A gentle spring breeze flutters through the opened window, bringing with it the soft scent of lilac from the garden and the earthy, fresh scent of a passing rain still far off in the distance. The sun had already set below the rolling hills of the valley. Lorna is long asleep, Bram is prowling the garden for any trace of gnomes, and Danu and Severus trace one another's skin with their fingertips while whispering together.
Severus is sprawled across her nude body, his skin molding perfectly to her flesh. It is not a moment of ecstasy or passion, but a primal need to be as close to one another as possible, to feel every inch and imperfection of the others body against their own. The moments in which he allows himself to be vulnerable, to be pampered and comforted in any way are few and far between, but tonight, something inside of him yearned for it as desperately as she had. He had allowed her to strip the cotton shorts he had been wearing from his still reddened thighs, and watching intently as she pulled her silk nightgown over her head, he did not flinch or pull away when she gripped him by the shoulder and pulled him down on top of her, where he still lay, their limbs tangled together as she gently scratches his scalp with her fingernails and trails her fingertips down his shoulders. His warm breath between her breasts becomes a low moan each time she scratches the crown of his head, yet he will never admit just how much he enjoys the feeling. His thumb periodically draws a line across her rib, the callous on the side of thumb still feels foreign on the newly grown and raised flesh there from the splinching incident.
She tucks the hair behind Severus' ear and runs her finger along the long, thin scar on his neck from the snakes bite, which had almost taken his life. Despite it being many years at this point, the flesh is still raised and a silvery blue color that stands out drastically against his pale skin. He keeps it hidden with high collars and strategic placing of his hand or hair, but there are times when it peeks out beneath his protective shields, and she's reminded once more of what she almost lost that fateful night. Severus often runs his long, nimble finger over it while reading silently in bed next to her, then will jerk his hand away quickly as if the reminder of the pain he had endured had transferred into his hand. The first time Lorna had seen, or really noticed the scar, she had been lying on his chest as he read to her, her small fingers reached up and brushed the raised flesh tenderly and planted a quick, soft kiss there. Severus' throat bobbed and a look of terror briefly flashed across his face before continuing with the book.
"You don't need to feel guilty, Severus." Danu murmurs against his hair before kissing him gently on the top of his head. The guilt and horror had radiated from his core since he came through the door shortly after dawn that morning, freezing cold and barely able to move. "You think that you're the first parent in the world who's shouted at their child? She's okay, you didn't hurt her."
"I frightened her." Severus states plainly, his Adams apple bobbing against her breast at the effort it took for him to get the words out.
"You didn't, at least not long term. She isn't afraid of you, she loves you. She ran right into your arms the moment she saw you this morning. She wouldn't have done that if she were afraid of you."
"Perhaps she shouldn't." Severus murmurs, his voice barely above a whisper.
"Shouldn't what?" Severus doesn't respond, his finger stills on her skin, no longer drawing that line against her mauled flesh. "Are you saying that she shouldn't love you?"
Severus' eyelashes flutter against her skin as the clouds finally break, sending a strong gust of wind through the room, the soft putter of hammering rain across the thatched roof is all that could be heard. Danu places her hand beneath his chin and forces him to look up at her. His eyes are hollow and red rimmed with deep, dark circles beneath them.
"Don't think that, don't ever say that. You are not him, Severus. You will never be him. I love you; Lorna loves you; we will always love you."
Severus blinks slowly several times, sighs deeply, and nestles his head back down between her breasts. Her stomach clenches at the thought of him still, after all this time, feeling as though he was not worthy of them, not worthy of being loved.
—
The coming weeks, in preparation for meeting Rose and her family for dinner in Dorset, a sense of general unease seems to swallow Danu whole, it creeps in to every crevice of her being, yet she can't quite place her finger on what it is.
There are eyes on her everywhere she goes, flashing lights out of the corner of her eyes that have no source when she whips her head around to find the culprit. The same faces pace back and forth before the large window of Primrose Apothecary when she lends Severus a helping hand. On more than one occasion, she had been walking hand in hand with Lorna down the cobblestone streets of Diagon Alley, and swore she heard the scribbling of a quill trailing behind her. She would stop dead in her tracks, a cold sweat trickling down her spine, and turn around only to find no one behind her.
