Adjusted Relationships

Disclaimer: Except for some OCs, the characters here and the world they inhabit are the creation and property of JK Rowling and her assigns.

Katherine arrived in the dining room the next morning to see her husband and uncle deep in conversation. Their heads were close together as though in conspiracy, and they looked up in embarrassment as she walked into the room. Katherine made it a point to look them each in the eye. Severus returned her gaze evenly, with a question of his own in his eye, while Uncle Sonny busied himself with his corn flakes.

"And what are you two dears stirring up?"

"What makes you think anything is being stirred up?" asked her husband.

She laughed in return.

Uncle Sonny very carefully spooned the last of his cereal into his mouth and then just as carefully set the spoon on the place mat. "I don't see, girl, why I should be ashamed of looking after your interests. The fact of the matter is that your husband and I are discussing how to get you to St. Mungo's for a checkup."

Katherine walked over to her usual place at the table, sat down, and unrolled her napkin. She proceeded to fill her tea cup and prepare it to her taste, looking by turn, at each of the wizards watching her. As she took the first few sips, her breakfast appeared before her, and she buttered her toast. After she took a bite, she looked up at her husband and uncle and said, "What?"

Severus just snorted while Sonny replied, "Why won't you go?"

"Severus understands the whole thing. He doesn't agree with it, but he understands. What you have to realize, Uncle Sonny, is that it's none of your business."

"Perhaps not, but I do feel a certain interest in seeing that your poor mother gets some grandchildren."

Katherine put her fork down and stared at her plate. "That is unfair, Uncle Sonny. I did what I could. I was actually carrying her grandchild when it all happened, you know."

"Now, girlie, you know I don't mean to bring all that up. Your husband tells me that he thinks there's a good chance that the Muggle doctors didn't get it right and that the Healers can help you. I want you to take that chance... for me?"

She looked at her husband, who sat silent but very interested. She knew that certain aspects of the discussion were less important than others to him. His face was encouraging. His interest was in getting her properly healed. There was no pressure from him on the other issue. Anything else was a delightful bonus, as far as he was concerned.

She sighed. "I'll do it."

Uncle Sonny knocked on the table. "Good girl."

"It will have to wait until after the Paris trip, though. That will involve an overnight."

"Any sort of agreement is better than nothing, my dear." Sonny stood. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to see the contractors about my house, and I may have other associates to check in with. Katherine, at what time should I be home for dinner?"

"Dinner is at seven tonight. It's nothing fancy." She held his hand, and then he left.

Severus watched his wife over the newspaper. "That was quite a show you put on. Will you be writing the hospital today?"

"You know I can't do that until I know when I'm going to Paris. My contact said it could be a couple of weeks."

"Yes, I know. So it's a couple of weeks before you contact the hospital and perhaps a month after that... Your uncle is looking for a Christmas present. I suppose it could be just about possible, depending upon the extent of the procedures they do."

She looked up at her husband in shock. "Are you ready... so soon?"

"I am happy to accommodate your schedule on this. You know that."

"I know you've been good about letting me take this at my own pace, but that was just to see if I could get pregnant. Are you really ready for the rest of it?"

"Once the decision is made that we want children, why would we wait?"

She smiled. "I guess it's not as though we need to save our money to afford it." She thought for a moment. "Speaking of uncomfortable subjects, I spoke with young Mr. Potter last night... Oh, there's the blank stare I fell in love with a year ago!" Turnabout is fair play, Katherine thought to herself with a feline smile.

"And?" It came out shorter than he might have intended.

"I think I understand the looks he's been giving you. He learned a great deal about his father from his father's friends and more than he wanted to know about him from your memories. He wants to know more about his mother."

"I'm not sure I'm the best person..."

"Come now, Severus. You're probably the only person living who really knew her. That impossible sister of hers has forgotten everything except that she considered Lily a freak. Dumbledore dropped the boy into a magical void for eleven years and then expected him to re-assimilate without much comment whatsoever. The boy has performed brilliantly, but now he's a bit lost. You're one of the people who can help him fill the gaps."

"I'll think about it."

"There we go. That's one non-committal promise from each of us. Quite a good day's work, don't you think?"

"You're incorrigible."

"And you're still magnificent."

He couldn't help blushing as he tried not to choke on his coffee. "What is Mrs. Magnificent doing today? Looking for wands in Piccadilly, by chance?"

"Nothing so grand. I'll be working with the elves on getting the flat back in order and then finding some way to reward them for their hard work yesterday. Hopefully I'll find something that they don't consider insulting or doesn't make them burst into tears. You might pop into the kitchen and tell Josephine and Bonaparte goodbye. They'll be going back to the island today."

"I'll do that." He set his cup and paper down and stood. "I should get downstairs. I need to see to those dunderheads."

"Don't you have something to do first?" she asked.

"Now that you mention it," he smiled. He took the few steps toward her and then leaned down to her upturned face. "Delicious."

"There's more where it came from, of course."

"I'm counting on that."

"I'm sorry, I just don't think I can do it with Uncle Sonny in the flat."

He laid back and rifled a hand through his hair, sighing loudly. "Are you out of your pretty little mind?"

"Didn't you see the way he looked at us when he commented about us being newlyweds? He knows."

"Of course your uncle knows. If you were him, what would you expect?"

"It's just too strange. He still thinks of me as a little girl."

"He knows you're all grown up."

"Yes, that's true." She smiled at him.

"Katherine..." He reached over to run his hand through her hair and nuzzled her neck.

She giggled and pulled away. "I just can't. What if we make noise?"

"This is senseless." He rolled over and sat up on his side of the bed, reaching for a pair of shorts and his robe.

"You're not leaving?"

"What's the point of staying?" He closed the bedroom door, and Katherine could hear him padding down the hallway to his office.

