Gaelic Blessing

Severus woke up to find that Harry’s side of the bed was cold and obviously hadn’t been slept in for quite a while. He was highly confused, not knowing where his husband had gone. The last few weeks since their wedding had been bliss. As much as they had enjoyed their honeymoon, with it being just Harry and himself it was nice to be back home. The older children had gone off to visit various Hogwarts friends for the duration while the younger ones had gone to stay with Grandma Molly and Grandpa Arthur at The Burrow.

Once they had returned from their honeymoon, they had settled into life at Hogwarts although all of them missed Heathmore. The children had been given the run of the castle as Harry wrote lesson plans and decided on which texts to use and Severus was acquainting himself with all the tasks he needed to complete as the new Deputy Headmaster.

Severus turned over and tried to go back to sleep but he couldn’t manage it. He had become accustomed to Harry’s presence in their bed and found it impossible to sleep without him. It had been difficult after Christmas for him to become accustomed to sleeping without Harry, but it had become even more difficult for him to sleep apart from Harry after the Hogwarts year had finished. Knowing that he wasn’t going to be able to go back to sleep he threw the covers aside and swung his legs out of bed, summoning his night robe as he did so. Grumbling slightly at the early hour, he belted the robe around him and made his way down the corridor.

As he walked down the corridor he could see that the children were all still fast asleep. The eldest six would need to be taken to Kings Cross so that they could catch the Hogwarts Express. It wasn’t strictly necessary as they all lived at the castle but none of their friends knew that their guardians were professors. Severus had been granted joint guardianship of the children when he and Harry married. While Harry took both sets of twins, Alex and Holly to Kings Cross station, Severus was to take the other six to Molly Weasley’s for the night. It had been decided that both Severus and Harry would be too busy with their duties as Heads of Gryffindor and Slytherin to suitably care for them that evening and that they would be better off with their honourary Grandma. The next morning, Molly would take Max, Cillian, Cameron and Natalie to their primary school in Hogsmeade and would look after Georgiana and Elizabeth at The Burrow. Once school had finished she would collect the children and then either Harry or Severus would collect them once they had finished teaching for the day. It all seemed incredibly complex but both Harry and Severus knew that it was the best option for all of them.

Moving out of the corridor and into the living area, Severus saw that this was where Harry had retreated to. He was curled up in front of the fire with a steaming mug of tea clutched in his hands, simply staring into the fire. He was shivering minutely as he had forgotten to gather his robe as he had left the bedroom. Rolling his eyes in exasperation, as Harry always forgot his robe, Severus moved over to his husband and sat down next to him on the couch, wrapping an arm around his shoulders. It took Harry less than a minute to lean into the warmth of Severus’ body, burying his face in the crook of his neck and pressing a kiss against the warm skin absentmindedly.

“You’re up early love. Is anything wrong?” Severus queried as he pressed a kiss against the top of Harry’s head.

Harry shook his head and pressed another kiss against Severus’ throat before he spoke. “Nothing’s wrong per se, I’m just a bit nervous about today. I left the wizarding world to try and escape manipulation. I’m throwing myself back into the deep end. It’s just a bit daunting really. It’s been fine all summer because the castle’s essentially been empty but everyone returns today and it’s just got me a little rattled.”

Severus’ heart sank and his stomach started churning. “Are you saying you regret your decision?” His worst fear was that Harry regretted marrying him and that he felt railroaded into the decision to return to Hogwarts. He didn’t think he could bear it now if Harry left him.

“What?” Harry sat up straight, having realised what Severus was thinking. “NO! It’s not like that at all. I don’t regret marrying you or coming back at all. I love you Severus Alexander Hades Snape. I’m simply a bit nervous about returning to the place I’ve been hiding from for the last four years. It’s better for the children that I’m back but most of all it’s better for me. As long as I have you there for me at the end of every day then I’m going to get through this.”

“Good, as I have no intention of being anywhere else. Now, come on, back to bed. It’s barely half five and I need more sleep.”

Harry grinned, a wicked smirk on his face as he teased Severus. “Aw, can’t my big bad husband sleep without his teddy bear to cuddle?”

He squealed rather girlishly as Severus slapped him lightly on his bum. “No, I can’t sleep without you anymore and if you tell anyone that little snippet of information then I have no qualms about using you in a potion.”

Smiling at the romantic notion that his husband couldn’t sleep without him, Harry allowed Severus to pull him up and take him back to bed, snuggling up against the taller man where he fell asleep without any further problems.

