Severus lies in bed, his wife's body pressed against his front. His hands roam the soft, supple skin of her thigh, inching the silk fabric of her nightgown up her body until her backside was now fully exposed. He spreads his fingers on her firm, round bottom and squeezes. Her back arches further into his touch, her breathing picks up as she pushes her head into the pillow, giving him access to her neck. Using one finger, he pushes her long red hair away, exposing the milky white, delicate skin of her neck.
The moment his lips make contact with her flesh, she lets out a soft moan that confirms to him that he is on the correct path. His hand snakes up her front, pushing the silken fabric further along with it, past her ample hips, the soft skin of her lower abdomen, and finally to her jutting ribs. His hand keeps exploring, going further up her body until his fingers graze her erect nipples. Her legs press tightly together, desperate for any form of friction as he brushes his thumb across her nipple before pinching it firmly between thumb and forefinger. A deeper moan escapes her as he pairs the pinching with soft nibbles along her shoulder. Slender fingers somehow find their way beneath his own cotton nightshirt and wrap around his growing erection. He pauses a moment, a grown involuntarily escaping his throat.
"Patience." He hisses into her ear as he reaches down and pries her hand from him.
She throws her head back once more at the feel of his breath in her ear. This was a shared turn on for them both; the moment either of them brought their mouths to the others ear, they knew they had them right where they wanted them. She pants and presses her bottom against him, grinding against his erection and making him smile against her neck as he kisses just below her earlobe.
"I want you." She whines as he takes his time kissing along her neck.
"And you'll have me, in time. Patience is not your strong suit." He jests as he pulls her onto her back and makes to hover over her.
"Mummy." A voice whimpers from the darkness somewhere near her side of the bed. They really should have locked the door.
They jerk apart as if they were a pair of teenagers caught in a dark corridor. She quickly pulls her nightgown back down her body, Severus reaches for a pillow and shoves it onto his lap to hide himself. Suddenly the pitch black room is flooded with candlelight and Lorna stands trembling slightly next to the nightstand clutching her hippogriff stuffy to her chest.
"What's wrong, Lorna?" Her mother coos and she slides from the bed and envelops Lorna's small body in her arms before lifting her onto the bed between them.
"I sleep with you." Lorna demands as he lies back on her mother's pillow and shuffles her body under the blankets.
"Did you have a nightmare?" Her mother asks as she slides in next to Lorna and pulls her against her chest.
"I am going to the restroom." Severus announces as he clears his throat and heaves himself from the bed.
"I'm coming to help!" Lorna shouts as she struggles to release herself from her mother's grasp. Severus is out of the bedroom, across the hall, and locking the bathroom door before Lorna has a chance to join him.
"Daddy does not need your help in the loo."
Severus turns the faucet on and splashes cool water on his face.
"Daddy helps me in the loo!"
He pats his face dry with a hand towel draped across the edge of the sink and stares at himself in the mirror for a moment.
"That's because you are two and can't reach the sink. I promise, Daddy has everything covered in there."
White streaks pepper his once raven hair, deep crow's feet maul the corners of his eyes. His facial hair came in much faster now, it seemed as though he needed a shave near constantly. A blackhead on the side of his nose and a blemish beginning to form on his chin causes him to scowl at himself.
"Read me a story, Mummy."
How the hell is he a nearly fifty year old man still getting spots as if he were a teenager? What the hell did she see in him? How the hell did he have a part in making something as beautiful as Lorna?
Scratch that. It seemed as though he had no part in creating Lorna because not one piece of her resembled him. This would be a grand thing, had she not looked like a spitting image of Sirius Black.
"No, we're going to sleep as soon as Daddy finishes."
As soon as Daddy finishes. He chuckles slightly. Daddy had not "finished" in weeks because Lorna insists on sleeping in their bed nearly every night, despite being put in her own bed. He had never wanted to be a father, and now here he was, referring to himself in the third person in his own head and letting a two year old dictate his day to day life.
You've gone soft, Severus. He scoffs to himself in the mirror as he pushes his hair back from his face.
