The Snake and the Eagle

Chapter 26 - Mr and Mrs Snape

Professors Snape and Falconbridge's wedding was to take place at the end of the following week. The greater part of the preparations had been accomplished, and there were still little things left to do. Free from exams, students were enjoying their great amount of free time, spending as much time as they could outside. Since the return of the Slytherins to Hogwarts, after the end of the war, Quidditch matches went on in rapid succession, and the House cup had been appointed to Gryffindor for the sixth year in a row.

Dumbledore kindly offered himself to buy the wedding rings. To say the truth, Severus was a little worried about it at first, as Dumbledore's odd tastes were legend. Fortunately, Albus came back from Hogsmeade with a beautiful pair of shining golden rings, with a path of ivy finely engraved on them. Ivy has always been a symbol of true and endless love, because that plant is known to die where it clings. Professor McGonagall was moved almost to tears when Snape asked her to accompany him to the altar, taking Severus' mother's place. Minerva was really honoured to do it, as that meant Severus cared for her as the closest thing to a mother figure. Professor Falconbridge had bought her wedding dress the previous week-end, during a visit to Diagon Alley with her Grandmother, her bridesmaid and Professor McGonagall. She had bought a beautiful, gorgeously embroidered, silver dress, as required by traditional wizarding wedding standards. In fact, although this kind of ceremony reminded what Muggles use to call a "civil wedding", its symbolism was very high. The bride ought to be dressed in silver, because she represented the moon, while her bridesmaid's dress was night blue, like the sky.

The week-end before the ceremony, Snape and Lupin took the Hogwarts Express to London, then Diagon Alley, for buying their suits. Neither of the two had any clear idea of what a traditional wedding implied. Severus had been guest at the Malfoys' one, but he did not paid much attention to it, because he knew them to have a knack for pomposity. Lupin, on the other end, had only been to James and Lily's wedding, but that was a different ceremony, as the bride was Muggle-born. They was not that bothered by their ignorance on the matter. They were certain Madam Malkin would have everything such occasions needed, or she should better change the name of her shop. When they came into the shop, Madam Malkin herself came to greet them.

"Good morning, sirs. How can I help you?" she courteously said.

"We need two suits for a traditional wedding, one for the best man, and one for the bridegroom," Snape coldly said.

The shopkeeper could not help but make a face at the sight of Professor Lupin's shabby clothes, a thing that did not pass unnoticed.

"As Professor Lupin here is my best man, it's my intention to pay for his suit too," Snape icily said. Madam Malkin blushed slightly, at the evidence of her misbehaviour.

"Oh, so the bridegroom is you! My best wishes then. May I ask you who is the fortunate?" she said, in a fake merry voice.

"A fellow teacher, Alexandra Falconbridge," Snape said, giving the woman a piercing look.

"Oh, yes. Such a beautiful woman! Really lovely!" she said, but this time her words sounded more spontaneous. She led them to the male section of her shop.

"Bridegroom or best man first?" she dutifully asked, taking out her wand.

"Best man!" Snape curtly said.

She then summoned an assortment of smart, but cheap, suits of various shades of blue. Lupin was about to take a step towards them to make his choice when Snape gripped his arm.

"Show us something of a higher quality!" he said, in his stern voice.

"Oh, no, Severus. These are fine, really!" Lupin humbly said.

"No. My best man is not going to wear anything that cheap. I expect only the best!" Snape protested. It was true that he had little fantasy with colours, but he really had an excellent taste in the choice of fabrics. Madam Malkin cleared her throat, and banished the lot with a wave of her wand.

"These are top quality!" she proudly said, showing them a new stock of highly refined suits.

Lupin tried in vain to convince Snape he really did not need such expensive clothes, but he refused to listen to a single word. Finally, Remus made up his mind for a nice cobalt blue suit.

"These are absolutely the best clothes I've been wearing in ages. Thank you very much, Severus!" Remus excitedly said, admiring himself in the mirror.

"It was a pleasure, my friend," Snape said, satisfied.

Now the best man was done, it was the bridegroom's turn. The discarded clothes disappeared, leaving room to a gorgeous assortment of the richest, and most refined suits of the whole male section of the shop. There was only a tiny, little problem ... They were all golden. Snape's jaw dropped, and his eyes opened wide with shock at the sight of those shining clothes. Remus clapped a hand to his mouth, and fought hard the urge to laugh.

