Katherine stretched her legs under her desk, slipping her feet out of her flats and rolling her ankles. The end of term had arrived at Madame B's in a whirlwind of activity; Katherine having spent the day treating her firsties to a day of games, crafts, and time outside before sending them off to dismissal in paper crowns announcing that they were now, in fact, second years. They had walked to their parents with heads held high, clutching paper loot bags of sweets with proud, happy smiles. She was absolutely spent.

She looked out upon her classroom. The artwork that had adorned the walls had been removed and tucked into knapsacks for the voyage home, chairs and desks stacked until September. Every surface was neatly organized, dusted, and sanitized. It was the cleanest she had seen her classroom since before the term began. She sighed happily, reaching for the now long cold mug of tea that sat on her desk and draining it in a single swallow. She looked forward to the following morning when she would be able to enjoy her tea while it was still hot, unencumbered by little hands and squeaky voices asking a chorus of questions. Perhaps she could convince Severus to lie in with her for a few hours.

She stood, adding the now empty mug to the bag of belongings on her desk that would return home that summer. She rooted through the bag, checking to make sure she had everything before making her final departure. A knock at the door lifted her head, Veronica standing in the doorway. Kate smiled, tossing the bag over her shoulder and pulling her pocketbook from the drawer.

"You alright?" She asked, chuckling when Ronnie made an exasperated noise.

"I swear to Merlin, this is always the longest bloody day of the year!" She panted, "You staying until contract? Or are you making a run for it? Lyds left twenty minutes ago."

Katherine shrugged, making an educated guess on what her colleague was choosing based upon the various bags she carried. "I thought best of it, but I'm going to slip out early. Sev is home."

She flipped off the lights, stepping into the hall with Ronnie, her door clicking shut behind her. The school was mostly empty, save for a few teachers who were taking the opportunity to prep their classrooms for the fall. For the most part, everyone was eager to start their summer. Ronnie nodded, "That's right, he's been home a week now, eh? You two up to anything this summer, or are you going to be a couple of homebodies like last summer?"

Katherine rolled her eyes at the older woman's teasing. "We quite enjoy being homebodies, thank you! What are you and Rog up to this summer? Another one of your grand adventures?"

"Blimey, you two are boring," she teased, their footsteps echoing through the halls. "We're off to Spain next week, actually."

"Oh, lovely!"

The two women chatted about her trip; Ronnie sharing the details of destinations she wished to visit, her husband's to-the-minute itinerary he had created, and how their son who worked out of the Ministry liaison office in Madrid would be joining them for a few days. They stepped out onto the front steps of the school, both readying themselves to apparate home as they finished their conversation. Katherine half listened to her friend's words, watching as one of the fifth year teachers descended the steps, holding hands with her second year son, who chatted happily about his last day of school. Katherine felt the ache in her belly; the same ache that seemed to seep into her bones and overtake her without any warning. She brushed her cheeks quickly, attempting to hide her tears before Veronica noticed. The older witch reached out, giving Kate's free hand a gentle squeeze, confirming that Kate hadn't moved quickly enough.

"Enjoy your summer, Kate. Both of you. You two have had a helluva year. Take care of one another."

Kate smiled, returning the squeeze. "Cheers. Have a lovely trip."

Veronica returned her smile, both women apparating with a loud crack, Katherine arriving in their small garden. She sighed, adjusting her bag and breathing in the fragrance of the blooms and checking the tomato plants that sat in large terracotta pots by the door before setting off into their home. She found Severus exactly where she had left him when she left for work that morning; her husband hunched over his desk in his boxers and wrinkled tee, pouring over a clutter of documents that were scattered across the tabletop. He worked emphatically, quill scratching furiously as he wrote. He mumbled something to himself, brows furrowing as he crossed something out, cursing under his breath and dragging his fingers through his hair. A fair amount of stubble had appeared on his chin since his return home, which she didn't seem to really mind. Gus sat on the bookshelf behind him, snoring quite loudly.