***

Severus’ hand clutched Harry’s reflexively as the first few students started to trickle into the Great Hall. As brave as he was, Harry knew that his husband was nervous about performing the sorting in his first task as Deputy Headmaster. Harry himself was also nervous; he had spent the last four years hiding from the wizarding world and was, in essence, being thrown in at the deep end. He was relieved at least, that the children had kept their parents names, and wouldn’t be subjected to comments and teasing from the students for having two professors as guardians. That being said, he waved discreetly at Holly, Lucia, Alfonso and Alex when they looked up and either grinned or waved at him. As more and more students arrived, Severus squeezed Harry’s hand one last time, and slipped out of the side door to go and greet the new first years as Hagrid brought them up from the train. Finally, with the hall filled with students, the Headmistress stood and the entire hall quietened.

“Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to another year at Hogwarts. Before we eat and before any other announcements, let us sort the new first year students.”

At her words, the doors to the Great Hall opened and Severus swept in at the head of the column of first years, all of whom looked absolutely terrified. The only exceptions to this were Robert and Violet, both of whom knew what to expect. As they watched, Severus retrieved the wonky three-legged stool, Sorting Hat and scroll containing the names of all of the new students and proceeded with the Sorting Ceremony. Before long they had reached Harry and Severus’ next two wards and Severus read out the first of the twins names.

“Carmichael, Robert.”

Both guardians watched as the blond haired, blue-eyed boy slipped from his place next to his twin sister. With barely a hesitation he sat on the stool, deliberately not looking at anybody, and allowed Severus to place the Sorting Hat on his head. It took barely a minute before the hat yelled its decision.

“HUFFLEPUFF!”

Looking back at Severus and Harry, as if for their approval, Robert’s face lit up in a smile as they nodded at him and made his way to the Hufflepuff table, turning back immediately to see how his twin sister fared.

“Carmichael, Violet.”

Robert’s twin sister made her way up to the stool, looking slightly more nervous than her brother. Harry knew that she was hoping to be placed in the same house as her brother, the twins never having been separated before. The Sorting Hat was on her head for a bit longer than it was on Robert’s but it yelled the decision that the girl was hoping for.

“HUFFLEPUFF!”

It was Robert who led the cheers, immediately followed by the other teenage occupants of Heathmore. With a smile twitching on his lips, Severus continued with the sorting and, once it was finished, put away both the stool and the hat before reclaiming his seat next to Harry.

The Hall quietened down as the Headmistress stood. “Ladies and gentlemen, welcome back to a new school year at Hogwarts. As I’m sure you can see, I am the new Headmistress, with Headmaster Dumbledore having retired at the end of last term. Your new Deputy Headmaster, as I’m sure you’ve seen, is Professor Snape.” Here she had to pause as the Slytherins let go of their normal reserve and cheered wildly for their Head of House. “Thank you Slytherin. As I will no longer be able to teach, I’d like you to welcome your new Transfiguration teacher and Slytherin alumni, Professor Draco Malfoy. My appointment as Headmistress also means that I will be unable to remain in the post of Head of House for Gryffindor. As a result I would like to introduce your new Defence Against the Dark Arts professor and Head of Gryffindor house, another former graduate, Professor Harry Potter-Snape.” After a shocked pause, there was a wild burst of applause, cheers and shouts from students of all houses. Both Draco and Harry stood up quickly and bowed to their new students, before sitting down as rapidly as possible. “I’d also like to announce some more good news. As I’m sure you’ve just heard; two of our professors got married over the summer. So, I would like you to offer your congratulations to Professors Severus Snape and Harry Potter-Snape.”

For several long minutes, the only applause came from Poppy Pomfrey, Molly Weasley and the children of Heathmore house. They were soon joined by the rest of the school, many of whom were still shocked when their still scary Potions professor smiled and kissed his husband dead on the lips in front of the school; at the head table no less. As always, regardless of where they were, Harry melted into his taller husband, unable to resist the other man’s allure. For his part, Severus momentarily forgot where they were, pulling Harry closer and letting his tongue part Harry’s lips in order to deepen the kiss. Both men relished the feelings, knowing that people were right when they said that newlyweds were insatiable and unable to keep their hands off each other. They only broke apart at the sound of cat-calls from the Slytherin table.

Severus smiled as he touched Harry’s cheek lightly. “Welcome home love.”