Two days prior he had gone to the greenhouse to get a bundle of lavender for the large batch of calming draught he was brewing to stock the apothecary, he had left Lorna coloring contently in the corner of the attic brewing room. When he walked in, she was bent over in the center of the room, picking up a stray leather glove that had fallen from her grasp. As she stood, the light filtering through the sky lights illuminated her in a glow so perfect he could hardly control himself. He reached her in two strides, pulled her tight to his chest, and kissed her deeply. It took no time to have her clinging to him and kissing him with such passion the entire greenhouse was liable to burn to the ground. Just as his fingers grazed the button of her jeans in an attempt to bend her over one of the many work benches, Lorna opened the door to announce that she was hungry. Severus had to stay in the greenhouse to compose himself long after Lorna grabbed her mother's hand and drug her inside to make her a sandwich.
"Daddy hurry up!"
"Don't yell at your dad. Lay down and close your eyes, he will be here in a minute."
Of course, he loved Lorna with everything in him, but he was desperate for a moment alone with his wife. Something was wrong with her, she was anxious often, her mind wandered, and he frequently walked into her staring off into space, completely lost in whatever was going on inside of her mind. He tried twice now to subtly enter, strictly out of concern for her wellbeing, and was met with a long, sterile hall of door upon doors, each one locked tight, where once it was nothing but a brick wall that caused her to scream in agony and clutch her head in her hands. Whatever Draco had taught her was impressive.
If all goes well, and Potter holds up his end of the bargain, this time tomorrow night he will be buried inside of her as she moans as loud as she needs to and squirms beneath him. She had mentioned he had never taken her on a date, which was true, he had not taken her on a date before, there had never been an opportunity. The summers they spent at Spinner's End before the war were still spent in hiding. They went on their evening walks after dinner, and had been known to frequent the local fish and chips shop out of convenience, but neither of those could hardly be considered a date. It had never occurred to him that she might like that type of relationship, that she would want to be seen on his arm. She mentioned it though, and so it shall be.
Severus splashes cold water on his face one final time and exits the bathroom. He slips into bed next to Lorna, who drifts off to sleep nearly instantly. He lies there for what feels like hours listening to her and her mother's soft breathing. Lorna kicks him repeatedly, shoves her head sharply into his chest in an attempt to gain more space, and her hair finds its way into his mouth on more than one occasion.
It seemed as though the very moment sleep finally found him, Lorna's arm made contact with his Adams apple, causing him to sit bolt upright in bed and clench his fists tightly at his sides to keep from shouting. Severus heaves himself from the bed and tiptoes from the room, the smell of coffee wafting from the kitchen meets him halfway down the stairs. He pauses at the bottom, watching his wife drift around the kitchen effortlessly. She is truly breathtaking.
"Good morning." Her voice drifts towards him, pulling him from his trance. She had noticed him there and he hadn't even realized it. "I made you coffee."
Severus steps forward and accepts the mug of black coffee she was holding out to him. Her fingers graze his in passing and she smiles up at him sweetly.
"I'm sorry about last night. I'll make it up to you."
"Hmph." Severus grunts as he brings the mug to his lips and blows the steaming liquid before taking a timid sip and burning his tongue. "She needs to sleep in her own bed."
"She's a baby, if-"
"She will be three years old in less than a week, that is hardly a 'baby.' She needs to learn to sooth herself occasionally."
"First of all, she's my baby. Secondly, absolutely not. No, I will not let her 'sooth herself' when she's frightened. We are her comfort, and I will not take that from her." She narrows her eyes at him for a moment before picking up her own mug and bringing it to her lips. "Besides, before we know it she won't need us anymore and we'll miss this."
Severus takes a seat at the kitchen counter and watches her flutter around the kitchen preparing breakfast. Lorna was not a baby anymore and could hardly be considered a toddler. Before long she would not be asking him for help to wash her hands, would not need him to lift her onto her chair to eat, would not want him to read her to sleep every night. She would go off to Hogwarts, be gone for ten months out of the year for seven years, then she would be an adult and would no longer need him for anything. She was growing quickly, right before his very eyes, and there was nothing he could do to stop it. He had missed so much, it was his own fault, of course. If he could go back in time, well, there is no use thinking about that. He did this to himself.
Every moment with Lorna is exhilarating a terrifying at the same time. Watching her learn, seeing her explore. If she asked for the universe, he would find a way to give it to her. He would do anything, be anyone that she needed him to be.
