AN: So after an emotionally draining and work heavy month, I'm back! Miss me?

I have a new story in the works which I hope to begin posting next week. No promises though.

In the meantime, thank you for all the support! As always, it is very deeply appreciated!

Severus knew better than to tell his wife the house elves could wash the dishes.

A few years ago, when he had been a less wise man, he brought up the possibility of house elves doing the dishes for them. To say it had not ended well would be a gross understatement.

"All I am asking is for you to wash the dishes while I bathe Violet and help Victor with his reading lesson," Hermione pointed to the offending filthy dishes.

Admittedly, the pile was tall. Perhaps having spaghetti with homemade garlic bread had not been the wisest course of action given how many pots and pans it involved. He would be lying if he said it wasn't delicious though.

"Must this be done right now?" Severus asked. "Surely it can wait another hour or so."

"I would prefer it be done now so I can relax after putting the children to bed," she argued.

"How will delaying another hour inhibit you from relaxing?"

"Because it will be on my mind that it needs to be done, and that nobody is stepping up to do it. It's one more thing I'll need to do if you don't clean the dishes now."

He bit his tongue. Do not say the house elves could do this, do not say the house elves could do this…

"I want you to set a good example for our children by showing them that housework is important," she picked up a white rag from the counter.

"I would like that too, but can it not wait?"

"It's important for them to see both of us sharing the chores, which means doing the dishes while they're conscious."

"I have been on my feet brewing all day and would like a chance to rest," he argued. "Can I not have an hour to do that?"

"I have been on my feet chasing Violet all day and helping Victor with his reading skills. It's been difficult just to squeeze in time to research that tremor easing potion. I'm exhausted too, and would really appreciate a little help."

"I know you are exhausted. I am not saying I won't get around to the dishes, just that it can wait another hour."

"Half the time when the dishes aren't done right after dinner they aren't done at all."

Don't mention house elves, don't mention them…

"And don't even think about saying the house elves should do it!" She snapped.

"I was not going to say anything about them."

"But you were thinking about it."

He wouldn't insult her by lying.

"We are teaching our children not to subject living beings to a life of unpaid servitude. Therefore, we must use them as little as possible."

"Why can we not use the house elves? They want to be used. They want to work more. They enjoy doing chores."

The second those words left his mouth, he knew he had made a terrible mistake. His wife's eyes flashed in anger before she threw the dish towel at him.

"We are both exhausted," he allowed the rag to fall onto the ground. "Why don't we take the night off and let the elves do the job they want to do?"

"We've been taking a night off for the last four evenings. When is it going to end?"

"When we're able to have a civil discussion about this."

"Oh trust me," she hissed. "I am being more than civil with you right now."

"Master and mistress?"

Both of them looked at one of the creatures at the center of their dispute.

"Headmaster Longbottom is on the floo," she continued. "He says he needs to see you about Rose."

Severus and Hermione looked at each other, their irritation dissipated. Together, they ran to the floo and poked their heads inside the fireplace.

"Thank you for coming on such short notice," Headmaster Longbottom began.

"Is Rose well?" Severus' heart was racing. He knew all the accidents which could befall a student. Each injury he'd ever tended to flashed in his mind. Had Rose broken a leg, turned herself into a cat, or worse, been resorted into Gryffindor?

"Physically, she is fine," Headmaster Longbottom replied. "Even if all is not well."

"What is wrong?" Now his mind was flashing to the taunts of the marauders. Merlin knew they had broken him in spirit as much, if not more, as they had broken his body. Rose hadn't mentioned bullying at Hogwarts. Had she been afraid to say anything? What kind of parent was he if his daughter was afraid to disclose bullying to him?

"There's been a disciplinary issue which you must be aware of," Headmaster Longbottom answered.

"Disciplinary issue?" Hermione asked before turning to her husband.

Severus glanced at his wife. While Rose was not a perfect child, he'd never imagined that within a few months of entering Hogwarts she would run into a disciplinary issue which would necessitate a call from the headmaster. Something had gone terribly wrong, but what?

"I think one of you should come so we can discuss our next course of action," Headmaster Longbottom replied.

Severus kept his gaze on his wife.

"You can go," she said. "Rose responds better to you in these circumstances."

"Are you certain?"

"Yes, you take care of Rose, and I'll take care of things here."

"Fine." He kissed her on the cheek. "I love you."

"I love you too." She gave him a small smile.

With that, he stepped through the fireplace.

As Severus brushed the ashes from his robes, he took in the scene. Rose was sitting on a leather chair in front of the headmaster's desk, her arms over her chest. Instead of fear, there was an expression of defiance, with almost a prideful smirk. It was not an expression Severus was accustomed to seeing, especially in a situation such as this.

