Grail knew it was a bit strange that someone who had almost drowned would choose to live by the beach, but he had had therapy and he would not allow his past trauma to get in the way of owning such beautiful land. He had fallen in love with the piece of land and one day hoped to raise his children there, or at the very least use it as a holiday home.
Through all that though, Grail had never actually spent time on the beach itself. Choosing to admire it from his garden or kitchen window, that is until Severus.
Within their first week together, his boyfriend had decided that the waving sea and white sands were his third haven; just behind his potions lab and using Grail as a bed. He would spend many a free time there, watching the waves and even playing in the sea.
“I grew up in a landlocked house and I was never comfortable enough to go near the lake at school, but I always wanted to.” Severus confessed one starry night, leaning on Grail, eyes closed and mind in another time. “Before potions, I want to teach my children about the beauty of the sea but also the dangers of it.”
And him being him, he had kept that promise.
Starting with Draco and Pansy, he would lead the young ones to the beach side; telling them stories of generations past and their love for the sea, teaching them how to swim in it but being honest about how dangerous it could be and making sure they knew never to go in by themselves, when no adult was around.
The two kids had taken it to heart, Pansy had taken to swimming like she had been born to do so while Draco enjoyed lazying in the sand and building castles. When Hermione joined their little group, she was immediately inducted into the swimming lessons and the stories Severus would tell. Staring wide eyed at the dark-haired man, interrupting him once in a while to ask questions and as usual soaking up the new information like a sponge.
This trend of showing children the water and increasing their love for it, did not end with those three though.
The first time Harry, Neville, Ron, and their parents came to visit, Severus did the exact same thing with them.
Harry, just like Hermione was reluctant to go anywhere near the water but was happy to sit by Severus, listening to the stories.
Ron busied himself with playing around the sand, laughing as Draco showed him how to build sandcastles, while Neville surprised everyone by eagerly running into the water.
Chuckling as he was hit by the warm water, his parents stood by; obviously happy that their son had taken the initiative to do that. Happy he felt comfortable and welcomed enough to be free.
Grail wondered if Severus knew his unfeeling facade had been destroyed by this venture, for soon students at Hogwarts learnt that their harshest professor was a compelling storyteller and adept swimmer.
Although he would not tell any of his other students’ the stories, Minerva had mentioned that Harry and Neville had a grand old time recalling the stories at school, in doing so they further ruined Severus’s uncaring façade, but it seemed the dour man did not mind.
He could still shut a class up with a single glare but there was definite shift in the way the students perceived him.
As for Grail, well he was proud and happy to have his home and boyfriend, later husband be such beacons of joy. And if he got a perverse sense of joy when Sirius Black could do nothing but watch, seething at what Severus had built, who had to know?
**
As much as Grail enjoyed the seaside with everyone there, his love and dedication for his home was solidified the day he came home from work to an empty house.
It had been about a year since their daughter was born and in all that time Severus had been reluctant to take her out. It made sense of course, a tiny baby and the sea did not mix but Grail knew Severus would definitely be introducing her to the water in no time.
That day he returned home, the sun had set, and cool breeze calmed the hot air of the afternoon. Although he did not see them, he could hear them, Grail instinctively knew where his family was and so he made his way outside, to the most adorable thing he had ever seen.
Severus sat with his back to the house, feet buried in the sand, while he told their daughter about the sea.
A story of a group of voyagers and their princess wayfinder, Severus kept a sharp eye on his one-year-old daughter, as she would splash in the water and come running to her papa, her childish laughter filling the night air.
She would snuggle up to him for a few minutes to listen to the story and would go running towards the sea once again, repeating the cycle.
Where this story would usually take half an hour, Grail suspected Severus had been telling it for far longer than that but if his fond smile and adoring look towards their little girl was anything to go by, he did not mind one bit.
Once Vaissa spotted her daddy, she ran to him in that toddling way very young children do. Arms raised to be picked up, cheeks flushed pink all the while shouting daddy as she went.
Grail laughed as he scooped her up, showering her little face with kisses and tickling her, just to hear more of her adorable laugh.
As he made his way to his now widely grinning husband, he put their daughter down before kissing Severus, but before he could say a word to the love of his life; Vaissa had settled between them, demanding her papa continue the story.
The cycle began again but this time with Grail having to go into the sea to play as well before they would go back to Severus to listen to the story for a few minutes.
All through the quiet beach, the joy and laughter of the little family could be heard.