A New Project

A/N: To help you follow, here is a summary of the rules for the wedding between Severus and Ginny.

For all the couples, Voldemort's key goal is to breed wizards or witches. That's what the curse they sealed with their blood is tailored to: intercourse-till-pregnant until they have three magical children.

Voldemort's goal in this particular pairing, SS/GW, is, however, not limited to the children, although he does expect them. His short-term goal is to keep Ginny in their hands and leave the Order desperate.

Severus returns from his preparation chat with Voldemort, reporting that Ginny has time till her seventeenth birthday to become pregnant. But he makes it clear to her that the regular intercourse means that she cannot escape.

When she drinks the contraceptive, Ginny remembers that it is to be taken after the period. To me, it seems closest to Muggle contraceptives this way ==> she'll get the two beakers only once a month, and there isn't a secret at all.

The requirement for intercourse terminates when the third child has magical powers, so I'd think after each birth one checks the book (like Lucius did) and in case... uurgh!

At the wedding, Ginny saw that she's been given more time than the other couples to produce the offspring, but she could not identify any details of the spell.

A New Project

Together with Nott and Sullivan, Severus investigated another manor with wide grounds that had belonged to a family he had not been able to save. They had been a fairly rich family with magical abilities lingering in the bloodline for centuries. The current owner was Muggle...or would one call them all Squibs?... married to a Muggle. He only had the misfortune of a magical daughter. Severus had not heard what had happened to the ambitious, good-natured Ravenclaw girl, her parents or her non-magical brothers, but the house had lain abandoned for two months. Since he was reputed to be familiar with Muggle filing systems, Severus had received the task to remove the manor and its park from their records. The Dark Lord was pleased. He must have big plans for the impressive, solitary estate.

Each Death Eater family in the possession of more than two elves had been ordered to give a powerful elf in his prime to the place. They worked under strict scrutiny of Mrs Mulciber, whom Severus knew to be a scrupulous pursuer of the Dark Lord's plans to purify their race, although she was not often entangled in raids. Furthermore, she was an ace in Charms, and not to be ignored in her Arithmantic skills. She strutted around the place with her retinue of elves and took possession of every rock and ditch in the ground, every branch of every tree. She measured and noted, calculated and compared, paced the length of the estate and the buildings and other distances and had marks positioned in certain proportions relative to other measures also considering the direction of the sunset at the most holy and sacred days of the traditional wizard calendar, Imbolc, Beltane, Samhain and others Severus wasn't even aware of.

Her complex graphs and long rows of Arithmantical equations resembled those Vector had put up the summer before Potter had started at Hogwarts. This all made sense if the estate was going to be important and under her charge: she would have to not only know it but imprint her presence on it. Albus had done the very same when he had made everyone believe that he strolled the perimeter of Hogwarts grounds just to enjoy them. Possession magic held primarily on stone, next on the watercourses. Trees came next because their roots held the soil in place around the minor rocks, and the whole plant stored the same waters that soaked the ground. They also accommodated the minor spirits, and Mrs Mulciber seemed to bind them to herself as she went. She could have done all of this a lot less pompously, though.

This would become a very well protected place, and with a rush of adrenaline Severus wondered, Don't I know of objects that require such protection more than others?

Today, she at least gave Paul Nott and Severus the grace of greeting them. In fact, she asked Severus to come inside and discuss her plans.

They were to build a school! That was a challenging task indeed. The Dark Lord had been most displeased with the syllabus of Hogwarts, and Severus had suffered his share of punishments for not being able to revise the N.E.W.T.s level of Potions to include Dark brews. Today Obscuranta Mulciber, the designated headmistress of Salazar's Academy, wanted Severus to guide her through the design of the wing for Potions lessons. She flamboyantly hinted he might become the teacher here, if he remained in her favour. Now would be his chance to get suitable work facilities. So they went over the needs in the classroom, what tools to provide, which ingredients to stock, in what kind of safety devices or spells to store them. Would he recommend a separate storage room, or shelves and cupboards in the classroom? Is there a need for the teacher's own storage and his private lab, and what should his office look like? She even asked him to mention books for up to 1500 galleons. If he ever could lay his hands on so much money, all for potions literature! It irked tremendously to spend the bulk of it for beginners' material, and he strictly advised not to buy more identical samples than one third of the size of a class. "One out of three pupils knows no other pastime than riding his broomstick, and half of the rest is illiterate, Headmistress. This does not mean that the last third will actually benefit from reading them."

