Chapter 14

Harry's eyes widened when he heard his Potions Professor claiming he was going to live with him and his wife until the school term began. He knew he had nowhere else to go; nevertheless living with the greasy git was certainly a frightening thought. Maybe it was too soon to tell, but he liked Skyrah. Yet, he was aware they had just met, so he didn't really know her. She had been scary with Aunt Petunia, but nice to him. He was going to live with a stranger, and it made him feel out of his comfort zone. What would it be like, to live with a married couple of Professors anyway? The Snapes, at that. But then he remembered how living with the Dursleys felt like, and he knew that he'd rather stay with two Snapes than with Vernon, Petunia or Dudley another day. At least, the Snapes had welcomed him home, cooked dinner and tried to make him feel better. Well, Skyrah had tried to make him feel better. Severus had been grouchy, not as bad-tempered as usual - he had even promised not to tell about the abuse - but still grouchy.

"Are you all right?" wondered Skyrah, worry etched on her features.

"Ugh, I-I… I just…" Harry tried to answer her.

"I know it's a lot to take in, but we are only trying to do what's best for you," she said, as if understanding what he was trying to convey.

Her words showed nothing but honesty, as did her eyes.

"Thanks."

Skyrah smiled at the boy and took his hand, squeezing it. Severus stood, watching the scene. He wasn't a religious man, but inwardly, he was thanking whoever was above for not being alone in this. He didn't know how the events might have turned out if he hadn't been married to Skyrah. She obviously possessed better interpersonal skills than he did (not that it was something difficult to beat, but still). She had been the one to lend emotional support to the boy and he knew that he could have never done that.

"We're going to sleep now. If you need anything, you know where to find us. Don't be scared to wake us up, even if you believe it is something stupid," she offered, squeezing his shoulder.

Harry nodded. After five hesitating seconds, she brought the teenager close to her and held him. Harry stood frozen. Snape's wife is hugging me, was all he could think. He looked at Severus only to find his professor was as taken aback as him by the gesture.

"Good night, Harry," she said, releasing the boy.

Harry was so shocked by the hug he found it difficult to say it back.

"Are you that rude, Potter, or did you lose the ability to speak?" Severus snarled, rolling his eyes.

Skyrah subtly trampled his foot as a warning, and Severus had to struggle so as not to let out a whine. Luckily, Harry didn't notice it.

Rather, his eyes widened and he hurried to babble, "Er- Good night, Skyrah." It gained him a soft smile from her. As an afterthought, he added, "Good night, sir."

Severus raised an eyebrow in a clear sign of surprise and answered in a softer voice than intended, "Good night."

The Snapes turned around to go to bed, when Harry's voice stopped them, "Can I go get Hedwig? She's in your room…"

Severus groaned.

"You better take that bird of yours and put it away from my bedroom, Potter."

"I obeyed Skyrah! She told me to leave everything there! And it's an owl!"

Severus turned to his wife with an arched eyebrow.

She shrugged and mumbled, "In my defense, I am going to say that we thought he'd be sleeping there…"

Once everything was settled, Skyrah and Snape went to bed. Severus's body was tense. She noticed even though their bodies weren't touching. She waited a few minutes, expecting him to relax and fall asleep; but he was just as rigid.

"Severus? Are you all right?" she asked, turning to look at him.

"Just fine."

He had intended to use a reassuring tone. It came out as a snarl. Old habits.

"Sure, you're fine. That's why you are so stiff and growl at me when I only asked about your well-being," she said sarcastically, lifting an eyebrow.

"Go to sleep, Skyrah."

She felt offended. She had only been trying to help, after all. She wasn't one to give up, though. Today's events had overwhelmed him. He deserved to rest. She hit upon an idea that got her grinning like a naughty child.

"Lie on your stomach."

"Excuse me?!"

"Severus Snape, do as I say, or else..."

The silent threat was quite palpable. He still wasn't obeying. Now that he knew she was nothing like Voldemort, he had no reason to be afraid of her. She whined.

"Severus... Come on."

Nothing.

"Humor me." She bit her lip and and blurted in a much softer tone, "Please."

To her delight, he complied. Skyrah grinned in victory and took out her wand. She put her knees on each side of his back and sat upon him, straddling him. He was left shirtless with a wand wave.

"Skyrah?!" he choked, already regretting his decision to satisfy her desires.

