A Life of Love - IV. A Testament to Love - Chapter 4

Chapter 4

They began kissing slowly and sensuously.  At least five minutes was spent on just that activity.   After going three years without touching, they could afford to take their time, relishing every moment.  Their kiss conveyed a wide range of emotions as it changed pace and intensity.  It began as a tender lover's kiss, soft, lips to lips, the occasional tongue gliding over the other's barely open mouth.  Then a little more pressure was added along with a turning of heads for better contact.  This led to a subtle exploration of the lover's two mouths, courtesy of gently probing tongues that met tentatively, pressing together a moment and then withdrawing.  Then they let their tongues play, dallying together, coyly pulling away, then meeting again to twirl around one another or to lap at each other.  Soon a deeper, fuller kiss was the main fare, with mouths working undulantly as the lover's let their heads be moved around by the motion like waves on the sea.  They began delving into each other's mouths with their tongues, speeding up the pace and pressing their tongues deeply into the other's mouth.  The flirting was over with, replaced by hot sensuality.  Their mouths melded and their bodies began to follow the same emotional contours that their kiss had.

First, Severus laid a hand on Bethany's breast and moved so that his body overlapped hers a little.  He squeezed the voluptuous orb lightly, then somewhat harder, as he moaned.  He would have begun plucking around for her nipple but her bra and knit dress were too thick.  So instead, he let his hand slide down her waist, over her hips, and began bunching up the long dress.

“Let me guess,” he said, after pulling his mouth away from hers for a moment.  “This dress comes off over your head just like the one on the night I proposed.”

She nodded and laughed then helped him take off her garment.  She was wearing comfortable cotton underwear that was a light blue with a matching bra.  He was quick to remove these items and stared at her in her full nude glory once more.  Her breasts had grown since she had carried a baby and nursed it.  However, they had retained most of their buoyancy.  Severus guessed it was because she was so young when she had Vivienne.  Her body had recovered well.  Her hips were a little wider and more womanly.  He grabbed her naked hip in lust because something stirred inside him at the sight of her more voluptuous figure.  She was a woman now, not a girl.  Severus, being older, found her fuller curvatures irresistible.  On a primal level, they screamed fertility and he couldn't ignore that instinct.  Her waist remained relatively small and her belly smooth.  She still had sleek legs and arms, with hands that ended in long fingers.  He noticed for the first time that she was still wearing her engagement ring.  His heart felt as though fireworks had been shot off inside it.  

He took her left hand and kissed the ring.  “I notice you are still wearing this,” he said in smooth, gentle tones.  He kissed her hands and fingers over and over again.

“I still intend to marry the man who gave this to me,” she cooed.

He smiled, his heart thumping with joy.  “As soon as you're ready,” Severus stated.

“I'm ready...” she retorted.  “For you to get undressed.”

“Oh, right.  I was just admiring your gorgeous body.  Mesmerized, you know.”

“Uh, huh.”  She sounded skeptical.

Severus began to take off his clothes.  Bethany noticed his musculature was more defined now and some of his lankiness had filled out.  He retained that perfect v-shaped torso but now it was more pronounced.  He wasn't quite as thin anymore.  He was developing the body of a man.  His chest was broader, as were his shoulders.  She put her hands on his arms and squeezed, much as he had done her breasts.  She found his arms were large, firm, and had grown in girth.  

She had always thought Severus was sexy.  But when she was just a slender girl, she had preferred long, lean bodies on her boys as opposed to burly ones.  Now that she was a woman with fuller curves she desired a man's body with more girth.  That is what she found to her delight in Severus.  His height and build made her still feel small but safe.  To her soon to be endless satisfaction, she noticed when Severus took off his underpants that his organ had also filled out.  It had always been quite long and big around.  But now it was even more impressive.  Bethany thought of how she had given birth since last they were together, so she assumed she wouldn't be as tight anymore.  It had worried her until now.  She saw that his body had made improvements to match her physical changes.

“Mmm,” she exhaled hard.  It had been years since she had done anything sexual with another person. Pleasuring herself wasn't the same as having a hard, manly body to please and be pleased by.  

Severus stood next to the bed as Bethany lay on it.  Her eyes were fixated on his member.  She wanted to take it in her hands and feel its heat and hardness.  So she did.  Severus let out a deep moan as she wrapped her fingers around it for the first time in so long.  She stroked it several times, watching intently and tugging to urge him to step closer.  To her amazement, it became even fuller, now hovering near her mouth.  

