#snephy

Now that the twins had started nursery, Persephone and Severus had a lot more time to themselves. Generally, this involved catching up on the sleep they’d lost since they were born, although for Severus it also meant throwing himself into his work without interruptions from feral children - something he had craved ever since he’d started working at Hogwarts over twenty years ago.

It wasn’t surprising to Persephone, then, that some mornings she took the girls to nursery on her own, as Severus was deep in concentration over his desk, or his cauldron, and she didn’t want to disturb him. One morning in particular, she returned home from dropping the girls off when she heard Severus’ voice in his study. He never spoke to himself - he could go without speaking as long as he was allowed to be cooped up in his cave. He and April were similar in that way, their non-verbal communication far beyond anything Persephone, Ariadne or Abbie had been able to achieve.

At first Persephone thought someone might be in there with him, but as she listened, she realised he wasn’t talking, but moaning. He almost sounded like he did in bed, on the now only too rare night that they weren’t too busy, or too tired to have sex.

She opened the door cautiously, knowing he didn’t like to be disturbed, and was surprised to discover exactly why he sounded like he did in bed - he was sat back in his chair, his eyes scrunched tight as he furiously pumped his fist around his cock.

“Sephy,” he mumbled to the air.

He hadn’t realised yet that she was there. Although the sight was arousing, Persephone was a little hurt - could he not have waited for her to get home? Did he now prefer his own touch over hers, leaving her role only to that of fantasy?

He needed a reminder, she decided. On her tip-toes so as to not make a sound, she crossed the room to him. Her sneaking skills must have been rusty, though, because he seemed to sense her presence when she approached and his eyes opened. Rather than being shocked or embarrassed that she’d caught him in a compromising position, his eyes only grew more lustful when he saw her. His right hand showed no signs of slowing; with his spare hand, he reached up and grabbed her waist, pulling her towards him.

“Sev…” Persephone gasped; he only growled in response as she fell on his lap, and he pushed down on her shoulder to force her to her knees. He squeezed her chin to open her mouth, and suddenly his cock was down her throat.

She choked slightly, his cock having been shoved so suddenly and so forcefully into her dry mouth. If Severus noticed, he didn’t care, as he grabbed her by the hair and held her head still as he rutted furiously into her mouth. She knelt there, coat and shoes still on from having been outside, as her husband face-fucked her until he came down her throat. Only then did he finally release her hair from his hand, and Persephone was finally able to breathe when she was able to extract herself from his crotch.

A thousand questions were swimming in her head, but the one that came out was, “How the fuck are you still hard?”

Sure enough, despite having cum down her throat only moments ago, Severus’ cock was still standing to attention.

He groaned, knuckles turning white as he gripped the arms of his chair in frustration, seemingly trying to resist going right back down her throat. “Still… need to cum…” he managed to say, although it seemed to be a struggle for him to even speak.

Persephone got to her feet and looked down at him. He looked incredibly hot, his whole body quivering with lust as he physically restrained himself from moving. His eyes were closed, as if looking at her would be too much.

“I tested a new potion,” he said through gritted teeth. “The side effects are… unexpected.”

Persephone couldn’t help but laugh. “You tested a new potion on yourself, and the side effects make you uncontrollably horny?”

“Yes.”

Severus opened his eyes, and as soon as he laid eyes on her body, his hands were on her hips, pulling her down to straddle his lap.

“Need you,” he growled, his hands clawing uselessly at her clothing. “Naked. Now.”

“Say please,” Persephone teased.

Severus groaned in frustration. “Get your clothes off, please, or else I might just die if I don’t fuck you.”

“Yes, sir.”

She began unbuttoning her coat, but even that was too slow for him. Severus pulled the coat apart with his own hands, sending buttons flying, but he didn’t seem to care. He moaned with relief to see she was wearing a low-cut t-shirt, and he buried his face in her breasts, nuzzling them like they were a pillow after a long day.