"Would you like to tell your father what occurred?" Headmaster Longbottom sat at his desk with his hands folded.

"Victoire Weasley was acting like one of the marauders, so I defended myself," Rose replied.

At that moment, he wanted to scoop his daughter into his arms and assure her all would be well. He would comfort her until her terror subsided. Then, he would start working with Neville on strategies to prevent another incident such as this from occurring.

Before he could rush over to her, he reexamined the scene before him. At a glance, his daughter didn't seem to have any serious injuries. There was no water on her chest, making it unlikely that anyone had forced bubbles to come from her mouth. Then there was her expression, which was not that of someone who had been terrified a few moments ago. There was no hint that she was irate over the injustice of her parents being called either. She was not accusing anyone of house favoritism, or pleading for something to be done about her tormenter.

Speaking of authority figures, Headmaster Longbottom wasn't Albus Dumbledore. Neville was not one to play house politics or cover for a bully. Why was he behaving as if Rose was as much at fault for her predicament as Victoire was?

"Rose, I think you need to clarify what you mean by, 'acting like one of the marauders,'" Headmaster Longbottom said. "I suspect you and your father have very different definitions of what that means."

"What happened?" Severus was still fighting the urge to hold his daughter and assure her all would be well.

Rose turned to Severus. "Victoire and her friends were saying false things about you and making fun of me. I told them to stop, but they wouldn't. So, I hexed her hair to be purple and made her grow a horse's tail."

"You hexed another student?" Severus' voice was low.

"Yes." There was a hint of pride in her voice.

His frown deepened.

"I know it sounds bad," Rose continued. "But you should have heard what they were saying about you!"

"I care little what they were saying about me," he began. "You know better than to hex anyone for saying a few unkind words."

"But these were outright vicious lies."

"There is no terrible lie which warrants physical violence. You know that you are to fight lies with logic and truth, not hexes."

"But they said you didn't want me and my siblings because we weren't Lily's children, and that you didn't love Mum."

His chest went cold.

"I couldn't let her say that and get away with it. I had to hex her, in order to defend myself...and you."

Severus felt the color drain from his face.

"I know you didn't love Lily, at least not the way Victoire claimed you did."

His brain was scrambling for something, anything to say. Every word was inadequate though. As Rose was growing up, he had mentioned Lily in passing. She knew the basic story, but he had neglected to convey the depths of his feelings towards his departed friend. He didn't want to confuse his children or put into their heads that he didn't love Hermione. Instead, it seemed wiser to wait until they were older to tell them about his motivations for spying so they could understand the nuances of the situation. Like every other good plan in his life, it had backfired.

"I hope it's become clear why I called you in," Headmaster Longbottom interjected.

"Yes," Severus' voice was soft.

"There are a few plants I need to tend to in my office." Headmaster Longbottom stood. "I will allow you to speak with Rose about this matter, and to determine her punishment."

"Dad will?" She sounded much happier about the possibility of an easy punishment than she should.

"Indeed. Your father is a former head of house, and former headmaster. He knows what is a just punishment and what is not," Headmaster Longbottom pulled out a silver coin from his pocket as he approached Severus. "When he is not under stress from being a double agent, he is quite fair."

"That he is," Rose's lips curled up.

"When you rubbed your thumb against this coin, I'll know you two are done." Headmaster Longbottom handed it to Severus. "Tell me what punishment you decide upon and I will honor it."

"Indeed I will." Severus made a fist around the coin before putting it in his pocket.

With that, Headmaster Longbottom left the room, leaving a suffocating silence in his wake.

"Perhaps I was too aggressive in hexing Victoire," Rose admitted. "But she was being so vile. I couldn't let it stand. Surely you can understand that?"

"What exactly did she say about Lily?" Severus approached his daughter.

"She came up to me in the library and said, 'I feel so bad for you, Your father didn't want you because you have the wrong mother.'"

Severus felt as if someone had punched him in the gut.

Rose continued, "I tried ignoring her by burying my head in a book, but Victoire kept saying, 'it's so sad that everything your father did was for Lily and you aren't her daughter. He would love you more if you were. He may have even wanted you.'

I will admit to getting testy and telling her that you love me very much. Then I told her you were very happy with Mum. Victoire said you couldn't be happy because you only fought the war because you loved Lily. Nobody would ever love a woman the way you loved Lily. Then she said your love story with Lily was famous, and Mum was a poor substitute for her. I told her you and Lily were only friends and she needed to bugger off. When she continued speaking about how we were all poor substitutes for Lily and your potential children with her, I became so irate I hexed her."

