Longing
Severus's footsteps echoed through the empty house as he made his way down the staircase one foot at a time; Lily had gone out shopping for something to bring to the New Year's party Alice-Marie and Theodore were hosting at Nott Manor. Severus had been counting the days since he'd last seen everyone together, back when Marley and Miles were still on speaking terms with Harry and Ginevra, and it would be the first time that Harry's Molly Joanne and Marley's Thomas would properly meet each other; the two had been far too young when their respective parents had fought at Miles's birthday party.
Severus passed a small side table with framed pictures standing on the dark wood, each animated to match the tone of the day it commemorated. The oldest was a family photo of Severus and Lily sitting on the couch with all four children; Marley was atop Severus's shoulders while Alice-Marie sat on his knee, and the two boys each claimed one of Lily's knees for their own. Snarky was sitting in the middle with a sour expression as Rory sat on his lap, looking up occasionally and pawing the house-elf's nose.
The next picture was of Alice-Marie and Theodore standing in front of the manor and holding their little girls, Gloria and Helena; both resembled their mother at her age, which almost made Severus laugh out loud when they scowled simultaneously at the camera.
Beside it was a small picture of the vivarium underneath Neville's and Hannah's house, which Peter and Dudley had built for them. All four were now standing before a planter of some sort of vegetable (maybe carrot), while Lavender stood beside Dudley with Peter Jr. standing in between them and holding their hands.
Not much further was a larger picture with Harry and Ginevra with the Weasley family; William, Fleur, and their children were notably the farthest from the Snapes (which Severus unfortunately understood), with Ronald and Hermione standing second-farthest (for, once again, unfortunately understandable reasons). Charles and Nymphadora (or Dora, rather) stood with young Ted, who was smiling and laughing with the Weasley patriarch and matriarch standing beside him. Fred and George were the closest to the Snapes, along with Angelina and her's and George's children. Percy was absent (the Minister of Magic never had it easy), but his wife and daughters stood dead-center.
Further on was one of Marley and all her girlfriends and their partners (if they had any); Miles stood in the very center with Marley, Astoria, and Draco, and to their right were Lavender and Dudley. Romilda, having recently been allowed back into the friend group after the love potion incident of '97, stood beside Lavender, with Luna and Rolf Scamander off to the side. Fleur and Gabrielle were also present, with William in tow. Aside from William and Rolf, all the men in the photo looked exhausted, which Severus could relate to.
Sharing the same frame was a picture of Marley, Miles, and their children standing outside the Railview Hotel, which they'd recently bought with the loan Severus had promised them. The building in the picture had just been remodeled to conjoin the hotel with Cokey's, something Miles requested after Cokey's passing in '08, so that wizarding guests spending the night could eat a pub breakfast before Marley took them on a tour to see Muggle Birmingham. He'd been skeptical of the success of the venture, but it seemed there really was a market for it.
What was missing from the table was a photo of the entire family: Severus and Lily, Alice-Marie and her family, Nevile and Hannah, Harry and his family, Marley and her family, all together, all within the same frame with their in-laws. He would even include Remus and Marlene and their young Lyall if they were there; he was even desperate enough to (and he was ashamed of this) include Petunia and Peter and their son and his family if it meant having the full family photo.
This time, Severus did laugh out loud at his neediness; his younger self would flee from the thought of something like this, and his older self would be bitter about the idea. It felt strange to think that, at one point in his lives, he had been both.
Severus checked the calendar, and he felt nervous; three days until the party. In three days, that need to see his family together again would be sated, and Severus would be damn sure of it.