“I’m sick of everyone trusting the word of this snake!” Sirius yells across the table.
The Order of the Phoenix is seated at the dining table of Grimmauld Place for a meeting. Well, most of them are seated. Sirius is standing to add emphasis to his shouts.
“Eloquent as always, mutt” Severus drawls from his seat at the table. “It’s not as though I delight in your presence either.”
“Boys,” Dumbledore cuts in. “We are all on the same side here. Let’s focus on reconnaissance.”
Sirius sits down at the old man’s commanding stare and they continue discussing their intel.
“Attacks on muggles are meant to increase in frequency, starting tomorrow evening. The Tower of London is the first target.” Severus informs the group.
“And how many of these attacks will you participate in?” Sirius can’t hold his tongue.
“Everyone in this room is well aware of the nature and necessities of my position, Black.” Severus trails off as a buzzing at his wrist claims his attention. “I must go.” He abruptly states.
“He calls?” Dumbledore asks the potions master.
“No.” Snape grits out.
“Then sit down,” Sirius demands, sending a spell to keep Snape in his seat. “This is more important.”
“Release me, now, dog.” Severus growls, drawing his wand.
The two of them both fire off spells at each other, both hitting their mark. Sirius is frozen in his place as Severus is thrown into the wall, his head hitting the wood with a crack.
“Cease this at once!” Albus booms throughout the room, disarming both of them.
“Give me back my wand, Albus. I must leave.” Severus demands as he slowly gets up.
“Not until you two stop this nonsense.” He tells the two of them with a disappointed look.
“Oh for Merlin’s sake, if I don’t go then she’ll come here.” Snape grumbles, pushing past Arthur Weasley towards the door. Most of the group follows him out the door in confusion.
“What on Earth do you mean, Severus?” Albus asks the man, dumbfounded for once in his life.
Snape ignores him and strides to the front door, stepping out onto the stoop. The buzzing on his wrist continues and the rest of them watch as he pulls up his sleeve to reveal a silver wristband that is glowing. He twists it and all of a sudden the sound of apparition cracks through the air. A female figure appears in front of him.
“‘m sorry, Sev.” She groans out, clutching at her stomach. She takes a stumbling step towards the man and he catches her easily.
Pulling the slip with the address of Grimmauld out of his pocket, he holds it in front of her. “Shh, read this before you lose consciousness.”
The woman looks at the paper before her eyes gaze past Severus’ shoulder where the house is revealed. “Woah” she exclaims before promptly passing out.
Snape sweeps the unconscious woman into his arms and turns to carry her into the house, snapping at the gawkers to move out of his way. He makes for the sitting room and lays the woman down gently on the couch.
“My wand, Albus. Now.” He snarls, holding his hand out.
Seeing the state of the stranger, Albus complies. Severus is by far the most qualified for healing. Snape takes the wand and immediately begins diagnostics on the woman. Then, he sets to work healing the gaping wound that is visible through the rip in her sweater and her two broken ribs.
“Severus, who is this woman?” Molly asks in concern. “Is there anything I can get you to help?”
The potions master completely ignores her for his work, slowly knitting the skin back together. Once his spellwork is completed, he summons a potion from his collection and pours it into her mouth. After a few seconds, she snaps back into consciousness.
“Fuck.” is the first word out of her mouth. Her eyes only see Severus and she immediately moves to grab his hand. “Sorry” she mumbles again.
“Any pain?” The man asks her, showing more concern than anyone in the room has ever seen.
She thinks for a moment before responding “Not anymore. Thanks.”
Severus nods and Sirius chooses this moment to cut in. “Who is she, Severus? I have the right to know who you’ve just invited into my house. Our safehouse.”
Severus and the mystery woman share a look. She looks guilty and he looks incredibly uncomfortable. Her gaze turns to meet those of the others while Snape’s eyes drift to their connected hands.
“I’m his wife.” She states calmly.
—-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Reader POV:
From the minute you’d opened your eyes in the fancy parlor, you knew that you’d fucked up. Severus had been at an Order meeting which means you’re currently in the House of Black and surrounded by people that aren’t meant to ever know you exist. Grabbing Sev’s hand for comfort, you think about what happened.