He sighed and shook his head.

"She was saying such vile things about you. I couldn't allow her to say them with no consequences."

"Did you stop at purple hair and a horses tail?"

"Yes, I made sure she wasn't physically hurt, just embarrassed. I didn't want to hurt her, just teach her a lesson about spreading awful lies about you."

"I see." Severus waved his hand, causing the headmaster's chair to appear besides Rose. He sat down upon it. "While I applaud you for not physically harming her, you know better than to do what you did."

"I probably should have kept my tempter better, but I needed to defend you."

"I do not requiring defending," he replied. "I care little what others think of me, and I care even less what a Weasley believes about me. You need to keep that in mind the next time someone taunts you."

"Yes, I know, but this was terrible. I know you, and I know you've only loved Mum," she answered. "Lily was just a great friend, or she was until she dumped you for the marauders. It was wrong for anyone to say any differently."

He was having difficulty maintaining eye contact with Rose. Still, he needed his daughter to understand what he was about to tell her, even if it hurt.

"I know I shouldn't listen to the Weasleys, but it was so inaccurate I had to say something," she finished.

"Listen." Severus took a deep breath. "Not everything Victoire said was entirely inaccurate."

Rose's eyes widened. Her defiant expression was no more.

"You are well aware that I am nineteen years older than your mother," He began.

"Yes."

"And nineteen years is a long time."

"Yes," Rose's voice was shaky.

"So it stands to reason that at some point, I would have fallen in love with someone else given that your mother either did not exist or was too young to be in a romantic relationship with me."

"What are you saying?" Rose's voice was quieter.

"It means." He exhaled. "I was in love with Lily for a time."

"How long?"

"Years."

"But it was puppy love, right?"

"No, it was deeper than a mere infatuation."

"But," she appeared as if she would vomit at any second. "But you said you loved Mum."

"Yes, I have only loved your mother since the day we married, and I love her alone now."

"But I thought over the course of your life, you'd only deeply loved Mum."

"There is no reason I could not be in love with two people over the course of my life," he replied.

"But Victoire said you only wanted children with Lily."

"Which is the biggest load of thestral dung anyone could ever say," Severus' voice was stronger. "I am thankful every day that your siblings and you are your mother's children."

"Did you ever want us to be Lily's?"

"Of course not."

"And the part about you becoming a spy because of Lily was true too, wasn't it?"

"Yes."

Rose looked at him as if he had just announced she was receiving a Troll on her potions exam.

"Your mother was not even a year old when I decided to become a spy," he replied. "When she was in school, I was her professor. A relationship between us would have been highly inappropriate, which is why we were adults before we reconnected and fell in love with each other."

"I know, but," Rose swallowed. "I always thought you would have spied it for us if you knew we would exist."

"Of course I would have been a spy for you if I had known about you," Severus replied. "I would have been a spy for you, your siblings, and your mother if I'd known the wonderful family I was to have. Still, I believed I was going to die during the war, not start a family with your mother after it. Under those circumstances it is no great insult to your mother to say that, I did not spy for her. That being said, if I had known the future, I would have spied for her and you children."

"Does this mean you love Mum more than Lily?" Rose asked.

"Yes, your mother and I have a much more mature relationship than Lily and I ever had. Our marriage is built on honesty, respect, and love. If I was ever in trouble from someone like the marauders, I know your mother would defend me. When I say horribly stupid things to her, she forgives me. When I am a git, she accepts me, even when I don't deserve it. I can be quite the git, often more than the situation warrants." His voice trailed off towards the end.

"Did you and Mum fight over the dishes again?"

"Do not change the subject."

"I'm not trying to, but you look like you've fought with Mum again."

He shook his head. Rose had just enough of her mother within her to be perceptive. It was a skill which would serve her well in the future, even if it did not serve him well at the moment.

"You only go on about how much of a git you are when Mum and you fight," Rose continued. "You two don't fight about much, but on some evenings you do not want to clean up dishes, and Mum won't use house elves. It's always been a source of contention between you two."

"It really is a ridiculous argument we have never quite been able to resolve," he admitted.

"Perhaps," Rose replied. "Still, it's clear she would never abandon you because you refused to clean the dishes."

"I love your mother more than I love any other woman," he answered. "Had I known how amazing of a wife she would be, I would have asked to look in her eyes after I was bitten by the snake, not Harry's."

"I know you love her, which is why I was becoming so upset with what Victoire was saying," Rose replied. "Your love for Mum should never be questioned. You two are so happy together, but everyone keeps saying you are on the verge of divorce. It makes me angry when people cannot understand that I am being raised by two loving parents."

