If the Crime Fits the Punishment

not mine. wish they were, but they\'re not. so i\'ll have to settle for playing with them here. i hope j.k. rowling doesn\'t mind over much. i know i\'m not.

please feel free to read, tell me what you think...you know all the usual stuff. it makes me goofy, don\'t you know?

standing raunch warning enacted. you have been warned. i will not be held responsible for anyone furthering their vocabulary through my foul mouth.

Chapter Nineteen: New Homes and Empty Hollows
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Severus was shuffling through the stack of graded parchments, readying them to hand back to the appropriate body, when the scent of Victorian roses caught his nose. Under the next graded paper, he found a piece of parchment, folded over. His first name was scrawled across the front hastily. He recognized the writing as Kendra\'s and had to wonder why she\'d sent him a note. As the class was still empty, he opened the halved paper and let his black gaze drift over it lazily.

\'Severus,

Please meet me at The Three Broomsticks for lunch this afternoon. I have something that I need to discuss with you.

Love You,
Kendra\'

That was curious. She had been fast asleep when he\'d slipped from the bed this morning, so she had to have put it in the pile of papers the night before. But he was certain she\'d been asleep when he\'d left the bed after the frantic bout of love making they\'d had. And lately, once she fell asleep, she stayed asleep. The babe drained her strength. It didn\'t matter how much she ate, nor that she took frequent naps and swallowed her supplements regularly, she was always drooping by the time the evening meal was finished. He refolded the paper, slipping it into the top drawer of his desk. He would, of course, keep it. Silly and sentimental as it was, she had said she loved him in it. And it was the first piece of correspondence he\'d ever received from her. If his students found out about this, he was done for. They\'d never find him intimidating again.

The day took it\'s own sweet time about moving forward. It trudged along, completely ignoring his desire for it to pick up the pace a touch. Especially when he discovered one of his first year Hufflepuffs made Neville Longbottom look like a bloody genius at Potions. The boy had managed to melt his cauldron. Twice. It wasn\'t an auspicious start to the day. He could only hope that Kendra\'s discussion would brighten his day considerably.

~*~*~*~*~

Kendra sighed as she pulled her cloak about her, walking up the street toward the pub in silence. She knew that when Severus heard what she had to tell him, he was going to go off in a fit of rage, the likes of which she had never before seen. She was not looking forward to this meeting. But the longer she had thought about what Professor Dumbledore had said the previous day, the more sense it made to her. She was not much older than any of the students there, and she was not married. It didn\'t matter that Severus had said he cared. It didn\'t matter that she loved him. It mattered what people would see, if they happened to look. A younger woman, living with an older man. A man who was known to be a right bastard and had never once given any indications of having feelings. A pretty girl with an unattractive old man is what they would see. It would make them wonder how he had gotten her to stay. And the pregnancy would only make it look worse.

She hated that the Headmaster was right. It seemed to her as if she had given up without a fight. But fighting Dumbledore didn\'t ever seem like a good idea. She was still confused about the emotions the old man had stirred up with his questions. What kind of future was she to have with Severus? He had never mentioned anything other than moving in with him. What if he grew tired of her? It was bound to happen, when she lost her waist to the growing baby. She stopped in her tracks, making an effort to block all thought from her head. The swirling emotions would only make this harder, and she was already getting a headache from it.

Taking several deep breaths, Kendra composed herself as best she could, then continued on to The Three Broomsticks. The pub looked cheery in the mild sun, and she had to force herself to step inside. When her eyes adjusted, she could see that he had beat her there. He sat at a table in the far corner, away from all the other patrons. At least she didn\'t have to worry about them overhearing her. She managed to drum up a faint smile and moved to the table.

\'Kendra,\' his tone was even, but she could see that he was glad to see her by the look in his eyes. Until he studied her closely and saw the tightness around her mouth and eyes. \'Something is wrong. What is it? It\'s not the babe, is it?\' the concern made it\'s self known in his voice, as well as on his face. She shook her head and dropped into the chair across from him.

\'How to go about this?\' she muttered to herself.

