The Sacrifice // Severus Snape X OC (Sequel to Spiteful Beginnings)

8 - Back Home

A/N this is a v short filler. Just felt like I had to push something out. Also, I graduated university so that's pretty cool ❤️ enjoy.

Hours after Kalina left her cousins shop and meeting Grace who had kindly offered to help create the ring she wanted for Severus, she returned home and dusted off the small ash from her shoulder as she emerged from the fireplace.

"Severus? Neville? I'm back." She called out, noticing they weren't in the living where she had left them hours ago. She didn't get a reply making her frown as she stepped into the kitchen and saw nobody there too.

Had they gone out? She thought to herself as she slipped off her shoes and walked towards the stairs and listened to see if she could hear any voices and faintly, she did.

She could hear Severus although the conversation was muffled so she carefully climbed the stairs and walked towards the sound and stopped just outside Nevilles bedroom door and listened again.

"I will ask you one more time, how long should you brew a Wolfsbane potion for?"

"And I will tell you, one more time, that we haven't even learnt about this potion yet. How could I possibly know?" Neville bit back and from where she stood she saw his head lolled on top of his desk, swirling his quill around in its ink pot, completely disinterested in whatever Severus had to say. Severus was sat on the edge of Nevilles bed, almost in pure despair than what Neville was.

"Why haven't you read on? We learn this stuff in your seventh year." Severus lectured.

"Exactly! I'll be going into my fifth year. I shouldn't have to read everything straight away."

Kalina decided to interrupt their small feud at this point, pushing the already ajar door further open which made Severus look up and stand to attention when  his fiancé came into view.

"How nice of you to join us." Severus said almost sarcastically, Neville swivels in his chair to face Kalina with pure relief.

She rolled her eyes at Severus and went towards Neville looking down at the mass amount of notes he had written that day all about potions and where they come from, why they were made, the ingredients used, the most common, the most dangerous etc. No wonder Neville looked exhausted. "Thought I told you guys to have fun when I left," Kalina started, switching through his notes before glancing back to Severus, "I didn't tell you to almost bore him to death."

Neville sniggered under his breath whilst Severus' eye twitched with slight annoyance. He thought it was a good idea but then again, he was a teenage boy during the summer term, perhaps light revision wasn't what he had in mind.

"Nothing wrong with freshening his mind for the new school year. It'll do him some good to get some learning in." He folded his arms over his chest, left foot tapping against the carpeted room.

Kalina cast a quick sympathetic look to Neville before reaching into her bag and pulled out a small bag of sweets and chocolates she had purchased and dumped it onto his desk next to his work. "For your suffering." She leaned down and whispered into his ear, giving his hair a quick ruffle.

"Come on, let's leave him to chill out." Kalina told Severus, making her way to the door and onto the landing. Severus obeyed and followed swiftly, something tells Kalina that Severus was more than happy to stop teaching Neville as he became a lot more irritable than most students he had taught.

Despite this though, Snape was somewhat pleased that Neville was no longer afraid to speak up to him. It was probably the most they had spoken to each other within the four years they had known each other and he knew it was only right to make some kind of relationship with him if he were to marry the woman looking after him. Even if it did include bickering,

Once he closed Nevilles bedroom door, he followed Kalina into her, or theirs supposedly, bedroom and closed the door.

"So, did you go see your cousin?" He questioned, sitting on the bed as she pulled the jacket off her body and hung it in her wardrobe.

"She wasn't there," she replied, looking over her shoulder and smiled at Severus who seemed a lot more relaxed now he was away from Neville, "had someone who worked for her help me with what I was doing."

"Oh?" He raised a brow, "and what was that?"

Kalina giggled excitedly and reached into her bag as she hobbled over to Severus and told him to close his eyes. He did reluctantly and held out his hands and waited until he felt a small box be placed into his grasp.

"You can open them now."

He did and he first looked at her, watching her gnawing on her lower lip nervously with a small twinkle in her eyes before he looked at the box and opening it to see a ring.

He furrowed his brows at first and looked back at her, giving her a questionable look. "What's this for?" He asked, noting that it was very similar to her engagement ring he had given her.

"For you. I want you to marry me." She said simply, a soft smile on her lips.

"I am marrying you." He chuckled.

"I know but I want to show that I want to marry you as much as you want to marry me. So, matching rings. Kind of. Do you like it?" She asked with a hopefulness in her voice. Her question was answered however as he slipped the ring on his finger and placed the box on the bed before wrapping his arms around her waist and bringing her in for a kiss.

His lips grazed over hers gently before he pulled away, his head resting against hers. "I love it."

"You better." She grinned against his lips, her cane dropping to the floor as she knew he had a hold on her and placed her hands around the back of her neck. "However, if this marriage thing doesn't work out, I have a lovely lady who is willing to sweep you up off your feet."

Severus stilled for a moment and leaned back to scan her face, clearly confused. "But I don't want anyone else?"

Kalina's heart fluttered at that, his tone was mixed with innocence and bluntness which made his love shine for her carry on shining through.

"Well, she called me a 'lucky bitch' when I showed her what you looked like." His cheeks briefly flushed pink, finding it odd that someone other than Kalina would find him attractive but he quickly calmed himself down and placed his lips to her cheek.

"I'm honoured... but like I said, you're all I need."