The Moon Has Spoken

Chapter 27
Beauty of the Beast


Fiddler still smiled widely everytime she thought about it. She was pregnant and getting married. Something she’d always thought was far beyond her reach.
She had been speechless for quite a while after Severus proposed, and for a second there, she’d seen fear on those dark eyes, fear that she’d say no, so she had kissed him gently trying to reassure him, but before they knew it they were making love almost frantically, Severus trying his best not to crush her belly as he suckled at her neck hungrily, flicking out his tongue every now and then, and soothing the marks with his lips, deep groans issuing from his throat as he felt Fiddler pressed up against him, hugging him desperately, tears gliding freely down her cheeks whilst she kissed himrougroughly, moaning very softly, matching the rhythm he’d set as he moved inside her, slowly, intensely, as if he wanted to imprint each thrust into his memory, his hands in her hair, and his lips on her breasts, suckling, nibbling, licking…

“Oh— Oh… Fiddler…”

She couldn’t reply, she was crying, she was arching back her head; she was clinging onto him, she was murmuring into his neck as she felt him shuddering and spill himself into her.

“Well”, he panted when they’d finished, wrapping arms and legs around her as he always did, “I believe I shall take that as a yes”.

She laughed.

“Yes, Severus Snape”, she cupped his face with her hands and kissed him. “I will marry you”.

He closed his eyes as if he was immensely relieved, and kissed her neck all the way up to her jawline and her mouth, as she draped an arm around his waist to draw him closer. Their bellies touched and Severus raised an eyebrow as he felt a determined kick.

“I believe we are going to have to think of alternative positions soon enough”, he said, blushing slightly, “that is, if you are up to it”.

He relished in the twinkle of her eyes.

“Oh, I am, Mr. Snape, I am”.

They simply lay in bed, entangled with one another, kissing tenderly, until Fiddler sighed and drew back, settling her head on Severus’ chest to sleep. Severus buried his hands in her hair and told her:

“I am aware I should have gotten you a ring, álainn”, she smiled at the endearment, which he hadn’t used since the baby shower. “But I thought you might want to join me in the purchase of it.”

“So thoughtful…” she murmured.

“I wanted to get you a magical ring, but a trip to Diagon Alley would be far too risky for you as it is”.

“Don’t worry…” she kissed his chest very softly, making him shiver. “We can always… charm it later…”

“That we could”, he agreed, thinking about it for the first time.

He heard her yawn and loosened his arms just a bit to cradle her better in them.

“Sleep, álainn”.

“Good night…” she mumbled, barely awake. “I love you…”

Severus blinked, still not fully used to hear it, and he dropped a kiss to her head.

“I— love— I love you, too, Fiddler”, he said, his voice thick.

He shifted a little to a more comfortable position, without relinquishing his possessive embrace, and smiled as he felt his children moving about inside his future wife’s womb.

He dreamt of Lucas, but for the first time in twenty years, it was a pleasant dream.


They went to a Celtic Jewelry Store near the Hospital, where Severus browsed through each and every ring in there without finding a suitable one. Fiddler was beginning to feel dizzy from standing up, and she had to sit down before she’d black out in front of everybody, but at last she heard Severus grunt approvingly, and raised her gaze to look at the ring.

“Oh, wow…” she murmured. “It’s… it’s gorgeous”.

“A man of taste”, said the salesman and gave Fiddler a gallant bow.

She smiled absently as she examined the ring, a slim band of gold engraved with Celtic knots and a small diamond of mysterious dark color carved to resemble a rose, and enclosed by even smaller agates of various hues of gray. Fiddler had never seen a ring like that and she stared at it, enthralled.

“It is called the Black Rose Diamond”, the salesman said. “Black Diamonds are rare indeed… A very valuable jewel you have chosen, sir”.

“Valuable indeed”, Severus agreed, but he wasn’t looking at the ring. He was looking at Fiddler.

