Chapter 36

Severus offered to floo call Harry and Dione after the Malfoys' departure, but Skyrah caught his wrist.

"Narcissa's just given me something and told me not to tell you to stay safe."

Her voice had been low in fear Narcissa would hear her despite being far away, so low Severus had to lean in closer.

"And you chose to tell me anyway?" he asked with a frown.

"I trust you with my life."

His heart skipped a beat. Not many people trusted him, much less with their lives.

A tiny paper lay on her open palm. An engorgement charm enlarged it to its original form.

A letter.

Rushed handwriting. No signature. Even so, a fleeting glance was all it took for Skyrah to whisper the word Mum, half-muffled by the hand that covered her mouth. Puckers appeared on her forehead. Something is wrong, deduced Severus. His suspicions were confirmed when she stuttered she needed to be alone. She passed on the letter to him and dashed to her relaxing spot, the garden. He controlled the urge to run after her and read the letter twice to make sure his eyes weren't betraying him:

I do not doubt that you are looking for me, but you must call off the search, Skyrah. You must not find me or else all of us will suffer. Tom will come after us. We will never escape and, this time, he will kill us. I cannot do that to you and Dione. We will not be free until your father dies. Focus on finding the horcruxes.

Stay safe and be strong. I will survive. After all, I have two daughters to keep me going, and I will have a grandson soon, too. I wish I could be there for you when the baby is born. You will be a good mother.

"Bloody hell!"

Aware Skyrah wanted to be on her own, Severus waited for ten minutes before coming into the garden. He made some noise to make his presence known and to give her the chance to make him back away if she wished. Her silence encouraged him to hug her from behind, left hand resting on the big baby bump while his right arm spread across her cleavage and grabbed her shoulder. She put her hands over his and pressed her back against his torso. Severus couldn't resist nuzzling her black hair, impregnated with the essence of the lilies that encompassed them.

"Will you obey your mother?"

A nod.

"We must focus on defeating my father. It's the only way."

"Do you think it is a trap of sorts?"

She shook her head. "Narcissa warned me not to tell you. She must believe you are truly loyal to my father. She didn't want to risk this secret getting out... The Malfoys confuse me. If they are faithful Death Eaters, why did they do this for me?"

He sighed.

"I've known the Malfoys since I was eleven. There was a time Lucius blindly believed everything the Dark Lord said. He strove to become his right-hand man… Now that he failed him though, I reckon that the Malfoys' loyalty lies on power and family. Not on the Dark Lord. Leastwise, not entirely. He senses it, too. That's why Lucius is the godfather. I spy on him, and he spies on us. It's a win-win situation for your father. He traps us all."

Severus kissed the spot where her jawline began, just below her earlobe. She always sighed when he did that, yet her body remained stiff.

"Are you okay?"

"I'm worried about Dione. I promised I'd save Mother."

"Just be there for her... I'll ask Harry to assist me with the cooking so that you can have your sisterly time. He won't refuse."

Harry and Severus didn't usually cook together. Skyrah was always there, like a bug. Not like either of them complained. Despite having a good time cooking with Harry, Severus preferred her. She made him laugh and let him steal some kisses. Plus, cooking was one of the first activities that they had ever done together, the time of the day that was theirs. Those facts could explain his preference up to some degree, although she couldn't completely fathom why he endured her clumsy cooking skills when Harry could actually help in the kitchen.

What was clear was that Severus was willing to sacrifice their moment for her and her sister. He might not have confessed his feelings for her, but damn, words were unrequired with gestures like these. How comforting that thought was. Her face broke into a grin as her nostrils filled with the essence of lilies.

She was ready to tell her sister.

Dione didn't take it well. She sulked. She avoided not only Skyrah but everyone, a conduct Severus didn't tolerate in the strictest sense of the word. She was acting like an immature dunderhead, and she was one of the few students he hadn't labelled as such until that very moment. He had felt inclined to knock some sense into her, but Skyrah caught his arm and sent him a glare that told him to behave.