\'You could, perhaps, come right out and say it,\' he told her, crossing his arms over his chest. His tone had gone cold. She sighed and decided he was right. He would certainly have the right to be angry when she spit it out.

\' I\'ve moved out of the dungeons,\' she whispered, hoping he wouldn\'t make a scene in front of the pub\'s patrons. He stared at her for all of two seconds before the expression on his face faded, leaving his stare blank and uninviting.

\' I see. Tired of me already, are you?\' his voice was carefully controlled to keep his feelings from leaking out with it. He would not let her see how much this hurt. She had said she loved him, but they were just three little words, after all. They didn\'t mean anything, if one chose to ignore them. He saw the sparkle of a tear in one eye and had to clench his hands around his robes to keep himself from reaching out to her.

\'No, I\'m not tired of you,\' she replied evenly. He could hear the faintest waver there, telling him she would soon cry. He didn\'t care. As she didn\'t care that she was ripping his heart out at the moment. Stomping on it with joyful abandon. \' It\'s somewhat more complicated than that. I had a talk with the Headmaster yesterday, and he was concerned about how our relationship would look to the students and their parents. And he was right. What we are doing is wrong. So I found myself a hut and......\'

\'Albus Dumbledore can go to hell!\' he hissed, interrupting her explanation. She drew back, startled. She\'d never heard him speak of the other man with anything but grudging respect. He leaned forward, bringing his face in closer to hers. \'You are mine! You cannot just up and leave me, should you bloody well chose! I don\'t give a damn what the students or their parents may think! I will not let you go, nor will I give you up!\'

\' Please, Severus,\' she begged. \'Don\'t make this any harder than it already is. I\'ve thought about it and...... it\'s...\'

\'I don\'t give a flying fuck what you think!\' his voice was low and deadly, making it all the scarier. He noticed Madam Rosemerta moving toward the table. He pinned her to the spot she stood in with his glare. \'Will I even see my child?\' he asked. It dawned on her that he thought she meant....... she was leaving him for good.

\'Oh, gods!\' she groaned. \'How could you think I would keep you from your child? Our child. I love you, and I want our baby to know....\' she trailed off as a sob left her throat. \'Stupid, stubborn git. I\'ve taken a cottage here in Hogsmeade. I\'ll be right here. Just not in the dungeons with you.\'

He stared at her for a moment as she tried to gather her scattered wits. Finally, she slipped from the chair and gave him a haughty glare. Tears still shone in her eyes, but she was not allowing them to fall. \'I had hoped you could be something other than an ass about this, but I see I was mistaken. I\'ll be going now,\' she told him, her voice soft and full of pain. She spun away from him, stalking across the floor in a near perfect imitation of him. He watched her go, his hands curling into fists on the table top.

\'She\'s right, you know,\' Rosemerta\'s voice cut through the fog that had enveloped his brain, bringing his gaze up to her face. She had moved to stand next to the table, staring down at him with a frown. A raven colored eyebrow lifted in inquiry. \'You are a stupid, stubborn git. She was in here yesterday, and I thought I\'d have to come get you or Poppy to calm her. The idea of leaving the dungeons was distressing her that much. Oddly enough, I see no reason why she should be so unhappy about leaving them behind.\'

The pub owner turned and walked off, leaving Severus to sit for the rest of his lunch and ponder what he\'d just learned.....

~*~*~*~*~

The gargoyle guarding the entrance to the Headmaster\'s private offices was being particularly slow about moving out of his way. Severus\' nerves were ready to snap at this, the last bit of irritation he needed this evening. He had stewed the entire day on what he\'d been told, making him even more the bastard in classes. The students in Double Potions had wisely kept their mouths closed and completed their assignments with very little prodding. He had stomped about the Lab all afternoon like a troll with hangover, and the students were starting to wish they had their regular Potions Master back.