Bethany had the overpowering urge to begin licking up and down the length of his hardness.  So she moved her hand down to the base and did so.  She closed her eyes and breathed in the scent of him as she spread her tongue wide to let it cradle his shaft as she licked slowly until she reached the head.  Then she kissed the side of the head and then slid her tongue down the length of him again.  On the return trip she let her warm, wet lips close over the tip of the head, tasting the dew drop that was already forming there.  The flavour was divine.  She had almost forgotten.  

Her worries about whether she was out of practice or not disappeared as Severus tilted his head back in exquisite agony, longing for more.  He moved his hand to the top of her head, and pushed his fingers through her golden hair.

“Oh,” he said very loudly.  “Ohh-ohh.”  He vocalized many times.

He was dying, she thought, either from over-stimulation or the desire for more.  She guessed the second one.  So she mouthed over his cock until the head was fully inside her mouth.  He gasped as she began sucking, lightly at first and then vigorously, her cheeks sunken as she bobbed her head back and forth on his long shaft.  He was so big he filled her mouth completely.  It was a very satisfying sensation.  Bethany thought for sure he would be too large to take him into her throat, but she couldn't get the challenge of it out of her mind.  So on one long stroke, she took him down to the hilt until her lips touched her fingers and his curly hairs, then all the way back.  She took a quick breath and dove on the glistening shaft again.  

Severus jerked and grabbed her shoulders.  He looked down at her in awe.  She appeared so sensual—the way she moved, moaned her enjoyment, looked stunning.  Her golden hair sometimes draped over her face so that he couldn't see what she was about to do next.  However, there were times that she would pull back with only the head in her mouth, and stare up at his face and their eyes would lock.  She generally smiled, or winked when this happened.  Severus could not stop caressing her golden tresses as she began bringing him closer to climax. 

She was bobbing quickly and fiercely and used her tongue within her open her mouth to cradle the head.  She caught his sensitive spot and stayed there lapping her hot tongue incessantly against it.  Then she closed her lips over the head and sucked.  Severus felt himself preparing for release.  Just then Bethany let her lower teeth slide lightly against the base of his head.  He caught his breath, screamed, then his creaminess burst forth, shooting a hot ribbon against the roof of her mouth.  His essence puddled at the back of her tongue and she gulped all of it down.  At the same time, a second pulse spewed his cream against her tongue and filled her mouth again. When his twitching and her swallowing stopped, she held his stiffness at the base with one hand and lifted her mouth off of him. She looked down at the swollen, wet head to see more pearly-white droplets seeping from the tip. She stroked her hand from the base to the head, squeezing lovingly and forcing the remainder of his orgasm to ooze forth. She caught the last of his essence on her tongue and swallowed.  

Severus dropped onto the bed exhausted and looked at her like he had the first time she had ever orally satisfied him.  It was a mixture of amazement, satisfaction, and love.

They held each other naked for a while.  Bethany, having been worked into an almost sexual frenzy by their initial encounter, wouldn't leave Severus's body alone.  She began exploring it from his broad shoulders and chest to his muscular arms and abs.  She didn't miss touching or licking a spot.  

With her soft body pressed to his, Severus quickly came around from his daze.  He began playing with her.  He held her heavy breasts in his hands, taking turns sucking on them and toying with her nipples.  He plucked them with his fingers and squeezed them lightly.  Severus mainly used his mouth and dallied with his tongue.  He sucked and flicked his tongue on her nipples until she was about to scream.  Then he felt all along her body like a blind man, kissing and sucking his way down her body.  Then he began to dance around his true goal as he nudged himself between her legs.  

He licked Bethany all around her sex, spiraling inward until he was no longer licking her inner thighs but the seat of womanhood.  He played with her feminine petals by suckling with his mouth, while he scouted out her clit with his finger.  He found it and she convulsed.  Severus began rubbing it very lightly, licking all around it until finally he took it into his mouth.  He sucked three times, then began to flick at it with his tongue just as he had done her nipples.  When she started gasping, he took the bud of her pleasure in his mouth and began sucking harder.  Bethany was very wet by this point so he used the opportunity to slide two fingers into her.  She was still tight and tightening all the more as he pushed and pulled his fingers in and out of her while working over her clit.

She whispered, “Try three.”