Today, however, she is not so lucky. Standing just before her as she rounds the corner of an alleyway, as if waiting for her, is none other than Rita Skeeter. Danu sneers at the sight of her, which only causes Rita to flash a menacing smile, showing off several gold teeth. Danu grips Lorna's hand tighter in an effort to disapparate, then remembers that she is still on probation and is not allowed to do so until she retakes her examination. Rita places a thick hand on her bare arm, causing her to flinch, she grips Lorna's hand even tighter and looks down into her confused eyes, silently begging her not to say anything.
"Might I have a word, Missus Snape?" Rita asks as she raises the end of one pencil thin eyebrow, her voice high pitched and filled with false sincerity.
"Stay away from us." Danu snaps before jerking her arm from Rita's grip and bolting towards the closest shop connected to the Floo Network, Lorna's short legs struggling to keep up with her stride.
Danu fumbles through the hearth in a plume of dust and debris, dragging a coughing Lorna through behind her into the apothecary. Lorna finally breaks from her grasp and skips behind the counter to where Severus is standing, one brow raised in question as several patrons scattered throughout the shop gawk at her.
"Has Rita Skeeter been in here?" Danu asks breathlessly to no one in particular.
"No, she has not." Severus chides and turns his attention back to the squat woman on the other side of the counter with her hand still reached out to him in a previous attempt to deposit the gold into his hand for her purchase.
"I told you someone was following me for weeks now, it was her! She just popped up on us in Diagon Alley and wanted to talk to me for whatever reason." Danu stomps from her spot in the center of the store, face heating slightly from the amount of eyes on her, and plops down on the wooden stool behind the counter.
A man in the corner sucks in air through his teeth, a woman by the door stands on her toes to peer out of the window in an effort to catch sight of Rita should she be lurking outside.
"That Rita Skeeter is a nasty one. She'll spin a tale that'll make a saint look like the You-Know-Who himself, whatever she's up to can't be any good." The woman at the counter shakes her head in disgust and offers them both a sympathetic smile before turning and leaving. Danu can't help but notice her pause a moment on the walkway to scan the area before disapparating.
"She's up to something." Danu spits as the final customer filters from the apothecary several moments later, they too stop a moment to scan the area for any signs of Rita Skeeter before disappearing on the walkway beyond the shops door. "She just released that book about Harry, and it was awful! What if she's trying to do the same thing to us? What if she writes something about you next?"
"Rita Skeeter is always up to something, my love. Do not let it get to you." Severus sighs as he shuffles through a stack of papers on the counter. With a quick flick of his wrist, the door locks and the shop sign flips itself to read closed. He smirks down at her, his obsidian eyes gleaming with life and says simply, "I have had my mind set on fish and chips all evening. Would you ladies care to join me for dinner?"
Severus offers her his arm, and Lorna his hand, and apparates them to a deserted alley in Cokeworth where they round the corner to the small fish and chip shop on the edge of the river where the two of them had eaten at a dozen times or more in the short amount of time they had spent together in Spinner's End.
—
The one hour drive from Devon to Dorset is borderline miserable. A thousand thoughts race through her mind, all of them as terrible as the last.
What if Lorna said the wrong thing?
What Rose decided after this meeting that she no longer wished to speak to her?
What if Rita Skeeter somehow followed them and tried to speak to Rose?
All of these raw emotions crashed through her with such force that the words of warning, and laundry list of things Lorna was not to discuss around Muggles sounded like a jumbled mess of words even to her own ears. Danu had decided not to tell Harry about Rita's attempt to speak to her, not with him still furious over the so called "biography" she had recently released on him.
The day fluttered by in a haze. Anxiety crept in at every moment, making it harder and harder for her to pay attention to anything around her. Severus, thankfully, noticed right away and kept his hand over top of hers in her lap while they ate. He answered for her, when he could, and for this she was thankful.