At the top of the stairs, he stopped for a moment. He was going after the crafty old fox in his own den, he needed to be prepared. He took a deep breath, then another, then rapped his knuckles on the door sharply. There was a moment of silence, then Albus\' soft voice calling out \'Enter.\'

Severus pushed the door open and billowed his way into the room, looking very much like a giant bat. He made his way toward Dumbledore\'s desk and stood at the very edge, waiting for the man to look up at him. It was several moments later that the Headmaster lifted his head to see who had entered his office. \'Ah, Severus. What brings you to my office?\' he asked, genuinely glad to see the younger man.

\' I\'m surprised you should have to ask, since you know everything that happens in the school,\' Snape commented dryly. His face was perfectly blank, lacking expression. Unusual for the Potions Master to not be scowling. He was either terribly upset, or completely unfeeling. Albus had no doubts as to which emotion it was. He loosed a sigh and set the quill in his hand down.

\' I believe you are referring to Kendra?\' he asked quietly.

\' You are correct. What is this shite she tells me that you think she and I?.....\' he began, only to have the older man lift a hand to prod him to silence.

\'Sit down, Severus,\' Albus motioned to a chair.

\' I\'ll stand, thank you,\' he returned, crossing his arms over his chest.

\'That was not a request,\' the Headmaster\'s voice lost some of it\'s warmth. The younger man\'s mouth tightened at the order, but he placed himself in one of the two chairs before the desk. When he had made himself as comfortable as he could, Albus handed him a piece of parchment. Severus glanced at him quizzically, but took it. When he had read it over, some of his infamous scowl had surfaced.

\'This is.....\' he began, but Dumbledore stared him into silence.

\'You know better than others that now is not the time to go against the Ministry, Severus,\' Albus leaned back in his chair. He removed his half moon spectacles and pinched the bridge of his nose in a manner that Snape recognized for what it was. He\'d done it many times himself when things had gone too far off center to ever be brought back to normal. \'They\'re still trying to regain the populous\' trust. The whole fiasco with Voldemort is still casting a shadow over them. Particularly Fudge. I\'m still on the outs, and I\'m merely trying to keep everything on an even keel.\'

\'But to use this as an excuse to cast Kendra out?\' he snarled, then lifted the official document and cleared his throat.

\' Headmaster Dumbledore,

It has come to our attention that a situation has arisen at Hogwart\'s which demands your immediate action. We have it from an anonymous source that one of the Professors on staff is engaged in an affair. Said wizard is reportedly living with a young female in his own chambers. While we at the Ministry see nothing wrong with the happiness that can be found when two people share their lives, we cannot abide with this kind of carrying on in the presence of impressionable, school aged children. We demand that some kind of resolution be reached directly.

We will leave the matter to your capable hands, and will trust that you find an acceptable solution to the problem. If we receive any further reports on this, we will take the appropriate disciplinary action, which may include the resignations of both yourself and the Professor in question.

The Department of Wizarding and Magical Education.\'

His voice oozed venom as he read the words, practically spitting each one of them out as if they had left a foul, dirty taste in his mouth.

\' I know that you do not feel this justifies Kendra\'s leaving. But where would you go were you to lose your position here?\' Dumbledore asked him seriously. Severus glared at him, but said nothing for the moment. \'If there were any other way, you know I would be the first one to defend your private life with the girl. But at the present, this is the only solution. There\'s no way you can carry on a relationship inside the school\'s walls with an unmarried girl.\'

\'You would prefer I carried on with a married girl?\' Severus asked acidly, his eye brow lifting up with the inquiry. Albus frowned at him.

\'You could, were Kendra the married girl, you temper tantrum throwing twit!\' Albus snapped.

\' I\'m sure the Ministry would over look that with nary a question asked! `Oh, we won\'t mind, so long as you don\'t tell her husband!` Yes, I can see how they would much rather that than the previous arrangement!\' Severus growled.

\'Do not be snide with me. That would depend entirely on who her husband was,\' Albus informed him.

\' Yes, well.... I do concede you have a point there.\' the dark man sighed heavily.

\' If anyone wants your happiness, it\'s me. But I just could not let it carry on any more. The children here do deserve some consideration, as well. And, as I understand it, Kendra is only in Hogsmeade. It\'s not as if she\'s gone back to London.\'

\'And this is supposed to console me, should something happen to her and she cannot alert me. There is the matter of my child, *our* child, as well!\' he stood to pace. The area was small and confined, so he was forced to settle with taking a few steps in one direction, then whirling and following them back to the starting point. Like a caged animal pacing it\'s enclosure.