"I know it does." He took her hands into his. "But you need to understand that hexing someone in my name is never appropriate."

"Even if they say you're terrible at potions?"

"Well," He gave her a hint of a smile. "I suppose you could make an exception in that case."

Rose grinned.

"I love your mother, I love you, and I love you siblings." He squeezed her hands. "Let people believe what they want. Our family's love is the only truth with which you should concern yourself."

"Yes, Dad, and," she kissed him on the cheek. "I love you too."

"I know." He released her hands so he could give her a hug, which she returned.

"All that being said," he released her. "It is time to hand down your punishment."

"But…"

"No buts," his voice was that of a headmaster dealing with a student. "You know better than to hex people for what they say, no matter what outrageous thing exits their mouth."

"Yes, Dad."

"Now," he scratched his chin. "I think two weeks of detention scrubbing cauldrons would be an appropriate punishment."

Rose knew better than to argue with him.

"Are you ready for me to tell Neville my decision?" He asked.

"Can I have one more hug first?" She asked.

"You never need to ask for that." He embraced her once more.

When he returned home, the dishes were in the dish drainer, as clean as the day they'd bought them. His stomach sank. It wasn't difficult to clean the dishes. With the right spells it would have taken ten minutes. Why could he never bring himself to do his most hated chore?

He wandered down the hallway, until he heard his wife's voice coming from their youngest daughter's bedroom.

"Then the little wallaby lived happily ever after," Hermione concluded. "The end."

Severus peeked inside the room. Hermione was sitting with her daughter on the bed, a book in her hands. Victor sat beside them, craning his neck at the last picture.

"I love that story," Violet replied. "And I like it when Victor does the voices."

"It is a fun story to read," Victor lowered his voice. "Isn't it you little troublemaker?"

Violet burst out laughing.

"It is entertaining to listen to you read it," Severus interrupted.

"Daddy!" Violet leapt off her mother's lap and latched onto Severus' leg. "I didn't think you were coming until after I fell asleep."

"I apologize for taking so long." He kissed her forehead. "Rose's issue could not wait though."

"Is Rose okay?" Victor asked.

"Is she in trouble?" Violet bounced around his leg.

"That isn't your concern."

"Ooh," Violet stilled herself. "What did she do, and how did she get punished?"

Hermione kept her attention on her husband, just as curious as to the outcome as her children.

"Let's just say someone decided to tell your sister a lie. When she tried to refute them, they would not listen. Then, she made the unfortunate decision to hex them."

"Is anyone hurt?" Hermione asked.

"No, the biggest consequence is that the liar has purple hair which should fade in three days, and a horse tail which should be easy enough to remove with the right spell." Severus picked up Violet and took her to the bed.

"What did Neville do to her?" Victor asked.

"Does Rose have to clean up unicorn poop now?" Violet asked.

"No, but she is cleaning cauldrons for the next two weeks." Severus set his daughter down.

"Icky," Violet shuddered.

"Yes, which is why neither you nor your brother should get into fights at Hogwarts," Hermione replied. "If you keep your noses clean, you won't need to worry about cleaning out cauldrons."

"I won't get into fights," Victor answered.

"I won't be bad, I promise," Violet replied.

"Good. All that being said," he took his wife into his arms. "I apologize for not helping you with the dishes earlier. There is no good excuse for my unwillingness to help out."

"I apologize as well. I nagged you and ignored that you have had a long day of brewing. I do not always appreciate the work you do in the day," Hermione replied.

"There is no need to apologize. I was in the wrong."

"Are we going to argue now over who was more in the wrong?" There was a mischievous gleam in her eyes.

"It would be a more pleasant argument than we were having earlier." His expression matched hers.

"Well," Hermione began. "At the end of the day, you were right, you should not have had to do the dishes."

"Yes, but I should not have forced you to do them or use a house elf."

"She didn't," Victor said. "I did the dishes."

"You did?" He turned to his son.

"Yes," he answered. "Mum said since I was doing so well with the reading I could pitch in and help while she gave Violet a bath. It wasn't as hard as I thought it would be, and it was kind of fun."

"Victor was a great helper, so great he's earned himself an extra cupcake before bed," Hermione replied.

His face lit up.

"You are the best son I could have asked for Victor." He kissed his son on the forehead. "Then again, that is to be expected. You and your sisters were raised by the greatest witch I have ever known."

Had the Wizarding World seen the way Severus kissed his wife, there would be no doubt in their minds that Severus was deliriously happy with her, much happier than he could have ever imagined.

In the end, the love of the present mattered far more than the distant past.