A Snape of Her Own

Chapter 27: A Snape of Her Own

Exam week was frantic. Everyone was distracted and wearing a bit of a wild, frantic look. Rowan and her friends sat their N.E.W.T.s and found them to be just as nasty and exacting as advertised.

After their last exam was completed, Rowan and Ariadne went back to their dorm room to pack their things and get ready for the leaving feast. Their other roommates were in the common room, which relieved Rowan; the time had come to tell Ariadne about her Slytherin.

"I guess we won't be on the train together for the last trip?" Ariadne asked Rowan.

"No. I suppose I could take the train and Apparate back to Hogsmeade, but it's a long way, and I'm pants at Apparition. Besides..."

"Yes?"

"Well, after tomorrow it won't be a secret anymore. I want to tell you now, so you don't think you should be sorry for me."

Ariadne eyed her narrowly. "With a lead in like that, I hope it means you are finally going to tell me what the heck has been going on with you for the last six months, Rowan. Okay, spill."

Rowan smiled. "I'm going to be married, tomorrow."

Ariadne grinned back. "To your secret Slytherin, I presume?"

"Yes. After the train leaves. Just a private ceremony."

"Are you going to tell me who, or just let me expire of curiosity right now?"

Rowan laughed. She took Ariadne's hand and led her to the side of the room far from the door. "It's Professor Snape."

Ariadne stared. "What? You can't be serious."

"Oh, dear. You are my one hope of being believed. Ari, I'm serious. I ... I love him, and I'm going to marry him."

"Professor Snape?" Ariadne's voice rose in a bit of a squeal.

Rowan put a finger over her mouth. "Shhh. Everyone will know in a couple of days, but I'd like to keep it quiet till then."

"How long have you? Wait, what happens in a couple of days?"

Rowan rolled her eyes. "The court records are unsealed, then it's sure to be in the Prophet next morning."

"Court records? Rowan, what happened?" Ariadne took her friend's hands and stared into her eyes, her concern obvious.

Rowan quietly gave the general gist of the story to Ariadne, who was understandably shocked and appalled. Rowan eventually convinced her friend that it was really her own choice, even in the teeth of every good reason otherwise.

"Is it all right if I tell Edgar?"

"Yes, but later, after the feast, okay? I'd like things to stay normal for a little while longer."

"All right, Rowan." Ariadne shook her head but followed Rowan down to the common room to meet Edgar, and the three of them went to the Leaving Feast together.

Gryffindor won the House Cup – the Ravenclaws were mostly just glad it hadn't gone to Slytherin. The feast was delicious; all the seventh years were sad that it was their last one but excited because their lives were beckoning. Rowan caught Severus's eye and saw a look there she interpreted as halfway between possessiveness and pleased anticipation. Or maybe he just really liked his treacle tart. She gave a half-smile and turned back to her own pudding.

In the morning, after breakfast, she hugged Ariadne and Edgar goodbye. Edgar grinned at her and whispered, "Good luck."

She slipped away to the library while the rest of the students boarded the carriages for the train station. Ariadne had tipped off Edgar so neither of them started any inquiries as to her whereabouts.

When the last carriage had pulled down the drive, Rowan went back to her dorm room and changed out of her school robes for the last time. She put on her blue gown and brushed her hair till it shone, then she walked quietly to the headmaster's office. She found Severus waiting for her there with Professor Dumbledore. Rowan took the chain from around her neck, undid the clasp to slide the ring off and place it on Severus's palm.

The three of them walked together out of the castle and down the grounds to the lakeside. There, Rowan and Severus joined hands. The silence was almost tangible now that the students had gone. The only sound was the birdsong and the rustle of the grasses in the breeze, which brought the scent of the wild scottish moor to them.

Under the open sky and the sun, standing on the earth, beside the lake, Severus and Rowan took each other by the hand and solemnly vowed to take and to keep each other, until parted by death.

Severus then took the little ouroboros ring from his pocket and slipped it over the fourth finger of Rowan's left hand. Rowan in turn brought out the plain gold band she had bought for Severus in Muggle London from her pocket and slid it onto his ring finger.

While they held each other's hands, Albus pronounced the words of the spell that would join them. When he completed the spell, streamers of light flew from his wand and flitted about them and their joined hands.

Rowan felt a a vibration ringing through her, as if a large bell had been struck nearby but without sound – and it was done.