“You’re so fucking beautiful,” he moaned. “Mhm… Sephy…”

He pushed the fabric of her t-shirt and bra to the side to allow a breast to escape, and Persephone hissed slightly in pain as he took her nipple in his mouth and pinched it between his teeth.

She could feel his erection pressed between their bodies, and if she weren’t wearing trousers, she needed only to lower herself a few inches to fill herself up with him.

Severus seemed to be similarly frustrated, because he removed her breast from his mouth with a pop , picked his wand up from the desk, and with two quick waves their clothes had vanished. As his wand clattered to the floor, Severus pushed Persephone backwards to lay her on the desk. He ignored the parchment being crushed beneath her back, and paid no mind to the vial of liquid that crashed to the floor. She had no chance to ask what they’d just broken when she felt her husband’s cock filling her up, crawling up her walls as he fit so perfectly inside her. He wasted no time thrusting furiously into her, his depraved grunts filling the room as he fucked her so hard, so fast, that the desk began to creak beneath them.

At least he was enjoying himself; he’d spent no time getting her ready as he usually did, and so the feeling of his cock rubbing against her dry walls was painful and uncomfortable. She opened her mouth to say something, but whatever had been in the smashed vial wafted into her face, and she breathed in something that smelt a little like Amortentia, but mixed with the familiar smell of sweat and cum.

The gaseous potion filled her lungs, and her heart immediately began to race. The painful fucking suddenly became very pleasurable indeed as her cunt moistened itself around Severus’ cock, and all Persephone wanted was to cum while he was buried deep inside her. Somewhere in the back of her mind she registered that she must have breathed in whatever substance Severus had drank to make himself uncontrollably horny, but that voice was small compared to the overwhelming need for her husband’s body.

She moved her hand towards her clit, desperate for extra stimulation, but Severus slapped her hand away.

“No cumming yet,” he growled. “Not until I say so.”

“Please,” Persephone begged. Maybe if she came, the torturous need coursing through her veins would be sated. She had never been so horny in her life, and she now understood what Severus said earlier; she, too, felt like she might die if their bodies ever disconnected. He was part of her, and she was part of him; why should they ever need to separate?

Severus grabbed her hands and pinned them above her head as he leant closer to her, their bodies pressed together as he grunted furiously into her ear, his face buried in her neck. Persephone let out a small yelp as he sunk his teeth into her flesh, latching on like a hungry babe to a breast, and a wet, cold sensation told her he had drawn blood. Somewhere in her mind she registered the pain, but the sensation of his mouth on her neck, his hands on her wrists, his chest on hers, his cock still pounding furiously in and out of her cunt - it was far more pleasurable than the small pinch of broken skin.

She so desperately needed to cum, to clamp her walls around his cock and milk him for all he had, but he’d given her an order and she was terrified, if she disobeyed, he’d never let her cum at all. So she tried to think of something else, anything else, to keep her peak at bay. Over Severus’ shoulder, she looked at the jars of slimy ingredients lining his shelves, all gross and gooey, wide-eyed dead creatures staring at her from their glass prisons, all lined up neatly and meticulously organised. She could just imagine Severus perusing the shelves, his elegant fingers gently skimming across each jar as he looked for the right ingredient… the same fingers that could find her sweet spot in seconds, the fingers that were now creeping down her arm to wrap around her throat, and she was snapped back to reality when he squeezed just above her clavicle. It was the smallest of squeezes, testing her response, and when she gasped in pleasure, Severus smirked as he lifted his head to look at her, watching her face contorting in blissful pleasure-pain as his grip on her tightened.

“I’m going to cum in your beautiful cunt,” he growled. “And you’re going to take every - last - drop.”

“Yes, Daddy,” Persephone moaned. “Give me your cum, please, I need you to fill me up, please, please, please…”

“Yes, take it, take my cum… my good girl, mine, mine… MINE!” Severus roared as he came, his cries of ecstasy echoing through the room, and if they’d had any neighbours, there would be no doubt they’d be heard. His hips stilled deep inside her, plugging her up as his cum shot inside her, and his grip on her throat tightened so much she almost couldn’t breathe.