"Sh… Let me work. If I hurt you, tell me and I'll stop. Focus on your breathing," she murmured as she moved her wand again over his back. Her comments only scared him more.

Before he could protest, a kind of oil moistened his skin. His eyes widened and he got even more rigid.

"Relax, Severus," advised Skyrah, amused by the situation.

She massaged his lower back, pressing lightly with her palms and her fingers, especially her thumbs, and increasing the pressure slowly. Once he unstiffened a bit, she started to caress all his back muscles, going upward until she reached his neck. Her hands explored the zone, using gliding movements in long even strokes and augmenting the pressure as the time went by, then going down to his back again.

Severus breathed deeply; lost in the delightful sensation. No one had ever touched him like that, and he had to admit that it felt tremendously good. He had never felt that calm before and, unconsciously, he let out a moan of pleasure. Skyrah smirked at the effect she was having on him as she traced his spine with her index finger, from the bottom to his neck. She forgot about his back for a moment and started to massage his shoulders and neck area, not only with her palms but also with her knuckles, pushing all the right buttons, making him sigh. Potter, Albus, the Dark Lord... They disappeared. Only Skyrah and her heavenly touch occupied Severus's mind.

Too soon to his liking, she dried her hands with her wand and lay down next to Severus. He stared at her, stomach still flat against the mattress. In the gloom of the room, the glow of his eyes stood out. Skyrah had never seen Severus with such a peaceful expression upon his face, so handsome. It made her want to stroke his cheek, so she did.

"Feeling better?"

He hummed, making her smile in satisfaction.

"See? You have to trust me… If you ever feel stressed, helpless or angry, tell me. I'll do whatever I can to help you."

She pecked his lips and turned around in a fetal position, showing her back to him. Severus couldn't help but smile softly now that she wasn't watching him. Voldemort's daughter, the massager. It was hard to believe but true, just like the fact Skyrah Andraste Riddle had become Skyrah Andraste Snape, his wife, a witch who touched him and kissed him and smiled at him and made him feel human.

He didn't know if it was an aftereffect of the massage or not, but he got the urge to touch her. He lay on his side and put an arm around her waist, pressing her back to his chest. A smirk flickered at the corner of his mouth at her surprised gasp. After a few moments of hesitancy, she held his hand. It wasn't long before they drifted off to sleep.

Severus woke up in the same position in which he had falling asleep: with Skyrah in his arms, asleep. He pondered getting up and having a shower, but that would imply leaving her warmth and possibly his rare serenity behind. No. He didn't want the moment to end. He decided to relish in the sensation of having a woman like her in his arms and closed his eyes. The spell was broken a few minutes later, when she stirred and turned around to face him, still in his embrace.

"Good morning," she purred.

"Good morning."

"Did you sleep well?" she wondered, concerned.

"Do you honestly think I didn't sleep well after the wondrous backrub you gave me?" he asked in a teasing tone.

She rolled her eyes and hit his chest playfully.

"Severus? Are you all right?" she asked, noting he was staring at her intensely.

He gulped and nodded. "Thank you."

"For the massage you mean? Oh, don't mention it. I-"

"Not just for the massage. You took care of Potter and made him feel at ease. And you tried to make me feel comfortable as well. I truly appreciate it. You'll be an excellent mother, Skyrah. Affectionate, compassionate, supportive... Our girl will be lucky to have you."

Her vision blurred with tears. She smacked him playfully on the chest again. "Stop talking like that. You'll make me cry. Who knew you could be this sweet?"

He grimaced. "I'm not sweet."

She chuckled at his response and kissed his nose, making him blush. Merlin. Not even his monstrous nose scared her.

"By the way, what did you do to the Dursleys?" she inquired, raising an eyebrow.

"I got Petunia and Vernon to spend some time in the cupboard. And their son couldn't talk for once..."

"Severus!"

"What? The spells only lasted for a few hours and they deserved worse. Most house-elves I know are treated ten times better than Potter ever was in that house."

Noticing he was tensing again, she told him to have a shower while she cheked on the boy. Next, he was left alone and cold, wondering how the hell he had grown so attached to Voldemort's daughter.

The more stairs he climbed down, the louder the cries got. Then he saw it: Skyrah scolding Harry. That was not something he would have expected to happen. He had thought that all the punishments would be his doing.

"Harry, how do you think I felt when I woke up and you weren't here? You scared me to death! I told you to let us know if you wanted or needed something; I told you to wake us up. Instead, you disobeyed and left the house without our consent," she said disappointed, gesturing with her hands.