Rowan tipped her head back to look into her husband's face, then her lashes swept down as he leaned over and kissed her gently.

When, after a long, blissful moment, they stepped apart again, Albus put his hands over both of theirs. "You will both have a difficult road ahead, in different ways, but I believe that fate has brought you together for a reason. Help each other, strengthen each other, and when Voldemort is defeated, you will have each won the greatest prize imaginable in each other. Now, I know better than to bore you young people with an old man's blather." Dumbledore twinkled mightily, shook Severus's hand, gave Rowan a kiss on the cheek, and returned to the castle, leaving the new couple alone by the lake.

Rowan blinked, a little stunned at how quickly it was over. Severus also looked a bit puzzled at what to do next. It was rather early in the morning for a wedding night, after all.

"I guess I should show you the apartment," Rowan said suddenly. "There isn't any furniture yet – do you think we can get it set up this afternoon, or is there somewhere else we can stay tonight?"

"I suppose we could transfigure a few things for tonight, then fix it up more permanently in the next few days," Severus responded.

"The Headmaster told me I should have the house-elves move our things. You are packed?"

"Yes."

Severus summoned an elf, who appeared promptly and bowed till the tips of her ears touched the ground. "Professor master is needing something?"

"Yes, please move my things, and Mrs Snape's things," Rowan blinked oh, right, "to ... where is the flat, Rowan?"

"Third floor flat over Gladrags," Rowan filled in for him.

"We'll also need to borrow some furniture – a bed, table and chairs – for a little while. Find something from the storage rooms that will fit."

"Right away, Professor Snape, sir, Mrs Snape." The elf bowed again and popped away.

"I'll want to get a few things from my house. You definitely won't want to stay there, but you can see it if you like."

"Oh, yes, please." Rowan was agog with curiosity to see what Severus's home would look like.

"Let's walk outside the grounds, and I'll Apparate us, if that is all right."

"That's fine," Rowan said, as they started walking. "Um, I should warn you, I don't Apparate very well."

"Do you have your license?"

"Yes, but just barely," Rowan admitted. "I managed to do it for the test, but I don't like it and never practiced since. It feels awful, and I hate the noise. I noticed how quietly you did it when you went to get my mother," Rowan told him shyly. "Do you think you could teach me?" Rowan suddenly blushed. "I'd understand if you don't want yet another student, and one you can't get rid of."

"In a bit, perhaps. If you don't pay attention, at least I'll have rather more leeway in the detention department."

Rowan choked with laughter and couldn't stop giggling till they reached the edge of the school grounds.

"It wasn't that funny," Severus said, looking bemused.

"Ask me about it after we've been married a few years."

Severus now looked at her with one eyebrow raised. "I'll make a point of it. Ready?"

Rowan held his arm snugly and said, "Ready."

With a funny sideways wrench, Scotland disappeared, and Rowan found herself standing on a doorstep of a rundown narrow little house in what looked like a mill town, possibly in Yorkshire. Severus opened the door and ushered her in.

Stepping into the living room, Rowan looked around her and grinned hugely. "Like books, do you?"

Severus looked a bit embarrassed, but not very. "A bit, yes. I told you there is someone staying here. I'd rather he didn't meet you, but he tends to nocturnal habits and won't wake before the afternoon as long as we are reasonably quiet."

Rowan waited while Severus retrieved the books and things he'd come for, packed them into a small satchel, then Apparated with Rowan into Hogsmeade.

They had lunch together at the Three Broomsticks. Rowan knew they would immediately become the hot topic of conversation in the tiny village of Hogsmeade, so they might as well get it over with. Rosmerta didn't recognize Rowan at first, dressed as a grown witch instead of a student, and with a Snape on her arm.

They figured that by the time they finished lunch, the house-elves would have done their work in the flat, so they went there next. Rowan unlocked the door with the key in her pocket. Before she could go in, Severus scooped her up, carried her in, and set her on her feet again.

Rowan smiled, and they looked around. It was a small flat with one bedroom and a bathroom. There was no electricity, but there were wall sconces and a candelabra. The kitchen had a stove which ran by magic, and food cabinets with preserving spells. The house-elves had found a sofa somewhere and set it facing the fireplace. There was a dining table with two chairs, the bedroom held a fourposter bed and a wardrobe. Rowan found her school trunk and another trunk that must be Severus's placed together against the wall.

It didn't take long to survey everything and bring them to the supremely awkward moment.