Severus found a book of charms that he had been thumbing through and sat down with it. He had been looking for something in particular and poring over the fine print of this book might be the solution. It didn't solve his more immediate problem, however, and he found that he had to stand up again.

He tried pacing the floor of his study without any luck. He kept thinking of the way she had looked during breakfast when she smiled over the way her uncle had gotten that promise out of her. That led him to thinking about her health, which was a more promising train of thought. The latest pain medication was doing the trick, and she didn't seem to be getting any worse. Perhaps not spending lazy mornings on the floor of the dining room, due to the likelihood of a relative happening upon them, would be good for her, too. He stopped walking. That was a poor choice of memories to draw upon.

He sat again and reopened the book. There were many useful charms here. He found one to make house-elves happy. Katherine could have used that this morning, by all reports. She had told him that the elves had all cried at being presented with their choice of the pillowcases at the apartment. All four had selected one in cotton sateen with dark green and silver monograms. Then they had cried at being separated when Bonaparte and Josephine had to leave. Katherine had to promise both that they would be returning to the island again and that the four would be reunited again. As a permanent arrangement, the Snapes were not sure it would work for all four to be in the same place. Each of the female elves was quite territorial about her kitchen.

He started to pace again. The more they tried to fit into Wizarding England, the less they actually did. As he had predicted, they were not comfortable in the world that was emerging. There really wasn't a place for a double spy. Old friends treated him kindly, but the message behind their eyes was always questioning and assessing his motives. Katherine, likewise, found that pureblood society was withdrawing from her as it stepped back to lick its wounds and consider its position in the emerging world. If it weren't for his campaign to get her to St. Mungo's, he would start pressing her to take a long-term vacation.

At the thought of Katherine's injuries, he looked again at some calculations he had made that day. This newest potion was sure to do something of interest. It would take several days to complete, but fortunately some of the ingredients were best harvested at this time of year and moon phase. A couple of sips might solve certain problems.

The room was becoming over warm. He stood at the sliding door to his balcony and brought the charms book with him. As he scanned the pages, he finally came upon a spell that caught his interest. He looked out the door and back at the charm, reading it carefully again. It appeared that he was looking at the solution to both a question he had tried to solve for a few weeks and the problem at hand.

Katherine tossed and turned, wishing she hadn't been so squeamish. It wasn't that she didn't want to make love, she just needed a different sort of foreplay to get her into the mood. She needed something to take her mind off her uncle. Was this normal married life? It seemed as though just a month before, once the bedroom door closed only Severus existed for her. Just in the past couple of weeks it seemed as though other things had started crowding in. She sighed and stared at the ceiling.

If only they could go back to the island. They had invited only their friends to the party, but even then there were a few awkward moments. Severus had been right in saying they wouldn't really fit in. They had felt the need to come back to England, though, and now were embroiled in life here. It would take a couple more successes for Katherine to feel that she had gotten enough of the wands to truly be helpful to Mr. Ollivander, and now Severus had those three students, or assistants, or whatever they might be called.

There was no way she could sleep. She was too keyed up. If only Severus had recognized that she needed a little wooing tonight! On the other side of the coin, hadn't she insulted him a bit by being distracted? Maybe she should woo him. She sat up and felt around for her peignoir set and put it on. Then she Summoned her hairbrush and ran it through her hair quickly.

She blinked her eyes at the glow in the middle of the room. A silvery panther hopped onto the foot of the bed. She backed away as it stared at her for a minute. Surely it couldn't hurt her, and it could only have one source.

"Come." It was his voice, as she expected.

If it was a riddle, it wasn't a complicated one. She congratulated herself on already being prepared and stood. The Patronus was at the door in a single bound. It waited for her to open it. She followed it down the hall and into a room filled with candlelight. The panther dissipated, but she wasn't really watching it anymore. She just looked at her husband.

He made a sound low in his throat. "You're very pretty."

"I was thinking of coming to find you, but you sent for me, first."

He gestured to the balcony. "Will you join me?"

She wrapped the thin gown around herself as securely as she could. "If you like."

They stepped out and Katherine discovered that it was actually quite comfortable.

"Wow! This is marvelous."

"I've been looking for Warming Charms for a while. I think this is the one. Care to test it with me?"

"My pleasure." She smiled at him.

"If it goes as I hope, it will be mine, too," he murmured.

Katherine heard "Stairway to the Stars" on the wireless as her husband pulled her into his arms. Before she realized what was happening, they were dancing. He held her closer and closer as the music played until they were swaying in time to the music rather than dancing. She lifted her face to find that his lips were waiting for hers.

The music was forgotten as strong feelings, never quite quenched, were quickly kindled. Severus guided his wife to a large and well-cushioned chaise lounge on the balcony. There he started to guide her robe over her shoulders.

"Won't someone see us?"

"On the twelfth floor, with no other tall buildings nearby? They would need a telescope and a great deal of luck."

She smiled at that thought and shrugged out of both the robe and her gown. He likewise disrobed and she smiled again. Reaching out, she caught his hand and kissed it before sliding it back around her waist. She stepped closer as her hands reached to caress his chest, working their way up to his neck. She trailed kisses where her hands had been until he slid his hand under her chin and tipped her face up to his and kissed her.

The Warming Charm on the balcony continued in full force as the two lowered onto the oversized lounge chair. It provided a warm atmosphere as the air directly around the chair reached a white hot intensity. The charm softly caressed them as they started to cool a few minutes later, keeping them comfortable. All the pair on the lounge chair noticed were the soft touches and comments that they made in the aura of their contentment. When the touches and comments became once again bold and determined, the charm accepted the heat from their bodies and held it around them without allowing them to become overly warm.

A/N: This has been beta read by Trickie Woo.