He added a third finger.  This made her go into fits of ecstasy.  She began rolling her hips and tilting her head back as his tongue pressed harder and fingers pushed deeper.  All the time, he was speeding up the licking of her clit or the intensity of his suction on it.  When he thought she was near the edge of release, he dove his fingers in the deepest he could go with one mighty thrust and sucked her clit hard, catching the tip of it in his teeth and pressing lightly.  Her orgasm exploded with a guttural scream and several, “Ohs,” as she had several O's.  

Her legs twitched as she was coming down until they were merely trembling.  Severus laid a hand on them to still them, but they continued to shake a little for a time.

By now they were both so worked up that they were ready to maul each other.  They rolled around in bed kissing and nibbling, biting and squeezing until finally Severus was on top.  He gave her the, 'I'm ready, are you?' look.  

Bethany gazed back at him seductively, her eyelids half closed in an alluring manner.  She was tempting him and he took the bait.  Severus put one hand behind her head and lifted it for a kiss.  With his other hand, he  pulled himself closer to her, and pushed the head of his manhood into her. Then he thrust quite hard and suddenly, and completely.  She cried out and her head lay back against his palm.  

He waited for a moment.  She opened her eyes after a few seconds and smiled naughtily.  He began working his hips back and forth.  She was so beautiful and it had been so long since he had been with her that he couldn't rein himself in.  Rather than delicate lovemaking, he embraced her with lustful passion.  He wanted to fuck the hell out of her and that was perfectly fine with her.  Bethany had waited just as long as he had for this chance.  They kept up the hardcore pace for half an hour.  

At one point Severus knelt between her legs and looked down at her face, which held an expression of rapture.  He watched her pale breasts moving up and down as he fucked her.  He grabbed her hips, and holding her like this, he could watch his wet stiffness move in and out, and this induced him to speed up.  On a particularly deep thrust he reached his apex, spilling all his essence inside her.

Severus rolled over with her in his arms, holding her tightly.  Bethany rested her head on his shoulder as she ran her open hand over his chest.  She felt so comfortable and protected lying in his strong arms.  They rested that way for a time but neither of them was getting sleepy.  Instead, they were becoming aroused again.  They lay fondling each other, at first lovingly then sexually.

Severus asked, “So do mothers still go for kinky sex?  Or would that be too disrespectful?”  He seemed worried when he asked.

“What on earth do you mean?” asked Bethany, stifling a laugh.

“Well, you're a mother now and we're older.  It seems like the natural thing would be for our sex to be tamer.”

“You call what we just did tame?”

“No, not exactly.  But it's not like I was trying to get you on your hands and knees to fuck you like a wild animal, or to twist you around like a pretzel or to enter into 'forbidden' places.”

“Ah,” Bethany said.  “Is that what you want?  But you're afraid to do it because I've had a baby?”

“Well, yeah.  The title of 'Mother' is to be honoured and respected.  I don't want to degrade my daughter's Mommy.”

“Honey, you've never degraded me in your life.  Now what were you going to say?”

Severus mumbled something and Bethany asked him to speak up.

“It may not be 'degrading' but there's something not quite 'loving,' as in making love, but it's more like using as a sex object about... well, basically shoving my dick anywhere ‘forbidden.’  I didn't want to say it,” he said quickly and defensively.  “But you asked what I was thinking and I was thinking those words.  I was going to say 'exploring forbidden places.'  But you seemed to want to know why I felt it wasn't quite right and now you can see when put in those terms what I mean.”

Bethany was silent a moment.  “I really don't want to get into the discussion about how our parents probably still have sex because, yeah, I'm my parents' kid and I don't want to think about it.  But it's not like people become celibate once they have a child.  It's not like the children ever know.  That's why it's so easy to think parents are celibate.  We don't have to start having boring sex just because you have a mistaken notion that as a mother I'm not interested in anything but making love.  I still love you and I'm wildly attracted to you.  We're both still young.  Let's have kinky sex.”

“Are you sure you won't be offended?  I mean even your breasts are technically for nursing babies.”

“Yeah, well you called dibs on them first.  So..” she said, rolling over and climbing to her hands and knees before giving him a come-hither look.  “Do I look offended?”

“No,” Severus said, with a naughty twinkle in his eye.  “You look like you need my cock inside you.”  

At that, he pounced on her like a jungle cat.  He bent over her and bit the back of her neck growling.  Severus pressed his hard member between her thighs and reached around with one hand to find her clit.  He began rubbing fiercely.  

“Oh!” she shouted in surprise.  Then she purred, “Yes.  That's it, My Panther.  Take me like a wild beast!”