Until Rose snapped at him for it. She wanted to stand up for him, to tell Rose that it was okay, that Severus was only taking care of her, but she couldn't find her backbone in the jell of unease that filled her to the brim. If she had known that Vincent was speaking to her, she could have prevented it, but Lorna had threatened to punch James for sticking his finger in the chocolate sauce flowing from her scoop of ice cream, and she had been distracted with scalding her for it, prompting Severus to answer for her.
Instead, Danu studies her hands knotted in her lap as Severus seethes next to her in his seat. The altercation is short lived, thankfully, and Severus' hand is back on top of hers in a matter of seconds.
Calming her. Preventing her from sliding from the face of the earth.
Finally, at long last, Ginny and Lorna each come to her and say that they are ready to return home for the day. She thought it would never end, that they would be stuck in this awkward limbo for the rest of eternity.
Rose is lovely, Vincent even lovelier. Her sisters, however, are absolute nightmares. They have a pleasant, almost angelic outer presence, but what is within them is sinister. You can feel it radiate from their core whenever they are near. Harry and Ginny both had warned them on the drive up that the girls were bullies, even Vincent and Rose pulled them aside and stated that they had been having problems with the girls being mean to others and not to take anything they may say to heart. They laughed at Harry, Ginny, and especially Severus behind their backs. She could only imagine what was being said about her when she wasn't within ear shot, and was glad she had not heard. She wanted to say something, to give the little monsters a piece of her mind, but it wasn't her place, and their parents shot them down any time they heard it themselves. When she heard them call Lorna a freak, she rose to her feet and wanted to strangle the life from them with her bare hands.
Lorna stood abruptly, put her hands on her hips, and stomped from the house to alert her father of the dishonor they had lay upon her. Rose was on them in a flash, scalding them and threatening punishment. Both girls snickered in response, until Vincent appeared in the doorway holding the hand of a very satisfied looking Lorna, and forced them to apologize to her before sending them each upstairs for the night.
Neither of them came back down to wish the group farewell when they finally departed.
Once home, Severus takes Lorna upstairs for a bath while Danu tends the garden and sprays for doxy's that had been seen poking around in the garden. It did not take long to complete either of her tasks, Severus' voice trails down the stairs, giving Lorna an ultimatum to finish her bath without complaint or she wouldn't get read to before bed.
A soft rap at the front door causes her to nearly jump from her seat at the counter. No one who knew them ever used the front door, and most did not even bother knocking. Everyone who came over always entered through the kitchen door. Danu stands abruptly from her seat and presses herself against the wall separating the stairwell from the kitchen as Severus' light feet begin descending the stairs. Lorna pokes her head around the wall at the top of the stairs, then runs down the stairs past them both, her still wet hair dripping on to her pink nightgown.
Severus rounds the corner, Danu watches as he slowly unrolls the sleeves of his white button down shirt and closes the small buttons on the cuffs as the solicitor raps upon the door once more, a bit louder this time.
"Minerva." Severus announces as he opens the door wide. "Have you any idea what time it is?"
"A pleasure to see you, Severus." Minerva McGonagall's stern voice echoes throughout the cottage as Lorna makes her presence well known by asking no less than a half dozen questions in the span of time it takes Danu to round the corner to put a kettle on for tea.
"To what do you owe the please so close to bedtime?" Severus asks, his voice bored.
"I sent an owl this morning, yet you did not answer-" Minerva begins before being cut off by Severus.
"My family and I were away."
"I must say, family life looks good on you, Severus." Minerva chuckles as she pats Severus' stomach and moves around him to smile down at Lorna. "Ah. So that is where Phineas gets off to when in one of his moods." Minerva gestures up to the currently empty portrait hung above the mantle.
"Why are you here, Minerva?" Severus asks once more as he pinches the bridge of his nose.
"I found something while rearranging some things in the headmasters tower. Something I believe you, and Missus Snape should see."