You had been starting your closing routine for the Muggle bookshop you owned in London when you’d heard screaming outside. Sprinting to the door, you saw two masked Death Eaters firing spells off at Muggles. When one of them raised their wand at the four-year old child standing just outside your door, you couldn’t hold yourself back from jumping in. Unable to block the spell, you’d jumped in front of the child, taking the deep cutting spell to your ribcage. You fired a hex at the Death Eater to give the little boy time to run to his mother. Your actions had drawn their attention and you found yourself battling both Death Eaters at once. Being a very powerful duelist, you took out the man who’d fired for the child fairly quickly. Seeing they were outmatched, the second Death Eater had apparated away. Once the heat of the attack had passed, you came to realize the full extent of your injuries. You needed your husband. Activating the emergency bracelet you both wore, you waited for him to arrive. You were completely shocked when he’d signaled you to apparate to him instead.
A smooth voice pestering Severus about who you were drew you back to the present. Meeting Severus’ eyes, you felt guilty at the sad acceptance you could see in them. You had no choice but to reveal your relationship and it was all your fault. Raising your head to face the firing squad, you let out one of your most closely held secrets.
“I’m his wife.”
You actually find it amusing to watch their reactions. They range from absolute shock, to disgust, to pride that you see gleaming in the old man’s eyes.
“No way would anybody seriously marry Snivellus. Who are you actually?” The long-haired man you assume is Sirius Black snipes.
“His. Wife.” You repeat more forcefully. “The wife who will take your entitled ass out the next time you call her husband that insulting name again.”
Your ferocity seems to take them aback and Sirius doesn’t say anything else.
“Why didn’t we know you had a wife, Severus?” Molly asks him.
“It was safest for both of us that it be kept a secret.” He states.
“Well I am very happy for you, my boy!” Albus exclaims with a smile on his face.
Fed up with the interrogation, Severus turns the focus back to you. “What happened?”
Your amusement at their reactions lowers into renewed upset and you break into the story of how you found yourself injured.
“They started the attacks on the Muggles early?” Severus ponders.
“I don’t think it was a planned coordinated attack. It was only two of them and very sloppy. Based on how easily I kicked their asses, I’d say they were pretty young and untested. Maybe some lower level types who got overexcited?” You tell him.
“It’s possible.”
“How about we return and finish the meeting? Your wife may join us if she’d like to contribute, Severus.” Dumbledore says.
He nods and you move to stand up, finally noticing your state of dress.
“Oh hell, Sev, you couldn’t have cleaned me up too?” You jibe playfully at your husband.
Standing up, you wave your wand at yourself, replacing the ripped sweater and bloodied trousers with light jeans and your favorite Queen sweatshirt along with your Docs.
“The Queen 1974 Tour? Did you go?” Sirius asks you, suddenly very interested.
“I didn’t stand in line for three hours not to brag about seeing Freddie Mercury in person.” You wink at him.
“Oh you are way too cool to be married to Sniv…Snape.” He catches himself before using the name again.
“Thankfully, your opinion of my marriage means absolutely nothing, Black.” Severus drawls from beside you.
Chuckling at the annoyed look on Sirius’ face, you pull Severus after the others towards the kitchen and lean in to whisper “Don’t think I didn’t notice that slip up with the name” as you walk past.
In the other room, you take a seat next to Severus, sliding your chair so that you can be as close as possible to him. You let them continue their meeting, only chiming in when they ask about the events of the night. Order business and war is far more your husband’s forte than your own, you like your books and solitude. The entire meeting, you hold Sev’s hand under the table and rub your thumb over his to try and soothe his discomfort.
“Well, can you finally be convinced to stay for dinner this time, Severus? We would love to get to know your wife.” Molly says as she stands once the meeting finishes.
“No.” Severus states at the same time that you tell her “Yes.”
“Aww, Sev, can we pleeeeease stay for dinner?” You whine at him dramatically, knowing he’ll cave.
He meets your eyes and immediately gives in. “Fine.”
You kiss the pout off his face before asking Molly if you can help her with dinner. She is pleasantly surprised and accepts your help with a smile. As you stand to go assist, you lean over and whisper in your husband's ear.
