Tidings of Comfort and Joy

Eternal thanks go to Madbrilliant for continuing to be a brilliant beta!

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Chapter 11 – Tidings of Comfort and Joy

Stephen Prince let his eyes wander over the crowd until a particularly beautiful sight caught his eye. The woman he had met earlier that day, Julia Sinistra, if he remembered correctly. She had been quite lovely indeed, and he found that she was surprisingly easy to talk to, and even though she was technically his senior, she treated him more like an equal than anyone he had ever known, other than Severus.

He would have to remember to thank his brother for inviting him when he could; otherwise, he may never have met this lovely specimen. He admired the way her deep wine-colored dress robes clung to her generous curves and slim waist, exposing the tops of her breasts in that oh-so perfect way. He approached her head on and bowed to her formally.

"May I request a dance, Miss Julia?" he asked suavely.

She blushed and accepted his hand shyly. "I would love to," she replied, letting him lead her onto the dance floor.

Hermione watched this display with keen interest as she spun in her husband's arms on the floor, gracefully sweeping around and across to the song. "What has you so interested on that side of the room, my dear?" asked velvet tones in her ear.

She looked up into Severus' glittering obsidian eyes and smiled beatifically. "Your brother seems quite taken with Julia Sinistra," she commented impishly.

He smiled for a moment before he realized what that implied. "You cheeky little minx!" he exclaimed softly. "You introduced them on purpose. What were you hoping to achieve?"

"Nothing in particular," she replied with a shrug. "I just figured that he needed love just as much as the next person, and besides, Julia has had a rough time of it too. They'll be good for each other."

He smiled and leaned down to kiss her lightly on the lips. "You are right, I suppose," he conceded.

"And besides, it'll be good to have him closer so you two can spend more time together, like a family," she urged gently. "I know you care for him and he cares for you too. You both need to put everything aside and sit down to have a decent conversation. It's no use leaving things the way they are."

"Why not? We've been content this way until now," he asked with a defeated sigh. He knew that she had an ulterior motive and that he would never win this argument. She was right.

"Because he's your family," she pressed.

"I know. That's the problem," he gritted out. "Blood is thicker than wine."

"And you have too good a heart to try and push him away again," she added giving him a brief peck on the cheek.

"I wouldn't if I hadn't fallen in love with you," he replied honestly, because it was true. He hadn't really known all that much about love until he had begun to love her.

She blushed and kissed him on the lips, which he reciprocated most ardently, kissing her hard with a deep-lying passion that had been bottled up for twenty years as they danced slowly to the soft music. When the need to breathe outweighed their desire to continue their snogging, Hermione rested her head on his chest.

Severus had to admit, she really did look more than beautiful that night. She was wearing the loveliest cream and silver dress robes made from only the finest silk, the inside layer a simple cream dress and the outer layer with sleeves to her elbows and only going as far as her knees in a darker shade of cream with silver trim. He liked and appreciated immensely that she had worn this instead of a red gown. He disliked the color then as much as he ever had and only tolerated her in it occasionally.

It was then that he decided that he had yet to dote on his wife for her choice of dress and decided it was only fitting. "You look lovely tonight, pet," he said warmly.

"Thank you," she said softly, hugging him tighter. "You look very handsome, Severus. Silver looks good on you."

Severus himself had decided to wear nice, black wizards dress robes with silver stitching on the inside and a silver silk waistcoat to compliment Hermione's dress lining. He looked out over the people dancing and sitting at the tables. He spotted Jane Granger and his cousin Anne sitting at a nearby round table, looking their way and smiling encouragingly at him as they talked quietly.

Later, he saw Phillip Granger and Theo, Anne's husband, sitting at the bar talking animatedly and drinking snifters of something that Severus was certain was quite strong. He could tell they were highly intoxicated by the way they laughed so loudly at times. He saw Potter and Ginny dancing near to them, the woman curled into Harry's chest much the same way Hermione was coiled into his.

He smiled slightly and nodded at Harry, who smiled back and nodded his head understandingly. He rubbed his wife's back and held her even closer. They both understood what it was like to be in love, and that was one of the reasons why they had overcome their intense hate for each other. That – and when they had both struggled with Voldemort to save Hermione.

He respected Potter now. Ronald Weasley, however, was a totally different story. Even though he had moved on from Hermione choosing Snape over him, he was still very possessive of her and didn't act any more maturely than he had as a student. But at least he didn't make any scenes.

"Severus, what is the time, dear?" asked Hermione, her voice slightly muffled by his chest.

"Not too late yet, though I imagine some of the older guests will be off to bed soon," he said. "Would you like to sit down?"

"Yes, I think that's a good idea. I should go talk to Mum and Anne. I haven't spoken to them much today, and then I'll go catch up with Minerva," she said, releasing him slowly.

"Alright," he said, offering his arm to her and escorting her to the ladies before he went to join the men in the other room where they were drinking, talking, and playing various games. He spotted Albus by the chess set, playing a game on his own and decided that it wouldn't hurt to talk to his old friend.

"May I join, old man?" he asked as he approached.

Albus looked up and smiled with both his blue eyes and grinned from behind his beard. "Of course, that would be grand. We haven't played in quite a while, have we?"

"Not for two years, Albus," he said softly. "Not since you sent Hermione off with me that Christmas."

"Ah! But it was the best Christmas you had ever had at the time, was it not?" he returned easily as he made the first move on the chessboard.

"Touché," Severus replied, making his move.

They played for an hour in relative silence until Severus saw that his old friend had grown tired and put a hold on the game, charming the pieces to stay as they were so they could continue another time. "Go on up to your room, Albus. You look beat," Severus suggested as they stood.

"Good idea, my boy, and might I say you're looking a little tired yourself. Not getting much sleep?"

"In a matter of speaking," Severus said with a slight smirk.

"Married life, hmmm?" Albus asked.

"Nothing better, trust me," he said, looking pointedly at Minerva. "When are you ever going to get around to asking that woman to marry you?"

"Why I –"

"Don't be daft, Albus. She'd marry you in a heartbeat if only you would stop being a chicken and say the words," Severus interrupted, looking warmly at him.

"I'll consider it," Albus said wisely. "I think I might be too old."

"Nobody is too old to get married," Snape said, gazing at Hermione, who was with Minerva by then, thinking of what good fortune he had.

Albus went up then, and Snape walked back into the ballroom to see that the men at the bar hadn't moved, some people had left the floor, and his brother was sitting at a table with Sinistra, having what appeared to be an interesting chat. Perhaps the woman would be good for him after all. He had never seen Stephen so attentive to a woman before and had a feeling that she was not like the woman he knew.

The night had been wonderful, and Snape found himself thinking that he was glad they had decided to have this ball. Everyone seemed to be happy, and he could tell that he had pleased his wife.

He smiled and decided to go to her. He felt the sudden urge to kiss her.