Persephone inhaled deeply when his grip relaxed and Severus collapsed, spent, on her sweaty body, as if she’d taken not just his cum but all of his energy in one blissful moment.

Blissful for him, perhaps - her cunt was still on fire, desperate for the wave of bliss only he could so expertly pull from her. She grinded her hips against his, desperate for any kind of stimulation; his cock was softening, but she needed him desperately, if not his cock then his fingers, his tongue, anything…

“Severus…” Persephone moaned, and she realised she was crying. “Please, Severus, please…”

Severus was still trying to catch his breath, but his panting stopped when he heard her pleas. He looked up at her, eyes wide with shock, as if he was only just realising he’d completely forgotten her needs.

He pulled out of her and dropped to his knees in an instant, ignoring the cum dripping out of her as he buried his face between her legs. Persephone cried out with relief when his tongue ran over her clit, and she knew she wouldn’t last long. Severus slipped two of those beautiful fingers inside her wrecked pussy, elegantly caressing her inner sweet spot as his sharp tongue traced circles around her clit.

Thank fuck he wasn’t teasing. He usually ate her out so slowly and carefully at first, building up her pleasure before letting her cum. But now he wasted no time, finger-fucking her furiously as he sucked on her clit for dear life. Persephone clawed uselessly at the desk beneath her, and when she couldn’t find anything to hold onto, she sunk her fingers into her husband’s silky hair, nails digging into his scalp as with one, two, three perfect strokes of his fingers, she exploded with ecstasy, her walls clamping around his fingers as he kept stimulating her through her orgasm, only slowing to a stop when the last aftershock of her orgasm had left her body and she, too, felt her energy drain away instantly.

Persephone released her grip on him and he sat back into his chair, his hair a mess, his cheeks flushed red and his chin glistening with her sticky juices. Severus closed his eyes as he caught his breath, and only opened them when his wife crawled onto his lap, nuzzling his neck as she snuggled up to him.

His rock-hard chair might be suitable for him to work from, but it certainly wasn’t made for cuddling. He apparated them up to their bedroom, their naked bodies appearing on the edge of the bed, and together they slid under the blanket, holding each other as close as they could.

For a few moments they lay there, soaking in the blissful aftereffects of what had just happened, until Persephone spoke.

“What the fuck was that?” she mumbled sleepily.

“Not the intended effect of the potion,” Severus replied.

Persephone chuckled. “Clearly. What was it supposed to do?”

“It was only supposed to give me an erection. I may have to dial back some of the ingredients.”

“Why do you need a potion to give you an erection?” Persephone asked curiously, looking up at him as she rested her head on his chest.

“I don’t - not yet. But it’s a common issue among men my age - I’m hoping to create a potion to market. I may need it myself one day, but I assure you, the only assistance I need to get hard is thinking of you.”

Severus wrapped his arms tighter around her, holding her close and taking in her scent. “I’m sorry, I was very selfish just now. All I could think of was my own pleasure.”

“Thank Merlin the orgasm stopped the potion’s effects. I don’t think either of us would have the energy to go for much longer than we did.”

Severus hummed thoughtfully. “It seems it was only that last orgasm that worked. None of the previous ones did - I still felt desperately horny.”

“Previous ones? How many times did you cum in your own hand before I came home, Sev?”

He blushed, his eyes darting to the side to avoid hers. “Three times,” he admitted. “Each time, I maintained the erection and my desire throughout… it was only cumming inside you that worked.”

“Maybe it doesn’t just make you horny… when I breathed it in, I felt a need to cum, but mostly it was just a need for you. Perhaps it was less a need for pleasure, and more a need for connection, the intimacy of sex.”

“Perhaps. My mind was swimming with thoughts of you, but it wasn’t until I had you in front of me that I really felt sated. I suppose that’s logical - I based the recipe on that of Amortentia.”