Severus reared back and lifted his throbbing member against her wet pussy.  He began to rub back and forth over her opening and her clit until she moaned with need.  Then he shoved it in.  She gasped and heaved as he thrust hard in and out of her.  He reached around to grab her breasts and held their weight as he twisted her nipples lightly and pinched them.  She was pushing against the bed with her hands to meet his thrusts as he pounded away.  

She cried out several times.  Then she took her own hand and began rubbing her clit while he massaged her nipples.  The tension built up and she climaxed suddenly.  But neither of them was done.  Bethany couldn't hold herself up any longer with one hand, so she fell face first into the pillow as Severus continued to thrust into her.  She put her legs between his and they were in the position that they used to enjoy the most.  Her pelvis lifted, he held her hips and rammed into her.  Her screams were smothered by the pillow.  

“That's it, Pussycat,” Severus said leaning down to breathe the words into her ear.  “Scream for me.  Scream like the wild cat I know you are.”

“Ohhh, god!  Sevy.  You know I love when you call me that.”

“What?” he said smirking. “Pussycat?”

“Yes.  Oh, yes.  Tell me what you want,” she moaned.

“I just want ...” he whispered in her ear, “You to cum for me, Pussycat.  Cum on my cock, Pussycat.”

That was all the incentive Bethany needed.  Her nerves began to crackle as an explosion of pure bliss erupted in her pussy.  A wave of heat washed over her body as she climaxed.  She bore down on Severus's cock and the feeling of fullness and hard resistance against her internal hot spots made her orgasm again.  

This incredible sensation on his member caused Severus to climax, gushing forth inside her again.  Her convulsions slowed to spasms which leisurely ended with shivers of delight.  He pulled out, dribbling a strand of cum on the back of her thigh.  But he really wasn't ready to stop.

“Here,” he said quickly.  “Turn on your side.”

“But aren't you...”                          

“Not if we can keep this pace up.”  

Bethany lay on her side and he pushed his stiff member into her wet opening again.  He began thrusting into her from behind, gaining speed at an increasing rate so that he could ensure his hardness.  This position was one that allowed for maximum penetration, especially when Bethany would raise her leg to hug against her chest or when, alternately, she hooked it over Severus's shoulder.  

Severus was beginning to perspire and felt a little tired.  He attributed this to all the times he had peaked, and didn't let it deter him from this orgasmic smörgåsbord.  Bethany had another orgasm from this position and his force.  Her internal convulsions tantalized Severus and ensured he would stay hard.  After another ten minutes of reveling in this position, Bethany had a suggestion.

“Why don't I ride you?  We haven't done that in a while.”

“We haven't done anything in three years!  Yes.”

Severus didn't mention the relief he felt at being able to lie back and not work quite so hard for the moment.  He lay on his back and Bethany crawled halfway on top of him, stopping to take his cock in her mouth. She tasted both of their lovemaking essence and cupped his balls in one hand.  She sucked and licked for several strokes before pulling her mouth from him.  Holding his wet shaft with one hand, she climbed on top and lifted her hips to positon his cock before lowering herself onto him.  His member was burning hot inside of her and sweetly tight.  She began rocking back and forth, slowly at first.  Then she sped up and started to use her knees to push her forward and back so that she slid up and down along his shaft.  She straddled him for a while with her hands forward on his biceps, helping with the long gyrations.  

The view above him, with her face framed in hanging golden hair, and breasts swinging, was an enormous sexual stimulant for Severus.  He grabbed the outside of her thighs, enjoying the weight and heat of her on him, and feeling his stiffness completely inside her at the deepest penetration possible.  Her breasts bounced heavily as she rocked back and forth and her expression was one of that intense pleasure that is akin to pain.  

Bethany began to pant deeply.  She leaned back and suddenly Severus's hardness pressed against her front wall.  She moaned and leaned further back, reaching behind to brace her hands on his legs. Bethany rocked her pelvis back and forth in a frenzied fashion until Severus couldn't take it anymore.  She looked so ravishing and she was so intensely into the moment and so rapt by the pleasure that he was aroused to the point of climax.  He grunted as he throbbed and released inside her. The warmth of his cum inside her added something extra that caused her to climax as well.  She pushed off his legs and bent forward over him as she pressed down on his cock and kept riding out her orgasm.  For Severus this felt wonderful, as he was just finishing up spasms of his own.

