— II —
Leonor prepared a black coffee for Minerva and herself once the children left grudgingly.
Minerva stirred coffee cream into the steaming mug speaking thoughtfully, "My memory deceived me; I was in the opinion that you had a baby girl first."
"Well, Eileen is the older of the two. She'll be eleven in July."
"Oh! And how old is Marcus then?" asked Minerva curiosity in her eyes.
Leonor sighed. "He turned ten last week and wants to learn magic sooner than later. It will be challenging to keep his thirst for knowledge at bay if Eileen starts at Hogwarts. It would actually be good for him to be more challenged, best at a magical school."
Minerva's wrinkled face softened. "Marcus is a tall boy, like his father. Severus was lanky and thin too; the black hair obscured his face as if he had to hide something. He was a bit jumpy in the first year if I remember right, walked always hunched and alone. Severus never forgot a homework, studious, diligent. Albus and I should have taken better care of him. We had no idea about his anti-social home. Albus never mentioned a thing and I only know because Harry told me after Severus' release from Azkaban."
The professor gasped, "I understood too late that Severus controlled his magic and feelings very well. Today I know that Potter and Black must have provoked him to the bones before he struck back."
Leonor nodded; there was not much to say about that anymore.
The Professor sipped the coffee and whispered nervously, "How is Severus today?"
"Well, for me he's still the same person. We all get older, though I believe that Severus looks more youthful now with the grey highlights in the black hair and since the weight of the war and the prison is lifted from his shoulders. He's very protective about me and the children; he fears isolation. Nightmares haunt him — still. Severus doesn't speak about it, but I know it's either Voldemort's torture or the occasional visits of Dementor's in Azkaban what gives him sleepless nights."
"I came unannounced because you did not reply to my request and it was now the last day of the Easter break. Will he be ready to talk to me?"
Leonor shrugged. "I think it would be good for him to talk to you, but I cannot say how Severus will react to find you here. Usually he's already back, whatever held him up today."
"Horace praises him highly for every lecture at the Potions' Guild. He's been devastated admitting that he refused to invite the reserved and withdrawn boy to the Slug Club when he now turned out to be the creator of a potion against the aftereffects of the Crutiatus Curse. Another sad case of unjustified judgment. Hogwarts made too many mistakes with the Slytherins."
Leonor smiled mildly. "Severus invented the base formula already two years after graduation. It's been about time that it was published."
"I feel so embarrassed, Leonor. I was about to kill Severus right before the Final Battle started. I had not the slightest idea, mistrusted Albus in his judgement. I've been wrong."
Leonor glanced to the wedding band.
"Tell Severus that and he will listen. He will return soon."
Leonor refilled the mugs with another coffee waiting for the creaking of the front door. Minerva chewed on a self-baked shortbread getting more and more uncomfortable with the minute.
Severus entered and stopped immediately in his tracks seeing the familiar green and blue tartan dress of his former superior who sat on his chair on the kitchen table.
Leonor gave an encouraging squeeze and a smile to the old professor's hand and hurried into the corridor.
"Hi, Sev," she said lightly distracting Severus with a kiss. It did not work out. He looked questioningly at Leonor, his body rigid and the heart hammering in his chest.
"Talk to Minerva," she whispered. "I stay if you want."
"Where are the children?" he asked.
"With the sheep farmer."
Severus pressed the lips together and glanced from Leonor to the old woman who warmed her hands on the cup of coffee. Then he straightened and walked inside, saying coldly, "Good day, Minerva."
The headmistress stood up, momentarily speechless when a slim man with a boyish sneer and close to his fifties approached her. Severus stood straight and confident in front of her stretching no hand for a peaceable gesture. The long hair looked now like charcoal and gave the penetrating dark eyes a softer touch. Severus' face was tanned from sun and wind; the sallow skin she remembered gone for good.