Mrs Mulciber ignored the remark and went on with similar questions about the subject he had taught last year. She would use his answers to design the facilities for the subjects closest to Hogwarts' lessons in Defence Against the Dark Arts. "Of course, we are not restricting ourselves to their defence. We'll have "Defence and Duelling" as a mandatory subject for all pupils as well as "Group Combat and Strategies" for the third year and above. Fighting Irish Pixies, Red Caps or Hinkypunks will not be our concern!" she snorted. This curriculum sounded para-militaristic, but certainly, Severus could go with dropping how to fight M.O.M. Class XXX beasts in times of a war! Outside a school like Hogwarts...or maybe this one...there was no protected space, and even the children were easily entangled in a skirmish and had to know how to protect themselves.

In a falsely sweet voice, she continued, "Severus, you are our greatest asset when it comes to pedagogical experience." She swiftly transgressed into the spirit of bossing him about, handing him three colour-coded lists of topics to cover. "You will set up a syllabus for these subjects: Potions, Defence and Duelling and then Group Combat and Strategies. Define a reasonable order and sketch the most effective teaching methods. Our master wishes to have the black topics covered in the first five years that are mandatory for all our children. The red topics are for the N.E.W.T.s classes, where you can set entrance criteria, and you can expect even more eagerness to learn." He snorted at the 'even more', but she continued firmly. "Don't think that we go with the mollycoddled treatment of pupils the old fool has established at Hogwarts! We will have more than two thirds Slytherins here, and we will have them sit on their behinds. Half of the others are Ravenclaws, for which academic excellence is a virtue in itself, whatever the subject." With a swanky smirk, she added, "Should you wish for your... little girl... to attempt her O.W.L.s in our Academy, she would be a lone Gryffindor kitten."

"My wife will further her education for as long as possible," he replied smoothly, not giving her a chance to question the quality of his wedlock. Severus knew well enough that most lessons would be too dangerous during her expected pregnancy. But she had a few months still, and they should not be wasted.

Mrs Mulciber nodded. "I'd like to go through the plans with you on Sunday. Or maybe Saturday? What about the two of you joining us on Saturday for some pre-Christmas festivities? There will be a few couples our age, and they will bring their elder children along as well." She grinned. Against his inclination to rudely reject it, Severus accepted her invitation for teatime. "The party might run until late, but we will certainly excuse the newly wed couples earlier." He wished he could wipe the smirk off her face.

:*:*:*:

A spartan meal of stale bread and crumbling cheese and the sorry excuse of a small tomato was all he found in the kitchen when he returned. It would have been his normal meal in pre-Miss Weasley times, but now that his appetite has been stimulated and his taste sharpened... No, pampered... his stomach complained seriously.

It wasn't late yet, but she was in bed already, eyes closed, breathing regularly. The necklace with the pendant was draped on top of her clothes.

Severus noticed he was walking on tiptoes. Damn her!

:*:*:*:

Minerva put down her teacup with a sigh. Taking her breakfast in her office had been a splendid idea. Ever since she had taken up teaching in addition to administering the McGonagall estates and production, she had constantly had a huge workload. She could stand tension fairly well, so she thought, but nothing had prepared her for the role of a general in a war like this. The last days had been too much. In addition to leading the Order, there were now the Weasleys to be cared for. Distracted in grief over their little girl, they were hardly able to follow a command or take responsibility. Then there was Harry Potter, the boy who had the most terrible task upon his shoulders. Since the day Ginny had been taken from them, he had been tormented by a guilty conscience. It didn't spur him into fierce actions, though. Instead, he acted in a resigned way. Minerva recalled with worry how easily he had accepted that the task to accompany Remus to the Greek pub had fallen to Neville the other day.

Everyone in the Order understood that they needed to support him, but some were pampering him beyond measure while others demanded just too much of him. She would have to set this topic on the agenda of the next meeting.