Severus, never the one to get past awkward moments gracefully, nevertheless managed this one through sheer force of motivation. He took Rowan gently by the hand and pulled her near, but not yet close. He put both hands to the side of her face and, watching her eyes for any flicker that meant he should stop, he stepped nearer, leaned his head down, and kissed her.

"I told you once, I wouldn't touch you if you didn't wish it, but I very much want to touch you. Will you, can you?"

Rowan, warmed and dazed slightly from his kiss, nodded. "I do want to, but I am a little nervous."

"We'll go at your pace then, as you like it." He kissed her again, this time holding her close to him. Then, with one hand in her hair, he trailed kisses from her temple to her jaw. He smiled to hear her breathing quicken and a small sigh escape her.

Rowan placed her hands on Severus's shoulders and slid them down his arms as he kissed her. With her eyes closed she felt the input from her other senses. She smelled his scent, a little sweat from the warm weather mixed with residual spices clinging to his clothes, she heard the slight ragged edge to his breathing and sensed the rein he was keeping on himself. Her fingertips felt the fabric of his coat, lighter than his winter one, but still wool, and bumped over the neat row of small buttons running down his forearms. She stifled a laugh, then looked up at him when he stopped kissing her chin.

"Something funny?" He didn't sound upset; was that a corner of a smile? Rowan was encouraged.

"It's only ... you have no idea ..." Rowan stopped and laughed at herself.

"What?"

"It's those buttons; you have no idea how long I've been staring at them. I've been dying to undo them all." Rowan laughed in embarrassment at actually telling him that.

Oh, Merlin! Yes. "If you wish to undress me, I am entirely at your disposal," Severus murmured into her ear, then lowered his hands and stepped back.

Rowan hesitated a moment, then, with a chortle of glee, set to unbuttoning. She blushed hotly and didn't dare look him in the face but concentrated at the task at hand. Even with her deft fingers it was a very slow job.

Severus was being driven slightly mad but didn't dare move. "You do own a wand, yes?"

"I do, but it wouldn't be as much fun," Rowan answered with a grin. She had finished the closure buttons, and the right arm, and was working her way down the left.

If she's enjoying undressing me, I will simply allow myself to go mad and be carted off to St Mungo's before I do anything to stop her.

At last she finished and slid the coat off his shoulders. Severus pulled his arms out, folded the coat and placed it on the table, and his wand next to it. Then he stood in linen shirt and wool trousers. Rowan put her hands on his chest and slid them over the cool linen. She heard him groan, felt the vibration of it through her fingers, and looked up at him shyly.

"There are more buttons, you know."

Are there? Where? Oh. Rowan looked down at his trousers, crimsoned, then back up at his face, which was looking a little strained. Now or never. Rowan looked down again and started on the trouser buttons. This was somewhat complicated by the pressure of his erection, and her fingers slipped off the buttons. Severus stood very still with his arms at his sides. There was a noise as of teeth grinding. With the placket on both sides unbuttoned, the trousers slid down Severus's hips and stuck there. She'd forgotten his shoes. He took his wand up, and with a small movement, the shoes vanished from his feet and appeared neatly together under the table. Replacing the wand, Severus let Rowan finish sliding his trousers down till he could step out of them and place them with his coat, then stood before Rowan in only his shirt and drawers.

Severus moved close and kissed Rowan again. There was little to disguise his desire from her, but she found a man in his underwear rather less threatening than one dressed to the chin in wool and buttons, although logically the threat was greater as he was now. She kissed back and felt warmth rising within her. With a deep growl, Severus scooped her into his arms and sat her on his lap on the sofa. One hand slipped around her waist, and the other tangled in her hair and pushed her head into his kiss.

Oh, Circe. Severus's kiss felt wonderful, and this time there was no need to fear being caught or interrupted. Rowan slipped her own arm over Severus's shoulders and kissed back with innocent enthusiasm. This brought a still deeper growl from Severus, who tightened his grip fiercely on her waist, slid his other hand up her skirts to stroke her thigh and started trailing kisses down her throat and clavicle. Rowan gasped a little and slid a hand from his shoulder into his hair. Next she felt his hot breath on her breast, through the fabric of her clothes, and the hand under her skirt moved to stroke her bum, then slid under her knickers and stroked her there. She knew he could feel the moisture growing there and was suddenly embarrassed and also supremely aware of how her hip was pressing against his hard cock.