She pressed her lips together, determined not to cry in the middle of the Jewelry shop, and she almost succeeded. A single tear slid down, but she quickly wiped it away, hoping no one had noticed, and pretended she was incredibly interested on a flowering orchid behind her. She watched Severus pay for the ring out of the corner of her eye, nothing in his demeanor betraying he had never handled Muggle money before. For the first time, Fiddler wondered if he could afford it and she opened her mouth to ask him, but he shushed her with a gentle gesture as if he’d read her mind, and slid the ring on her finger. It fitted perfectly, and Fiddler always had a hard time finding a ring that would suit her rather slim fingers. She decided to take it as a good omen.

Severus helped her to her feet, and they left the jewelry shop walking side by side. Severus surprised her by sliding an arm around her shoulders and drawing her to him. She turned to meet his eyes, as she was aware of his discomfiture towards public displays of affection, and that discreet gesture had astonished her even more than if he had kissed her right in the middle of the street. Apparently he picked up some of her thoughts.

“Normally, I would have felt terribly awkward by doing this”, he agreed. “But somehow I highly doubt that people will notice if I pretend I am offering my support to a pregnant woman…”

She laughed heartily, and leaned her head on sho shoulder.

“You’re very much mistaken, my dear. On the contrary, everyone will look at you and marvel at you being such a gentleman”.

Severus stiffened and gave her a very self-conscious look. Fiddler thought he’d let go of her, but apparently he decided against it and they continued their slow stroll around the stores, browsing through baby outfits, toys, bassinettes, cradles and maternity clothes. Fiddler still marveled at how that prosaic activity could make her feel in Heaven. She looked at Severus, who looked so out of place among the flashy maternity dresses as a bull in a porcelain store, and wanted to laugh.

“Nah”, she said, eyeing the millionth dress. “I’ll just get bigger scrubs”.

Severus chuckled appreciatively, inwardly thinking that those sweetened garments wouldn’t go with his scathing, brisk doctor, no matter how pregnant, and a little while later they were driving back to Elvenpath.

“You know”, Fiddler said thoughtfully. “I don’t reckon I will fit in here much longer… Sure you don’t want to learn how to drive?”

Severus refused as politely as he could whilst helping her out of the van. He held her by her elbow and walked her to the door, where he leaned her back against it and, cupping her face with his hands, he kissed her mouth thoroughly, breathing a little heavily.

“What is the matter with you?” she murmured against his lips.

He drew back.

“Nothing… I just feel like kissing you”.

“Aaaah! Any particular reason?”, she asked mischievously.

Severus frowned as if he was giving it a deep thought.

“Well. I find you rather desirable with your round belly and your psychodelic purple scrub; I lo—love you so, and we just got engaged… In fact, I want you now. Will those reasons suffice?

She smiled and kissed him back, closing her eyes to dwell in sensation, and she nearly fell over when the door opened behind her, and they both heard a surprised gasp.

“You know, Fred, I don’t reckon my eyes will stand the sight of this another time”, George said, grinning widely. “Just the second time I’ve seen it and my eyes feel like popping out”.

“Definitely”, Fred agreed. “Enjoying yourselves?”

“Very much, thanks the same”, Fiddler said smugly, and taking hold of Severus’ hand she dragged him inside the house.
Fred and George looked at each other and followed them.

“Where did you go?” George asked.

“I thought you were going somewhere?” Severus said repressively.

“Oh, that can wait”, Fred said.

“We have no need to inform you of our movements”, said Fiddler, and not even Severus could have accomplished her tone.

“Oh, yes, you do”, George said, serious now. “Dumbledore’s dropped a letter. Lucius Malfoy’s believed to be somewhere around here and we all know he’s aiming for the two of you. We definitely don’t want him to learn Fiddler’s pregnant, the consequences would be disastrous”.

Severus regarded the twins with reluctant respect.
He didn’t say a word but he squeezed Fiddler’s hand and walked towards the terrace where the kids were playing water polo and Molly knitted one of her endless jumpers and drank iced lemonade.

