Severus and the Shadow

After

"Coming through! Gotta find the Snitch!" shouted Sev, her six year old spritely boy, black hair plastered against his scalp as he zoomed on his broom, performing a barrel roll around the backyard in the bright spring sunlight

"Stay above the little one's heads! We're running low on scar cream" Leticia called out to her eldest son from her place on the porch swing where she sat nursing her youngest daughter, three month old Orla.

Orla cooed, her eyes just beginning to shift to the same emerald green as her older siblings. They had Leticia's eyes but everything else screamed Severus.

"Mama! Asher exploded my castle!" yelled Cedar, her chubby round face of just three years turning pink in anger at her twin brother, who was giddily building fortresses and exploding them with his pudgy hands

Leticia laughed at the barely contained chaos that was her life. The war seemed a distant memory as she breathed in the clear air of the Swiss Alps where they had built their home.

"Asher, explode your own castles. Cedar! Put him down this instant, you know our rule on levitation. No dessert if you continue" Leticia chastised her, hiding her smile as her children performed flawless magic, naturally gifted.

Six months after the war, they fled to a small town known for its medicinal studies, hidden away in the Alps. Then she found that she was pregnant. She and Severus had been overjoyed and terrified at the same time.

Severus set his dogged determination and loyalty on one thing only: being the best husband and father he could be. And he hadn't disappointed. His soul slowly opening, a budding rose after being held tightly after a long winter and finally feeling springs warm rays.

This was happiness. And contentment. And peace. They deserved it.

His footsteps padded across the wooden porch as he eased himself down beside her on the swing. He had aged very little in the past few years but somehow appeared even more regal. Back straighter, smile easier, mind keen, and heart overflowing.

"My Lettie" he leaned over and kissed her gently, cupping her cheek with his palm

"Yours" she replied back, heart filled with gratitude every time he returned to her presence.

He worked a few short blocks away, at his own apothecary: Prince Potions. A subtle nod to his old moniker as well as his family. Of course, his new identification stated his name: Alexander Prince. Business was prosperous and people came from miles around to buy his specialty brews.

They used to be fearful of being found, but while news of the war had spread to this section of the world, the details weren't so important. Life moved on softly and quietly.

"Daddy! Watch this!" Asher yelled, holding his hands out and viciously exploding his own sand fortress

"Very impressive!" Severus called out, eyebrow raised in approval

"He's been working on that for the last hour, much to Cedar's dismay" Leticia told him with a grin, leaning against his shoulder

"Did she levitate him again?" he asked with a chuckle, secretly enjoying their middle daughters slightly vindictive streak

"Of course. Only a few inches this time"

"Ah. Merciful overlord" he joked, kissing her forehead

"I think she enjoys it a bit too much" Leticia told him honestly, sitting Orla up to burp her as she covered herself.

"I'll talk to her later before bed. Would you like a nap? Or a bath?" he asked her tenderly, an old hand at what postpartum did to her body

"You just got home, are you sure?" she asked, knowing that he was eager to hang out with the kids

"Take your time. I've got this" he helped her up as he took the baby, expertly eliciting a big belch on the first pat.

"Show off" she teased, heading inside to draw a bath and relax for an hour before they made dinner together and bedlam continued.

As much as Severus hated chaos in his classroom, that had more to do with the fact that he was chained there by guilt. At home, he saw learning in every opportunity, encouraging the play and noise because he was never allowed to do those things. She listened with a smile as their gleeful voices carried upstairs.

Family.
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I have a work in progress continuation of this storyline written separately entitled "The Thorne/Snape Saga" if you would like to check that out too!