Amour

TERRIBLY TARDY

"Haaaaappyyy Birthdaaaay, my love!" Snape was greeted by an ear-to-ear smile followed by a long kiss from his wife, as soon as he opened his eyes. "If only I was awakened like this everyday."he smiled, accepting the gift wholeheartedly. "If only it was your birthday everyday,"Hermione replied,"But don't you dare say I don't kiss you every morning, like a dutiful little wife." She jumped out of bed, still wrapped in the bedsheet, too excited to get dressed and bounded to the window. "Thank god, the weather is good! The guests wouldn't have a problem coming down here..."
"They aren't gonna be here till later this afternoon-"
"Still..I've got so much to do. Is it possible that I am more excited about this than you are?"
Snape watched her nearly dance on the spot with mirth and remarked,"Well I've never had one before...a birthday party." Hermione grew quite and asked,"Oh don't tell me...your parents never remembered your birthday?"
"No, they did, actually. That was the only day they didn't fight...atleast they tried. But they failed, every year. At the end of the day I retired to bed with just lemon tarts and a novel, hoping they would stop and come to my room, if only to kiss me goodnight."
Hermione fingered the fabric of the curtain, biting her lip; she didn't want him to get melancholy today. "Do you want me to make lemon tarts for you tonight?" He looked up at her and smiled. "I want you to bring your perfectly formed arse back in bed now, if you don't mind." She grinned and returned to his embrace, laying down close to him. He pulled the sheet off her, exposing her body and kissed every part that he could reach and Hermione hugged him closer, silently telling him that he was loved...................................
Snape had been told to stay away from all the preparations, so he had spent all morning outside in the garden. When he entered the house again, his wife was in the middle of some decorations and was looking exasperated due to some reason. "I know I forced you into doing this but he's getting on my nerves today. I'm very busy. Could you go and handle him? You're the only one he is afraid of." Snape sighed,"Where is he?" His question was answered when the noise of the one being talked about came from upstairs. He huffed and started up the stairs, calling him out as he went. "We talked about this before, right? Guests would be arriving soon, is this how you're going to behave? What are they going to say? Let's recall what we discussed." He followed the low growls and a track of muddy footprints and other mischiefs left behind by the culprit. "No barking. No growling. No eating of the house plants. No playing of my vinyl records. No sniffing of crotches. No drinking out of the toilet. You will not beg for food. No ball playing inside the house. No chewing or slobbering of my shoes. You will not lift your Ieg to anything in this house. These are not your room. No dogs allowed on the second floor at all." He found that these were exactly the things he had been doing. "You will not hide from me, boy." He hunched down to look under the bed. "Come out here right now, Padfoot." The jet-black puppy slowly crawled out, with a sorry whimper and his head down. Snape stared at their pet with his hands on his hips. "No, no amount of tail-wagging is going to help you. Go outside and think about what you did." The poor boy slowly walked out of the room and broke into a run to be out of his master's sight as soon as his little legs could carry him. Hermione saw him go out with his tail between his legs and shook her head, giggling to herself..........................
George arrived first. "What, isn't anyone else here yet?" Hermione hugged him, glad that atleast he showed up; they had been just sitting there to greet their guests, having finished all work much ahead of time. "No. I guess, they're just tied up at work..."she said, a bit concerned. Snape put an arm around her shoulder,"The'll be here, it's been only fifteen minutes." George was about to give him a hug too but stopped midway. "Happy Birthday, s-sir." Snape's lip curled,"Thank you, Weasley....George." He smiled.
Lupin and his daughter arrived shortly after. "Sorry, got a little late trying to get Teddy all dolled up." He kissed Hermione's cheek and little Tabitha smiled up at her hosts, with big eyes. They all settled down in the living room. While the men entertained themselves, Hermione placed Tabitha on the table, watching her dangle her legs playfully, but her eyes were on the clock. The Hogwarts crew arrived a few minutes later- McGonagall, Flitwick, Slughorn and Hagrid, babbling and bumbling amongst themselves. Hermione even forgave them, because they had to finish all the school-work and they also brought wine. But she was really getting angry on the Weasleys and the Potters. "I came straight from work..Dunno what they are doing..."George said, sensing Hermione's anxiety,"You know I ate nothing all day to prepare myself for this evening." But Hermione slapped his hand away when he tried to reach for the turkey, suggesting they start without them. Finally Molly and Arthur appeared. "I'm so horribly sorry dear, must've dozed off."Molly said sheepishly,"Ha ha, getting old I guess..." "Did you hear that? 'Dozed off'. I had nine raids at work- NINE- and she 'dozed off'!"grumbled Arthur. Hermione fake smiled, through gritted teeth; the vein at her temple was throbbing.
Bill and Fleur showed up with their son and an unexpected guest. "Je suis dèsolès, Hermeeone."Fleur apologised,"We took a long time to decide whether to leeeve Fred at home. But I've never left him home alone. So I brought along ze nanny. I hope it'z hokay?" "Fine, fine."smiled Hermione through her teeth. Atleast they arrived, however late it may be.