Danu turns her attention from the teacups she had been lining on the counter just in time to watch Minerva pull a glass vile with a slippery, translucent blue fog inside.
A memory.
"We do not own a Pensive." Severus states plainly as he scrubs his hand down his face.
"I brought Albus'." Minerva's eyes are large with an unknown emotion as they dart to Lorna who was gazing up at her in awe, then up at the stairs in an attempt to silently remind Severus that Lorna was still in the room.
"Lorna, it's time for bed." Danu announces as she begins to make her way around the kitchen in an attempt to reach the stairs.
"No, I have got her. Have your tea." Severus interrupts as he scoops Lorna from the ground and carries her up the stairs.
"I'm not sleepy!" Lorna screeches from the top of the stairs as her bedroom door closes gently behind them.
Minerva smiles warmly at her and excuses herself back out of the front door where she uses her wand to maneuver the massive Pensive through the door with her wand. Danu uses her own to push the sofa back several feet in order to have ample room around the mass of intricately carved stone for them to peer inside.
"What is the memory?" Danu asks just as the kettle begins to whistle.
"I think it best you see for yourself." Minerva responds solemnly before turning her attention to the collection of photos of Lorna scattered throughout the room. "Such a lovely, lovely girl."
"Thank you." Danu smiles as she pours them each a mug of tea and passes one to Minerva.
"Never thought I'd see the day that Severus Snape would settle down."
"I think that's what everyone else thinks, too." Danu giggles.
After thirty minutes and tedious small talk between Danu and Minerva, Severus finally emerges looking twice as exhausted as he had prior to ascending the stairs.
"How did that go?" Danu asks as she pours herself another cup of tea and takes a sip before Severus takes the mug from her hands and drains half of it in one gulp.
"As well as expected." Severus sighs and passes the mug back to her hands, making a point to rub the back of her hand with his thumb in the process. "Can we get on with this Minerva?"
Danu watches as Minerva passes the vial to Severus who swirls the blue fog around once before uncorking it and pouring the liquid into the Pensive. He offers Danu his hand, and together they plunge into a momentary darkness.
The darkness lifts, but only barely. Danu watches from the sideline as Albus Dumbledore, James Potter, Remus Lupin, and Sirius Black trek down a darkened street as snow falls silently around them.
Upon closer inspection, Danu can tell that Sirius is trembling in silent sobs as he stares intently down at the bundle in his arms.
Her. The bundle is her.
The group of men come to an abrupt haul in the darkened alley near a large building. Something about the place felt familiar, but Danu cannot pinpoint where they are exactly in the darkness. Can't take her eyes off of her father sobbing over her body long enough to care.
Dumbledore moves to their side, and Danu watches in horror as he extracts his wand from the pocket of his robes and peers down at her body in Sirius' arms. He moves the blanket from around her small, sleeping face, and presses the tip of his wand to her temple.
Sirius lets out a choking sob. Danu sucks in a deep breath, already knowing in the pit of her stomach what she is about to witness. Severus knows it too, for her wraps his arms around her from behind and pulls her in close.
"Obliviate." Dumbledore says clearly, as though it meant nothing at all to him. He pries her body from Sirius' fighting grasp, and disappears around the building.
They are transported to the main entrance of Bernadette's where Dumbledore rings a bell on the counter and waits patiently, not even bothering to look down at the sleeping child in her arms. He smiles warmly at the woman who emerges from a room to their right, and holds her body out for the woman to take.
"I found her standing in a car park with no shoes. No one around. I did not know where else to bring her." The woman takes her sleeping body from Dumbledore's arms, a look of deep concern plastered on to her face. "She had this pinned to her shirt."
Dumbledore passes the woman a slip of paper with her name written in shaky cursive.
The scene shifts once more. Dumbledore exits Bernadette's rounds the corner, and comes face to face with Remus Lupin and James Potter holding Sirius back as he roars with emotion.
Severus pulls her from the pensive as she pants and trembles; a million emotions thrashing about in her head. This is why she had no memories, why she could never remember her mother's face no matter how hard she try. This is why she had no family, why she was raised in a place so void of love that it was a miracle she even know how to convey that emotion.