Katherine discarded her pocketbook and bag on the kitchen table, Severus not even looking up from whatever he was so enthralled in. Typical, she thought. Yet, with summer officially having started, she had other plans in mind than watching him pour over his work.

"Sev," she called, kicking her flats off, "I'm home."

He didn't look up. He only continued to mumble to himself, shuffling documents wildly. She stepped into the living room, Gus yawning in greeting as she called her husband's name again. Still, he remained wholly focused on his task. She rolled her eyes, reaching across the desk and snatching the parchment from his hands. Severus looked up, his eyes flashing with annoyance.

"What the hell?" He reached back across his desk for the parchment, Katherine holding it just out of his grasp.

"Ah! We talked about this before I left this morning! What is my rule?"

"Merlin, woman! Give that back!" he snapped, reaching across his desk for the parchment she held.

Katherine pulled the document out of his reach, holding it above her head with one hand and pointing at him with the other. She shot him a stern look, matching the annoyed expression he made.

"No! You are done. I am officially off for the summer, so you are finished with any work related matters for the next five weeks. It has been this way for five years, Severus! A deal is a deal. Now put it away."

Severus let out a huffed sign, rolling his eyes and snatching the document back from his wife. "Fine," he hissed, slapping it down on his desk dramatically.

Katherine rolled her eyes in return, turning towards the stairs. "Thank you. Now, I am going to go change, you are going to pick a film for us to watch together, and I expect a proper hello when I come back down these stairs!" she called, muttering under her breath, " Gach bliain damanta…"

"Is féidir liom a chloisteáil fós tú, tá a fhios agat!" He called back, annoyance thick on his tone.

She smirked, still finding it quite comical to hear her husband speak the language she had grown up around. He had learned it purely out of spite several years ago, tired of not understanding her quips during disagreements that she would mumble under her breath. Typical of her husband to always need the upper hand in an argument. He had smugly arrived back home for winter holiday one year speaking perfect Irish, and having a sudden and vast knowledge of language-learning charms.

"Maith sibh! Deisigh do dhearcadh!" she shouted back, "And would you change? You've been in the same clothes for two days!"

Severus made an annoyed sound, Katherine stepping into their bedroom and peeling off her thin blouse. She tossed it in the general direction of the hamper, shrugging and slipping out of her skirt. She descended the stairs a few moments later, now dressed in one of his shirts, her legs bare. She huffed when she found him still at his desk, hunched over the document once more. He dragged his fingers through his hair, scratching out another line of writing furiously.

"Sev!"

"Does annoying me give you a high, Katherine?"

"A simple 'shut up' would suffice, love."

Severus grumbled under his breath, shuffling through his papers once more. He lifted one, holding it up with another and examining the both with an intensity as if they held the secrets to the universe.

"Severus Tobias Snape," she sighed, standing before his desk with her hands on her hips. He looked up for a moment, a shadow of a smirk lifting his lips as his eyes rolled over her bare legs before he looked back down at the mess of parchment. "What could possibly be so important?"

He huffed, letting the parchment drop to the desktop before looking up at his wife. "I have spent the past week attempting to create the task Dumbledore has requested. It has proved to be a greater challenge that I had previously expected. As soon as I believe I am getting somewhere, there is a fallacy in my plans. It is entirely infuriating, and I know that I am so damn close."

Katherine looked over the scattering of parchment on his desk, finding the scribblings of a madman. Each sheet contained scribbles of his spidery cursive, becoming messier and messier upon each page. Portions were circled or scratched out with an aggressive scribble, messy notes written in the margins with the occasional expletive written out and underlined. The inner workings of a zealous mind in tangible form.

"Merlin's Beard," she breathed. She pulled one from the tabletop, reading over it and perching herself on the arm of his chair. "Oh, this one is actually pretty clever."

"Of course it is clever, it was my idea," he snapped. He leaned over, peering at the sheet she gripped, "Which one?"