“I thought that was what I smelt. It’s hard to tell when Amortentia smells like you, and I’ve already got you there. I can’t tell if I’m smelling you or the potion.”

“Your Amortentia smells like me?”

Persephone laughed. She propped her head up on her hand and smiled at him incredulously. “Of course it does, Sev. What else would it smell like?”

“Mine smells of you too,” he admitted. “When we were apart, I always hated teaching Amortentia, because the whole classroom just smelled like you. Your lavender shampoo, the firewhisky you always kept at your home… and a smell I couldn’t identify for years. It wasn’t until we had the girls that I realised it was the smell of baby powder. I must have smelt it that day I came to see you when Abbie was a baby.”

“I smell firewhisky too,” Persephone said with a laugh. “We must be a couple of drunks.”

Severus chuckled and brushed a stray hair from her face. “What else do you smell?” he asked.

“Cinnamon, of course. And a kind of damp wood smell - it’s what your old house smelt like after the rain.”

Severus smiled. Even after all this time, he still seemed to find it hard to believe she loved him as much as she did.

“I should probably reduce those elements,” he said thoughtfully. “My aim is arousal, not carnal lust.”

“And you should probably wait until I’m home to test it,” Persephone said, firmly but with a hint of a tease. “I can be your… control subject.”

“Mmm, I do like having you under my control,” Severus teased as his hand snaked down her body to squeeze at her arse. “And you’re certainly my favourite subject.”

Persephone laughed, then kissed his soft lips lovingly before he turned the kiss hungry, hands digging into her waist as he held her flush against him. He flipped her onto her back and moved his kisses to her neck, taking care across the bruise that was forming across her neck, before moving further down her body and taking her nipple into his mouth. Severus hummed with satisfaction, never releasing his latch onto her breast even as his hand travelled lower down her body.

“Is the potion still working?” Persephone asked, trying to contain a moan as her husband’s skilled fingers began teasing at her folds.

“No,” Severus replied as he released her nipple from his mouth and began kissing every inch of her breasts. “This is all you. All for you. Five orgasms for me this morning and only one for you?” He tutted with disapproval. “That won’t do. I’ll make sure you have another six, at least.”

“We’re not as young as we used to be, Sev,” Persephone reminded him. “I don’t know if - ah!” She gasped as his finger slipped inside her. “...if I can do that anymore.”

“Oh, you will,” Severus promised. He looked up at her, dark eyes alight with a fierce determination. “I’ll keep you in this bed all day if I have to. Oh, the things I’ll do to you, Sephy… I’ll have you cumming until you’re begging for mercy.” He pressed his thumb against her clit, and chuckled darkly when she twitched.

“So eager for me already. This is going to be so easy…”

She came within a minute, and just as he promised, by the time lunchtime came, she’d cum not just six, but seven more times before she was indeed begging him for mercy, insisting she had no orgasms left in her.

“One more,” Severus promised. Persephone had her arms tied above her head, the other end of the soft yet secure ribbons meeting the ceiling above the bed. The ribbons were just long enough to suspend her above the mattress, her bent knees not quite meeting the surface. Her arms ached as they held up her weight, unless she were able to sit on a pillow - but Severus, of course, had no intention of giving her any sort of pillow to rest on. Instead her weight rested on his face, and as his tongue explored her cunt and his nose rubbed against her clit just right, Severus moaned with lust, enjoying every moment of his wife’s dripping wet cunt trapping him beneath her.

When she came for what he promised was the last time, her thighs clenched around his head, and Severus knew that even the slightest of friction against his cock would have him cumming too. But he ignored his aching member - he’d taken his own pleasure enough, perhaps too much, that morning. He wanted to give his wife all the pleasure she deserved, and he was sorely tempted, when her orgasm subsided, to keep going, to lap up everything she had, to leave her trembling and unable to speak. He was just picking up the pace again to do exactly that when she spoke, and his movements froze.

“Gillyweed!”

On hearing her safe word, Severus gently withdrew his tongue from inside her and removed her hips from his face.