"That is all, Minerva." Severus announces and leads Danu up the stairs without a single glance over his shoulder.
Severus holds her as she trembles next to him, does not say a word as she clings to him so tightly her fingers ached. He was simply there, kissing the top of her head and rubbing her back as she processes what she had just seen.
—
Danu takes a seat at the kitchen counter and shuffles through the post that they had forgotten about before leaving the previous morning, and in the excitement of Minerva's discovery, had forgotten all about. Bills, correspondences for Severus in relation to a potion he was testing that he would say no more to her about, saying simply that she will know all about it as soon as he had perfected it, and fliers for new products in various shops throughout Diagon Alley litter the counter. Finally, at the very bottom of the stack, is today's issue of The Daily Prophet. Her heart sinks to the floor when she is greeted by a moving photograph of her own body turning and looking over her shoulder as the camera pans out to show Lorna doing the same as the two walk hand in hand through the street.
Sneak, snake, or saint?
Explore the secret life of Severus Snape
A poor boy from a rundown street in Cokeworth, Potions Master, right hand man of Lord Voldemort, murderer, Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, quaint shop owner, and finally, family man?
When one thinks of Severus Snape, they see the hardened, overly sarcastic, and often truly diabolical professor that most of our faithful readers were forced to sit in a cold dungeon with for upwards of five years; unless he deemed you talented enough to continue with his precious potions class for their final two years of schooling. No one, not even I, beloved reader, could have ever pictured Professor Snape as a loving family man. Or, could this simply be yet another front of the illusive bat-like man?
Not much is known of Severus Snape's personal life, he had gone through great lengths to keep it hidden, until, that is, he needed the young Mister Harry Potter to help him avoid a lengthy prison sentence after the events of the squabble which brought on the end of Lord Voldemort's reign of terror. This terror, might I remind you, that Severus Snape himself was privy to.
Yes, you read that correctly; Severus Snape was in the clutches of the Voldemort himself! Despite the lengths he and his bride (pictured above strolling through Diagon Alley with the couple's young daughter, Lorna Eileen Snape) have gone through to hide their involvement, let us not forget that the two of them sat side by side across from that tyrant for many years. Accounts vary on whether or not Missus Snape received The Dark Mark herself, but it was clear as day upon Severus Snape's arm from the moment he finished his own schooling at Hogwarts.
Some say Mister Snape has always been cunning and ambitious, others call him a bully, while some claim him to be nothing more than a puppet for others more powerful than he. Whichever the case may be, Severus Snape walked away with after the war with nothing more than a slap on the wrist and a lovely speech from both Kingsley Shacklebolt and Harry Potter on the front steps of the Ministry of Magic upon his release after a lengthy stay at Saint Mungo's. His wife, Danu Snape, faced no charges for her involvement.
If you thought Severus Snape was a closed book, prepare yourself, reader, because even less is known about his spouse. Do not fret, for I, being the faithful conduit between truth and justice, was able to dig up quite the portfolio on Missus Snape.
Born in 1977 to "unknown parents" Danu Snape (formally Black) was raised in Bernadette's Home for Children in Cokeworth. She began her first year of school at Hogwarts in 1988, where I am told she was sorted into Ravenclaw and received excellent marks throughout the years, even going as far as to catch the eye of Severus Snape himself, for he "married" the young girl less than one year after she graduated. I use the term lightly, as this marriage, like many other reports of Miss Black, was a sham. It was not only fake, but performed by Lord Voldemort.
Yes, you read that correctly. The two were hand-fasted by none other than The Dark Lord at Malfoy Manner the winter following her graduation.
And what of those supposedly "unknown parents"? Well, I would not be the journalist you know and love if I were not able to uncover this truth as well.
Missus Snape is the daughter of the notorious Sirius Black and a Muggle woman named Rose Evans. Miss Evans being the first cousin of Lily (Evans) Potter.
