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Late Night Rendezvous by lunafish [Reviews - 1]

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An Ever-Fixèd Mark

By evening on their first Valentine’s Day apart since they’d been married, Pomona felt ready to cry. She and Severus had never officially celebrated the silly holiday, of course, but she missed his snide comments about ridiculous decorations and foolish displays of shallow affection. And she’d always known that later, after an evening gleefully assigning detentions and deducting house points, he’d take her in his arms and show her what delight true love could bring.

She knew better than to expect him tonight, however. Although he’d visited her at least monthly since June, sometimes even spending a night or two in the rooms they’d secretly shared for almost twenty years, he was unlikely to make a special point of seeing her today. Such sentimentality belonged to other men; her Severus would appear when he damn well needed to.

Nonetheless, she longed for him—longed for his caustic wit and restrained caresses, his childish rants and thoughtful lovemaking, but, most of all, she long for his patient ear and ready counsel. They’d often commiserated over the thanklessness of teaching teenagers and the added burden of heading the two most denigrated houses at Hogwarts. Now, however, she had essentially lost not only her husband but also her closest confidant. Though Minerva and Filius tried to fill in as best they could, they simply weren’t Severus.

Pomona knew that even the students had started to notice that their easygoing, usually cheerful Herbology professor no longer laughed quite so frequently or demonstrated the same amused tolerance they’d come to take for granted. And her Hufflepuffs….


The year had been difficult—unsurprisingly so—for everybody, but the Hufflepuffs had suffered worse than most. With an exceptionally high percentage of Muggleborns and Half-bloods, theirs had been the house hardest hit when the Death Eaters had begun the anti-Muggleborn pogroms in the fall. Almost weekly, it seemed, one of her students was pulled from class to receive dark news—little brothers and sisters murdered, parents attacked and humiliated or, more usually, left for dead, and houses burned to the ground, a lifetime of memories destroyed by a single curse. The Muggle authorities were useless, of course, and the Magical ones weren’t much better.

Nor was Hogwarts the safe haven it had once been. Outright squabbles and public hexes had nearly ceased, but insidious rumors winged their way through the castle, nurturing the already existing atmosphere of terror, while whispered threats lingered just beyond the professors’ hearing. Her children felt themselves surrounded by enemies, but could bring no proof to bear against their sly tormentors. And the image of her own husband, she knew, hung over them like a horrifying nightmare come violently to life.

In fact, just this evening, she’d had to walk all the first years and many of the second years through both common room and dorms to prove that “The Evil Snape” had not hidden himself away during the day so that he could murder all of them at his leisure later in the night. The older children had helped, God bless them, but Pomona was nearly dead on her feet by the time Megan and Susan shooed her away with promises that they and the other seventh years would tuck in the little ones.


One thing cheered her, though, as she retreated wearily to her own quarters: Today being Valentine’s Day meant that February was half over, and then only a few more months of these dark days remained. Severus had promised, promised, her that this would all be done—for good or ill—by the end of the school year. An optimistic woman by nature, Pomona stubbornly anticipated a full pardon for an unscathed Severus, followed by their inconspicuous retreat to the faraway location that Dumbledore had arranged for them not long before his death. They’d probably never be able even to visit the British Isles again and teaching was definitely out, but what of that? Severus had never much liked teaching anyway. As for her…well, she’d always wanted the chance to work with tropical plants.


Smiling at the thought, Pomona un-warded and unlocked her door. As she stepped inside, however, she froze. Severus had come home tonight. The candle that signaled his presence burned atop the mantle.

She quickly re-locked and warded the door behind her and then rushed to the fireplace. Reaching up to the painting above it, she tilted the landscape to one side and felt for the loose stone, which she slid out to reveal a lever. She pulled it, replaced the stone, and then straightened the picture. Flames suddenly surged up, just in time to block the opening that appeared behind them.

“Damn.”

Rushing back across the room to the knickknack shelf by her door, Pomona plucked up a tiny bottle, uncorked it, and swallowed its contents. Then, striding to the fireplace once more, she stepped eagerly through the flames…


…and into the arms of Severus Snape.

“It’s about time. Let me guess: You were reading the little urchins a bedtime story.”

Pomona rolled her eyes. “More like reassuring them that evil Professor Snape hadn’t infiltrated the castle to kill them in their beds.”

“Well, at least you didn’t lie about that last part.” Severus squeezed her arms affectionately and then released her to close the door to their secret quarters.

Glancing around their sitting room, Pomona took in the dozen or so candles and the tray of food the House-elves had apparently delivered.

“Hungry?” her husband asked.

“Not particularly…unless you have dessert. I’m quite proud of those winter strawberries, I’ll have you know. Did you try them?”

“I was waiting for you.”

“I actually want a bath first; care to join me?”

“If you like.”

She smiled inwardly at his reserve, but answered solemnly, “I do.”


An hour and a half later, clean and temporarily satisfied, the two of them relaxed on the couch, sharing chocolate-covered strawberries while candles flickered around them. Conceding the last strawberry to her husband, Pomona sighed contentedly. “Not to spoil the mood, but to what do I owe this romantic evening? Do you have news for the Order?”

“Must I have a reason to visit my wife on Valentine’s Day?”

Her eyebrows rose. “Mmmm…yes?”

“I can be romantic.”

“Of course you can, Severus.” She placed her hand on his thigh. “But seriously, what news do you have?”

“Nothing you need concern yourself with; I’ve already met with Minerva.”

“If something is happening that involves one of my students or this school, I want to know.”

“This doesn’t involve your Hufflepuffs.”

As she noted his abruptly guarded expression, Pomona struggled to suppress her irritation. Their long years together had taught her when to let matters lie. Besides, Severus’ life was certainly more important than her curiosity. Therefore, abandoning the subject, she scooted closer and turned to drape her arms over his shoulders. “Well, since you’ve already talked to Minerva, we’ll have to occupy ourselves some other way.”

Returning her embrace, he pulled her onto his lap. “Do you have something in mind?” he murmured as he caressed her through the satiny material of her nightgown, running his hands up her sides and letting one linger on her breast, while the other slid along her neck and ear to capture a lock of wispy gray hair, which he twirled around his long, slender fingers.

Pomona frowned and touched her hair self-consciously. “I should color it.”

“I like it,” he said as he continued to play with the captured lock.

“It makes me look old.”

“You’re not old.”

“It makes me look it.”

“Leave it be; it suits you.” His fingers had found their way to the short hair at the base of her skull and were lightly messaging her neck.

“If anyone else said that, I’d be insulted.”

“Then no one else better say it.”

Leaning into one another, they kissed.

“I’ve missed this,” she breathed.

“Have you?” Both his hands had now drifted back down to her breasts, and she pressed herself into his touch. “I thought you might be glad to be rid of me.”

“Hmmm…I think I’ve grown accustomed to you….”

As her voice trailed away, husband and wife let hands and mouths roam free, losing themselves in love, and, in the golden glow of the dancing candle flames, it seemed that the castle itself embraced them, sharing in their contentment.

~*~

Author's Notes: Written for Romancing the Wizard’s Challenge Eleven: Amortentia and Chocolate. Since the pairing had received such a warm reception after my previous offering, I thought I’d simply continue from where I left off with Sprout and Snape.

Late Night Rendezvous by lunafish [Reviews - 1]

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