"This one," she held it out to him, Severus nodding in recognition. She read over his notes again, smirking, "The poem could use some work, however."

"It's not a poem , it's a riddle . If you're so clever then, you give it a go," he snapped.

"Fine then. How difficult could it be?"


Night fell upon the Snape household. Gus had moved from the shelf to the window sill, the cool breeze ruffling the fur of his belly as he slept on his back, white paws in the air as he snored. Katherine sat cross legged on the floor, abandoning the sofa some time ago, wads of crumpled paper and paper airplanes surrounding her. Severus remained at his desk, stamping a cigarette into a half full ashtray, her demands that he smoked outside forgotten after the third hour of work had passed. The room was silent, save for the occasional shuffle of papers and the Pink Floyd cassette that played, the copy of Monty Python and the Holy Grail she had popped into the VHS before settling in long over and leaving behind a screen of sizzling static. Katherine clicked her pen as she stared down at the notepad she had fished out of the bin of stationary she kept in a closet, reading over her own notes.

"Will you stop clicking that damned thing?"

"Shove it, Severus."

He huffed at his desk, falling silent again and tossing a wad of parchment at her. Katherine flipped through her notes, silently mouthing the words to Time along with David Gilmour. They had sat in silence for the better part of the evening, exchanging ideas and critiques occasionally before returning to their work. Yet, the twosome had as much as they had before she had joined in the brainstorming; which was quite little.

"I don't suppose they have Charity creating one of these too, do they? She hasn't mentioned it in any of her letters." Katherine said, breaking the silence once more.

Katherine made a messy note in the margin of the page below the one she was working on to call the Muggle Studies professor sometime this week. She had known of Charity during school, the woman having been a year below Severus in Hufflepuff House. Katherine had recognized her during a faculty Christmas party three years prior when Charity had been appointed, striking up a conversation with her when Severus had decided he would prefer to sit and observe, or pout more like it, rather than mingle with his own colleagues.

Katherine had made fast friends with the professor. Charity had taken an interest in her Muggle-adjacent upbringing, and the two shared similar musical tastes. They exchanged letters and phone calls over the years to swap stories about their students and keep each other updated on any Lady Di developments. They met frequently for lunch over the summers, Katherine having attended several muggle concerts with her as well when she couldn't convince Severus to go with her. She needed to give her a call; Guns and Roses was playing Wembley in August and she refused to go alone.

"I highly doubt Dumbledore would entrust a task surrounding muggle studies to protect one of the most significant artifacts in wizarding history, Kate," Severus shuffled his papers, "What would that even look like?"

She shrugged, "Ask whatever sorry bloke it is to make an outgoing call on a telephone? Or navigate a television remote? Oh, or better yet, change the source on a television to a VHS player, then have to rewind the tape."

"Are you quite done?"

"No, I'm just getting started really. I have loads of ideas for this one."

"You're insufferable sometimes. Have I told you that?"

"Every day, my sweet husband."

The room fell silent once more, Katherine watching Severus from the sofa. He continued to write, resting his chin on his fist.

"Oh! You know what else she could have done? She could-!"

Severus grabbed one of the many balls of parchment off of his desk, hucking it at his wife. "Enough."

She giggled, swatting the parchment away. "Alright, alright."

"Besides, only a select few of the professors were chosen to create enchantments; Dumbledore believes he can trust us the most." She sensed the bit of pride in his words, Severus straightening a bit.

She scoffed. "Charity is one of the most trustworthy people I know!"

Severus rolled his eyes, "Oh please, she's as big of a gossip as you are. The whole castle would have known by now if she were involved."

"I am not a gossip!"

"Have you ever listened to yourself while you are on the phone with her? It's ghastly the way you two gab."

"Oh piss off! Like you and Minerva are any better. Like a couple of old biddies, the two of you. And she actually is one!"

Severus laughed, Katherine throwing the ball of parchment back at him. She giggled, warmth twisting in her belly at the sight of his smile. He always seemed so much more relaxed at home. She enjoyed hearing him laugh without reservation, seeing the smile that crinkled his eyes. Merlin, did she miss him when he was away.