“I could use some socialization and they can’t be half as bad as you make them seem. Make it through dinner and I’ll give you a little surprise when we get home.”
You chuckle as he gulps in response and then you head after Molly. She directs you to chop vegetables as she takes care of the meat for the shepherd's pie.
“I’m so glad you convinced Severus to stay for once. I’ve been trying to get him to for ages.” Molly tells you.
“Sev’s not always the biggest fan of crowds. Or people.” You chuckle. “I’m not either but I could really use some interaction with a wizarding crowd. Because I’m an expat who went to Ilvermorny and my bookshop is for Muggles, all the friends I have here are Muggles.”
“We would all love to get to know you more. You must be very knowledgeable about Muggles then, yes?” She asks. At your nod, she continues “Arthur will be thrilled to talk to you about them. He’s always obsessed with their technologies.”
“I’ll make sure to bring it up.” You respond.
The two of you continue to chat as you cook and once the meal is finally prepared, Molly gives a shout upstairs for the children. You help set the table as a stampede of children enter the dining room.
“Who’s this?” One of the red-headed twins asks.
“This is Professor Snape’s wife. She’s finally convinced him to stay for dinner. Now take your seats.” She bustles them around as you smile in greeting.
“No way does Snape have a wife.” The youngest male redhead states. You figure this must be Ron.
“Apparently he does. It’s news to us as well, kid.” Sirius tells him.
Moving back around the table, you take your seat next to Severus and give him a peck on the cheek as you sit. You wave your wand and fill up both of your glasses with his favorite red wine.
“Why is Professor Snape’s wife here?” A curious girl with bushy hair who must be Hermione asks.
You decide to answer this one yourself. “I was severely injured in an attack and required my husband’s medical expertise.”
“You were attacked?” The boys look excited.
“Not me specifically. There was an attack on Muggles in the area of London where I work.”
“You said you worked at a bookstore, right?” Remus speaks up to redirect the conversation from things they didn’t want the kids to know.
“Yup. I own a little bookstore in central London, a few blocks away from the Leaky Cauldron.” You reply. “I have a small wizarding selection in the back room but I mostly cater to Muggles. I’ve always loved their literature.”
“I’ve always loved Muggle literature as well. Mum used to send me books when I was away at school.” Remus replies.
“This nerd always has his face buried in some Muggle book” Sirius chimes in.
“Well then you should swing by the store sometime.” You wink at him.
He nods with a smile. You cease chatting to try the pie and can’t help but moan. You can feel Severus twitch next to you which makes you chuckle internally.
“This is amazing, Molly.” You tell her. “I don’t know what the problem is but every single time I try to make Shepherd's Pie on my own, it tastes off. Maybe the perfect Shepherd's Pie is just a gift the British have and I’ll never be able to get it.”
“I can give you the recipe if you’d like!” She grins at you.
“You aren’t British?” Harry speaks up with his mouth full.
“Was that accent not obvious, Mr. Potter?” Severus snarks from beside you.
You smack your husband on the arm. “I swear my accent is not nearly as severe as Sev makes it out to be. I’m from the Midwest, not Texas or something. Yes, Harry. I’m an American.”
“Does that mean you went to Ilvermorny?” Hermione asks excitedly.
“It does. I enjoyed my time there immensely.” You tell her.
“Is it much different from Hogwarts? Are the classes the same? Do you have house rivalries like we do? Do you have quidditch? What does it look like, is it a castle?” She rambles.
“Well, given what I know from Sev about Hogwarts I would say they are fairly similar. Classes have different names but we do still learn most of the same things. We have houses but ours don’t have the level of bias and hate that I’ve discovered surrounding those at Hogwarts.” At that comment you raise an eyebrow in judgment. “And yes, it’s a castle but it doesn’t look remotely similar to Hogwarts.”
Once Hermione was satisfied with her interrogation, the table conversation shifted to recent Quidditch games and away from you. You kept quiet and just listened to them debating who would win the cup this year. As you sit there after finishing eating, the stress of the day starts to hit you. You may be an excellent duelist, but there was a reason you stayed away from fighting. All the action you’d seen that day had shot your anxiety through the roof and now you could feel yourself crashing. Leaning into your husband, you rest your head on his shoulder.