Minerva saw only now the pain and grief behind the cold mask, the strong boy who hid a violent and unhappy childhood from peers and teachers, a young man perfecting occlumency to survive as a spy, nevertheless untrusted by both sides; only Voldemort and Dumbledore put faith into him. The ringleaders classified him to be a leader too, a tactician, a diplomat and a man hiding his love from both. She'd seen not more than an affair in Leonor Scott, a playmate to master more of the Dark Arts.
"Your boy comes after you," said Minerva first, sitting back down to the table and dabbing her eyes.
Severus paled, losing his courage.
He answered in a low voice, "He'll be a good student I suppose."
"I'm sorry," stammered Minerva. "I've done everything wrong, all those years. I mistrusted Albus' judgement, and I was seriously wrong. I should have been in the courtroom, should have defended you. Harry opened my eyes, too late."
Severus frowned, but Minerva did not notice while being busy with a handkerchief and blowing her nose.
"Sit down," she commanded like she'd always done when they had to sort out matters between Gryffindor and Slytherin House. Instead of offering biscuits she took one from the tin on the table and crunched it.
"What's the reason of your visit?" questioned Severus with a mocking undertone, curiosity in his eyes.
The headmistress spluttered, "I like to offer you a teaching post, Defence against the Dark Arts and Head of the Slytherin House."
Severus swallowed. That had been the last he expected.
"Horace is getting old, aching under the pressure of Potions and the due care for the students. Poppy runs frequently out of healing draughts. Several retired Aurors taught the subject in the last ten years but none of them had a knack to enthuse the students."
"And you believe that the students get enthusiastic listening to me?" Severus gave her a hollow laugh.
"You are able to change, Severus. There's no war ongoing. You have a good reputation. Your children visit Hogwarts soon and your wife works in Hogsmeade." Minerva narrowed her eyes wisely.
Severus exhaled disgusted. His reputation as a teacher was everything but not good.
"I need a professor and not somebody who supplements the ministry pension with it," she begged.
"I do not like to return to Hogwarts," he answered stiffly, the tone raw and chilly.
"And why not?" Minerva snorted briskly.
"Marcus needs me in the afternoon. He'll be alone when Eileen goes to Hogwarts and Leonor works in the apothecary. He needs me here."
Minerva sighed gulping the coffee and pulling a face. She looked helpless to Leonor who leaned against the door frame listening carefully and shaking her head advising to stop pressing the matter.
The room filled with an awkward silence. Severus watched the Phoenix with a stony expression and the headmistress kneaded the mug.
"Is that your last word, Severus?" she said thin-lipped and made no effort to hide the disappointment in her voice. "The staff members agreed all to ask you first before putting an advertisement to the newspaper."
"My place is here," replied Severus firmly. Then he got up, nodded a brief goodbye and left to the storeroom, squeezing past Leonor. The door fell into the lock behind him and the two women cringed at the thud.
Leonor took wordless a bottle of Ogden's Old Firewhisky from a cupboard, conjured two glassed and poured the golden liquid into it. They emptied the glasses in one go.
"Thank you," murmured McGonagall. "I needed that now."
"Fancy a walk to the beach? It's still some time before the students return with the Hogwarts Express."
"Most are in the castle anyway, preparing for the exams," said Minerva relieved talking about something else. "Yes, some fresh air would be good. But I don't want to hold you up now as things are clear." Minerva's voice quivered.
"I planned a walk anyway," replied Leonor knowing full well that Severus needed time on his own for a while.
"Do you think that he will come round and listen again about the offer?" whispered Minerva, taking her cloak and leaving the cottage ahead of Leonor. "There's a lot of things that can be arranged. I don't expect him to live in the castle as he did in the past and the salary is better too."
"Well, Eileen comes more after me, she's more relaxed about magic," said Leonor mildly, pointing the direction for a walk down to the beach. "But Marcus is focused on his father, he was always. He's reading and reading, waiting impatiently to join Hogwarts as if he needs to prove something."
"There's nothing wrong about an eager student," smiled Minerva.