Cleaning of Hogwarts grounds was progressing nicely, if one overlooked the rough work Grawp did at times. She organised the people and their tasks in similar manners as they had always run Hogwarts school. The Minister, Rufus Scrimgeour, intervened into her activities as much as he could, which was very little indeed. He had finally understood that there were more important people and events than what he called an unmanageable headmistress. One who didn't even run lessons for the time being! He would most likely think that she was operating on her own, supported only by her staff, in keeping an eye on Potter. Minerva would hardly dispel these thoughts.

Watching the wedding of Severus Snape with Ginny Weasley had left Minerva raw. The girl had been eerily composed, and, as Percy had insisted before, also Alastor and Minerva had not seen any indication that she was under any kind of spell. She appeared ready to marry none other than Severus Snape. The man, the most unsocial staff member she had ever had to work with, had looked better than ever after the Three Wizards' Tournament.

Minerva's gaze slid over to the newest framed picture on the wall. Albus' favourite armchair stood behind his desk, but it was empty, as it had been for weeks now.

The Order and the Ministry had grudgingly heeded the artist's advice not to address Dumbledore before the oil paint and spellwork had dried, but Dumbledore himself had contacted them far too early. And what an unfathomable first advice had he given them? Each trusted member of the Order was to attempt seriously to enter Snape's office.

The hasty act had cost the late headmaster dearly. His bad arm had completely disappeared, and he had sunk back into his chair with a groan. For four days, he had slept restlessly, but on the fifth day, he had been gone. No one had found him anywhere in the castle, although the cleaning staff had been advised to pay special attention to all portraits.

Someone was approaching the stairs to her office with determination. It was Remus Lupin. She sighed. The normally so reserved man shouted the last three passwords at the gargoyles from fifty yards ahead, as excited as she had hardly seen him when he was Head Boy. He had a nattering girlfriend in tow, which had also never happened to him while he had been her student. A late bloomer? But why was he seeking her up so urgently?

Minerva opened her doors towards the stairs in pre-emption of a noisy entrance.

"Will you give it a rest?" the Metamorphmagus demanded in exasperation, her arms swinging dangerously close to both her sides. Minerva flicked her wand and Transfigured the spindly, wooden legs of her hat stand into massive cast-iron ones. The tartan-laden object swayed, but bounced back and did not fall.

"I cannot leave this, Nympha," Remus replied, his steps halting. "I need to investigate it again. Minerva should comment on it, too."

"What is it that deserves my attention so early in the morning before I have even finished my breakfast?" Minerva asked pointedly. Wasn't it possible at least once a week that she gathered herself before being called?

"I'm sorry, Minerva, this thought has followed me into my dreams," Remus answered.

"...and successfully kept me from sleeping." Tonks groaned. "He has this fixation about..."

"This isn't a fixation! Severus..." Remus tried again, but his girlfriend cut him short.

"Will you drop the rotten murderer, Remus? Think of Ginny, the poor girl. Her brothers called her a red tornado, and for a reason, too. I shudder to think what she'll be like when we get her back."

"Wait, love." Remus stopped her flow, lifting his hand. He turned to the headmistress. "I could not overcome the notion how utterly unfitting Ron's expression was. Severus, a lecher! I'm sorry, Minerva."

Now, Minerva stood, her brows furrowed. "Remus Lupin," she began, looking at him so sternly that he instinctively halted in his speech. "I'm neither an old spinster nor prudish or emotionally inhibited. I am, simply said, a teacher, and as such I need to execute authority, or I loose my battles with them. Believe me, my vocabulary expands beyond young Weasley's slip. If the worry about my state of mind brought you up here, it was thoroughly misplaced."

Remus looked at her in bewilderment. "Your state of mind? No, I'm not worried about that. I know that you have a private life. I did experience you as a colleague and not only as a pupil." He stopped, thinking. "How can I explain this? As a colleague, yes! You know Severus as a colleague. You know him much better than I do."

"I thought I did..."

"You do know his awkwardness in public and in personal relations. Even among the staff, he never dropped his guards. I initially thought it stemmed from our personal, unsavoury past..."

"...for which you have tried to make amends that he didn't want to hear..." Minerva noted, clearly remembering the many attempts Remus has made when they had both been teaching.

"...meaning that I have actually not achieved anything there," Remus retorted.