Harry was fed up with the situation. This dinner had been even more awkward than his first day here with the Snapes.

"Will somebody tell me what's going on?" the boy asked.

No answer. How very predictable.

"Right." Harry huffed. "I'm going to sleep. I hope everything is fine tomorrow morning."

Skyrah went to bed too. Dione made to follow suit, but Severus blocked her bedroom door.

"Skyrah is doing what she thinks is right."

"That doesn't mean I have to like it. She promised me." She was on the verge of screaming, tears welled up in the corner of her eyes. "You don't understand. They starved us. They tortured us if we spoke too loud, or if we spoke at all. We were treated like objects. We hardly got by when we were together. I don't want to imagine what my mother's going through in this very instant."

"So you'd rather save her and enrage the Dark Lord to the point he gets you and kills you after forcing your mother and sister to watch? Yes, you're right. Your plan is far more sensible," he sneered, arms folded across his chest.

Dione gulped and wrapped her arms around herself. "Do you really think that would happen?"

"Do you really want to test the theory?" he shot back. "At least you know that the Dark Lord will keep her alive, if only to torment Skyrah. Your mother asked her to abandon the search. Skyrah's merely trying to respect her wishes and stay safe."

Her posture hunched. She found a curl to play with, something Severus had noticed she tended to do whenever she felt anxious or insecure.

"If your mother's half as stubborn as her offspring, she'll survive."

He told himself he had meant to cheer her up for Skyrah although that wasn't the primary reason. He had done it for Dione, a girl he had grown to care for. Her lips curved up briefly, enough to confuse Severus to the point he assumed he had imagined it. He let her in, but not before seeing her reflective face.

Skyrah was on the bed, her back resting against cozy pillows to accommodate her. She was rereading the letter, the only thing she had from her mother. Severus cleared his throat. She left the note aside immediately.

"I tried to make your sister understand your decision. I think she listened."

What had she done to deserve such a considerate husband? He was too far for her to drop a grateful kiss on his cheek, so she gave him a thankful grin in its place. She was so fatigued that even smiling proved to be taxing.

"It isn't late. You may read or brew if you like."

He quirked an eyebrow. "Is this supposed to be a hint to me to leave you alone?"

Skyrah smiled tiredly and shook her head. "Today's been exhausting. I'm afraid I'm too sleepy for a chat."

Severus joined her in bed anyway and beckoned her to lie on her left side. Skyrah glanced up at him in wonder but complied. She smiled in appreciation when he opened a book and read it aloud. His voice always relaxed her. A minute later, he glimpsed at her only to see her chest rising and falling rhythmically. It turned out she wasn't exaggerating. She needed some sleep.

Severus left the book on the nightstand and lay on his side. He put a rebel lock of hair behind her ear and scrutinized her now uncovered face, the features he already knew by heart: the smooth chin he liked to cup, the thick eyelashes that tickled his chest when they cuddled, the plump lips he loved to kiss until they turned red and swollen, the nose he wished his son would have… His son. The mere thought of him reduced the stress of the day and lulled him to sleep with a smile on his face.

Dione woke up to the smell of fried eggs and bacon. She licked her lips. She hadn't had a breakfast like that since the Death Eaters moved her from America. Fried eggs and bacon were to her what pancakes were to Skyrah.

Skyrah.

Dammit. Not even her favorite breakfast distracted her from Skyrah's decision. Her face fell. She plodded to the kitchen, her brain busy coming up with an apology to give to her sister. Only Severus was there.

"Hi," she greeted, testing the waters.

He gave her a nod, his gaze fixed on the half-cooked bacon and eggs.

"Where's Skyrah?"

"Taking a shower."

He still didn't look at her. Dione gulped.

"I'm sorry. I didn't act my age."

"Don't apologize to me. Apologize to your sister."

Her shoulders slumped. "Right. Sorry to bother you."