“What’s wrong?” he asked quickly, grabbing his wand from nearby to release her bonds, allowing her to finally drop onto the bed. He caught her as she fell and laid her down gently. “Did I hurt you?”

“No, just… too much. I can’t… I can’t cum again, Sev, I might pass out,” Persephone replied, catching her breath as a tear of frustration rolled down her cheek.

Even so, Severus insisted on checking her over, and although she was red and sweaty from exertion, and some handprints and fingernail marks adorned her body, there were no new marks past the bruise on her neck.

“Oh, darling, you’re exhausted,” he said soothingly, gently caressing her face. “I think you need a bath, hm? We’ll get you cleaned up, then we’ll have some late lunch.”

Persephone smiled and nodded, and soon enough they sunk into the hot, soapy bath together. She knew he was really going all out when he filled the bath with his favourite soap, a fancy concoction Lucius had gifted him last Christmas. A sigh of relief escaped her lungs when she felt the hot water on her sore skin and a relaxant in the soap left her melting into her husband’s arms.

“Better?” Severus mumbled in her ear as he held her carefully, as if worried he may break her.

“Mhm,” Persephone mumbled in response, her eyes already closed as she relaxed into his embrace.

“Is there anything more I can do for you, my love? Anything at all. I am yours to command.”

“There is one thing you could do,” Persephone replied, and her cheeky tone made him suspicious, but he was determined to stick to his promise.

“Oh? And what’s that?”

“Pick the girls up from nursery today.”

Severus chuckled warmly.

December 1978

The work for the Dark Lord didn’t stop for any holiday, not even Christmas.

Severus preferred it that way. He found no joy in Christmas anymore. He hadn’t for years, not since his mother - his only real family - had died. So when other Death Eaters were reluctant to carry out orders over Christmas for the sake of family time, Severus stepped up and volunteered to fill in for them, spending as much time as he could carrying out the Dark Lord’s orders.

Including, of course, his one main order: getting information from Persephone Payne. So when Christmas Day approached, he invited her over for Christmas Dinner, knowing as he did that she didn’t have family to go to. Whether they were estranged or dead, she’d never let slip, but Severus knew enough to know she’d be alone for Christmas.

The dinner mostly cooked itself, leaving Severus and Persephone time to sit on the sofa and drink their way through the bottle of mulled wine she’d brought over.

“So, your first post-Hogwarts Christmas. How have you been spending it?” she asked.

“I’ve hardly had time to think about it, I’ve been so busy with tasks for the Dark Lord. A lot of the others are spending time with family so I’ve been covering for them.”

“Is he okay with that? Surely he’d expect them to put him first?”

“He certainly wasn’t happy about it, but he knows raising the next generation of wizards is important, so nobody got crucioed. Especially when I said I’d pick up their slack. He seemed pleased that I was willing to put the cause first. Not that I’ve… got anything else to do at Christmas. I’m all alone here.”

Persephone snorted. “He’d get on well with my boss. Always gives me the Christmas assignments because he knows I’m the only one without a family. I’m glad you invited me over when you did, by the way - the next day he asked me to work today and I had an excuse to say no.”

“Glad I could help,” Severus laughed. “Sounds like your boss is worse than mine. At least he let me do what I want today.”

“And you chose to spend time with me?”

“Yes, of course! I remembered you said you don’t have family, so I thought we could be alone together.”

“Ha. Well, here’s to being alone together.” Persephone raised her glass and drank. “I have to admit, I miss Christmas at Hogwarts. Nothing beats the elves’ cooking. And I usually got the common room to myself - at least until you started staying behind too,” she said with a friendly nudge. “Shame we weren’t friends then.”

“I tried to talk to you,” Severus admitted, fidgeting slightly with the glass in his hand. “But I never had the courage.”

“Was that why you never thanked me for the hot chocolate?”

“…What?”

