Saturday morning came as peaceful and quiet as the previous night had been stormy. The autumn sun played hide and seek among the remaining clouds, and a thin layer of mist crept across the bay of the Black Lake. It's devouring fingers had yet to reach the shore and cover the world in grey. The few sunbeams that hit the green grass by the shore, made it sparkle like emerald diamonds. It was beginning to get colder.

Cora squinted through heavy lidded eyes at the beauty of the lake. The window next to the bed gave her an excellent view. A smile crossed her lips as she noticed how the trees had gotten a tint of red, yellow and gold. Soon the forest around Hogwarts would look absolutely stunning.

A small yawn escaped her, and she drew the black covers up to her chin, enjoying the warmth of it. Her nose felt cold, so she figured the fires must have run out. No matter, she would soon feel the fuzzy feeling of sleep embracing her. As she closed her eyes, she began to drift off again.

Suddenly she heard a light snore.

The sound startled her a little and her eyes flew wide open again. Where am I? And why is there a window by my bed?

It took her a few moments to realize where she was and who the snore belonged to. And when she did, that was also when she noticed the large arm around her waist, anchoring her to a firm and warm body. A hard bulge was pressing slightly against her back, and made the memories from last night flash back on her. Almost at the same pace as the little waves hit the sand on the shore on the outside.

It's alright. He's just sleeping.

Without moving she tried to look over her shoulder at her sleeping husband, but to no avail. A louder snore came out of him and she had to cover her mouth with the duvet so he couldn't hear her giggle.

The small movement from her giggle made him pull her even closer.

Cora pushed her lips together, suppressing a laugh. How would he react when he noticed how well he had trapped her next to him?

For a couple of minutes all she could do was lying entirely still and staring out the window. The fog was growing thicker and soon it covered the whole world in grey. When there was nothing more to look at, but a wall of cotton, she decided something had to be done.

Even though it felt good to be embraced, it was getting rather uncomfortable with the sticky sweat between them.

When she couldn't come up with a better way to wake him, she pretended to cough and then quickly shut her eyes.

Behind her professor Snape slowly awoke. He stiffened when he realized how badly his body had betrayed him in his sleep. With horrified eyes he looked at her body, but felt slightly relieved when he noticed her steady breath. She hadn't awakened yet. Good.

With slow and masterly skills - that would have given Nagini competition in stealth - he removed his arm and body from her. The little gap that occurred between them made him feel cold and lonely, all of a sudden, but he quickly snapped out of it.

He slid carefully out of bed and walked towards the bathroom, yawning as he shut the door behind him.

When Cora heard the sound of the door, she allowed herself to giggle. It had taken her a lot of willpower to not turn around and greet him good morning. Oh how she wished she could have seen his face!

Then she heard the door open again and pretended to sleep. This time her pretense slowly turned into a real sleep. Her husband, however, let her sleep alone. He was too afraid of what would happen if he fell asleep next to her again.

--

When Cora awoke several hours later she found herself alone. She sleepily put the kimono on and grabbed an apple from the fruit bowl in the living room. Severus was nowhere to be found. Biting into the apple, she wondered what to do next. For 20 minutes she wandered through the rooms, trying to familiarize herself with her new home.

She let her fingers slide across her husband's books, as she walked past the shelves on either side of the fireplace. Most of them were old and well-read. Once in a while there was a gap between them, with little nicknacks she didn't know the use for.

There were no pictures. No memories from his childhood. No friends laughing beside him. No special connections he wanted to have on display. Not even a photograph of himself.

Cora pitied him.

After exploring the contents of the living room, and walking past the door to his laboratory at least two times, she stopped.

"Severus?" she called out.

She gave the flat a last look-over, and tossed the remains of the apple, before turning towards the wooden door. With hesitant fingers she touched the knob. Nothing happened. Slowly she turned the knob around and carefully stepped inside, before closing the door behind her.