Another would not be so terrible.
Severus' eyebrows shoot up at this. He had never had that feeling before, much less the thought. His eyes adjust and Danu is staring at him, her own eyebrow raised in question at the obvious surprise on his face. He shakes his head and fixes his face, focusing his attention on the mug of coffee still gripped in his hands.
Where had that come from? Lorna is incredible, of course. Being her father filled him with a sort of pride he had never felt before, his heart swelled and fluttered each time he looked at her. Still, that does not mean that either of them needs another, not to mention Danu had explicitly told him that she hated carrying Lorna, she would never agree to another. Lorna herself would not even exist if it were not for dumb luck and terrible timing. The contraceptive potion had a short window of effectiveness, which is why he always insisted on her taking it immediately after lying together.
He was being ridiculous, he decides ultimately. Lorna was enough, it was nothing more than lack of sleep and the idea of Lorna growing up getting to him. She would always be his little girl, even when she was thirty and he was a wrinkled old man, they would always be close. They would have summers and every holiday together; she would write to him often and ask his advice. Then, when she settled down, she could come over ever Sunday for dinner, if she even moved out at all. She could live with him all his life, if that is what she wanted, and then when he was gone, she could take over the apothecary.
A faint stirring upstairs catches his attention, and Severus rises from his seat to see what the sound was. If it were the damn cat messing with Lorna's armoire again, he would skin it alive. He creeps upstairs slowly, careful not to let the steps creak in case Lorna was still asleep. Once at the top, he peaks his head into Lorna's bedroom, no cat. Their bedroom door was standing open as he had left it when he departed that morning, and sitting upright in the middle of the bed crying softly is Lorna.
"What is the matter?" Severus asks gently as he sits on the edge of the bed.
"You left me." Lorna whispers as she lowers her eyes down to the hippogriff in her lap. Looking into her blue eyes filled with tears is enough to shatter his heart completely.
"I will never leave you." Severus assures her as he pulls her into his arms. She wipes her nose on his robe and wraps her arms around his neck.
Severus helps Lorna to the restroom, where he pulls her small wooden stool from against the wall with his foot and stands her gently on top before turning and preparing her toothbrush. She is abnormally quiet this morning, not asking her usual questions and fidgeting with everything she could get her hands on and had not screamed from him from the top of the stairs to come and help her brush her teeth when she woke up. He passes her the toothbrush and watches closely as she brushes her front teeth, before taking the brush from her and lifting her chin towards the ceiling the assist her with her back teeth. He fills a small plastic cup from the medicine cabinet with water, passes it to her to rinse her mouth out, then takes her hand and helps her step from the stool before pushing it back against the wall with his foot.
Ordinarily, Lorna would be halfway down the hall at this point, shouting about how she did not want to wear socks today, but instead, she stayed behind him, her eyes still on the ground. Severus takes her hand and leads her to her bedroom to dress her and comb her hair. Lorna stops in the doorway to her bedroom, peaks around timidly, and presses herself against his leg as though frightened of something. He half drags her forward and sits her at the vanity in front of the window.
"You are rather quiet this morning." Severus announces as he retrieves his grandmothers silver handles comb from the top drawer of the vanity and takes the ends of Lorna's soft, raven hair in his opposite hand to get to work untangling the knots. "Long night of kicking me in the liver?"
"Daddy." Lorna whispers as her eyes dart around the room in the reflection of the mirror. She curls her finger in a come hither motion and Severus bends down to put his ear near her mouth. "There's a monster in here."
Severus stands and surveys the room. Everything is clean, light, and airy. The only thing in here that could possibly be frightening is the hideous flubberworm stuffy sitting on the end of the bed. Lorna loved that thing for some odd reason, so he doubted it was the cause of her newfound fear. The cat had been messing with something under the armoire the last several days, there was likely a mouse that he was unable to catch and the sound of him attempting to catch it each night was frightening Lorna.
"I will handle it today." Severus assures her before continuing to comb her tangled her.
Once her hair is untangled and her soft curls cascaded down her back, just as her mother's does, Severus helps pull her pajamas over her head and quickly replaces them with an off-white long sleeve shirt with tiny orange flowers and a pair of white tights, over that he secures an orange corduroy jumper with mother of pearl snaps.
