Echoes of the Soul

Severus walked down the corridor towards the dungeons, his feet increasing their pace. He had a hot date with his wife tonight and had even ended his class early so he could get home to prepare.



Over the years they had fallen into a routine of a sort and once a month they arranged for Harry and Ginny to look after the children for the whole weekend. It was rare to see Mr and Mrs Snape outside the bedroom during those two days, except the memorable time they had such a huge domestic, Severus had escaped and hidden in the hospital wing under a disillusionment charm until the dust settled. That was a few years ago and now they hardly argued at all, finding it ate up their precious free time. Why argue when you could have sex instead? That was their philosophy.



It was hard to be married and live in Hogwarts because the portraits told each other everything, as Severus found out to his cost. After a frantic and brief lunchtime session with Hermione, the rumour spread like wildfire and even his afternoon classes were sniggering at him. He had insisted that Hermione remove the new pictures from their bedroom immediately, so she replaced them with muggle copies. He liked them, they stayed still and silent.



He threw open the door to the dungeon and walked quickly through into their private quarters. It was quite different nowadays, the added rooms had been necessary as their brood expanded and it even included a dining room. Hermione insisted that they ate together each night, except on Mummy and Daddy’s special weekends, when they were allowed to eat with the house elves in the kitchen as a sweetener for being shipped off for two whole days.



The children loved the house elves. Severus tolerated this in his life, except the time Megan had snuck Finty, a cheeky house elf with a fondness for the Snape children, into her room and cried for days when she couldn’t keep her. They had compromised by getting her an owl earlier than they really wanted to, just to keep her quiet. She had her Daddy wrapped around her little finger.



Severus could hear giggling coming from his bedroom and approached slowly, listening at the door.



‘Why are you wearing that tonight, Mummy?’ he could hear Megan’s light sing-song voice.



‘Because Daddy likes it, that’s why, now give it back, please, Megan.’ Hermione was stern but he could hear warmth in her voice. He smirked a little and wondered what she had in store for him. He felt himself harden. They hadn’t made love in almost a week.



He heard whispering and then giggling.



‘What did you say to your sister, Megan?’ Hermione sounded exasperated. ‘Della, tell me what Megan said to you.’



‘I can’t Mummy. If I tell you Megan will turn my hair green, she said.’ Severus just knew Della was pouting by the tone of her voice.



‘Very well. Megan, instead of having your tea with Finty tonight you can stay here with your Father and me and eat in the dining room. The you can explain to him why your sister is too scared to tell the truth.’ Hermione’s voice was soft but steely and Severus knew Megan had gone too far this time.



‘No!! Mummy…No… I want to see Finty! Please don’t tell Daddy, I promise I wont turn her hair green, I only said it as a joke.’ Megan was starting to sob.



Hermione sighed. ‘Megan, you have to stop teasing your sister, it’s not nice. And you shouldn’t whisper in front of people, it’s very rude. Now…tell me what you said to Della or else.’



‘I said that you and Daddy would be kissing all night… that’s all.’ Megan sounded subdued.



There was silence for a while. Severus would love to know how Hermione was going to get out of this one.



‘Stupid girls…’



Severus raised an eyebrow, he hadn’t realised Alfie was in there too. He wasn’t one for girl talk.



‘You wont always think they’re stupid, Alfie.’ Severus heard the smile in her voice.



‘Mum…can I go now? You wont get it any flatter and I promised George I would bring him to the kitchen with us for tea.’



Hermione laughed. ‘I’m sorry you inherited my hair. When you get back from Godric’s Hollow on Sunday, I’ll teach you the spell, but that’s the best I can do until it grows a bit more. It’s better, anyway. Go on…’ Severus heard a slurp and knew she had kissed Alfie on his cheek because he heard the girls giggling again. ‘and take your horrible sisters with you. Auntie Ginny will be here in an hour so don’t keep her waiting, OK? Otherwise…’



‘We know, you’ll send Dad to look for us…’ Alfie grunted.



Severus heard shuffling of feet and stepped back from the stampede.



Alfie loped out of the room first, hands in his pockets and his slightly springy hair smoothed down a little. He stopped as he saw his Dad and grinned.



‘Alright, Dad.’ He nodded.



‘Alfie…’ Severus smiled at his eldest child. ‘Good day?’



‘Ok I suppose. I have Potions homework again.’ He rolled his eyes upwards. ‘I might need your help.’



‘Your mother gives out more homework than I do! I can help you after the weekend.’



He winked at him and Alfie laughed.



‘Daddy!’ Megan squealed and ran up to him with her arms stretched upwards. Her dark hair hung loose down her back, her face one big smile with two cute dimples. She was going to be big trouble when she got older and he knew it. He lifted her and kissed her cheek, holding her close to his face.