"No, certainly not. But being stuck in the muggle school while Eileen learns magic and his father teaches at Hogwarts that will be too much for Marcus. He'll not understand. Marcus suffered the most from Severus' absence."
The women walked now below the cliffs in silence, the water playing with the sand to the left and sea swallows circling above them.
"It's not easy to raise two children alone."
"That's not what I wanted to say. Marcus and Severus had always a special relationship, even when Marcus was only a few days old. They should not be separated again."
Minerva frowned, looking Leonor in the eye piercingly as she did with students who'd done wrong. Then she continued to walk more briskly, saying, "They will be separated for seven long years if Marcus gets the letter."
Leonor exhaled, confirming Minerva's thought.
"Is there a possibility that Marcus starts a year early at Hogwarts?" Severus denied that he knew at least one case in the seventeen years of teaching.
"Parents are not obliged to send children to Hogwarts."
"Durmstrang and Beauxbatons make exceptions, but we do not consider sending them somewhere else."
"You have the right to make an application to the head of the school. An admission examination is executed by the school governors if I approve the application. I will need to talk to Marcus alone first," said Minerva matter-of-factly and glanced sideways to Leonor.
Leonor took a pebble and rubbed it in her hands. The stone was warm from the sun. The women stopped, watching the waves in silence both with their mind on something else.
"I'll talk to Severus about it. Should we return?" said Leonor after some minutes.
"Yes, we should." Minerva turned and squinted against the sun. She held her hand high to recognize two black dots coming towards them getting bigger and bigger with the second.
"Broomsticks!" she exhaled anxiously.
Leonor looked up, smiling. "Marcus and Eileen," she said. "It's really a secluded area here, pure countryside. They can go flying whenever they like."
Marcus landed smartly in the water, sending spray over his sister who wiped the salty drops from her face. Eileen was unfazed by that and just gave him a wicked grin to return the gesture next time. Marcus glanced at the headmistress biting his lower lip. Leonor could tell that he'd loved to splash her as well, but he didn't dare in the presence of Professor McGonagall.
"You two are already back?" asked Leonor, usually they stayed longer at the farm. Eileen often helped in the cheese dairy because it included a good amount of tasting fresh products. Marcus and his only muggle friend lounged lazily in the broadleaf forest out of earshot avoiding supporting the farmer with the sheep.
Marcus chewed his cheek, "They've been very busy today."
The professor raised an eyebrow hearing the reservation in the statement but got distracted by a beaming Eileen.
"The lambs are so cute. We stroked them; some were just a few hours old."
"Alright," sighed Leonor. "We are on our way back," she said helplessly. She would have liked asking more questions to Minerva but that seemed impossible now without giving too much away.
Marcus and Eileen carried their old broomsticks and walked slowly ahead of the adults, starting to talk about the places they wanted to fly with Severus whenever school and time allowed. Skomer Island had been the recent target, but the weather in spring had not been constant enough to manage it.
"Have you packed your school bags for tomorrow?" questioned Leonor when they approached the cottage together.
"Not yet," answered Eileen.
"Hurry up, you too," said Leonor. "We want to eat in the pub tonight. Heather and Thomas are coming and your magical classmates with their families will be there too."
The pair of siblings bid goodbye to the professor, giving the headmistress a last curious glance and earning a well-intentioned 'see you soon'. It made them even more nosy.
"I bring you to the kissing gate," Leonor said walking alongside Minerva.
The headmistress said pensively, "I understand if you and Severus do not want to live somewhere else than here. And if Severus is active in the Potions' Guild as I heard from Horace —"
"Well, he is indeed, finishing now investigations he started long time ago and many of them are welcome for lectures and periodicals. He sometimes helps at St. Mungo's with training the staff in particular difficult brewing. We both are busy," shrugged Leonor.
"Well, it's not possible to make up for the past, but I do my best that he can regain a bit of the lost seven years with the children if Hogwarts is an option at all," said Minerva with an apologetic smile. "He is welcome to visit me whenever he likes; I'll make some time if he sends a short notice in advance."