Behtany collapsed on top of him and they lay in each other's arms for several minutes.  Then Bethany slid off of him and lay down, but curled up next to him.  Severus, also winded, put his arm around her and leaned his head towards hers.  Their breathing finally slowed.  Exhausted, they fell asleep together, reunited in love again after so many years.

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The newly drawn together family spent the next two days inseparable, playing games, having quiet meals, telling stories, reading to Vivienne, taking naps, dancing, and cuddling.  Severus thought of how wonderful this serene lifestyle was and how he felt relaxed for the first time in years.  More than that he felt free—free of anger, worry, sorrow, guilt, resentment, and his dark past.  His former heartaches dissolved as he exhaled them and breathed in deeply the fresh, dewy air of the forest each day.  Part of the presence of the unicorns was that the air and water they frequented was diffused with magical healing powers because the unicorns' powers of restoration were so strong.  Just breathing and drinking the clear water of the forest renewed and invigorated Severus.  He was already in love with Bethany's home.  Severus looked forward to spending the rest of his life with his family in tranquility, either there or somewhere like it.

Over the weekend, the little family took walks into the forest and Bethany pointed out animal tracks and fairy hiding places.  In the forest, the animals were bolder than most because they were protected by Lord Albion.  They didn't fear Bethany and her family.  From the unicorns who dwelt in the forest, they seemed to have picked up the trick of vanishing at a glance.  Severus commented on this and received an interesting but long speech from Bethany about the symbiotic relationships between a unicorn's forest and the creatures that lived there.  Severus listened intently because he could tell that Bethany was really excited about the subject, which was after all why she was here doing field research.

“The unicorns' magic tends to enhance the natural gifts of each species.  For example, the foxes are more cunning, the rabbits and other small creatures are better camouflaged, the lynxes leap higher and farther, the bear are stronger, and the deer are swifter.  Every animal seems to be more silent when they move through underbrush and over dried leaves.  Oh, and the birds!  They're so colorful and they sing the sweetest melodies.”

“How many unicorns do you suppose live in the Black Forest?” asked Severus.

“The whole forest?  Well, I don't really know.  The forest is over a hundred miles long.  I know Albion and Elysium have a colt named Miracle.  Deep in the forest one time, I saw a herd of about five unicorns.  Occasionally, I see a few others but I only really know Albion's family well.  And that's just because he made it a point to oversee me when I was a newcomer to make sure I wasn't a threat.  When he discovered that I was a pregnant woman alone, he was not only relieved but took it upon himself to watch over me and my future child since I had no one else.  There are dangerous creatures in the Black Forest as well as unicorns.”

When Bethany said 'I had no one else,' it felt as though needles were pricking at Severus's heart.  He should have been with Bethany the whole time.  It was his place to protect his family.  However, he supposed a unicorn wasn't a bad substitute until he had arrived.

Vivienne bonded with Severus very quickly.  She had been told stories about him and seen sketches and pictures of him all her life.  Vi had been waiting for the day he returned, for as a child she had more hope for and less knowledge of Severus's previous situation than Bethany did.  Severus was very good with Vi considering he had virtually no experience with children that young.  Though he enjoyed the romping and playing with Vivienne, he often found himself looking at Bethany with adoring, expectant eyes.  He looked forward to night, after they had all watched the sunset and had put Vivienne to bed.  Then his eyes held a spark, looking at Bethany.  She knew by that look that it was time for them to bond physically again, to help reforge the connection that had been so strong long ago.

They made passionate love at least three more times because their weekend together was almost over.  Early Monday morning Severus would have to return to Hogwarts to teach for the rest of the week.  He would only be able to come visit on weekends until the school term ended for Summer.  Both Severus and Bethany were sure that every weekend would not be enough to satisfy their long forestalled lust for one another.

On Sunday night, the two lovers were lying in bed, out of breath once more from hours of endless love-making and kinky unions of carnality.  They were wrapped in each other's arms when Bethany sighed in frustration.

“I'm not looking forward to this next week,” she said, sounding irritated.

“Neither am I, Sweeting.  But I'll be back on Friday and we can do this all over again.  Summer isn't that far away either.  Then I'll be moving here until school starts again.”

“Until school starts again!  I thought you were coming to live with us.”

“Oh, Sweeting, I would love to do that but my job is at Hogwarts.  I can't just leave.  Besides Dumbledore has done so much for me.  I owe him.”

“Well, I can't leave my five year study to go live in Hogsmeade and work at the Three Broomsticks again.  I've had enough of being the 'Drink Wench.'  I've found my calling and it's here in this forest, studying magical creatures.  You wouldn't really ask me to give that up plus all the wonderful experiences Vivienne will have growing up in this magical place, just to go live in a town, even if it is a Wizarding village.”