"Gold? Why the hell are they all gold?" Snape said, bewildered.

"What? You didn't know?" asked the shopkeeper, a little surprised by their reaction.

"Know what?" Snape angrily spat.

"In a traditional wizarding wedding between purebloods, the couple symbolizes the sun and the moon. Therefore, the bride is dressed up in silver for the moon, and the bridegroom wears gold for the sun, while their witnesses wear the colours of the sky," she lectured them.

"It's out of the question! I won't wear gold, neither for all the galleons in Gringotts' vaults!" he said, violently shaking his head.

"But Professor Snape, it's tradition!" said the witch, trying to make him see reason.

"Oh, come on, Severus! It could have been worse. What if it was shocking pink?" Lupin chuckled.

"Someone, please, tell Alexandra I've changed my mind!" Snape said, and made like to leave the shop, but Lupin blocked him.

"Don't tell me you love her enough to risk your life to protect her, but not enough to wear a damn gold suit for her?" Remus shouted, his voice full of sarcasm.

"You're right, Remus," Snape sighed, and resigned himself to make his choice.

He picked up one of the best silken suit, richly embroidered along the hems. He put it on, and stared critically at his reflection. The smooth fabric suited him perfectly, even better than the robes he had been wearing at the Yule ball. If only it was another colour, he would have been fully satisfied. They spent the night at the Leaky Cauldron, and the following day, they reached King's Cross Station to take the train back home. It was a long, and silent journey, during which Lupin happily stared out of the window. Snape sat in front of him, holding the parcel containing his new robes on his knees, staring blankly at it, and occasionally repeating his mantra of "Why gold? Why it had to be gold?". They reached the castle just in time for dinner. Professor Snape sat silent, in a very bad mood, angrily stabbing at his steak with his knife and fork.

"Severus, what's the matter with you?" Professor Falconbridge asked, having taken notice of her fiancé nervousness.

"Oh, never mind him, dear. He's only a little upset with Madam Malkin," Lupin whispered, amused, in her hear.

"Did you have some problem with your suits?" she asked, with concern.

"Well, mine was just perfect but ... Severus here had something to say about the colour of his," Lupin vaguely said.

"Why?" she curiously said.

"The fact is, that the bridegroom is meant to be dressed in ..." Remus was saying, but Severus completed the sentence for him.

"Gold!" he spat.

"Oh, Severus, I'm sorry. I thought you knew it!" she said, trying hard to suppress a giggle.

"No, I didn't! You'd better never dare say I don't love you enough," Snape hissed.

"Oh, you should have been there, Alexandra. For a moment, I was afraid he was going to have a fit," Lupin said, before bursting out laughing his head off, shortly followed by Alexandra, who could not restrain herself any more.

***

Finally, the greatly expected 21^st of June arrived. The Hogwarts house-elves were extremely busy with the preparations for that night ceremony. They were working hard under Professor McGonagall's stern vigilance. Students were enjoying their well earned free time, mostly on the grounds, and many of them volunteered to lend a hand with the decorations. For once, Gryffindors and Slytherins were seen working side by side, without trying hexing each other. Even Draco Malfoy, after another little chat with Professor Snape, had put aside his usual hostility towards Harry. He had finally realized the boy had not been involved in the events concerning his father's imprisonment.

The Great Hall had been decorated with freshly picked flowers, and miles of ivory ribbons run all along the walls and ceiling. The room had been magically expanded to host his usual population of students, teachers, plus the many guests, who were to arrive that afternoon. Meanwhile, on the grounds, Hagrid and Professor Sprout were by the lake shore, preparing the site where the ceremony was to take place. Hagrid had built a small podium, on which the minister was supposed to stand, and a wooden arch, beneath which the newly-weds were to stand, which Sprout was magically covering in blooming, white roses.

The reason for such a peculiar location was that, according to tradition, that kind of rite had to be performed in a place containing symbols of the four elements. Therefore, the castle grounds were the Earth, the Lake was the Water, Fire was symbolized by the many torches forming a path from the castle to the lake, and the Air was obviously the open night sky above them. Lupin had been literally chasing Professor Sinistra in the last few days.

"Professor Sinistra, have you checked the moon charts? Are you sure it's not going to be full moon?" he kept asking her, over and over.

"I already told you! There will be only a tiny quarter!" She repeated, exasperated.