Fiddler walked towards a tanning bench and sat down with a relieved groan. Severus occupied the bench next to hers, rather incongruous with his ever-present dark garments, being near to a pool and in the middle of a luminous day.
Fiddler looked at the ring on her finger and smiled helplessly. No one seemed to have noticed, and she was weighing if she should just announce it, or if she should consult it with Severus first, or if it maybe was better for them not to say anything just yet. She leaned her back on the bench as to ease the pressure on her belly. The twins inside it were blatant in their displeasure at being crushed. She ran a hand over her bulge and grinned as she felt them kick. She was getting huge and her skin itched and burned with unavoidable stretch marks, her back was a real and constant pain, and she didn’t seem able to leave the bathroom; she walked like a goose, and she had a hard time finding her posture to sleep, but she couldn’t remember being happier in her entire life. Feeling her children inside her womb, nearly kicking their way out, or browsing throembrembryology books with Severus and showing him pictures of what their babies surely looked by then and marveling at their steady development, as he put his arms around her and cradled her to him, splaying his hands on her midriff…
It was bliss, pure bliss.
Sometimes she’d still wake up at nights just to look at the man beside her, unable to believe he was actually there.

Fiddler examined the diamond on her ring carefully, watching it shimmer enigmatically in the bright sunlight.

Black Rose Diamond.

She closed her eyes, and as usual, her musical mind provided her with the fragment of an oddly fitting song.


My home is far but the rest it lies so close,
With my long lost love under the Black Rose.
You told I had the eyes of a wolf,
Search them and find the Beauty of the Beast.

That was just it, she thought, feeling tears burn under her closed eyelids. Severus had been the only man brave enough to look into her wolf-like eyes and find some beauty in her, and that fact moved her, astonished her, and made her love him beyond belief.
She wiped a tear absent-mindedly, and felt more than saw Severus raising from his bench and approach her. He twisted his lean form to rest beside her an asked in a very low voice:

“Are you all right?”

“Yes… I was just thinking how much I love you”.

Severus frowned.

“And that makes you cry?”

She chuckled.

“No, of course not… You know me, I cry when I’m happy, and when I’m sad… Besides these ruddy hormones are not precisely helping…”

Severus smiled and Fiddler sensed he was dying to hold her, to kiss her, but he didn’t dare to in front of everybody. She respected him and his sense of privacy enough to do anything, so she simply gifted him with a bright smile and asked him if he wanted some lemonade. He refused and he was about to say something else when Moody limped towards them, his magic eye fixed on the blue waters as if fearing a toothy monster would jump out and attack him.
He wasn’t entirely mistaken, as Fred and George, always wanting to catch him off-guard, hurled in his direction from two different sides, howling like lunatics and finally succeeding on throwing him into the pool.
Severus watched Fiddler laugh heartily at the scene, delighted as a little girl, and although he hadn’t found it amusing, he felt oddly kindhearted by her laughter. It reminded him of how young she really was, despite her outer certainty, her independence, her career and her pregnancy. She could still act as careless and free as a child… only she didn’t show it oftenly. He looked at her left hand and he felt both thrilled and scared at the same time. He tried to convince himself this time would be different, but he could not help to feel a bit wary. He sighed really deeply and felt light-headed.

“Fiddler”, he whispered, taking advantage of the fact that everyone else was watching Moody trying to climb out of the pool. “Do you want to tell them?”

“Do you?”

Severus shrugged.

“They will find out anyway”. He sounded pained.

She smiled.

“Are you all right with it?”

“I do not think I will survive if any of them try and hug me with their best wishes”, he snarled.

“I don’t think they’ll try and do such thing”, she said.

He mirrored her grin. Just barely.

“Then, I grant you the honor”, he spoke.

“Wimp”.

Severus looked at her, eyes wide, and had to fight very hard not to laugh at the playful twinkle in her eyes. He followed her gaze at the kids, still playing in the water, at Moody, drying off in a bench, at Molly, still knitting. They ced ced Arthur approaching with a fruit tray and Severus quickly blinked and looked away when he took in the sight of Tonks and Lupin snogging in a shadowy bench.
Then, he felt Fiddler’s eyes on him, and her warm hand seeking his, and heard her clear her throat.

“Um— Severus and I have something to say”, she spoke.

Everyone’s eyes slowly turned to see them.

“Yes, we…” she felt her face blushing but continued all the same: “Well, we have decided… considering the circumstances it would only be appropriate if—”, Oh, for crying out loud, Fiddler, get over it already!. She agreed with herself and breathed in deeply. “What I am trying to say is that Severus and I are getting married”.