He did what? thought Severus.

"Don't you ever do that again, did you hear me? Something bad could have happened to you! Can't you see? Severus and I are taking care of you now. Promise you won't scare us like that again."

Harry kept his head down.

"A verbal answer, Potter," Severus intervened, letting his presence be known.

Harry gulped when he heard his voice. "I promise."

Skyrah threw her arms around the teenager and hugged him tight.

"Don't you dare break that promise. You don't know the panic I felt."

Despite the scolding, Harry felt a warm feeling in his stomach. This woman had just nagged him, yet she had made clear that she was only doing that because she had been frightened. She was afraid that something might have happened to him. And the way she was hugging him, like Mrs. Weasley did her children, was a new experience to Harry. It felt like she cared for him.

"Why, pray tell, did you have the sudden urge to go out, Potter?" Severus asked sternly.

Skyrah broke the embrace so that he could answer.

"Er-well. I-I…"

"I don't have all day," Severus growled.

Harry snorted. "Right. I wanted to cook breakfast but the fridge was practically empty, so I thought I'd go and buy some food for you. I got some money I have saved, left and asked a villager where the nearest grocery was…"

Severus didn't know what to think, what to do... Yesterday, he found out Harry had been abused. Now, he found out Harry was not as ungrateful as he had thought, even if the boy kept making mistakes and running into trouble. Shocked as Severus was, his face betrayed nothing. Skyrah, on the contrary, was looking at Harry with compassion.

"Have you had a shower yet?" asked Severus, wishing to be alone with his thoughts... and with his wife.

"No."

"What are you waiting for, then?"

Harry rushed out of the room before Severus changed his mind and decided to punish him with cauldrons to scrub.

When everyone had had breakfast (a breakfast which Severus and Skyrah had prepared), somebody arrived at Spinner's End via floo network. That someone shook the dust off her shoulders and cleared her throat.

"Severus, I hope I'm not interrupting anything. I wanted to ask you for-" she trailed off when she saw that her colleague wasn't alone at home. He wasn't accompanied by only one person. Oh, no. Next to him, a gorgeous woman she had never seen stood, a gorgeous woman and…

"Mr. Potter?"

"Good morning, Professor McGonagall."

Skyrah remembered her husband telling her that she was the Transfiguration teacher and one of the teaching staff members he talked the most to.

"What are you doing here, Mr. Potter?"

"Er- you see… I... Ugh..." the boy started, trying to think of something.

Eloquent as ever, thought Severus.

"He's staying with my wife and me to learn Occlumency and advanced Defense Against the Dark Arts."

"Your wife?" Minerva choked, glancing at Skyrah. A little offended, she asked, "Why didn't I know you were married, Severus?"

He was taken aback by the question.

"Well?" she pressed.

"My husband and I decided to keep our relationship a secret. We've been married for about a week. Not even Albus knew about us until after the wedding," Skyrah came to the rescue.

Harry raised his eyebrows in surprise. By the way the Snapes behaved; it didn't look like they had been married for about a week.

Since Minerva still looked hurt, Severus added, "I was going to tell you soon. I just needed some time to arrange everything."

Minerva snorted. "May I know the name of your wife or do I have to wait so that you have time to arrange everything?"

Severus rolled his eyes at Minerva's theatrics while Skyrah introduced herself.

"A pleasure to meet you, Skyrah." Minerva gazed at the boy. "Why do you need advanced classes?"

"Er- Professor Dumbledore said so."

Minerva took it well. She was used to Albus and his secretiveness, after all.

"How long have these lessons been going on?"

"Yesterday evening. I guess you came for the potion," said Severus. "Potter, go to the lab, next to the bedroom. Get a flask with a lime green liquid from the cupboard. Now."

Harry did as told, leaving behind the three adults. He didn't hesitate as he didn't want to be scolded once again.

"Where did Mr. Potter sleep? I know you have no guest room, Severus."

"Well… The sofa did the trick," Skyrah babbled, pointing at the unmade bed placed on the spot the sofa used to be. "Severus and I were about to make a little room in the library and transfigure him a bedroom, since he will be staying with us until school starts."

Minerva frowned. "Did you really agree to rearrange the library? But you love it!"

Severus rolled his eyes.

"I'm a Potions Master. I cannot do anything else."

"You may be a Potions Master, Severus. But Transfiguration is my area of expertise," she replied with a sly smirk.