Rowan stiffened and shifted a little. Severus looked up into her eyes and, seeing the fear growing there, he removed his hand from her skirt and put it back on her shoulder. His breathing and heartbeat were very fast, and he looked at her with an intensity, a longing, that was painful to see.

"I'm sorry, I don't want to frighten you. Should I stop? We don't have to do this now." Although stopping will kill me, and then you will be the Widow Snape.

"No, I want to get it over ..." Rowan almost bit her lip at Severus's visible wince. "Wait. I mean, I'm going to be scared no matter how long we wait. Don't stop. Just ... help me?"

Severus attempted to think rationally under difficult circumstances. She wasn't frightened undressing me, he recalled. "Why don't you explore, touch me. You must be curious, I daresay."

Rowan was, and also thrilled to have a Snape entirely at her disposal. She slid off his lap and helped him take off his shirt. Hesitating again, looking to his face for permission, Rowan undid the ties on his drawers, which he then removed. There he was, entirely naked, obviously aroused. Narrow chest, sallow skin, scars, Dark Mark, and all. Hers.

Rowan took her time over exploring his body, touching, kissing, even tasting where she willed. Severus concentrated on holding still, not grabbing her, and not shoving her to the floor and having her right there. The Dark Lord could have learned a lesson from her on slow torture.

Gradually, she grew more accustomed to him, and her touch grew firmer. Less exploratory and more caressing. Rowan touched him, stroked him, looked to see how she pleased him. She could tell by the small sounds and movements that he wasn't able to check when she was getting it right.

"Like this?"

"Oh, Merlin and Circe, yessss," Severus gasped. Finally, "You don't have to stop ... but ... oh," another gasp, "it will get messy, very soon."

Rowan chuckled, low in her throat. The feeling of power was heady and this was something she was very curious about indeed. She didn't stop. Oh. Severus's final eruption, his incoherent groan and the shudders of his body, his gasping sigh as he relaxed, it was all a joy to behold. He was right, though. It was messy. Rowan surveyed her dress, her hair, and, following Severus's bemused gaze upward, the ceiling. She snickered.

"Amused, are you?"

"Mmmmhhmmmm."

Severus stood and reached for his wand. He Vanished the mess, then pulled Rowan to her feet. "Your turn." He led Rowan to the bedroom where he undid her gown and slid it off. She felt slightly ridiculous standing there in her Muggle underthings but lost her embarrassment under the heat of his gaze, which quickened her own breath. Severus removed her bra and knickers, put everything neatly on a chair, then stopped to just look at her body. Fair skin, brown hair, matching brown curls lower down. Breasts small, but high. She still had the delicate bones and vestigial adolescent awkwardness of very new womanhood.

Severus walked around behind her, one hand on her hip keeping her still. Rowan shivered and all but felt his gaze on her back, her legs, her arse.

Finally, he took her by the hand, brought her to the bed and laid her down. Lying next to her, he repeated on her similar explorations as she had made on his body. Having just spent some of his own need, he was more easily able to progress slowly, gauging her readiness before advancing to more intimate caresses, kisses, delicate dippings and firmer rubbings.

Rowan's passion rose in her under Severus's fingers. It was not quick – the amazing intensity that came from someone else's hands instead of her own warred with the embarrassment of being seen in this state, but when she finally did climax, it was shattering.

In a few seconds, as her breathing slowed, Severus rose and knelt between her legs. "Now, Rowan, please."

"Yes."

"Ohhh..."

"Ow!"

Severus stilled. "Are you all right?"

"Yes. I didn't think it would hurt the second time, but it's not so bad."

"Ssh, relax. I'll try to ..."

"It's okay, I'll be fine." Rowan reached up and ran her fingers into Severus's scalp, pulled him down to kiss her.

It was too much for Severus. He had reached the place where his body took control, and he could only cry out her name and hope for the best. In a few moments, he collapsed limply on her, rolling to the side, panting and with his heart thumping. Oh, Merlin, please! Don't let me have screwed this up.

Rowan felt him slip out with some relief but turned and snuggled happily into his arms and nuzzled him in the neck.

"Are you all right? I didn't hurt you?"

"A little, but it's fine. What you did before," Rowan whispered shyly, "that was wonderful."

Thanking every benevolent spirit that ever blessed a marriage bed, Severus relaxed and held her close.

AN: Just a few more chapters to wind up the loose ends now.

Thanks to Juno Magic and Lady Whiteheart for saving you all from my grammar.