"Thank you, Minerva," whispered Leonor gratefully.
The women shook hands and then Minerva turned on the spot and was gone.
XXX
Leonor returned quickly to the cottage; Severus worked still in the storage room, and she entered quietly finding him stirring two cauldrons. He looked briefly at her without saying a word, only scrutinizing her expression for some hint. A feeling of uncertainty clenched his stomach; talking to Minerva face-to-face after so many years took him off balance. She'd been the one instructing him about the curriculum at Hogwarts, the one taking care of the daily tasks while Albus was the one for the 'greater good'.
"What did Minerva tell you to convince me?" asked Severus when Leonor refused to speak.
"That Marcus can start early in Hogwarts if we apply for it, and if he passes an examination with the governors successfully. You know as much as I that he would like the possibility."
Severus only nodded, taking the cauldrons from the fire and pouring the liquid into flasks.
Leonor continued, "Whitesands Haven sends five students to Hogwarts this year. It will be six with Marcus and nobody in the next year. He knows them all, he goes flying with the boys from time to time. Marcus starts then also a year ahead of Lupin's son, so they'll never share a class. He will learn with his sister, and he can have you in the castle."
"What do you want to say with that?" started Severus, anger flared in the dark eyes.
"— that you should think about Minerva's offer. I know how protective you are about your children and that you will miss them." Leonor sighed frustrated. She added quietly, "It breaks my heart to see them only for Christmas, Easter and in summer."
"— and you and I are separated if I become a professor again," blurted Severus hotly.
"It is a matter of negotiation, I guess. You have free periods; free weekends and I can move to the apothecary. We can come here whenever there is enough time. It's just an offer, you don't need to spend a lifetime in Hogwarts if you don't like teaching, but you are there if Marcus and Eileen need you. — and I may see them at odd times, the distance for the owls is short."
"You sound like scolding my decision?"
Leonor's voice was now soft. "I'm scolding your stubborn head, your hurt ego. I believe Minerva is prepared to find a solution that fits the school and our wishes."
Severus frowned, wiping the surface of the workbench with too much force, thoughts swirling in his mind until his beautiful wife spoke sadly.
"I know that Hogwarts did not make you happy and that you never wanted to return to a place that hurt you so much, but perhaps it's a chance to draw a line under the past and start new."
Severus' breath was now ragged, his heart hammering against his chest. "The cottage is the only real home I ever had and that is because of you."
"I know and I'm still with you. It breaks your heart to let Eileen and Marcus go."
Severus nodded and flung the crinkled tea towel to a basket admitting grudgingly that Leonor knew him too well.
He walked over to her and pulled her in a strong embrace.
"I miss you whenever you are away from me." Severus' velvety voice whispered into her ear, then he took her face into his hands tenderly.
"I know that. But your children are ready to explore the magic world, and they will do with or without you. They are lucky, there's no need to search for a better home in Hogwarts. The cottage will always be the best home until they choose to go on with own families. But that will only be in some years."
Severus kissed Leonor deeply, lifting her to the workbench and getting slowly aroused by her legs winding around his body and pressing against his crotch.
"We have an appointment in the pub tonight, and we are not alone," hushed Leonor glumly running her fingers down Severus' spine.
"Really? You wanted to get changed before." Mischievous fingers unclasped her bra under the blouse and cupped her breasts deftly, searching for the sensitive nipples under the thin cotton fabric. She moaned, holding her breath for a moment, enjoying the touch.
"I think, we've only made up for three of the missing seven years?" grinned Severus and closed the door shut with his foot.
Then they heard footsteps running down the stairs and Marcus' voice shouted that he and his sister took the broomsticks, flying ahead meeting with their friends in the centre of the village first.
Severus and Leonor grinned at each other; the hopeful mind explored the offered possibility. Then Severus pressed a hungry kiss to the soft skin showing under the half-unbuttoned blouse.
"I'll be right back," he whispered before giving final instructions to Marcus and Eileen.