“The first Christmas you stayed back, I left you a hot chocolate and a note. You never said thanks, so I figured maybe you didn’t get it or you didn’t like it —“

“That was you?!” Severus frowned. “I thought - well, I don’t know what I thought. I didn’t recognise the handwriting. And… nobody knew about my mother. Only Slughorn and Lily.”

Persephone winced awkwardly. “I… may have overheard you telling Lily. And by overheard I mean eavesdropped.”

“But the hot chocolate — how did you know about the hot chocolate?”

“What do you mean? I just thought you’d like it.”

“With cinnamon? From the stall in Diagon Alley?”

“Well, yeah, that’s the best hot chocolate you can get.”

Severus sank back into the cushion, his mind spinning. The mystery of the hot chocolate that appeared on his bedside table that Christmas had always plagued him. Who had put it there, and how had they known about both his mother’s death and the significance of the hot chocolate? And all along it had been Persephone who left it, having overheard him telling Lily — and the hot chocolate was just a coincidence?

“My mother and I used to have that hot chocolate every year,” Severus admitted. “It was something of a tradition for us. Then she died and that very same hot chocolate appeared. I thought - but it was just you being… nice?”

“I know, me being nice is rare.”

“Don’t be ridiculous, you’re always nice.”

“To you. I like you. Don’t like anyone else.”

“…Did anyone ever tell you that leaving hot drinks and mysterious notes next to a person’s bed is not the most efficient way of making friends?”

Persephone laughed, almost choking on her wine, and Severus smiled.

“So that’s why I don’t have any friends! What should I be doing instead? Leaving cold drinks?”

“Well, signing the note would be a good start. I’d have thanked you if I’d known it was you.”

“I was the only other Slytherin there, I thought it would be obvious it was me! Damn, we really did just keep missing each other at school, didn’t we? Lucky that we were both in the Leaky Cauldron last July, huh?”

“Yes, very lucky,” Severus lied. Luck had nothing to do with it. I was looking for you.

“You know, Severus, I… I haven’t enjoyed Christmas in a long time. But this… this is nice. Gives me hope, y’know? That people like you and me can still have merry Christmases.”

“People like us?”

“You know… people without families. I only ever feel lonely at Christmas.”

“…So do I,” Severus admitted. He’d been staring into the bottom of his now empty glass, but now he looked up at her, and she smiled a cautiously warm smile, one which set his heart aflutter.

“Can we do Christmas next year too?” he asked. “At yours, perhaps.”

“Yes! Yes, I’d like that. Even if we get married and end up with our own children, we should still see each other every Christmas. Make sure neither of us is lonely.”

“Deal.”

***

December 2000

“Here they come…”

“Oh, no…”

The bedroom door swung open at exactly 5am, and Severus hid under the duvet.

“Dada’s not here,” he said firmly.

“Christmas! Christmas! Christmas!” Ariadne squealed excitedly as she and her twin sister jumped onto their parents’ bed.

“Christmas is cancelled. Dada’s going back to sleep.”

“No, Dada, wake up! Father Christmas put a million presents under the tree!”

“Get your sister up first. Jump on her while she’s asleep. That’s an order from Dada.”

Laughing rather maniacally for a two-year-old, Ariadne raced out of the room, followed by April, and through two walls Severus heard the girls screaming excitedly as they burst into their older sister’s room.

“Those two need to calm down. It’s only Christmas.”

“It’s their first proper Christmas, Sev! And it’s their birthday too, they’re excited. They were too young to understand it last year.”

Persephone rolled over, stretching, as if she’d just woken up serenely and the screaming, bouncing two-year-olds hadn’t bothered her. Then again, she was married to him, so surely nothing could faze her.

“No Grinch this year, you promised.”

Severus sighed. “I suppose. Besides, it’s hard not to enjoy Christmas when I have you.” He wrapped an arm around her, holding her in close, savouring the peace and her warmth until he had to get out of bed and face the chaos of the day.

“Christmases are going to be a lot more chaotic now with those two around.”

“Mmm… I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

“I’ll tell them you said that.”