If you wish to read more about the life and lies of Severus Snape, his illusive wife, their poor child brought into this sordid affair, and how Albus Dumbledore, Marcus Belby, Arthur and Molly Weasley, Harry Potter, and many others fall into the couple's vast web of lies and deceit, you will have to pick up a copy of my upcoming book titled, "Snape: Scoundrel or Saint?" upon its release on 31 July.
Danu slams the paper down on the counter as her hands begin to tremble. A warm embrace snakes around her middle and hauls her to her feet before she is enveloped in warmth and comfort. Severus had been reading over her shoulder. His heart hammers in his chest.
"Do not let her get to you." Severus murmurs against the top of her head before leading her up the stairs to their bed.
"She mentioned our child, Severus. She's dragging our daughter in to this." Danu sobs as Severus pulls her body against his and holds her tightly.
"I know. I will handle it." Severus soothes her as he rubs his back.
"Why is she doing this to us?"
—
A week passes since the release of Rita Skeeter's article. Danu attempts to go out twice, and each time every eye scanned her, whispers follow her through the streets. One woman was even brazen enough to ask her to her face how she could sully the Potter the way she had, if she had no shame to betray her own family. She only stared at the woman opened mouthed, too afraid to speak, to ashamed to deny. Danu returned home, and hadn't left the house since.
Fear radiated throughout her every morning when Severus left for work, more so when he brought Lorna with him. What if someone attacked them, what if someone said or did something to Lorna in retaliation? Severus though was adamant that their life continue as usual, despite the piles of letters they received each morning from strangers. Danu couldn't bring herself to open any of them. Severus would open one or two each evening, then toss the rest of the unopened pile into the fire.
If anyone had come into the shop and said anything, if anyone had retaliated, he did not say. He did, however, disconnect their home from the Floo Network and placed anti-apparation spells around their property. All post was now directed to the apothecary, but this didn't stop owls from pecking at the kitchen window shortly after he left each morning.
The phone rang near constantly, who was calling, Danu did not know. She couldn't bring herself to answer it, did not have the strength, or courage, to face whoever was on the other end. Finally, after the third day of non-stop ringing, Danu unplugged the phone to keep from hearing he constant high pitched screech coming from the kitchen. Twenty minutes later, she watches from the attic window as Harry knocks on the door for five minutes, runs his hands through his hair, and leaves.
He came by each morning for the remainder of the week, once even going as far as to pop his head through the door and shout for her before popping into the greenhouse in his search. Danu remained stationed in the wing backed chair before the attic window, a cold mug of coffee and an unopened book on the table at her side.
This chair had become her home, her sanctuary. She just sat there, staring at nothing, allowing the intrusive thoughts of uselessness and doom to consume her. Nothing interested her anymore; nothing made the fog lift from around her. Dumbledore had stolen her life from her, even if for the greater good. Rita Skeeter had invaded their privacy and stolen her sense of security.
Nine days after the article, Danu finds herself sitting in the attic once more. She had woken at four that morning and made her trek to the attic to perch upon the wing backed chair to watch the sun rise; the still full mug of coffee Severus had brought her that morning still sitting on the table at its side.
"Why are you up here?" A voice pulls her from the concentration she had on a single fly floating in the coffee.
"I was watching the sun rise." Danu murmurs, her voice small and cracked.
"It is nine in the morning. The sun has long since risen."
Danu pries her eyes from the mug and blinks at the now too bright light pouring in from the window opposite her. She hadn't realized so may hours had passed, or that she had even missed the suns rise over the valley. Severus leans against the door frame, the morning sun illuminating him from behind, darkening his face with shadow from the curtains of hair hanging around his head.
"Come have a bath." Severus offers as he pushes himself from the window and offers her his hand.
"I had one yesterday."
"That was four days ago, Danu. Come."
"Why aren't you at work?" Danu asks as places one trembling hand in his and allows him to lead her from the room.
"I decided to close today. Molly is going to take Lorna, and you and I are going out."
Danu stops abruptly on the stairs, causing Severus to stumble on the step behind her. Bile rises in the back of her throat, threatening to choke her.
