Disclaimer: Except for some OCs, the characters here and the world they inhabit are the creation and property of JK Rowling. This chapter takes place during the time line of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.

Hope thought of the week during Easter holidays at Daddy's house as a temporal oasis within the war. Mum took the week off from work, and they only did the sorts of things they usually did at Daddy's house. They fixed breakfast in the mornings and then enjoyed their long days together, playing or studying or practicing spells. Mum didn't participate as much as usual. She spent much of her time sitting and watching. Brendon played in their games when he could understand them.

The evenings were filled with sitting together and listening to the wireless while playing Wizard Chess or teaching Brendon Exploding Snap. Once or twice they caught Potterwatch. Mum's eyes would get misty as she recognized the voices. Most of the people who spoke on the show were on the run, now, and it was good to know they had survived at least this long.

Usually someone on Potterwatch eventually made a nasty comment about Daddy, though. Hope watched as her father looked wryly at the wireless. Mum would get indignant and ruffle her hands through Daddy's hair, and he would capture one of them and kiss it. Hope loved to see things like that. Sometimes Mum and Daddy were gross when she saw them kissing, but sometimes she caught a glimpse of what marriage could really be like. It must be such a comfort with the world going crazy.

That train of thought inevitably led to Neville and the one thing that was missing from this week. She had finally given up writing even the fake letters to him, but she still thought about him constantly. Well, she amended, she thought about him whenever she wasn't studying or staying alert to danger around her. She was angry that so much had happened to keep them apart.

During the week, Daddy decided he wanted to tame the back garden. Grandmother Eileen had kept quite a few flowers and herbs back there. Many had magical value, but some were just pleasant to look at or smell. Daddy and Hope worked together on that while Brendon chased squirrels and butterflies. It was a bittersweet task. It reminded her of Neville, but it was also a good memory she would always have of her father.

---

When the children were in their rooms for the night, Emily and Severus had many things to discuss.

“The Dark Lord came to Hogwarts the other night,” Severus told Emily. “He wanted to do something on the grounds. When he came back, he had Dumbledore's wand.”

“Are you sure?” asked Emily, aghast at what that meant had happened.

“I've seen the Headmaster use that wand most of my life. It's definitely Dumbledore's. He feels he has everything he needs now, and will concentrate fully on his pursuit of the boy.”

They discussed the Horcruxes again and decided again that they would not do anything about them. “Dumbledore gave that task to Potter and his two friends,” decided Severus. “My role in that task is to stay out of the way, I think.” Emily agreed. Severus was doing enough as it was.

Severus discussed some additional plans he had made with his wife. “Emily, if the worst happens to me, I've made some arrangements. You need to leave England.”

She whimpered and hid her head in his chest and he continued. “I know you don't want to think about it, but I cannot stand the thought of what would happen to you if he wins and I'm not here. After he takes what he wants from you, he will give you as a favor to one of the Death Eaters.”

“If you're gone, I won't care anymore.”

“Emily, I need you to care. Listen to me, if you don't care what happens to yourself, consider Hope. He will practically hold an auction for her. If she's lucky she'll end up with a husband, at least close to her own age, but some of the older Death Eaters have noticed her...” Emily shuddered. “And Brendon, he has great powers. The Dark Lord will be very interested in him.” He moved his hand to her middle. “Emily, there's this little one, too. Promise me you'll do this for our children, if not for yourself.”

He lifted her head up to look at him. She couldn't look away and found herself nodding in assent. “Yes, Severus, you're right. I should have helped you plan this.”

He handed her a folded parchment, sealed in wax. “If I'm killed, take these papers to Gringotts. They will allow you to access a special vault, and everything you need is in there.”

The final thing they discussed was which memories to give Harry Potter. Emily carried the point on this one. Severus was aghast that not a single one showed the truth of his own marriage. “Emily, there's a chance Potter will survive to tell the whole world what he learns in the Pensieve. His sense of honor would demand it. You will be a laughingstock. You and the children and how I feel now should be in at least some of these memories.”

Emily was adamant. She smiled sadly, shaking her head. “The risk is too great. He has to see how it was twenty years ago without being confused by how things are now. The memories we've selected show it all, why you loved his mother so much, why you and the Marauders hated each other so much, why he should trust you, and what he needs to do. For the safety of all of us, in order to see this end, I can make such a small sacrifice. No one really knows much about me, anyway.”

---

Much as they loved spending time all together with the children, Severus and Emily took advantage of every moment they could get alone with each other, as well. They held each other as if fused together. They kissed as if they could exchange their souls through their lips. They filled their time with the memories they would need until the end of the school year.

They made love with a passion born out of a desperate desire. They explored each other completely, committing each other's bodies to memory, touching and caressing each other until their passion rose again. They stared at each other long into the night, whispering their love and promises for the future. When they slept, they lay clasped together as tightly as the baby would allow.

Severus had to get back to the school a couple of days before the vacation ended. He kissed his children goodbye at the breakfast table, wondering with a pang when he would see his son again, or even if he would. Emily walked him to the front door, holding his hand for a few last precious seconds.