“You will not.”

“Better get downstairs before me, then.”

“What - Sephy!”

Never had time moved so slowly. Severus was pacing back and forth in the hospital room so much that eventually Persephone piped up.

“Sev, stop pacing, you’ll wear the floor out. They’ll come when they come.”

“How can you be so calm?” he replied, although he did as she said and stopped his frantic movements. “You’re in labour!”

“Oh, gee, thanks for telling me, I would never have known. Labour takes hours, Sev. Abbie took ten hours to come.”

“Yes, I know that, but anything could happen in that time. Can we not speed it along? All this magical knowledge and we can’t even placate the suffering of labour?”

“Your suffering or mine?”

“Yours, of course, my love.”

Severus sat down by her bed in the chair the Healers had nicknamed “the husband chair.” Hundreds, if not thousands of impatient husbands had sat on that chair waiting for their child’s birth, but none so impatient as him.

“They’ll be here, Sev. And on Christmas Day too… typical. They clearly have the Snape flair for the dramatic.”

“I’m not dramatic —“

“Yes, you are.”

“…I suppose.”

Severus got out of the chair again and knelt down by the bed to come face-to-face with her belly, and he gently laid a hand on her bump.

“I’m very proud of you, my beautiful girls, for choosing such a day to be born,” he said softly to his not-yet-born daughters. “Even if you are giving your father heart palpitations by taking so long.”

At least he was here. Abbie was at home, waiting to hear the news that her baby sisters had been born. She had no idea if they were out yet, if they were okay, if her mother was okay. Severus, at least, was here with Persephone.

She reached out to take his hand, and Severus looked up at his wife.

“Are you nervous, Sev?”

“Am I nervous? You’re the one pushing them out, Sephy, not me.”

Persephone chuckled, but they both knew that wasn’t what she’d meant. Severus brought her hand to his lips and gently placed a kiss to the back of her hand.

“Of course I’m nervous. I’d be a fool not to be. But we have each other, and Abbie. It’ll be different this time. Better. You don’t have to do it on your own anymore, Sephy. We’re a family now.”

Persephone smiled. She was in labour, and still she was the most beautiful thing in the world to him.

“Team Snape,” she joked.

Severus rolled his eyes, but he smirked.

“You’re in labour, so I’ll allow that. Yes, Team Snape. And we’re about to get two more team members… if they ever hurry up and get out of you.” He leaned up to press a kiss to her temple. “I’ll be patient, my love. I waited so long for this… I think I can wait a little longer.”

Persephone winced suddenly, her grip tightening on his hand.

Severus woke in a panic, sweat dripping from his brow as he cried out for his wife. He reached out across the bed for her but - she was gone.

He bolted upright, looking around desperately. It couldn’t have been real, could it? Had she truly been taken?

“Sephy!” he called out. “Sephy, where are you? Sephy…”

He brought his knees to his chest, his breathing quick and shallow. She was gone, he had taken her, and their babies too…

Severus almost jumped out of his skin when he felt the mattress move as someone weighed it down. He looked up, and sobbed with relief when he saw Persephone sitting on the side of the bed, concern etched into her beautiful face.

“Oh, Sephy, there you are!” Severus gasped in relief as he threw his arms around her and pulled her body against his. “I thought - are you alright?” His hand flew to her stomach. “Are they okay?”

“Yes, I’m fine, Sev,” Persephone said softly, albeit with some confusion. “Just a bit of morning sickness, that’s all. There’s nothing wrong.”

Severus buried his head in the crook of her neck, inhaling her lavender scent and listening to the throb of her pulse reminding him she was alive.

Persephone cradled him in her arms, holding him protectively. “Did you have a bad dream?” she asked.

Severus nodded, not looking up.

“Oh, Sev, come here. Lie down with me.”

Persephone climbed into her side of the bed and allowed Severus to cling to her, his head resting on her breast, one hand carefully cradling her stomach.

“Do you want to tell me about it?” she asked as she gently stroked his hair.