\'Severus, we can arrange things so that we can be alerted here, should something go wrong. I\'m afraid that\'s all I can do. She can\'t stay with you in the dungeons. That is final,\' Dumbledore\'s voice was firm, telling the other man there would be no more discussion on the topic. Snape stood, his sneer coming on full force. He let the letter from the Ministry flutter to the desk top, making to leave. \' I have something I wish you to give Miss MacLeod when you next see her,\' Allbus\' voice, returned to it\'s usual softness, stopped him.

The Headmaster held an envelope in his hand. Severus took it and tucked it into an inner pocket in his robes. With a curt nod and nothing more, he stepped from the office and headed for his dungeons. Albus waited until he was sure the man had truly gone, then looked to some of the old Headmasters, staring at him from their portraits. \'You should have hit him with a brick,\' one of them said sleepily.

\' I swear that boy is as dense as Crabbe and Goyle. If I\'d hinted any harder, I\'d have told him to propose outright,\' Dumbledore grinned.

\'The youth of today!\' another harrumphed and promptly drifted off.

~*~*~*~*~

The small cottage lay at the edge of the village, farthest from the school. It was cheery looking, even in the dark of night. He noted the bright green shutters surrounding the three windows across the front. They were dark against the subdued brightness of the white paint on the outer walls. No light came from the interior, telling him she was most likely sleeping. Severus studied the door, concentrating on her wards. They were good, solid wards that he knew would give most pause. But he also knew they would do little to hold him back.

Once inside, he was not surprised to find her furniture already settled into place in the various rooms of the small dwelling. Her couch was centered on the floor of the living area, a throw rug put down in front of it. The pair of chairs he had seen in her flat flanked the couch, tables scattered about to make it seem more of a home. He followed his instincts to the back of the cottage. There were two doors facing him. One was shut, the other open. The room with the open door was empty as yet, but he knew this was where she would put the babe. The other room must be hers.

His hand hesitated, hovering over the door knob for a bit in uncertainty. Perhaps she didn\'t want him there. She had been rather upset this afternoon. He supposed, looking back, he\'d been worse than surly with her. He had been made to think when Rosemerta had told him she thought he didn\'t deserve Kendra. Perhaps he didn\'t, but they were tied to each other in some way now. Through the child and their feelings. She had said she loved him on more than one occasion. He believed her. Yet, he hadn\'t told her anything about his feelings. He wasn\'t sure what they were himself. He only knew that he had gone back to the dungeons and found them lonely. Now he found himself here.

The knob twisted silently, easily in his hand. The door swung open, the hinges well oiled and used, so it made no noise. The room was small and cozy. Her bed sat in the middle of the wall directly facing him. It was a full sized bed, and she lay curled up on one side of it. A candle burned in a lantern next to the bed, showing her face pressed against black cloth. He chuckled. If she kept this up, he would soon be out of robes and have to get more.

He moved toward the bed, releasing clasps and buttons as he went along. The garments were folded neatly as they were shed, then lain upon a chair in the corner. He left his shoes under the same chair. When he was fully unclothed, he slipped under the blankets and pulled her body next to his. He muttered a few words under his breath that put the candle\'s flame out, plunging the room into darkness. He felt her turn in his arms, her head pressing against his shoulder. The arm on top went over his stomach, pulling him even closer to her. He felt her breath fan over his flesh an instant before her lips pressed a kiss to his throat. \'Welcome home, love,\' she whispered quietly.

He lay there for some time after, his mind playing those three words over in a loop. A smile, a real smile that might have once hurt him, stretched across his face, and he felt his heart thaw.............

end chapter nineteen.
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my thanks to my usual gang. they all know who they are, and they know i love them bunches.

feel free to read and review. and look at my newest work. it\'s not long yet, but it should be rather smutty. just give me a couple chapters more...... and don\'t forget to review here. it\'s appreciated!