"The snaps pull my hair!" Lorna complains loudly as she hooks her thumbs beneath the jumper's shoulder straps and pulls forward.
"Then let's change into something else." Severus offers. The look on her face tells him he had just unknowingly insulted her.
"NO!" She objects and stomps one foot on the floor. There is the demanding attitude he had missed earlier. "I like this."
"Sit and I will braid your hair." Severus offers as he places one hand on her shoulder and guides her to the vanity once more.
Lorna sits still, as she always did when he fixed her hair, and watches him the mirror as he smooths her hair back from her face and braids it down her back. Danu would have French braided it to her scalp in two tight, long whips, but he was not as advanced in the area of hair styling. He only knew how to braid at all because his mother had shown him when he was young. He would stand behind her before this very vanity and comb her hair with this exact comb, then braid her thin, straight hair before bed on nights when Tobias would stay out drunk until dawn. He would kill any man who ever dared treat Lorna the way Tobias had treated his mother.
Severus spends the next several hours keeping Lorna occupied in the brewing room as Danu tends to her plants in the greenhouse. Lorna had gotten over her earlier ailment and asks a minimum of twenty questions as Severus discretely packs her an overnight bag for Potter's. She wanted to know what color green and red make when mixed together, then refused to accept brown as the answer. Next, she asked if one could Accio a pebble from Canada. How she even learned where Canada was, was beyond him. However, his answer was not satisfactory enough for her. Severus had explained, as simply as he could, that while it was theoretically not impossible to do so, it would be incredibly difficult. First of all, the pebble would need to be specific, one that you had contact with and placed in a spot that would be undisturbed by anyone who may move it. Then you would need to have patience, as the pebble would not materialize out of thin air, it would need to travel a great distance. Finally, you would need to be an extremely powerful witch or wizard to have enough strength, and willpower to make it happen.
At nine-thirty, Potter finally shows. He steps through the hearth and is nearly knocked backwards by Lorna who had come barreling down the stairs the moment she had heard the Floor roar to life. Severus snarls, put off by Lorna's outward obsession with him. After detailing the rules for Lorna, no sweets after six, bed by eight-thirty, and any bodily injury found on Lorna upon her return would swiftly be executed on Potter himself, Severus puts his hand on Lorna's shoulder and presses her onward. Lorna goes forward with no complaint, eager to follow Potter anywhere after the promise of playing with Lupin's son. She turns abruptly, wraps her arms around Severus' leg, and squeezes him tightly. Severus freezes a moment and glares at Potter, daring him to say anything. Potter's eyes dart from Lorna wrapped tightly around his leg, and Severus' narrowed eyes as if taken aback at the fact that his daughter was willing to touch him.
"I love you, Daddy." Lorna's childlike voice rings in his ears as she gazes up at him with her big blue eyes.
A lump forms in his throat as he watches her pry herself from his leg and disappear with Potter through the fireplace. It was the first time she had ever told him that she loved him, and he had stood there staring at her like an idiot. He will tell her tomorrow when she returns home, as soon as she comes through that fireplace it will be the first thing she hears from him.
An hour later Severus is showered, shaved, and wearing a simple white button down and trousers, his overcoat is thrown over the edge of the armoire in their bedroom. He had every detail of this night planner for days now. She had mentioned a date, and so the very next morning Severus went to the Muggle library in Ottery St Catchpole and checked out a book titled Relationship Advice for Men in Love. In said book, the act of spontaneity and sharing hobbies came up multiple times. Therefore, tonight, he will apparate her to Kew Royal Botanical Gardens in Surrey, where they would spend the afternoon wandering around the dozens of different gardens and exhibits before sitting down to a romantic candlelit dinner at an insanely overpriced restaurant in the small magical section of Surrey.
Severus sneaks behind her, wraps his arms around her waist, and pulls away from the pot of aconite she had been standing over. She objects for a moment, but ultimately removes her dragonhide gloves and turns, wrapping her arms around his middle in the process.
"Come." Severus ordered as he pries her from his waist and pulls her back inside.
He leads her to the shower, where he adjusts the temperature to her liking and grips the bottom hem of her shirt to pull it over her head. She gets the wrong idea and inches forward, a sly smile on her face as she stands on her toes and moves in to kiss him.