Severus sighed. Dione was acting as if they were in class and he had just deducted Hufflepuff points for skipping a brewing step. He didn't want to feel like her Potions Master at home, even less when her bowed head told him she was truly sorry.

"She woke up particularly moody today… I'd be gentle with her."

A silly grin split into her face. Never, under any circumstances, would Dione have guessed that he would offer her advice. Unlike his reputation and the meaning of his name, he wasn't severe, not when it came to the people he cared for. In class, however, he did live up to his name.

"Thank you."

He gave her a solemn nod and continued cooking, but the lifted eyebrow and the amused look on her face made him grunt.

"What is it now?"

"Nothing. I was just thinking how my classmates would react to the bat of the dungeons cooking breakfast."

"Well, bats need to be nourished too."

She chuckled. Apparently, bats had a sense of humor as well.

"You know, Skyrah usually avoids fried eggs and bacon. Maybe you should consider preparing pancakes… or a chocolate cake."

Severus snorted. "The first thing she said when she woke up was that she needed to eat fried eggs and bacon. She got furious when I told her we had no bacon left… That's why I told you she was moody. I had to go out and buy some. If fried eggs and bacon will make her happy, she'll have them. She's had weirder food cravings. It isn't a big deal."

Dione pitied him. As sisters, they had argued more than once. She had experienced first-hand what an angry Skyrah was like and she bet that even someone like Severus would feel intimidated. Yet here he was, putting the now cooked eggs and bacon on a plate.

"Skyrah and Harry were right. You're a good man."

Severus froze. She was one of the very few people who had called him a good man, ever. He didn't know how to react, what to say. He thanked Merlin Harry appeared in the room then and asked whether the problem, whatever it was, was solved at last.

"Not yet," mumbled Dione.

The teenagers chatted for a few minutes about things Severus didn't mind listening to.

Skyrah entered the kitchen. Her mouth watered even before she spotted the fried eggs and bacon on her plate. She ran to Severus and planted a smacking kiss on his cheek.

"Merlin! I'm so sorry for the scene I made before! I really don't know what I'd do without you and those fried eggs and bacon!"

Severus got flustered and shrugged it off. Dione couldn't help but titter, hiding her face behind Harry's shoulder. Skyrah saw her and Dione stopped laughing.

The girl took a big breath and stammered, playing with her curls, "I want to, er, to apologize..."

Brown eyes softened, but Skyrah's face was still stern. At least she hadn't snapped like she was prone to do due to mood swings.

Encouraged, Dione pushed her chest out and added, "I understand why you made that decision. It isn't like you have a choice. Mum would scold you if she found out you disobeyed her... And we both know pissing her off isn't a clever idea."

Dione knew she was forgiven when Skyrah snickered and smiled at her.

"So now that the misunderstanding is cleared up, can someone tell me what this was about?" asked Harry.

Skyrah chuckled at his pout and nodded at Dione to let her know she could tell him.

Skyrah finally ate the breakfast she had craved. Deep low chuckles escaped Severus's throat when her face contorted in pleasure, similar to the face she pulled when he licked the crook of her neck, that spot that always made her whimper. He felt a strange sense of satisfaction in succeeding in bringing her happiness, even if it was in form of fried eggs and bacon.

"What's so funny?"

"Your food cravings," he confessed with a smirk.

Skyrah buried her head in her hands to hide her flushed cheeks. "Ugh! Don't bring that up! I feel ashamed enough!"

"Food cravings are normal during pregnancy," he said with an amused smile, yet keeping a gentle tone. "For the record, I bought an extra portion of bacon and eggs. We have supplies in case you have more food cravings."

His tone was teasing in the end, but Skyrah melted at the way he looked after her.

"If there was an award for the best husband, you'd win it."

The Snapes discovered the final piece to flying that night. Severus taught the Order how to fly using light magic whereas Skyrah taught Voldemort, and consequently, the Death Eaters, how to fly using dark magic so that they wouldn't fly as fast or for as long as the Order.