‘Della would look pretty with green hair…’ He whispered and she giggled at him as he put her down on her feet. She ran to catch up with Alfie who was walking slowly towards the lab.



Della was standing in the doorway looking up at him. She was only 5 years old and yet, she was clearly the most intelligent and serious of the children. Her black hair was poker straight yet her eyes were bright amber, her mouth like a tiny pink bow. She studied him slowly as he peered down at her and then got down on his knees to look her in the eye.



Severus held his arms open and she looked over to check that Megan had gone from the room. She smiled and walked over to him, letting him wrap her in his arms and lift her up. He swung her around a couple of times as she laughed softly.



‘How’s my favourite girl?’ He asked her seriously.



She answered him, just as seriously. ‘I wish I was older than Megan, she ‘s bossy.’



‘Yes she is. What can we do about that do you think?’ He looked her in the eye and saw a slight glint.



‘You could point your wand at her and turn her into a toad!’ She grinned evilly and Severus laughed.



‘I don’t think that’s a good idea!’ Hermione was watching them from the doorway.



Severus looked at Della and kissed her tiny mouth. ‘Mummy is such a spoilsport.’



‘I love you Daddy.’ Della looked at him, her face giving nothing away. She was as good at hiding her emotions as he was. His heart melted.



‘I love you too, Della, very much.’ He hugged her close before letting her go and she skipped lightly out of the room without a glance behind her.



Both of her parents watched her as she went. They were both in awe of her; she was an intriguing little girl indeed.



Hermione walked up to him and wrapped her arms around his waist. He looked down at her and kissed her firmly. She curved her body into his softly, they were so comfortable with each other now that they knew exactly how their bodies would respond. After a long while they pulled apart and Hermione laughed lightly.



‘Megan was right about the kissing, I think…’



‘She was.’ He arched his eyebrow at her. ‘Meet you in the dining room in an hour then?’



‘Yes. I’ll get ready now then see the kids off. I love you.’ She kissed him again and he was reluctant to let her go. She playfully pushed him away and walked into their bedroom, firmly closing the door in his face. They always liked to prolong the inevitable; the anticipation was as exciting as the sex. Well, almost.





****



Severus was sitting at the dining table waiting for Hermione. There had been a last minute panic when Della couldn’t find Idris, her stuffed dragon, which was a treasured birthday gift from Hagrid. They eventually found him, on Severus’s bookshelf, shrunk to the size of a mouse. Megan had looked a little shifty and it was no surprise that she was the one who found him at the last moment. Hermione had reversed the shrinking spell and Della was happy as she left. Hermione made a mental note to keep a closer eye on Megan. She suspected her daughter was jealous of her younger sister.



The door of the dining room opened and Hermione walked in quietly. She had sleeked her hair into smooth shiny waves and was wearing an ankle length green dress, one she had bought for their honeymoon and hadn’t worn for long. Severus had been so taken with it they didn’t get to the main course. He smiled at her.



‘You look gorgeous…’ he murmured. He was much freer with his compliments now.



‘So do you.’ She smiled at him warmly. He was wearing a dark suit and a white shirt, no tie. It reminded her of the time he had arrived uninvited with a Chinese and a bottle of wine and she felt herself go misty eyed.



Severus stood and held a chair out for her and poured her a large glass of wine.



‘I have something for you.’ He smiled and fished inside his jacket pocket. He pulled out a small box and handed it to her.



‘Severus! We never do gifts, I didn’t get you anything!’ Hermione was upset. She knew she should have bought him the silver cutting knife she had seen in Diagon Alley and was cross with herself.



‘Don’t be silly. I have everything I could possibly want, Hermione.’ He held her hand in his. ‘This is special. You’ll see.’



Hermione smiled at him and opened the box. Inside was a silver locket inscribed with the initial H and S. These were her initials, but she knew they stood for Hermione and Severus. It was beautiful and her eyes welled up a little.



‘Open it.’ He said softly.



Hermione felt for the catch and flicked it open. She stared for a long time at the photographs inside and two large tears fell down her cheeks.



‘How in Circe’s name did you do this?’ She whispered.



‘I found a man who could use a Pensieve and take photographs within the memory. It’s quite clever, don’t you think?’ He smiled.



‘It’s incredible, Severus. I can’t believe it. Thank you so much.’ She leaned across the corner of the table and kissed him.



‘Happy Anniversary…’ he whispered against her cheek and wiped her tears away with his thumb.





****



Later, as they lay wrapped in each other, Hermione lifted the locket down from the bedside table and opened it, before placing it back on the table again.



The faces of Selene and Annalin shone out from the locket as Severus made love to his wife.







The End







****



Ooh goodness, I feel all emotional now! Hope everyone enjoyed the story. I want to say a special Thankyou to Jocy SnapesPet30 & Sureves Epans who regularly take the time to review. It is very much apprecaited, thank you for the positive feedback, it really means such a lot.