"Later. Shower first." Severus orders once more as he takes a step back and watches her undress.
"Do I smell that bad?" She asks as she raises her arm above her head and brings her nose in close to take a whiff of her armpit. "Where's Lorna?"
"Don't worry about it. Just shower and dry your hair. If you want makeup, apply it lightly, then come to the bedroom." She raises her eyebrow at him and peels her jeans down her body.
Severus makes his way down the hall and lays out her dress. A floor length black satin dress with a slit in one slide that would travel the length of her thigh, ending just high enough to keep from seeing her undergarments. Her legs had always been long and shapely, despite her short stature, and needed showing off any chance necessary. To combat the bitterly cold early February snow still littering the ground, Severus removes her thick black cloak form the back of the armoire and lies it next to the dress. He places the black pumps he had seen Lorna wear in a photo on the floor before the bed.
Before long she step out of the bathroom, a trail of coconut scented steam following her. Her red hair is freshly wand dried, soft curls cascade down her bare spine, her eyelids are painted a peach color that makes the blue of her eyes stand out, a thin line of black ending in a sharp point on her upper eyelid, her lips are stained a deep red color that is admittedly a bit too dark for her complexion. There is not coverage on her smooth face, and her freckles pop against her porcelain skin and light smear of makeup. Severus sits her down on the edge of the bed and begins pinning her hair to the base of her neck as he had done a dozen times or more in the past. As usual, he leaves several curls out to frame her face, just as he had seen her do during the Yule Ball so many years before. He takes her hand gently and lifts her from the edge of the bed, where she advances on hi once more, trailing her long, slender fingers down his chest as she stands nude before him. Severus grins down at her and shakes his head slightly before taking the gown and helping her step into it. He secures her cloak around her shoulders and clasps the silver and opal clasp around her neck, then bends to slip her feet into the black pumps. After pulling his overcoat on and allowing her to button it up for him, he watches as she adds his serpent cuff links and offers her his arm. Together, they leave the cottage and apparates an isolated side street a few blocks from Kew Royal Botanic Garden's entrance.
Severus peers out of the corner of his eye at Danu as he removes his billfold from the inner pocket of is coat and removes the Muggle money he had stashed there. Her eyes are large and darting everywhere as a grin slowly spreads across her face at the realization of where they were.
"I've always wanted to come here!" She breathes excitedly as she takes his hand and leads him through mazes of people.
The two wander through box hedges the height of their shins, stare into ponds frozen over, walk across an iron bridge high above the treetops, move in and out of temperate houses and large exhibit rooms. The hordes of people are horrendous, pushing and shoving one another and crowding around exhibits taking photos. The smile she sends him over her shoulder every few moments more than makes up for any amount of agitation he had been feeling. It is hours before she begins to limp, her feet no doubt killing her, when Severus practically drags her from a gallery room with dried plant specimens in glass cases and Victorian paintings lining the walls.
Severus takes her arm once more and leads her a few short blocks away, where they had dinner reservations. A wax faced, mannequin looking man eyes her cynically, no doubt distrusting of her after seeing her on his arm. This does not stop his eyes roaming over her body as she removes her cloak and passes it to the doorman who passes her a slip of paper with her number, which Severus promptly takes form her hands and slips inside the inner pocket of his coat.
The wax faced man leads them to their table in the center of a dimly lit room. Severus pulls her chair back for her, then moves it forward as she steps before it. She gazes at him as he takes his own seat, a waiter comes round with a wine menu, which they each decline, opting instead for water. Severus orders a steak, medium rare with a side of jacket potato and roasted vegetables. She orders a roasted chicken dish of sorts with pasta, swimming in a cream sauce with sliced lemons on top.
"What happened to 'no need for theatrics'?" Danu asks as she finishes her final mouthful of chicken and places her fork on the edge of her plate.
"You implied that I had never taken you on a date, therefore I had to prove you wrong." Severus smirks. He had finished his steak long before she had even put a dent in her chicken and sat quietly as she recounted her favorite plants of the day.
"Are you happy, Severus?" She asks, a ghost of a smile flashes along her lips that doesn't quite reach her eyes.
"I have had a decent evening." Severus announces honestly as he motions to the waiter for the check. "Dessert?"