Even later, Harry, Ginny, Ron and Luna apparated in front of Chatsworth castle, at the same time.
"What are you doing here?"
"What are you guys doing here?"
"We're late."
"So are we."
"Hermione's gonna kill us!"
"You didn't tell us you were gonna bring Luna as a date..."
"Yeah...well we kinda are together now."Ron smirked, pulling her closer,"I'm just gonna tell them I ran into her and invited her to the party, therefore getting late..you know, it being a last-minute decision and all."
"That would be more plausible if her lipstick wasn't all over your mouth Ronald!"
Ron quickly wiped at it, asking,"Why are you guys late?" Harry and Ginny looked away from each other, their brows furrowed, expressions dissatisfied. "We had a fight."replied Ginny. "It wasn't a fight."Harry retorted. "I didn't even wanna come here with you, after what you did."Ginny spat back.
"Neither did I...it's just that you're heavily pregnant and you need my help-"
"Didn't you think about that fact before doing something like that- "
"Guys,"Luna intervened,"There are people in there who aren't getting any happier. Let's get inside." They were met with a furious looking Hermione with arms crossed over her chest. "Hey!"
"Long time..."
"Are we a little late?"
"Was the party at 7? We thought you said 8..."
"I heard you all talking outside."Hermione said through gritted teeth,"You arrive late and then spend time gossiping amongst yourselves outside!" "Come on in. Let's all eat."Snape quickly appeared at her side to hold off an outburst. They all settled down at the dinner table. But no one really 'settled down'; it was a cacophony; the children were obviously upto mischief, egged on by the mastermind- George, Molly and Arthur gushed about the breaking news of Ron and Luna being together, Harry and Ginny were still fighting, Fleur was fussing over her baby while Bill tried to take her mind off him, and Hagrid merrily sang the 'Happy Birthday' song- the one thing Snape had prohibited them to do.
[I'm adressing each character's name at first, just like a play, because there are so many dialogues.]
Arthur: Son, why didn't you tell us about this lovely girl before?
Ron: Seriously, Mom-Dad..it's no big deal...
Molly: Ah well, good for you Ron, I would like to see you settled. Gotta catch up to your sister, eh?
George: Let's just dig in ok, I'm starving!
Ginny: I think Harry would love to have the smoked duck!
Harry: Ugh, I had one cigarette, ok? One. Allright two. Fine a pack.! I won't do it again. Can we move on, please?
Ginny: I can't believe it. How can you smoke at this day of age? Especially considering your wife is pregnant!
Harry: I was under a lot of stress at work allright? Lots of my colleagues were smoking. Some say it's a stress-buster. So I thought I'd give it a try-
Ginny: Don't you have any will power?
Harry: You're talking about will power? I've seen you finish three tubs of ice-cream all the while complaining you're getting out of shape!
George: (muttering to himself) Never hit a woman. Do not hit your brother-in-law, he bruises too fast.
Bill: Fleur was worried Fred would jump out of the basinet. I said, "Sure, he can't hold his head up by himself and he'll jump off the basinet! Maybe he'll crawl out, conjure a fire, take out marshmallows from the fridge and dance around the fire while making some smores!".
Flitwick: Ha ha ha! Good one.
Fleur: Boy would you be zorry if that had come true! You know, just before we were about to leeave, we got locked out of ze house! With Fred still inside. I could never leeave him then-
George: That's a great story, can I eat it?!
Lupin: I understand your concern, my dear. I have a hard time leaving Teddy at home to her grandparents when I go to work. I can never fully concentrate...
Ginny: I forbid you to smoke again Mister!
Harry: You 'forbid me' ?!
Hermione: Guys, I really think you shouldn't do this...
Harry: I said I was sorry. Atleast I didn't want to publicise our private affair.
Teddy: Haz...hazza! Da da...
George: I would've clapped but my hands are full.(Keeps gorging on)
Hagrid: 🎵Haaaaappyyy biiiirthdaaaaaay to you, haaaaappyyy biiiirthdaaaaaay to you, haaaaappyyy biiiirthdaaaaaay dear Sevvyyy, haaaaappyyy biiiirthdaaaa- 🎵
Hermione: Hagrid, stop it!
McGonagall: I think we should make a toast-
Fleur: He spit up!
Slughorn: Huh?
Fleur: Fred spit up. Judy! Judy, take care of him. Judy- look alive!
Bill: He's fine. See, she got him, she is doing her job. You're becoming somewhat of an obsessive mother. You need to stop.
Ron: Please quit asking Luna about nargles Mom. Dad, control your woman!
McGonagall: As I was saying, let's make a toast to Severus.
Fleur: To Severuz- oh no, Fred dropped hiz spoon. Judy!
Hermione stood up so fast the chair screeched on the floor. "Judy, pick up the spoon, pick up the spoon! THE SPOON!"