“It was so vivid,” Severus said hoarsely. “So real… he was back. He took you. I tried to find you but I was too late. He… he killed them. Our babies, he killed them.” He sobbed against her chest, tears staining her nightgown. “Then he… he killed you. I screamed and - and then I woke up, and you weren’t here. I was so frightened, Sephy. What if he does come back? What if there was something we don’t know about -“

“Shh, shh, don’t talk like that,” Persephone said soothingly. She gently took his left arm, the one that was laying over her belly protectively, and carefully turned it over to show him the bare skin. “See? Gone. It died with him.” She took his hand and softly laid it on her skin near where she had felt Ariadne squirming against her organs some minutes earlier. “We are alive, and our love is so strong that we made two of them. Can you feel them?”

Severus closed his eyes and focused. Underneath his hand, ever so gently, he could feel something moving. Then, to his surprise, he felt a kick, right on his hand.

“Does she know I’m here?” he gasped.

Persephone giggled as Ariadne kicked again. “She’s excited to meet her daddy.”

Severus moved down the bed to gently kiss her belly. “Hello, my darlings,” he whispered against her skin. Persephone felt Ariadne stop moving, as if she was listening to his voice.

“Oh, I think we found the secret to calming them down,” Persephone chuckled. “Say something else.”

Severus smirked, pressed his lips against her skin, and murmured, “I love you so much, my precious babies. I am counting down the days until we meet. I know that you are both going to be so brilliant, so brave, just like your mother and your sister. I will spend every day of my life working to give you everything you need. I love you both so, so much.”

“They like that,” Persephone smiled. “They like your voice. They’re calming down already.”

“Then I shall speak to them every day,” Severus promised. “And they will know they are loved from the moment they are born.”

He placed another gentle, loving kiss to her belly, then glanced up when he heard a sniff.

“Are you alright, my love?” Severus asked with concern as he realised she was crying. He moved back up the bed again to kiss away the tears that were rolling down her cheeks.

“Happy tears,” Persephone promised. “I’m just… overwhelmed by how much love you have for us. And how much love I have for you.”

“I never thought I could love a single person until I fell in love with you,” Severus said. “And now I love four. Four beautiful, perfect, incredible girls.”

“I bet they’re going to look like you, like Abbie does.”

“Certainly not. I must have given Abbie all my genes, I have none left to give. They’re going to be the spitting image of you, I’m sure of it. Will they be identical, do you think?”

“I’m not sure,” Persephone mused. “What if we end up with one of each? One you and one me.”

“There’s already a second me next door, we don’t need a third. One was more than enough; Abbie is only tolerable as she’s a better me than I ever was.”

Persephone laughed. “Tolerable?! Severus, you worship the ground that girl walks on.”

“Maybe so, but don’t tell her that, I’ll never live it down.”

“Oh, I don’t need to, she’s well aware. Now come on, let’s get back to sleep. Do you need a potion?”

Severus hesitated. He wanted to say he didn’t need it with her there, but he was still a little shaken up. Sensing his hesitation, Persephone took her wand from her bedside table and summoned a Dreamless Sleep Potion from the cabinet.

“Thank you,” Severus murmured before taking a generous gulp from the vial. As he did so, Persephone settled onto her side, her belly supported by a pillow.

“I miss snuggling into your chest,” she sighed as Severus wrapped his arms around her, gently cradling her belly protectively. “The first night after they’re born, I’m giving you a proper cuddle again.”

Severus chuckled against the back of her neck and laid a gentle kiss to her shoulder. “Thank you, my love,” he said softly.

“For what?” Persephone asked, although her eyes were already closed for sleep.

“For soothing my nerves so easily,” Severus replied. “For loving me so well, and for so long. For staying by my side, and for marrying me despite all my shortcomings. For giving me three beautiful daughters. For… well, for you. I love you so very much.”

Persephone smiled. “I love you too,” she mumbled sleepily. “Now get some rest, Severus.”