A small pair of steps led down to a gloomy looking room. "Lumos."

The little ray of light flew across the room, and gave her a better view of it. There were vials and plants and boxes on the shelves - all the way from the floor to the ceiling. Some of the plants hung from railings above her, together with dead batts and snake-skins.

She carefully made her way around them.

Three cauldrons on the bench caught her attention.

The one on the left had the same blue liquid she recognized as her contraceptives. Good to know that she didn't have to worry about making that for herself.

The one on the right had a green, slimy texture and smelled ghastly. She took a few steps back, shaking her head violently.That will certainly stay in my nose for a while.

When she was certain that yesterday's dinner wouldn't come up again, she stepped closer to the one in the middle.

The cauldron and it's contains were black as the potion master's cloaks.

"Why is he making Liquid Death?" she said to herself.

"Found anything interesting?"

Cora turned quickly, pointing her wand in the direction of the voice.

"Lower your wand." Severus gave her a dull look, and walked past her towards the cauldrons.

Cora was glad the room was so dark that he couldn't see the flush in her cheeks. She watched her husband stir the contraceptive potion, before moving towards the slimy one.

"What is that?" Cora scrunched her nose.

"A potion of mine. It's far from finished." With a small flick of his wand several objects landed on the counter in front of him. When he started to cut a snail in half, Cora turned around.

"What's it for?" she held a protective arm around her stomach, while the other was close to her mouth. When she heard the snail parts land in the cauldron, the smell became even more vile.

"A project." He hid a smirk at her squeamish reaction, before schooling his features into their normal stone cold demeanor. "Come here."

"Uh-uh." Cora shook her head, back still turned against him. Her right arm covered her mouth, and she tried to smell her own skin. Anything to remove the horrid smell.

"It wasn't a question."

Cora rolled her eyes.

With great efforts she slowly turned and went to stand beside him, arm still covering her mouth.

"How do you stand it?" Her eyes were starting to water.

"Smell this." He held a leaf of eucalyptus in front of her. She inhaled as much as she could, and suddenly the air smelled like cotton candy. "How- how did you-?"

The potion master didn't answer. He went back to stirring the pot, which contents now turned from green to lilac. After a little while he put the potion in stasis before moving to the cauldron in the middle.

Cora watched him attentively, but to her great disappointment he only gave the contents a look-over before walking towards the open door behind them. She scurried to keep up with him. When he closed the door, he stopped abruptly and gave her a stern look.

"I would appreciate it if you refrained from going in there while I'm not at home."

"Yes, sir." His remark only enhanced her curiosity. She would indeed keep away, but not for long. Maybe he was brewing something poisonous for her father. The thought didn't sit well with her. "I should put on some clothes."

Severus watched his wife disappear into the bathroom and gritted his teeth. Having her snooping around was not what he needed at the moment. He would have to be more careful from now on. Silently he cast a protective spell over the door, and then had his personal house-elf make them lunch.

The afternoon passed uneventful.

Mr and Mrs Snape kept a safe distance to one another on either side of the living room. He pretended to be reading a book about dragon blood. She wrote a transfiguration paper half-heartedly, while pretending not to notice that he didn't read.

When she finished the paper - knowing she would probably rewrite it later - she put her quill down and gave Severus a long stare.

"What?" His black eyes were glued to the page in front of him.

Cora tried to search his mind for the information she was looking for, but failed.

"Use your words, Cora." He flipped the page and leaned nonchalantly back into the armchair. He had to use quite some strength to keep her from entering his mind. A fact he would take with him to his grave. She was indeed the Dark Lord's daughter. For a moment he wondered what other talents she had inherited from her father.

"I was just wondering about the potion you're making - the one that smelled so ghastly and then like cotton candy - what is it for?"

"It's a healing potion."

"A healing potion?" Cora wasn't quite convinced.