“Do you by chance have any coffee or caffeinated tea?” You hear Severus ask.
“I’ve got some coffee in the cupboard that nobody but me will touch. I wouldn’t mind a cup as well.” Remus responds, standing up to go make some. When he returns a few minutes later with two mugs, he hands one to Severus before sitting down with his own.
“Come on, love. Drink up. You know you’ll be up until 3 am if you fall asleep now.” He mutters, forcing the cup into your grasp.
Cupping the mug with both hands, you take a sip and hum happily. Smiling, you look up at your husband happily.
“God, you know me so well.” You tell him, leaning in to give him a soft kiss.
“Holy shit, he can smile?” Sirius snarks across the table.
Without even turning to look at the man, you wave your wand wordlessly underneath the table. Immediately, you hear the two twins start laughing.
“What?” Sirius asks as the whole table stares at him holding back laughter. He reaches up a hand towards his hair and touches it. “No.” He states in horror.
“Fred. George. Fix it.” Molly commands the two children that she assumes are responsible.
“It wasn’t us.” Fred says.
“Wish it was though.” George adds.
“He looks like a clown and you think I’ll believe that it wasn’t you?” She shoots back.
Not wanting the twins to get in trouble, you pretend to cough before taking a sip of your coffee. You make eye contact with Sirius and smirk.
“No way.” He exclaims.
“I did warn you to stop insulting my husband.” You raise an eyebrow at him. “I’ve heard you enjoy acting like a clown. At least now you look like one too.”
Molly and the children look shocked but Remus and your husband can’t hold in their laughs.
“Oh god, he laughs too?” Sirius can’t help himself.
The large poof of bright yellow hair on his head suddenly changes into an electric blue mohawk. At that, the rest of the table stops holding back their chuckles.
“Just stop talking, Sirius.” Remus advises his friend.
“I’m sorry for being mean to your husband. Please give me my beautiful hair back?” Sirius gives you big puppy dog eyes.
“I’ll admit you’ve got pretty good hair. I would never permanently harm it, Sirius.” You tell him. “BUT, it will be staying for 24 hours. It’s not like you have anywhere to go, is it?”
He huffs in acceptance but continues to pout, feeling his head for the lack of luscious hair. Remus doesn’t even try to console him, knowing that he totally deserved it. You decide you very much want to make friends with the werewolf.
Most of them have never even heard of a mohawk before so you have to explain the American trend to them. This discussion leads to Arthur asking about different Muggle devices and you spend thirty minutes trying to explain microwaves to him. You chat for long enough that the kids get bored and head back upstairs. Severus continues to stay silent, mostly just watching you interact with everyone. Deciding to finally put him out of his misery, you move to say your goodbyes.
“It’s probably time we leave you all be.” You say as you stand up. “This was absolutely lovely, thank you. I’ve enjoyed meeting you all. Yes, even you, Black.” You wink at the mohawked man.
“I’m so glad the two of you joined us!” Molly says, coming to give you a hug before turning to your husband. “Don’t think you can continue hiding this lovely lady from us now, Severus.”
You laugh as he blushes. “Oh he won't. And seriously, you’re all welcome to come visit the bookstore. I’ve got a floo in the back and I would love to talk about books over coffee with you, Remus.”
The wolf nods at you and you give a final wave before letting Severus lead you by the waist out the front door. He side-apparates the two of you to your apartment in London. Once there, you turn and wrap your arms around him tightly.
“Thank you for letting me stay. I really want to make some British wizard friends. It can’t be the end of the world letting them get familiar now that they already know I exist, right?”
“I suppose not. I like seeing you happy.” He leans down to give you a smooth kiss. “And you did promise a treat, if I remember correctly.” Severus smirks.
“That I did, oh husband of mine. Hmmm, I suppose I could make some cookies,...orrrrr” You move in and give him a very pointed kiss, sliding your hand down to squeeze his tight little butt.
Severus growls and yanks your body up against his front. ‘What better way to end a stressful day than with some stress relief?’, you think as you let him lead you backwards towards the bedroom.