"No thank you." She sighs as her eyes drift down to her hands knotted in her lap. "I meant in general, not just tonight."
"Yes, I am." Severus raises an eyebrow at her from across the table.
"Thank you for today. I really enjoyed it." She smiles, but something in her voice tells him that something is on her mind.
Severus pays and offers her his arm once more. The pride of having her on his arm as they make their way towards the exit was almost too intense. He passes her ticket to the doorman, accepts her cloak, and secures it around her shoulders once more before taking her arm a final time and leading her out into the blustery street. She pulls the cloak tight around her body and rests her head on his shoulder as he searches for a deserted alley to apparate from.
"Not yet." She sighs, her breath drifting in a while plume around their heads. "Let's just walk a bit. Like we used to."
"Your feet hurt."
"Only a bit. I'll be okay, I promise. I just don't want the day to end quite yet."
"Lorna is with Potter until tomorrow morning. We've got all night."
Forty-five minutes they wander aimlessly beneath snow-laden trees along the dark streets of Surrey, until finally her shivers become too much for him to ignore, and apparates them back home. Severus removes her cloak from her shoulders, she shivers harshly as his cold hands graze the tender flesh of the back of her arms. She turns suddenly and smiles up at him before wrapping her arms around his waist and resting her head on his chest. His fingers trace down her spine just as she lifts her head and gazes up at him lovingly. Severus dips down and grazes his lips across hers gently. She closes her eyes and leans into his kiss, deepening it instantly. Before he knows it, his hand has trailed up her bare thigh exposed by the slit in her dress.
Their kisses soon become fiery and forceful as they match one another, each desperate for more. They had been so repressed, so desperate for release for so long that it takes only moments for them each to begin moaning, her squirming in his arms as she presses her body against his. Severus moves forward, pinning her back against the kitchen counter as his mouth leaves hers to trail across her jaw and down to her earlobe. He takes the soft, warm flesh of her earlobe between his lips and tugs gently, eliciting a deep moan from her lips as her back arches, pressing her chest further into his chest. Severus grips her waist firmly and lifts her onto the counter in one swift motion, causing her to gasp slightly.
She throws herself back on the cold countertop, her arms spread out wide as Severus slowly removes her heels and takes her exposed calf in his hands. He massages her thigh tenderly with his thumbs before kneeling down on his knees and bringing his lips to her flesh. Slowly he licks and nips his way up her leg, stopping only when he got to the bend of her hip where the thin fabric of her panties rested along her skin. Severus hooks his thumb beneath the fabric and pulls them down her body before tossing them ceremoniously over his shoulder before standing straight, Danu props herself up onto her elbows as she watches him and remove his overcoat and fold the sleeves of his button-up to his elbows. She bites her lower lip and smirks up at him, he returns the smirk and stalks away from her opened legs exposing her to him. He stalks around the corner; she makes to turn to follow him with her body but stops when he plants a firm hand on her shoulder and pushes her back down on the counter.
His finger tips trace the length of her neck, then across her jaw before running his thumb across her lower up, leaving a faint trail of saliva down her chin as he finger continues downwards. Severus dips downward and licks the length of her neck, her hand finds his forearm, her fingers not quite able to wrap around it.
"You are ravishing." Severus whispers into her ear, she shudders and grips his forearm tightly.
He makes his way slowly back around her body, her eyes burning into him as he stalks away from her. He stops between her still opened legs, the fabric of her dress remains curtained over the counter, her body completely opened to him and glistening with moisture. He trails his thumb through the moisture pooling between her legs, causing her back to arch off of the counter and her hips to jut towards him. In one swift motion he inserts his thumb into her, she lets out a hiss and presses her hips forward even more. Two long, slow circles is all it takes to have her panting as he lifts her hands behind her head and grips the edge of the countertop tightly. He removes his thumb from her, causing her to whimper, and dries it across her bare thigh. He watches the moisture begin to dry on her warm skin as he takes a knee one more and lowers his mouth onto her.
The smell of her arousal fills his senses as he presses her thighs towards her chest and sucks her clitoris between his lips. She lets out a sharp squeal and tenses slightly before relaxing as he releases her and twirls his tongue around. He had just begin to get into a good motion when she jerks upright with a scream and jerks the fabric of her dress over her legs.