"You did achieve more than you think," Minerva started, but was interrupted.

"This is what this is about?" an outraged Tonks interjected, her hands clenched in fists on her hips. "You kept me awake with your prattle all night to clear your conscience against a murderer?"

Remus huffed and stepped away from them both to fetch the Pensieve. "I need to go in there again, and you're welcome to follow me if you take my directives."

:*:*:*:

"We have time till we meet Severus," Remus told the women. With little patience, they went through Percy's transfer to the festively decorated hall and the minutes he stood there, next to Umbridge. As soon as the bridegroom and Nott came into view, they kept themselves as close as the memory would allow.

"Now, concentrate." Remus interrupted them. "Here, just look at how nervous he is. This just isn't like Severus Snape!"

"How would you imagine him to look on his wedding day?"

"I would never have imagined him to wed," Remus insisted. "He is not the charming lover. Even less a lecher."

"You have a point," Minerva said. "I certainly had more than just the proverbial eye on him when he started teaching. He never went for any of the female students, although quite a few tried in the first few years. Don't snort, Nymphadora. He did not teach N.E.W.T.s classes back then, and they hardly knew him. Some always take the challenge with a dark person, and he wasn't more than four years their senior."

By now, Severus had approached them and addressed Percy with a growl. "This is more like him," Minerva agreed. "He's comfortable when he can berate others since he need not care for their reaction."

Shifting from one foot to the other, Remus sighed.

When Percy accused Snape with, "You cannot be serious," Remus' eyes went distant. For a moment, he stared bleakly, unseeing.

"I am most certainly not, you impertinent brat!" Severus replied.

Remus snapped back into the present of this memory. "That's it!" he shouted. "The Severus Snape we used to know would hardly joke like this."

"Joke?" Tonks asked, "Where is there a joke?"

"Serious, that's your cousin, Sirius Black. He's not Sirius, he's Severus."

"So true."

The murmurs ceased, and everybody looked at the entrance where the brides had appeared. "Look at him, how he relaxes and yet shows anticipation," Remus exclaimed as the bridegroom's face sparkled.

They observed how the unknown personality in Severus greeted Ginny and then left the memory.

"I see your point, Remus," Minerva admitted. "Severus is acting as I have never seen him before. While he has learned from the Malfoys how to behave in their aristocratic circles, he is not at all self-confident when it comes to more private matters. At this wedding, he does not show the aloofness he usually does in these circumstances."

Tonks looked from one to the other. These two might agree on such a detail, but what that could mean for poor Ginny was anybody's guess.

:*:*:*:

Thursday's breakfast was again a sad affair. She, as Severus internally referred to Ginevra, had a huge glass of grapefruit juice, a Muggle habit she had adopted quickly. Severus' stomach revolted at the thought of that much acid. She nibbled contently on the stale crust of bread that she washed down with two cups of strong black tea.

"Severus," she started, and he hated it already. Did she have to start each sentence with his given name? It was highly superfluous since there wasn't anyone else here she could address! "I need to go shopping." Well, that was all news to him, what with the kitchen as empty as his stomach.

"Mistress of the obvious?"

"Fine, sir. I know the way, just hand me the money and my wand. Lunch will be ready for Monsieur at twelve."

"You are not going anywhere alone. We leave in ten minutes, and I'm not going to spend more than twenty minutes in the dratted shop. I have work to do."

Half an hour later, Ginny found herself rushing through the shelves in high speed. She had made the scowling man get bread and a few essentials, but she would personally care for the fresh grocery, cheeses and meat for the next few days. On a hunch, she took two bananas and was already queuing at the cashier when Severus turned up with just a package of bread. His mind was elsewhere when he tossed the fluffy, white stuff into the carriage. She knew for a fact that he disliked this soft sort. She sighed. If he needed to make it difficult, then he should. She really had little chance to change it.

Back outside, Ginny handed him one of the two bananas. "Here, let's have them now to sustain us till lunch," she suggested, but Severus only scoffed. With a shrug, she stowed one banana in a bag, manoeuvred all of the bags onto her right arm and enjoyed her own fruit.