"Yes. Surprised?" Severus received a rather annoyed look in return, and lowered his book slightly so he could see her better. "Should I succeed, this potion can turn even the deadliest of curses into something pleasant."

"How far have you gotten?"

"It cured my last hangover rather quickly, but it still has a long way to go until it's finished and I'm satisfied."

Cora chuckled. "I'll keep that in mind for my next birthday." He smirked back at her. Seeing him smile at her comment, felt good.

For a moment, Cora had forgotten all about their horrible wedding night and how angry she still was with him. Suddenly the feelings came flushing in again.

Severus observed her change of emotions, and he didn't have to read her mind to gather why. In many ways he had done something unforgivable, but how could he not? It wasn't as if they were going to live happily ever after with one another. Keeping her at an arms length, was the safest choice for the both of them.

"Why did you become a Death Eater?" The words escaped Cora's mouth before she could stop them.

"Pardon?" The question startled him - why did she want to know? On the outside, however, he barely looked up from his long forgotten book.

"Why did you become a servant of my father?"

"Because he asked me to. Why?" Severus eyed her cautiously, feigning indifference. He remembered quite well the first time he met Lord Voldemort, and later when he accepted the Dark Mark. He had never felt more proud in his life.

Pride wasn't exactly the word he would use for it now.

"I just..." Cora felt a little baffled that he had answered her question so directly. No excuses or sly remarks about her being nosy. "I just wanted to know who I'm sharing my life with. That's all." She kept a casual tone, but felt her pulse raising.

"Indeed." So do I. He shut his book and placed it on the coffee table beside him. "And what else would you like to know?"

"Why are there no pictures on your walls?"

"Because I see no use for them." Severus watched her fold her hands in her lap. A power move on her part. Talking with her felt like playing chess - both constantly trying to anticipate the opponents next move.

"Why not?"

He didn't answer, only raised a seemingly bored eyebrow. The truth was far from dull, but she needn't know that.

"Very well." Cora swallowed, knowing she was pushing his limits with her questions. There was, however, one more question that had entered her mind. A question she didn't know how to ask. A question she didn't know if she wanted the answer to.

While she contemplated a delicate way into the matter, the school bell rang in the distance. It was time for supper.

"Anything else you want to ask me before we go?" He slowly stood to his feet, brushing off his black cloak as he did.

"No." Cora shook her head.

"Very well." He was as displeased with her answer as she was with his. "Shall we?"

"Yes."

They walked in silence towards the Great Hall. Cora cast a few glances up at him. She had hoped they would be dining alone, and not with the entire student body as an audience, but apparently he wanted it otherwise.

"Would you be so kind to express whatever it is that is going through your mind, wife?"

"Well, husband, I -" Cora stopped mid-sentence and suddenly came to a holt.

"What is -"

"Listen."

Professor Snape went quiet. Then his black eyes got an alarmed look in them. "Stay here." He rushed ahead of her, but she had no intention of obeying his order, and ran after him.

Cora almost crashed into him when he abruptly stopped by the entrance to the Great Hall. "What -"

The vision in front of her, made both her words and motions freeze in horror.

On both sides of the hall, three first years were chained to the walls.

Amycus Carrow circled in front of the trio on the left side, while his sister paced on the right. Both looked like hungry sharks in a tank.

The remaining professors looked with dread on what was about to happen. None of them dared to move a muscle.

"Tonight, we shall have a little bit of fun." Amycus bellowed ominously, while his sister snickered on the other side of the room. "These first years haven't been doing their homework properly. So, the first student to cast the cruciatus curse on all three first years, will gain 30 points for their house. 60 if all six are being cursed."

Cora felt the blood leave her face.

The room went eerily silent. The first-year-girl in the middle, closest to the Hufflepuff table, whimpered. She looked frantic at her fellow classmates, but all averted her frightened eyes. The sound of her whimper was like a snowball starting of an avalanche.

Amycus spread out his arms and asked merrily: "Who would like to go first?"