Skyrah was relieved when Voldemort didn't show a sign of disappointment, unaware that the aurors would have it easy to catch the Death Eaters if they tried to fly away from now on.

"I knew I could count on you, Daughter," he spoke in Parseltongue. "If it had taken you any longer, Nagini would have had fun with Andraste."

"You would have killed her?" Skyrah asked, hiding her incredulity and horror under occlumency walls. "You would kill one of the few people to ever love you?"

Torture? Sure. Skyrah expected that, not death. Voldemort needed Andraste to manipulate her. Without her mother, he had nothing to control her. Murdering her was illogical, and Voldemort was anything but illogical.

"I would. Your pathetic sister is the perfect wildcard, don't you agree? I don't need her for the time being, but make no mistake. If I want to find her, I will. As long as one of them lives, you will be mine, Skyrah, because you love them. That's your weakness. Love. I tried to teach you. I tried to show you its consequences, but you never listened. Love will be your downfall if you don't change."

"You're sick," she hissed in English, crinkling her nose.

He smirked at her visible disgust.

"I think you are sicker than I, Skyrah. You still love me despite calling me a monster. I saw it when I imperiused Severus and killed your unborn girl. You called me Daddy. Pitiable."

"You're wrong," she growled. "I hate you."

Nobody would have doubted her by the fire in her eyes. Voldemort, however, saw right through her.

"No, Daughter," he whispered, a hand on her cheek. "You hate what I did to you, what I am doing to you... But you don't hate me. Not yet."

His truthful words acted like the water that doused the flames in her eyes, the water that formed tears in her eyes. She choked them back and cursed herself for showing weakness in front of him. She was losing the fight like every time she confronted him. She never won. He made her feel small, vulnerable, insecure.

"Why are you doing this to me?"

She sounded like a child who endeavored to make her father proud yet failed, and she hated herself for it. She didn't want to make a sociopath proud. She just wanted to live her life at peace.

"Because I want you to give up any emotion related to love and support my cause. You are intelligent; you have just proven so by inventing a way to fly without a broomstick. We would be unstoppable together, father and daughter."

Together? Father and daughter? She almost snorted. They had never been close. She only was his daughter when he needed her. He went as far as kidnapping her family to ensure he would get what he required from her. He only used her. She meant nothing to him. That enraged her enough to break free from his touch.

"You want me to join you by threatening me and the people I love? I'll loathe you even more," she spat.

He gave her a pleased grin.

Bastard, she thought. Her emotions ran wild. Occluding was growing difficult. She was dizzy.

"But that is my aim. You see, odiousness is a powerful emotion. I sowed the seed a long time ago. It is growing now and it will consume you. It will strangle your love and empathy. You will be so outraged with the world that you will want its total agony and destruction. You will forget you hate me in the first place, for you will become hatred. You won't control it. You can't. Look around you, Skyrah!" He exclaimed, spreading his arms. "Hate always wins. This is how the world works. You will join me. It is only a matter of time. You certainly have potential. Few people can brag about killing at the age of twelve and getting away with it."

"Don't you dare bring that up!" she screamed, stepping forward until her breath hit his face. "I never wanted to do that! You left me no choice!"

"Is that what you tell yourself when the memory haunts you at night? You killed her," he reminded her, unaffected by their closeness. "We are more alike than you think. Tell me, Skyrah, does your half-sister know you are a murderer, or did you hide it from her just so that she wouldn't fear you? Was that foul mudblood you were about to marry aware of it?"

Skyrah clenched her fists, her whole body shaking. Impotent tears coursed down her cheeks. Her stomach lurched. Voldemort couldn't suppress a smirk when he saw just how much power he held over her, a smirk she would have slapped off his face had she had the guarantees that no harm would come to Andraste.

He dismissed her.