“No, I could never ask you to do that.  But Vivienne can't grow up a forest maiden you know.  She's not a nymph or woodland sprite who can just live happily in the forest with no company.  She needs to be socialized with other children and get used to seeing other people besides us doing magic.  We have to prepare her for life.”

“She isn't even three yet, Severus.  I don't think we need to be preparing her for life's hardships just yet.”

“That's not what I meant,” Severus said.

“Great!” said Bethany sarcastically and threw up her hands.  “Something new to argue about. That wasn't even why I was dreading this coming week.”

Severus looked to Bethany, “Then what was the reason?”

Bethany gave Severus a you-asked-for-it-look.  She sighed and rolled her eyes.  “My parents are coming to visit this week for a few days,” Bethany said exasperated.  “They moved North of here near Stuttgart, so they could be near a big city with lots of culture.  But Stuttgart is too industrial for them, so they currently reside in a sprawling mansion in Esslingen, in the countryside of Nekar Valley.  They love the vineyards and my dad is taken with the medieval flair of the place.  They take Vivienne to the museums there sometimes.  It has been nice having them so nearby.  Now I think it will cause problems.”

“Your parents!”  Severus felt alarmed and guilty.  “What are they doing in Germany?”

“Think about it.  They found out that you were a Death Eater, and I was on the run for my life, and pregnant, all in the same month.  They helped me find this job and this safe haven.  They wanted to move in with me to help me during my pregnancy and to assist in raising the baby.  I didn't want that though.  They wouldn't listen to me about what was really going on with you, so they blamed you for everything.  I could just imagine hearing in my ear everyday, 'We told you living together was a bad idea,' and, 'We knew this would happen.'  That's not to mention the disparaging remarks about you that I would have had to endure and that our child might have picked up on.  Besides I wanted to raise our baby myself, here in the forest.  But once Vi was born, there was no stopping my parents.  They sold my childhood home and moved as near as possible to me that didn't inconvenience them with a lack of society.”

“What do you think they'll say when they hear I've come back?” Severus said forlornly, with a hint of anxiety in his voice.

“Oh!  Nothing good.  They think you turned evil.  I already said that they won't listen to me.  They won't want you anywhere near Vivienne.”  Bethany put her hand to her forehead, “My mom, being as histrionic as she is will probably faint.  My dad might threaten to kill you.  They aren't very good about minding their own affairs and letting me control mine.”

“Why don't we just not tell them?” Severus said hopefully.

“Vi will tell them.  She is so excited to have you back.  Those will be the first words out of her mouth.”

Severus was touched to know this but he was also concerned.  “What if you get into an argument in front of Vi and they bring up subjects like Death Eaters and You-Know-Who, painting me in a very bad light?  What if she hears that they don't want me to see her?  She'll want to know why.  Then they'll tell her that I'm a bad man, that I can't be trusted, and who knows what else.  What can I say to counter the seed of truth in what they say?”

“Why do you think I've been dreading them coming down to visit?” Bethany said, breaking into sobs.

Severus held her close and tried to think of something helpful to say.  Yet, his mind kept looping back around to one thought.  

“You painted me out to be a Prince who loved his family but was captured and couldn't come to them until now.  Your parents will tell her a very different story.”

“Oh, no they won't.  Not if I have to put a Silencing Spell on them the whole time they're here.  My little girl is never going to hear anything bad about her daddy if I can help it.  You love us.  You always have.  We're together again and the darkness had passed.  That's what counts and that's what I am going to tell them.  If they don't like it, they can leave my home and not see their grand-daughter until they come to some sense.”

“Would you really do that?” Severus asked.

“If I have to, yes.  They aren't her primary care-takers.  We are.  They have no business telling us what to tell or not tell our daughter about our pasts.  It's not like my grandparents told me all the mistakes that my parents made as adults before my birth.  It's ridiculous to try to estrange a good father from his child.  They should be supporting my decisions, not undermining them.”

“Yes, but they don't think I'm a good father, now do they?”

“I wish their opinion of you was different.  But other than that I couldn't care less what they think of who I choose to spend my life with.”

“I love you,” Severus said pulling her closer.  “You're the only one who has ever had faith in me.”

“That's not true,” Bethany answered.  “Now you have Vivienne too.”

Continued in Chapter 5

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