The whole house became quite as Hermione breathed out noisily, looking as if steam was going to emanate from her nostrils. Snape shut his eyes tight, bracing for what was to come. The infuriated hostess looked around at all the faces, which were looking up at her ashamed of themselves. When she spoke, her voice was deadly serious. "I'm sorry, was that rude? Did my little outburst blunt the hideousness that is this evening?! Look, I know you may have a lot going on in your lives, but all I wanted was for us to get together, for the sake of old times and have a nice time on my husband's birthday. You all were so late and you didn't even have the courtesy to even include the man in on your apparently important conversations-"
Snape: Darling, it's fine-
Hermione: No it's not! You know what, maybe I'm the rudest person here, so why don't you carry on the party without me.
She left the table and stormed inside, followed by her husband to the next room. While an apologetic murmur broke out amongst the guests, Luna exclaimed,"Wrackspurts were bursting out of her in an abominable rate!" Snape found Hermione wiping away tears in a corner of a darkened room. He reached over and hugged her to him. She hid her face in his coat. "I'm sorry...I'm so sorry. I ju- I just wanted this evening to be perfect for you, you know. And now it's all ruined..." "Ssh, no it's not. The only thing that would ruin it for me is if you don't come back with me again."he said. Hermione looked up at his face, her lashes still glittering with tears but her expression one of contempt."No. I'm not going back. Just ask them all to leave. And in the worst possible way, as only you can. This was a stupid idea...you know you don't have to hang out with them anymore, just because of me. I told you, you are developing a dangerous habit of agreeing with me all the time. If I ever have such an idea again, shout me down!" Snape tried to reason,"I don't want to hang out with them simply because of you...honey, I enjoy their company too, surprisingly. Back there, I didn't feel the least bit disrespected. It was quite amusing, actually. Yes, they can be quite a handful, but they are a merry lot, ergo, once you get used to them." Hermione sniffled but listened without another word. He continued with a smile,"I was gazing down the table and I found myself thinking, 'I have a room full of people I can call friends.' Believe me, I never thought of such a possibility. But now I have been blessed with these loved ones, and all because of you. I don't want that to be taken away from me, not even by you." Hermione smiled, teary-eyed. "So, care to join us again, my love?"
"Okay."
When they returned hand in hand, everyone got up to apologise and they sincerely meant it. Hermione hugged them all, said they were forgiven, apologised herself for her behaviour and urged them to finish dinner, while Snape looked on proudly.........................................
After dinner, they all sat down to laugh and chat. Ginny was animatedly talking and rubbing her belly, expecting their baby in a couple of months. Hermione was engrossed in playing with Fred and Tabitha. Fred was mostly talking gibberish and slobbering but he grasped Hermione's finger in his tiny palm. Tabitha had been staring a long time at her and right before their eyes, she changed her hair colour to yellowish-brown. Lupin looked down at his daughter and smiled."Look at that, she wants to be just like her godmother." Tonks's trait had come to Teddy and this was a nice little surprise for Hermione. As she praised her, Teddy gave her a toothy smile and chirped,"M-mione!" Joyful tears came to Hermione's eyes and she looked over at her husband who was watching them carefully. He smiled back in encouragement.
Soon it was time for everyone to leave. "Thank you for having us." "And sorry again." "It was so good to spend some time here." "See you again, soon."
"I can't wait for you to start at Hogwarts again."McGonagall revealed,"I wish I could dump my work on you sooner. Gods I'm getting too old for this..." As the last of the guests left, Hermione heaved a sigh of relief, exhausted after the whole day. Snape went over to Padfoot's dog-house and ladled some food on his plate; the poor creature had been at his best behaviour, not letting a mewl escape him all evening and was on edge hearing his mistress shout earlier that night. Now when Snape ruffled his fur, he wagged his tail violently, displaying his delight and started lapping up his meal. Snape went upstairs to his bedroom and saw that Hermione had already plopped down in bed, still rubbing at her temples, obviously drained. "You were good with the babies."he observed. "Yeah, they are great, aren't they? I loved having them here."she smiled, besides herself. He started getting into his nightclothes, avoiding eye-contact with her when he said,"I want one." Hermione's hands paused momentarily and her eyes flew open, but she joked,"Why didn't you tell me which one? I could've slipped one of them under my robe." But he lied down beside her, supporting himself on his elbow and looked at her face seriously; happy but sincere. Hermione sat up straight, realising he wasn't joking. "A-are you..s-sure?" "Absolutely,"he held her hand,"Let's make a baby." She searched his face for any sign of sarcasm but found none and instead a joyous grin broke out on her face. He muttered,"I mean, we have been so late as it is...I don't wanna wait any longer. I want to have my family..a real family. Nothing wouod make me happier..." "Oh my god! I can't belie- Lets! Yes! I wanna do this! I love you!"Hermione cried. "I love you too!"he said and they joined their lips together, moulding into each other perfectly, like pieces of a puzzle.
Hermione woke up the next morning after spending an entire night of love-making. She went into the bathroom and opened the cupboard containing the toiletries and took out the vial of contraceptive potion. She used to take that every morning, right from the first time they had had sex. Today, she happily poured the rest of it down the drain. We're not gonna need that anymore! She looked at herself in the mirror; her cheeks were flushed red from something more than exhaustion- it was anticipation and felicity.