She ripped off the top sheet of her pad, folding it into an airplane, "Here, give this a go." She tossed the airplane towards him, the yellow paper carried on an invisible current to him.

Severus plucked it from the air, both of them having taken to enchanting the airplanes to glide to one another after the second hour they had spent exchanging ideas and revisions. Severus read it over, eyebrows raising.

"The idea of enchanting the entrance and exit once the subject enters is pretty clever actually…" he eyes widened in recognition. He snapped, shuffling around his notes and grabbing at a slip of parchment, announcing proudly, "I've got it."

Katherine dropped her pad beside her, looking up expectantly as she rose slowly, placing a few documents together on his desk. The documents levitated to Katherine and arranging themselves before her.

He spoke quickly and excitedly, gesturing with his cigarette as he spoke, "There are potions that allow the drinker to pass through flames unaffected. There are two separate curses that produce differently hued flames that can either be through by ingesting one potion, both of which cannot be returned through with ingesting a separate potion. By creating a series of decoys, it will rely on the subject to determine which bottles contain the necessary potions."

"Danger lies before you, while safety lies behind; Two of us will help you, whichever you would find," Katherine stated, repeating the lines of the riddle he crafted earlier to him. She looked over the pieces of parchment, offering her husband an excited smile, "Brilliant, Sev, really!"

Severus sat, leaning back in his chair and taking a long drag from his cigarette, sighing pleasantly. "It relies on logic rather than magic; which most lack terribly. Your thought of charming the chamber helped me to bridge the use of the potions."

"Honestly, what would you do without me, my love?" she teased, accepting the rare moment of praise.

"I hope I never have to find out, darling."

Katherine stood, whipping her wand, the papers and parchment stacking into a neat pile on his desk. She leaned across it, kissing her husband, his long fingers cupping her cheek. "I am going to go order us some dinner, as it is past ten o' clock and I will be dicked if I have to cook," she said softly, pressing another kiss to his lips, "and you are going to go start the shower. I'll be up to join you in a few."

"As you wish, Mrs. Snape."

Katherine made to the kitchen, Severus standing and stretching with a series of popping joints.

"Merlin," he murmured, squinting at the clock. "Darling, when was the last time you looked at the time?"

"I dunno," she called back, shuffling through takeaway menus, "An hour? How's Indian sound?"

"I doubt they're open," he shouted back, "it's past midnight."

"What?" She breezed back into the room, squinting at the clock beside him. She looked up at him with a puzzled expression, her mouth slightly agape. Severus smirked down at her, holding back laughter at her bewildered expression. "There's no way. I got home at three! There's no way we've been at this for nine hours."

"It appears we have."

Katherine cursed under her breath, "No wonder you do this so often. It was far too simple to lose time like that."

Severus chuckled, kissing the top of her head. "I've told you; I'm not being purposely neglectful. Most of the time."

Katherine's stomach gurgled, reminding her of her original reason for leaving the room. She hadn't eaten since that morning when several mums had brought in sweets and pastries for the teachers. She had taken a rather large cinnamon bun to eat with her tea, but couldn't recall if she had sat down to eat her lunch in the last day frenzy of cleaning, crafts, playground games, and sidewalk chalk. And from the look of his desk, all he had eaten today was tea and tobacco smoke.

She bumped his hip with her own, "That shack by the uni in London still serves fish and chips until the pubs close. Buy your brilliant wife dinner and a pint?"

"I fear this is going to go directly to your head."

"And you would be correct," she pressed a kiss to his whiskery cheek, "Now go change, I'm starved."


Notes:

Translations are from Google translate, so they may not be perfect!

"Gach bliain damanta…": "Every damn year…"

"Is féidir liom a chloisteáil fós tú, tá a fhios agat!": "I can still hear you, you know!"

"Maith sibh! Deisigh do dhearcadh!": "Good! Fix your attitude!"