“Emily, we've had a wonderful life together. I wouldn't trade our marriage for anything I ever thought I wanted or anything I could imagine wanting.”

She nodded, smiling.

“We were friends before then, too. I know that back then we weren't aware of each other as we are now, but our happiness since then seems to color those days backwards. I know, now, that our bond of affection goes back to the moment you first sat down next to me. By far the best part of my life is the part that has included you.”

He was saying goodbye as if it were forever. A tear stole down Emily's cheek. He cupped her face in his hands, brushing at the tear with his thumb.

“I love you, Severus Snape. I trust you to take care of all your tasks and to somehow make it back to me as well.”

“I love you too, Emily Snape. You know I'll come to you as soon as I can.”

They kissed tenderly one last time, and he went out the door. Emily watched from a window as he walked several paces down the street and then Disapparated. Rubbing at her face and eyes, and putting a smile on her face, Emily went back to the kitchen.

“All right, let's plan the rest of our weekend. Hope, what do we need to do before you go back to school?”

---

Sirius Black spent the spring returning to a semblance of physical fitness. He walked to the hospital to do his physical therapy and in the afternoon practiced dueling with Remus Lupin. In April, little Ted Remus Lupin was born, and Remus was unable to spend as much time with Sirius.

The evenings were spent with Alison. The first few nights were awkward, until Alison reached for the picture book and they started as they had gone for the past months, going over Sirius's life. She asked him to tell her about the things she didn't know and sometimes he asked her about her life. The evening Teddy Lupin was born, after Remus left, Alison reached for the picture book, but Sirius stilled her hand. She sat back on the couch, her eyes on his face.

“Alison, this book details my first two lives.” He looked like he was trying to say something important, so she nodded in encouragement. “I spent the first one in childish pranks, trying recklessly to be a hero, and taking advantage of pretty girls. I took advantage of you back then, twice if I recall, and I'm sorry.”

“We all knew how much you really liked Emily Smith.”

Sirius laughed. “Everyone but Emily, that is. She always insisted that I never liked her as much as I claimed to, and I think I finally understand that she was right. I wanted to possess her, but afterwards I would have been content to forget she existed.

“To continue, Alison, I spent my second life being angry at the false imprisonment and with needing to hide. I was so obsessed with clearing my name that I did something extremely foolish and was nearly killed.”

He took her hand. “Emily might have saved me that night, but you have been my lifeline since that time. It's your sweet voice and kind actions that have reconnected me with myself and drawn me back to the living world.” He waved to the book. “That book, Alison, is about my first two lives, and it shows how wasted they were. I'm ready to start the next book with my third life, and I want it to be filled with different sorts of things. I would also like to have many pictures of you in it. Are you willing?”

Alison looked into the gray eyes and saw her wildest dreams coming true. She placed her other hand on top of the two already clasped. “I'm willing, Sirius.”

---

My Dearest Wife,

It's only a few days since I left you, but it already feels like months. We were blissfully out of things when I arrived at our house, not even taking the paper. The realities of the world have come crashing down since I got back.

I'm not sure if you've heard, yet, about the altercation at Malfoy Manor. From what I can make out, Potter used the Dark Lord's name and tripped the trace on it. Granger tried to disguise them, but they were taken to the manor when the Snatcher gang thought it might be Potter. What happened next is unclear, but Potter managed to escape Bellatrix's clutches, along with his friends and all of the other prisoners there. It would appear that Peter Pettigrew, who has never really lived since he cheated death sixteen years ago, was found dead in a cellar at Malfoy Manor.

Now that it's clear that Ron Weasley is definitely with Potter, his family is being hunted. So far, none have been found, and the sister did not come back to school yesterday. The Dark Lord's rage, at being so close to the completion of his plans and having it snatched away, was terrible to behold, I hear.

They have made a move against the Longbottoms that I fear they will yet regret. In the hopes of controlling the activities of a certain group within Hogwarts, they attempted to apprehend Augusta this morning. Augusta escaped, but the Aurors did not. I understand Auror Dawlish is now a guest at your esteemed place of employment.

Augusta's grandson was on the train back to school, but did not go to any of his classes today. I specifically asked your daughter about this. She responded with a bland expression that indicated to me that she knows where he is and is not worried about him. I warned her not to endanger him or herself by trying to help, and she sighed and told me he wouldn't accept help from her anyway.

I miss you, Emily. I long to taste your kisses, to smell your rising desire for me, to hear your cries as we come together, to feel the depth of our passion, and to see the soft look in your eyes when we hold each other afterwards. I wish I could be with you when our child is born, to hold you as you experience your pains and to hear the first cries he or she will make. I wish I could watch you as you feed our little one for the first time, to see the light of motherhood that will surround you as you become acquainted.

If it's possible, you know I will be there. If not, please remember my wishes for the name. I hate to commit this thought to paper, but if I cannot come to you again, please remember my directions to you. It eases my mind greatly to think that I can take care of my family in this way if I cannot do so as we would prefer.

I love you, my Sweet Emily. Keep safe.

Your husband,
Severus