Severus and Harry were practicing defensive spells in the garden while Dione did some homework in the library. The wooden staircase creaked at the footsteps of somebody climbing it up in a hurry. Preoccupied, Dione went upstairs.

Skyrah was sitting on the floor, her back against the bathtub. Her cheeks were wet, her nose and eyes were red and puffy and she looked like she had just been sick. Dione kneeled in front of her.

"Skyrah?"

"I'm fine."

She didn't even look at Dione.

"Don't lie to me. What did that monster do to you?"

"Leave me alone."

Right then, Skyrah seemed to be the immature little sister. Dione shook her head and put a hand on her shoulder.

"I won't until-"

"Bloody hell, Dione! I told you to leave me alone! Is that asking for too much?!" she screeched, breaking free from her touch.

Dione flinched. Skyrah turned her head to avoid her incredulous blue eyes. She had never spoken to her little sister like that. That meant something had gone very wrong. Dione couldn't leave.

"Look at me." Skyrah complied, her face contorted in pain. "If you need to be alone, I'll go, but I need to make sure you're okay first."

Skyrah's lips quivered.

"S-sorry," she stuttered, her voice barely above a whisper. "I just... I-I don't want you to see me like this. Not you."

Blue eyes softened. Skyrah was trying to protect her. As always.

"You think that seeing you cry makes me suffer and you want to spare me the suffering. What you don't understand is that I'm not a child anymore. You don't have to go through this alone. We'll share the pain. You're my sister. You've always been my rock… Let me be yours for once."

A lump formed in her throat. Skyrah couldn't speak. When did that little red-haired bundle of joy grow up so much? She was tempted to vent, but it would only increase Dione's concern. Her little sister had been through more than she should because of Voldemort, something Skyrah blamed herself for. She wouldn't put Dione through more pain.

She had been so lost in her thoughts she didn't realize Dione was hugging her until she whispered, "It'll be okay, sis."

Merlin. How much Skyrah hoped so. She clung to her like her life depended on it, not saying anything, letting Dione's warmth soothe her. They remained immobile until Dione pulled away and asked what had occurred, only to be met with a long silence.

"You will never tell me. You think I'm a child no matter what I say," she whined.

Skyrah grinned ruefully. "You aren't a child, but that doesn't mean I want to tell you about my demons."

She had expected Dione to insist on telling her, but she surprised her by offering, "Shall I ask Severus to come then?"

It was at times like this when Skyrah realized how thankful she was that Dione was as caring and kind as her deceased father and as understanding as their mother.

She nodded and croaked, kissing the back of her hand, "I love you, little one."

Dione didn't even bother correcting the nickname. She understood it was something she did out of affection, not to tease her, not because she thought she was a kid.

"And I you."

Later, Severus found Skyrah resting her aching back against some pillows, her legs outstretched on their bed. Her eyes were dry but red like her nose.

"What happened?" he demanded agitatedly, sitting across from her and putting a hand on her cheek.

Merlin. She had felt so lonely with her father. She had tried to be strong with Dione, but only one second with Severus was enough to make her feel loved and like she could let go. A cry escaped her throat, followed by tears that started to trickle down her cheeks. Everything she had held back with Dione and Voldemort was coming out. Her whole body was racked in sobs, nearly hyperventilating.

The last time he had seen her in this state, she had just found out she was pregnant with a girl. His pupils dilated. Had the Dark Lord discovered her mother had sent her a letter and harmed her? Had he threatened her?

"Breathe with me. Inhale. Exhale. Inhale. Exhale… Everything will be all right. I'm with you. Slow, deep breaths. Perfect."

Like a hypnotizer, his chant evened her respiration. Her cries ceased. Thank Merlin. He didn't know what had reduced her to tears, but his heart ached whenever she cried.

The conversation with her father replayed in her mind like a nightmare you just can't forget about. Only nightmares weren't real. This was.

"He's right. Father's right."

"About what?"