Severus stands to catch sight of her face beet red, standing feet behind her before the fireplace is Potter; his back turned to them, and his shoulders slightly hunched forward. He hadn't heard the sound of the fireplace roaring with the arrival of Potter's Floo.
"What do you think you are doing?" Severus demands as he holds out his hand to help his wife from the counter. What should have been embarrassment was nothing but pure anger at being barged in on.
"I—I—I" Potter stammers, not daring to turn around and face them.
"Today!" Severus shouts, causing Danu to jerk slightly next to him.
"Lorna had a nightmare; she wants to go home. I just….I just came by to check that you were back before I brought her."
"Very well." Severus sighs as he drags his hands down his face. "Go get cleaned up." He tells Danu as he kisses her temple.
Potter disappears through the fireplace once more as Severus grips the edge of the counter and drops his head down below his shoulders.
"Goddamn it." He mumbles to himself.
A moment later Lorna pokes her head out of the fireplace and looks around. Her big blue eyes are red and swollen from tears as her bottom lip trembles. Potter pushes her gently forward and steps out himself, her suitcase and hippogriff in hand. He places each on the couch and looks nervously around as Severus scoops Lorna into his arms and jerks the hippogriff off of the couch.
"Not a word of this." Severus demands as he stalks up the stairs, leaving Potter to find his way out.
—
Severus stands before the window, watching Lorna chase George Weasley through the snow with Lupin's son. Her head is thrown back in laughter as she hits George square in the face with a snowball. Severus grins at this momentarily before his face falls as George uses his wand to send a wall of snow cascading down on to Lorna and Lupin. Just as he is about to storm through the door, Lorna tunnels from the snow pile and storms towards George, both hands on her hips and her hair flying around her in the wind. George puts his hands out and laughs, before running in the opposite direction, Lupin and Lorna hot on his heels.
The rest of the house is buzzing with Weasley's and soon-to-be-Weasley's. Danu and Molly put the final touches on a pink birthday cake in the shape of a unicorns head. A small round table behind the sofa in the living room is piled high with gifts, pink streamer and balloons fill the air, and a large banner on the back wall reads, "Happy 3rd Birthday!" Potter clears his throat harshly and looks away awkwardly any time Severus is anywhere near him.
"Lorna, Teddy, George, time for cake!" Molly shouts from somewhere behind him, Severus watches as the three of them come barreling back towards the door.
An off pitched chorus of "Happy Birthday" rings through the air, ending with a round of applause as Lorna blows out the candle of the pink three on her cake. Her mouth is stained pink with frosting as she finishes a large slice of case and laughs loudly at a joke Ron had told. Severus stands back watching every movement she makes, doing his best to etch every moment of the day into memory. It was the first birthday he had actually spent with her, not counting her first birthday when he watched her in secret from clump of trees.
Lorna opens her gifts excitedly, tossing wrapping paper every direction. She receives dolls, books, blocks, painting supplies, and dragons of every shape and size. He watches her face intently as she opens his gift. A set of Gobstones in the exact shade his mother had always been keen to. It was not a starter broom, as Draco had got her, and it was not the graphorn stuffy that her mother had gotten her that she had gone crazy for, but it was something that he hoped could be special for the two of them.
Hours later, after Lorna falls asleep in her own bed halfway through the twenty-sixth chapter of Little Women, and Severus comes into his and Danu's shared bedroom to find Danu snoring loudly, Severus settles himself in bed next to her.
Before long, Severus is awoke by an ear shattering scream that jerks him bolt upright in bed. Fumbling blindly in the dark, Severus grips his wand tightly and staggers towards the hall. He's slammed into the doorframe harshly and is momentarily blinded when a light in the hall comes on. Once his vision returns, he finds that it was Danu who had shoved him harshly in her attempt to get to their daughter who was still screaming.
Severus enters the bedroom, his head throbbing and eyes aching from being harshly awoken, to find Lorna cowering and shivering in her bed. A tall, think figure with a white face, red hair, white face, and yellow jumpsuit stands in the corner with a red painted smile and red on the tip of its nose. The character from a Muggle fast food franchise. There had been a boggart in the armoire, a boggart that the cat knew was there, that had undoubtedly been terrorizing her for days and neither he nor Danu had put it together.