Severus stalked back purposefully, keeping himself three steps ahead of her. The wings of his light, short jacket flapped enough to imagine how the garment would billow had it only been long enough. Muggles fled left and right out of his ways like his pupils had done when he had escorted a miscreant to see the headmaster. Only, there will be no headmaster to talk to, Ginny mumbled to herself.

With his stomach rumbling like thunder, Severus tried to concentrate on the school syllabus, to elaborate curricula and notes on teaching methods while she went about the house, cleaning here, ordering there. "Sit down and keep still," he commanded.

Ginny took the armchair because the makeshift bed wasn't Transfigured into a sofa and sat down. Hands in her lap, she didn't do anything for a long while, just stared. Stared at him. Whenever he sent her a look, she would quickly avert her eyes from his, but he felt her gaze resting on him.

With a huff, Severus gathered all his parchments and retreated to the upper floor.

When, for the second time, a waft of the smell of food reached him, the complaints his empty stomach made became unbearable. He still had an hour before the meeting was scheduled. Slowly, he stacked his material extra-neatly and stalled before he went downstairs to make sure she would not wait for him, and he could eat in peace. He found her at the table, already scratching the last bits of her own lunch together. A tomato soup and some salad... not exactly filling, he thought, but he approached anyway. His stomach growled loudly as he took his place and ladled a soup of beef and noodles into his soup bowl. He was helping himself to salad when pain pierced through his left arm, and he dropped the cutlery. The Dark Mark was glowing and throbbing worse than normally, and his nerves stood on end. This was an urgent call.

Wordlessly, Ginny fished the salad server out of the soup and watched his hunched form on its way to the bedroom.

:*:*:*:

Severus swore as he swiftly changed into wizard robes. He had assumed he had decent time for lunch, and the food looked well enough. No, it actually looked and smelled like a treat, and when taking in its scent and appearance, he had not regretted dismissing the banana before. Now, he would go hungry. All her fault!

Halfway out the door, he donned his heavy cloak. She stood in his way, reaching out a hand with a sorry excuse for a sandwich. "Here, Severus, at least take something, even if it is only cheese and salad."

The soft slices were already sagging from the dressing. "Keep the petty stuff for yourself!" he sneered.

As Severus rushed to the Apparition point, he nearly knocked down a tall, severe-looking woman with very short, greying hair. She admonished him with a stern voice and an unmistakable Scottish accent. "Do watch where you're going, young man!" Severus stopped dead as the image of his stern, elder colleague blended over the one of the Muggle-woman. Just what he needed!

Only this morning, a tall, red-clad, jolly character with a huge, false, bushy beard had smiled benignly at everybody in the shop. This had reminded him of Albus Dumbledore at a welcome-feast. Severus had nearly knocked down a stand of chocolates and got a disappointed look from Father Christmas.

And now her!

If Severus had had a knack for Divination...which he had not!...he would have assumed these two had come to berate him for his behaviour...and he did not think of the concrete causes of their critique, but the background of it: his impossible relation to the girl that had entrusted her life to him.

:*:*:*:

The whole afternoon and deep into the evening, Severus' empty stomach commented at every other remark that fell in the reunion of the Inner Circle. They were discussing a new strategy to get at Potter, now that she had not been bait enough. The werewolves were represented by Greyback and two others he didn't know, who looked equally menacing. In the days before the full moon, they were randy, he recalled, and within seconds he had mentally run through the wards back home. Yes, they were all in place. His relief for her sake pained him.

In a break, Nott went to speak to the werewolves, inviting Severus over, but he preferred not to get too close. After all, he still had hold on the girl they had been expecting.

Returning to their seats, he commented to Paul Nott, "Greyback might have eaten me alive. Or at least he might have bitten me. I didn't want to risk that."

"Oh, yes, he is furious. But in his human form, he isn't quite as dangerous. You'd not be a full werewolf." Severus shrugged, seemingly uninterested at this information on Bill Weasley's state. His brother-in-law, damn it. Damn her.

Finally, they were dismissed.

Severus arrived in the trees close to his home, his insides rumbling, and his view blurring dangerously from lack of food. In the memory of today's disaster with meals at home, he checked his Muggle money. He altered his attire slightly and headed for the one Muggle place he frequented most these days: the shopping centre. The shop was incredibly crowded thanks to a special offer. Compared to the morning, Father Christmas had lost at least three stones of weight while gaining half a foot in length and two inches in beard length. The metamorphosis scared nobody off, though.