"I—I don't want to."
"It is your birthday." Severus turns her on the step so that she is now facing him, and looks down his nose at her, one brow raised.
"I don't want to go anywhere. Please." Danu feels pathetic begging, feels pathetic allowing this article and upcoming book to send her life to a screeching halt.
Her birthday. She hadn't noticed. Time was slipping from her once more, like it had so many years ago when she had locked herself in a near constant drunken stupor in the dungeons at Hogwarts. She is now twenty-five years old. Birthdays had never been important to her, the only time she had ever even had it acknowledged in any way was the year she and Lorna had move in to the cottage and Molly had somehow figured it out and thrown a make-shift surprise party for her.
"Come, take a bath. You will feel better."
Severus nudges her gently and pulls her into the bathroom where he gently undresses her and helps her step into the waiting bath. She allows him to wash her hair, clean her body, and finally, dry her with a large towel. He leads her to the bedroom, where he dries her hair with his wand and brushes it quickly before directing her to the bed where he has laid a simple white sundress and brown sandals across the foot of the bed, and kisses the top of her head.
"Dress and come down." Severus instructs her before disappearing from the room, she listens as his feet move swiftly down the stairs.
Danu dresses slowly and creeps from the room where both Lorna and Severus' voices rise from down below. She stops at the top of the stairs, listening to the two of them bicker back and forth regarding Bram being in the kitchen, and finally Severus' laugh. A quick, low sound that fills her with warmth each time she heard it. His real laugh, the one he reserves for no one but Lorna. Even she herself had never heard the sound come from him until Lorna came along.
"You're meant to have cake for your birthday, Daddy!" Lorna exclaims as Danu finally begins making her way down the stairs.
"Your mother does not care for cake as you do, my primrose."
"My name is Lorna!" She laughs, the sound carrying through the small cottage.
"Ah, yes. Larry, that is right. I had forgotten. My apologies."
"Daddy!" Lorna laughs just as Danu pokes her head around the corner.
Severus slams the lid on a picnic basket perched upon the counter abruptly, and turns to shove Lorna's swimsuit, a towel, and a jar of suncream into her oversized canvas bag hanging on the back of one of the kitchen tables.
"You do not wish to go out, so I took it upon myself to pack for a picnic for the three of us instead."
Severus offers her his hand and helps Lorna down from the stool she was balancing on as he picks up the picnic basket and slings the canvas bag over his shoulder. He leads the them through the garden, up a steep hill, around a bend, and finally to meadow nestled in the valley overlooking the a shallow section of stream that connected to their garden. Deep enough for Lorna to play in, yet shallow enough for them to not have to give her their undivided attention as she played. He unpacks the picnic basket; finger sandwiches, biscuits for Lorna, jugs of ice cold lemonade, fruit salad, and finally a large slice of melon on a tray with a single candle in the center.
Danu offers him a weak smile as he produces his wand to light the candle. Lorna starts sing-shouting a very off pitched chorus of Happy Birthday, as Severus finishes the song with a nearly silent, "happy birthday, darling."
"Make a wish, Mummy!" Lorna shouts as she strips her clothes from her body and streaks for the water without a second glance behind her, her pale bottom reflecting sunlight as she stomps down in the water.
"Lor—"
"No one is up here. It'll be okay." Danu objects just after blowing the candle from the melon and taking a bite.
"I am not concerned about anyone being here, I am concerned about her skin burning."
"She'll want food soon; we can wrangle her then."
After they had eaten their fill and managed to wrangle Lorna enough to apply sunscreen over every inch of her still nude body, Severus and Danu lounge on the soft grass watching Lorna splash in the water.
"I dreamt of her." Severus says lowly as he twirls a blade of grass between his fingers. "Before she was even conceived."
"Did you?" Danu glances up at his dark eyes, gauging them for any sign of joke he was making. She found none.
"Yes." Severus sighs. "She is more spectacular than I could have ever imagined. I have many regrets; she is not one of them. Neither are you."