She took a big breath. "I love him, despite everything he did to me, despite everything he's doing to me and everything he'll do. I know he won't change, but he's still my father. There's a part of me that refuses to hate him completely. I know I shouldn't love him. I really do, but I can't help it..."

She had mirrored the words his mother had pronounced once, only that instead of referring to Tobias, they referred to Voldemort. Even the way she wrapped her arms around herself reminded him of Eileen. The parallels between them knocked the wind out of him.

"He believes I'll join him voluntarily. He sees potential in me, and I see it too," she finished darkly.

Severus breathed slowly and forced himself not to show any anger sign despite detesting her constant self-comparisons with the Dark Lord. That would only aggravate matters.

"You aren't like him," he murmured, cupping her chin. "Never were, never will. Your heart is so pure it finds a place to love a monster. Love is something he has never experienced. You have, and it will keep you moving on."

Love will be your downfall, Voldemort had said, so different from Severus's point of view.

"Do you really believe that?"

She didn't even recognize her voice when it sounded so fragile, the proof her father was winning even though he wasn't with her now.

"I wouldn't dare lie to you."

And she believed him but she couldn't feel entirely relieved yet.

"I convince myself I am not like him, yet over and over again I relive the day that I..." she trailed off, aware she was revealing too much.

"The day you did what?"

Skyrah didn't really answer him.

Instead, she asked him, "Have you ever killed?"

Severus furrowed his brow and choked, "Pardon?"

"You always say you did ghastly things in your past... Have you killed?"

Severus took a sharp intake of breath and ignored the alarmed voices in his head that wondered why their conversation was growing so dark.

"I have tortured and brewed lethal potions, but I have never killed. Not directly. I considered I killed our girl for a long time." He shook his head to get the image out of his head. "I learnt not to blame myself. You were right. The Dark Lord killed her. I was the vessel. I would have never done that if I could have avoided it. I loved her as much as I love our boy."

Severus caressed her womb to emphasize his point. That plus the fact that he had just admitted he loved their unborn children brought a smile to her face, even if faint. He knew her smile was pure just by looking at the way her eyes glittered. His heart fluttered. He really could make her happy, even when she doubted herself so much.

"I'm glad you didn't have to go through something like that, Severus. It's a buried nightmare that resurfaces on the worst occasions."

Ghosts of regret danced in her dark eyes as she muttered those words.

"He made you kill somebody..." he deduced.

He was curious about when, how and whom she killed, but he didn't wish to pressure her. She clearly regretted it, and knowing the Dark Lord, he probably put her under the imperius curse. Been there, done that. He wouldn't make her suffer by asking her to recall the experience.

"Not today. He just brought that up and I..." she trailed off. "I haven't got over it yet. He knows it, so he reminds me just to wound me. I can take his blows and curses, but not his words. They are his most lethal weapon. He keeps hurting me and I keep hoping to find a human being under his emotionless attitude, a very twisted human being that loves his daughter... But he doesn't. The most similar feeling to love he has ever felt is his attraction to power. Mother tried everything to open his eyes, but you can't aid someone if they don't want to receive the help in the first place."

He moved next to her and draped an arm over her shoulders. He didn't speak as he didn't really know what to say. He merely hoped his warmth appeased her soul.

Her hand lifted and stopped midair. She bit her lip, unsure of how to proceed. Severus waited patiently. Her shaky palm finally settled on his heart. Black eyes met brown. Her pupils dilated, surprised yet relieved he hadn't flinched away after opening up to him in a way she had only done in front of her mother. She rested her head on his shoulder and sighed.

"I sometimes think I'm screwed-up," she whispered.

Severus suppressed a bittersweet laugh. It was then when he realized she was his equal, his mirror.

"Good to know I'm not alone. We can be a screwed-up married couple and face our inner demons together. We have a very persuading reason to fight," he said, moving her palm from his heart to her belly. "This little snarky potion master will be our guide."

Severus could have sworn her lips twitched into a lopsided smile if only for a second before her expression grew dark.

