her at night, the memory Severus had suspected.

"Skyrah," he whispered with pity.

"Will you help them? I can take care of myself, I'll handle Severus. But I'm afraid my father will end up killing them if something doesn't go as planned," she murmured with a trembling voice, no longer crying but still teary-eyed.

"I'll see what I can do."

She hugged the man. She kept crying, but, this time, they were tears of felicity. Albus kept rocking her as if she was an innocent child until she composed herself.

"This changes everything." Raising his voice, he added, "Severus, you may come out of hiding now."

Severus obeyed. Her eyes widened. She took her wand out, got up and pointed it at her husband, who didn't take more steps but didn't take out his wand either.

"He spies for my father, Albus. We have to obliviate him or we won't have a chance to save my family."

"His true loyalty doesn't lie with your father. Severus has spied for me for years now. I already knew you were Tom's daughter before I came here. Lower your wand, please."

Skyrah gaped. Severus was spying on her father? He wasn't like any other Death Eater she had met, and he had taken care of her. He wasn't cruel. He hadn't passed on the information that she was pregnant to Voldemort. The fact that he was a spy would explain it. He wasn't a Death Eater, not a conventional one, at least. She lowered her wand and looked at him, searching for reassurance.

Severus gave her a nod. Then the unexpected happened. Skyrah giggled. She actually giggled. She ran to him and hugged him tightly. Severus was dazed but managed to put his arms around her waist, despite the obvious twinkle in Albus's eyes. She cupped his chin, shifting his gaze from Albus to her, and tiptoed. He held his breath in expectation, and he felt it. That softness. That warmth. Her lips molding against his. The room blurred around him, including his boss. He could only think about Skyrah and how good it felt to have her in his arms while she kept moving the tip of her tongue along his bottom lip. An electrifying feeling jolted through his body, and he found himself tightening the grip on her waist.

They broke the kiss to breathe. Skyrah sweetly caressed his nose with hers. She was smiling and she couldn't help but give him one last peck. And then, she hit his arm.

Hard.

"What was that for?"

Not the kiss. He wasn't questioning the kiss. He wanted another. The hit. He meant the hit.

"For making me believe you are my father's most loyal follower, you fool!"

"Look who's talking! You are his daughter!"

She was about to retort but realized he was right, so she pouted and mumbled, "Touché."

Albus chuckled.

"What's so funny?" Severus snarled, hiding his blush behind his snark.

"You two. You are fighting like a real married couple in love. And dare I add, kissing like one."

Skyrah and Snape looked at anywhere but at each other.

"I'm sorry," she said so low only Severus heard her. "I forgot he was here."

Severus didn't reply, for he too had forgotten they weren't alone when her mouth was on his. He was certain Albus would tease him about it for the rest of his life.

"As I was saying, this changes everything," said Albus. "We should talk, don't you agree?"