"I found the letter you left for her in The Hobbit. Why did you keep that book after all those years?"
"I had planned on restoring it for you during the holiday and returning it to you as a gift. It was too far gone; I am not sure what made me keep it after that." Severus admits as a tucks a lock of her hair behind her ear. "I am worried about you."
"I'm okay."
"You are not. You refuse to leave the house, you sit in the attic for days a time. Lorna is beginning to notice. She says that you are away, but still here. She know that something is not right."
"I'm sorry."
"You feel things deeply, never apologize for that. It is one of the many things that I grew to love about you. I only request that you not allow Albus and Rita Skeeter to drag you back down."
"I'm okay, really. I'll be okay." Danu lies through her teeth, right to his face, and he sees it. He narrows his eyes at her, but ultimately relaxes his face and runs his thumb across her bottom lip before leaning in and kissing her gently.
"There is a potion I believe you will benefit from. I have researched it thoroughly, and have begun brewing it. It is for anxious tendencies and nervousness."
"I am not crazy." Danu spits as she backs away from him.
"I have never implied that you were, nor do I believe that you are. It is nothing to be ashamed of."
"I don't need a potion."
"I only wish for you to be healthy. If not for yourself, or for me, then for Lorna." Severus places his hand on her shoulder and pulls her back down next to him. "I will love you no matter what."
Danu picks at the skin around her thumb nail as Severus rummages in the canvas bag with his back to her. Lorna comes barreling towards her with her mouth opened wide for Danu to place a raspberry in. Danu attempts to put the berry into Lorna's waiting mouth when she chomps her teeth together, narrowly missing her finger, and giggles loudly. Danu holds her hand out for Lorna to take the berry, and then she is off again, spraying both Danu and Severus with droplets of water raining from her soaking hair.
"I got you a gift." Severus announces as he places a black box with a red bow on her knee.
Danu opens the box slowly to reveal a flat pendant with a primrose etched on the front. Severus takes the small pendent between his fingers, lifts her wrist gently, and attached the pendant to the bracelet upon her left wrist between the bat and doe pendants dangling there.
"It's beautiful, I love it."
"I thought it was time she was added to the family tree." Severus says with a smirk.
"I like this family tree more than our real one." Danu admits as she twists her wrist in the sunlight. Severus raises a brow at her. "Sirius, his mum, Bellatrix, Tobias. This family is better than our extended family.."
"This family is the only one that matters." Severus plants a gentle kiss on her temple and brushes her hair across her shoulder. "Happy birthday. I have never had the opportunity to celebrate you on your others. I hope I have made up for that."
"You're getting warmer." Danu smirks up at him and tucks his own hair behind his ear before sliding her hand down his face to cup his chin. "I didn't like that facial hair you had the first time I came to the coast. I'm glad you shaved it. Severus is much more handsome than Dalton." Severus scoffs but allows her to kiss him deeply.
"Will you think about the potion. Please?" Severus pushes once more, his eyes pleading with her in a way she could not stomach, and adverts her gaze to Lorna splashing before them.
"I'll think about it." Danu sighs.
"That is all that I ask for." Severus leans in and kisses her temple once more. "Rose has been calling. She thinks that I have you locked up and won't let you speak to her. Call her, she wants to take you to London to buy a dress for the wedding. Allow her to do it, invite whichever Weasley you wish, stay the day, the weekend, however long you wish. You need to get out of the house. If I thought for a moment that you or Lorna were in any danger, I would not hesitate to lock you both inside and never let you out. I do not believe that either of you are at risk. Besides, you will be in Muggle London, no one will recognize you."
"Maybe Molly, Hermione, and Ginny will go with us."
"Ask them. Call your mother, Danu. She does care for you, even if she detests me."
"Is it bad that I don't view her as my mother?" Danu asks as she glances down at Severus now lying with his head in her lap. She scratches the crown of his head and smiles slightly as her groans.
"No. It is understandable. You only just met her. Perhaps it will take time. You wish desperately to find her, now take advantage of it."