"You should be afraid. You married an assassin."

Severus felt like she had stabbed him when she called herself that. He couldn't allow her to believe such a thing. He couldn't bear to see her so tormented, so he turned her face and ducked his head until their lips brushed.

"Does this taste like fear?"

He closed the gap. She didn't kiss him back until the tip of his tongue teased her bottom lip and his fingertips caressed the side of her neck. He remembered the day he had opened up about his insecurities right before making love for the first time, how much her words, touch and love had healed his open wounds. Now the roles were reversed and he was determined to help her the way she did him.

"You are the strongest, kindest woman I know," he panted, resting their foreheads together. "How you managed to overcome the hell your father put you through and not end up being bitter and angry with the world is beyond me. Merlin knows I wouldn't be, am not, able to do that."

She grinned ruefully. "I was never alone. I always had support. My mother, my grandmother, my sister, Daniel… Now I have Harry. I have you. You give me strength. And I always had a rebel side in me. I won't let him win. I can break, I can cry, but I always rise up at the end."

She didn't know how much her speech relieved him, how proud he was of her.

"Our son is lucky to have you as a mother," he murmured, putting their hands on her belly. "You love deeply. You are a fighter, and you are too pigheaded to accept defeat."

The last part was pronounced in a teasing tone, and Skyrah let out a giggle and poked his chest.

"Look who's talking! You're quite dogged too."

He cracked a crooked grin. She was laughing and joking. She would be fine. If he had known a kiss, a hug and some words of reassurance would do the trick, he would have done all of that earlier.

"Yet another reason to believe we have a chance. I will fight for you and our son. I will fight for myself, our happiness and freedom. I won't rest until we win."

Dewy brown eyes gazed up at him. She wanted to thank him for being so good to her, for not judging, for not running away or looking at her differently after unveiling her darkest side. Only four words tripped off her tongue though.

"I truly love you."

His heartbeat raced like every time she uttered that phrase to him. He wanted to say the words back. No. He yearned to do it, yet the words got caught somewhere between his brain and his mouth. Most people thought he despised Gryffindors, yet at that precise moment, he would have done anything to have their courage and confess what his heart had known for a long time: he was hopelessly in love with his wife.

Seeing the words wouldn't come, Severus nuzzled her hair with his nose and left butterfly kisses down her neck, sucking on her weak spot. She gasped and closed her eyes, curling her fingers in his black robes. After so much pain, this was heaven-like. He kissed her lips, supporting his weight with one hand while the other threatened to pull her skirt up and her undergarments down.

"Severus!" she gasped, hands on his shoulders to pull him away. "The door's open and it's five o'clock! Harry and Dione could come in!"

A sly grin split into his face as he shut the door with a flick of his wand and cast silencing spells. Problem solved. He kissed her jawline and stroked her thigh teasingly. She shuddered and struggled not to squirm under his touch.

"I'm too tired to–"

"I'll do the hard work… In fact, I bet I can bring you over the edge just by touching, kissing and licking your most intimate areas."

"You want to give me oral sex?"

He couldn't suppress a smirk when her mouth went ajar. He hadn't tried that in fear he wouldn't be good enough for her, but today he was so determined to see her smile he wouldn't stop until he found out what made her scream in pleasure.

"I want you to forget about the Dark Lord and feel cherished," he said, cupping her face. "If you want to call it oral sex, go ahead. I don't bother with semantics."

She felt herself melting, even more when he kissed the corner of her mouth with a tenderness he had seldom shown. He got her half-naked from waist to toes, kissing and nibbling her collarbone while he teased her with his long fingers, stroking her folds until she was wet and begged for more.

"Sweet Salazar! I love your hands!"

He grinned mischievously and lowered his head while he promised, "You will love my tongue even more, Mrs. Snape."

He sucked on her clitoris and her fingers curled in the bedsheets. He had been right. His tongue was even better.