Luckily, there was a booth selling fish and chips, saving Severus from the crowd. Severus selected an extra-large fish pie and a double portion of what seemed to be fried sticks of potato. They came with vinegar, of all things, while the fish pie was covered in a rich, whitish sauce. Severus wolfed it all down before his taste sensors could protest.

Halfway home, Severus started feeling sick. The greasy food hung like a stone in his stomach. He belched a few times, but it did him no good. His father had regularly eaten at places like this, and after some years he had not been in such a poor state, Severus recalled. The Muggle remedy would be a strong herbal booze, a drink his father had taken up as well. No, he'd rather go for a potion. There better be something in his store since the brew took an hour at least.

Severus was greeted by a wonderful smell of a curry Indian style. She sat at the table, a salad of tomato, mozzarella and basil to her left, and the steaming beef curry to her right. There was even a cake for desert. Damn, of course; they had been shopping in the morning! The sight and smell made him nauseous. With quick steps, he went for the bathroom, but was not quick enough to escape her greeting. "Severus, good evening. You're just in time, sit down!"

"I have eaten," Severus pressed out through clenched teeth. He was close to throwing up, just never reaching the point. He rummaged in the apothec-chest and in the lab, but didn't find the stomach aid. Since he remembered his father as a drinker, Severus didn't have strong alcohol at home either, and wine would not do. He had to get through the night without, Severus noted and fell into the overstuffed armchair.

By ten o'clock, she had cleaned away her food and sat on the armchair, reading a book. She hadn't even looked up when he had entered from the lab, only shortly checked the time. A new behaviour, and certainly better than her futile attempts to make conversation. She checked the time yet again.

The time? It was Thursday...

Thu 10.04 p.m.

Indeed, now she got up, removed her clothes from navel downwards and without ever looking up at him, simply asked, "Your place or my place?" His burp wasn't the best of answers. "We'll delay it, if you are unwell," she readily compromised, looking at him with sweet eyes.

He would have preferred to do so, had indeed been about to tell her himself, but now that she had offered it, delaying wasn't an option anymore. Yet, he feared he would make a fool of himself being sick over her in the act, or being over-anxious not to shake and thrust, he would fail in the act. Damn it all.

Severus undressed as in slow-motion, considering his tactics. He undressed completely, just to stall. Her bed was closer, so they went to his. He stalled further and used the time to undress her completely. Seeing her nude form did move the blood into the right direction, but the repugnant set-up felt so wrong to him that he needed physical stimulation to get anywhere. He needed strong stimulation this night.

What resulted was their first true act of lovemaking in their marriage.

Ginny had been cold and unattached the last times he had... yes, assaulted her. This time, she was yielding, bending, moving next to him in obvious delight. Propped on her left elbow, her right arm roamed over his scarred chest, his back, up to his neck and face. She avoided touching his lips, but she had no hesitation touching any other place. And she knew how to do it to make him react. Now, she went south, gripped his buttocks firmly and kneaded, pressing herself against him.

He burped again. "My apologies." It was out before he could stop himself. He wasn't about to give in! Oh, but you are! You are enjoying yourself!

He was aroused now, which was all her doing. His hands had found places to settle on, and even if he did not look at her but stretched his chin up, he noticed how she reacted. Yet, he did not roll over her because he still feared the strong thrusts he would have to... What was she doing? Heartily, she had pushed him on his back and was straddling him, moving against him most efficiently. Mirroring him, she was sitting upright as if anxious to not let herself come too close to his face.

In a moan, he gripped her hips, and she gasped in delight when he lifted her up. She glided over him, her breath coming unsteadily now. Supported and guided by his hands, she started moving... and continued when his hands went upwards, to caress her breasts. No words were spoken.

After an exquisite and overwhelming bout of passion, they relaxed in the spooning form they had enjoyed before, only that Ginny took great care that her hair would not tickle his face. Severus' left arm fell loosely over Ginny's stomach when they both fell into slumber.

:*:*:*:

:*:*:*:

I'm lacking the words to thank my betas as they deserve. Hollimel99 and Jingjingchiquita, you're doing a great job, thank you so much!!