Soon All the Suns Will Rise

I Don't Care if Monday's Black

Chapter title from "Friday I'm in Love" by The Cure
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"Can't you get anything right, you ignorant slut? I said sugar in the tea, not honey!"

Severus's eyes drifted toward the ceiling, wishing he had the ability to send curses two floors above. It was the new normal ever since the visit to Malfoy Manor where Bellatrix had disclosed the nature of her condition. With Rhiannon not officially a Death Eater and Narcissa quite exhausted from looking after her sister's constant needs, the Malfoys had coerced Severus into having Rhiannon act as little more than a maidservant to Bella whenever the Snapes visited. Lucius and Narcissa had of course packaged the whole idea as an honor— contributing to the health and well-being of the Dark Lord's child and her mother.

Yes, "her" mother. One of Bella's first demands was that Rhiannon perform an advanced detection spell designed to read fetal energies and tell the likelihood of her bearing the Dark Lord a son. The news of a daughter had sent the woman into even more irate fits than normal, and Rhiannon bore the brunt of her ire as the messenger of the news. After the first meeting in her new post, Rhiannon had fallen at Severus's feet and begged him to save her from having to do it again. He had refused, of course. There was no valid reason why the Snapes would not want to be part of such a momentous pregnancy and birth. And the dark witch herself was in too fragile a state to do any real harm to Rhiannon; her safety wasn't at stake— merely her pride. His wife would just have to suffer through a few hours here and there as part of their greater mission. They had little choice, although Snape hated the visits she paid to the manor without him. He'd seen the way Lucius had eyed his beautiful wife for years. Rhiannon was a powerful witch, and Severus knew she could defend herself. But he hoped it would never come to that.

Extra visits to Malfoy Manor along with their increasing duties to the school meant more time away from the seaside house and from their companions. That made the fate all the more painful for Rhiannon, who was clearly in love. She insisted they start spending at least one night a week together, which had resulted in two occurrences thus far. Both had been late at night after particularly demoralizing days at Hogwarts, so the encounters themselves had been rather brief and uneventful— mostly the women rekindling their connection while he and Black watched. Rhiannon lit runic candles for power, victory, success, healing— desperate to create an armory of divine power, and she and Colleen would work each other to the brink over and over again in hopes of harnessing it.

Black would catch Severus's eye every so often with a smirk or a raised eyebrow, but he left it at that, and Severus wasn't about to invite anything further. Black would get off either by his own hand or waiting for one of the women's mouths. Both times Severus had been too tired and too preoccupied to even worry about such things. They would then sleep in a pile, shrouded in darkness beneath heavy blankets that made it hard to tell which legs and hands belonged to whom. Of course Severus could tell, if he truly wanted to, but he didn't.

"Ministry report, Yaxley," Severus said, his eyes still fixed on the ceiling. There was some sort of banging coming from the third floor. "And Narcissa, perhaps you should check on your sister?"

Lucius chuckled. "Now why would you blame Bellatrix for the commotion, Severus? Your wife is a rather wild little minx...there's no telling what she's doing up there."

Narcissa rose reluctantly.

"Yaxley...the report..." Severus repeated, barely moving his mouth.

"Pius was extremely busy and unable to attend our meeting today, but things are going well. We have tightened security greatly since the little run-in with Potter and his friends, ensuring such a debacle will not happen again. I do, however, have interesting news to share from the Ministry of Magic Archives, regarding marriages."