The boggart turns, looks at Severus, and transforms.
Dead Lorna on the floor.
Severus swallows harshly and draws his wand.
"Riddikulus!" Danu shouts from being him before he has a chance to.
The boggart jerks on the floor, sprouts small wings from its back, looks up at Danu, and transforms into Sirius Black, who grins at Severus before transforming into Danu lying dead on the floor.
"Riddikulus!" Severus shouts and the boggart grows a tail in Severus attempt to turn it into a rat.
It transforms once more after one look at Danu and Severus looks down at himself lying on the floor, silver light flowing from a gaping wound on his neck. Lorna's shouts become louder as Danu and Severus take turns shouting the banishing spell at the damned thing with no use. Neither of them can concentrate hard enough to manifest anything ridiculous enough to get Lorna to laugh through her terror. Finally, after countless agonizing minutes, Danu begins to cackle. A forced, strained, terrifying sound. Severus joins in just as the boggart transforms into Sirius Black with short red hair. The boggart's head lulls backwards, its shoulders begin to jerk as it attempts to transform once more. Lorna begins to hyperventilate, Danu cackles harder, her eyes bulging from her head and her fists reared back as if she were about to charge the thing. Finally, with a loud bang, the boggart disappears.
Lorna continues sobbing and hyperventilating as Danu falls to the floor and pulls her onto her lap. She rocks her against her chest and shushes into her hair as Lorna clings to her as if her life depend on it. Severus watches for a moment before scooping Lorna from her mother's arms and carrying her to the bathroom, where he sits her on the edge of the sink and warms the water. He cups her small head in his hands and presses it into his chest as he smooths her hair from her face. Once the water is warmed, he wets a cloth and washes her face.
She continues to tremble as Severus takes her in his arms once more and carries her to his bed where he holds her tight to his body until she finally calms down enough to drift back to sleep.
—
Valentine's Day had never been a true holiday in Severus' eyes, in fact, he had never even actually celebrated it with his wife. This year, however, Severu wakes shortly after dawn and travels to a Muggle restaurant that was having a Valentine's Day special. He purchases heart shaped pancakes for Lorna, a tray with chocolate dipper strawberries and melon cut into flowers for Danu, and a simple tray of eggs and sausage with toast for himself. Next he stops in a flower shop where he chooses a bouquet of white and red peonies for Danu, and a bundle of pink and white mixed flowers in a pink polka dotted ceramic elephant.
The smile on Danu's face when he wakes her with a kiss to the forehead and a steaming mug of coffee melts an ice in his heart he hadn't even noticed had frozen over. She reaches for the peonies, takes a deep whiff, and smiles up at him once more. Severus opens her tray of fruit and places it on her lap. She takes a melon flower, bites into it, and nods her head approvingly. Severus takes a seat at the end of the bed and watches as Lorna scrambles to her mother's side of the bed after being jolted awake by Severus sitting on her foot and opens her mouth like a baby bird for a bite. Danu gives her the other half of her flower melon and smiles as Lorna also nods her head approvingly.
"Brush my teeth, Daddy. Please." Lorna pleads as she swallows her bite of melon.
"You can go one morning. Look, your mum is."
Lorna's eyes dart between Severus and Danu before she finally agrees and settle in to her own tray of food, spilling syrup all over the bed in the process. Severus sits back and watches the two most important people in his life enjoy a small gesture of love he had pulled out of a hat at the very last minute, and smiles to himself. He had done well with this one.
After Lorna finishes her pancakes, Severus draws her a bath and plops her down in it to soak. Severus pads across the hall to the bedroom where Danu was now pulling her robe around her body. She smiles over her shoulder at him and bring her coffee to her lips.
"I would like to discuss having another child." Severus blurts out.
Danu spurts coffee out of her mouth, sputters, and slaps her hand repeatedly on the center of her chest as she coughs harshly.
"What?" She finally croaks between coughs.
"I believe it would be beneficial for Lorna to have a sibling. I would like to discuss the prospects and hear your point of view."
"No." She states matter-of-factly as she brings both hands to the side of her head and looks at him as though he has sprouted a second head or third eye. "No, I don't think I want that."
"Think about it, we can discuss the matter in detail later. I simply wanted to share the thought with you."