He did not want to risk spoiling his only best friends' wedding, putting them all in a great danger. In the first hours of the afternoon, the guests began to arrive. First came Professor Falconbridge's grandparents. They were really happy for their granddaughter, their only regret was that her parents were not there to share their joy. Honestly, they had long doubted she would ever get married. She was such a free spirit, that not many men could match her. But Severus Snape certainly was not a man like many. She ran towards them, and happily hugged them both. Then his grandfather gave a look around, looking for someone.

"Where is my grandson?" he cheerfully shouted. Snape was a little surprised to be called like that, and timidly approached the old man. He stretched out his hand to greet him.

"Oh, here you are, my boy!" Mr Falconbridge said, and took Severus in a bearlike hug.

In spite of his old age, Joseph Falconbridge was a big, strong man, and Severus felt the air leave his lungs at that warm greeting.

"Welcome to Hogwarts, Mr Falconbridge," he breathlessly muttered.

"Stop all these formalities, and cold me grandpa!" the old wizard said, giving him a friendly slap on his back.

Obviously, Severus was not used to this kind of warmth, so he felt much relieved when Mary Falconbridge limited herself to a tender kiss on his cheek. Then arrived the Kalkuloses, her best friends. Alexandra happily hugged Sabrina, then Dominique, her husband, while Severus kept himself a few steps away. They approached him to shake ends, with a kind smile on their faces. They knew how much Alexandra loved him and, above all, they knew about the way he had thrown himself to shield her from the killing curse. In front of such a great proof of love, and their friend's deep happiness, they could not help being happy to see him too. Then came the whole Weasley family, and some other Order members, who approached the couple to make their best wishes. Snape was really pleased to see Igor Karkaroff again. He was accompanied by his wife, a sixteen-year-old boy, and a blond, little one of around two years of age.

"It's been a long time since we last meet," Snape said, with a kind smile.

"Yes, my friend. Since the Triwizard Tournament, indeed," Karkaroff said, shaking his hand.

"May I introduce you to my fiancée?" Snape said, beckoning Alexandra to join them.

"Nice to meet you," Karkaroff said, giving her a gallant bow of his head.

"And this is my wife, Katiusha," he said, and the two woman shook hands.

"I suppose this young man here is your son - ah - Nikita, if I'm not mistaken. But I don't remember to have seen that child before," Snape said, referring to the small boy in Mrs Karkaroff's arms.

"He's our last born. Of course you've never seen him, he was born during our hiding," Karkaroff readily explained.

"I see. What's his name?" Snape asked, stretching out his arms to hold the child for a closer look.

"Severus!" his mother proudly said.

"Poor boy, not a great name for such a beautiful child like you," Snape said to the child who, for some strange reason, did not seem to be afraid of his piercing black eyes.

"We called him after you!" Karkaroff said, startling his friend.

"What? Why me?" Snape said, in the utmost surprise.

"Because, if it wasn't for you, Voldemort would have found and killed me and my family, and Severus would not even been born," Karkaroff explained.

"It's our way to thank you for being our Secret Keeper," Mrs Karkaroff gratefully said.

Snape was really taken aback by that unexpected news. When he stared again at the small boy, now peacefully playing with one of his long, black locks, he was looking down at a small creature whose same life he had helped to exist. A broad smile arched his thin lips.

"He's so cute!" Alexandra said, caressing the boy's blond head.

"I've got an idea. Mr Karkaroff, would you please give us permission to make him our page for the wedding?" she hopefully asked.

"Of course, my dear. He's old enough to carry the rings, and I think he's going to be just adorable!" Katiusha happily said.

A few hours before the ceremony, the wedding couple and their witnesses went to their rooms to dress up in their new clothes. The Minister of Magic, Cornelius Fudge, had just arrived to the castle. Professor Dumbledore kindly offered him his own rooms to change into his ritual clothes for the ceremony. Fudge did not like much celebrating weddings but, being both the newly-weds Order of Merlin first classes, it should be an honour for him to bind them in marriage. The minister was to wear a white robe, with a red cloak, and a crown of laurel around his head. Fudge was never very happy to part from his faithful acid green boiler, but traditions were traditions.

Snape was in his private quarters, down in the dungeons. He washed, and put on his shining, golden bridegroom suit. He finished buttoning his robes, and he carefully combed his hair back. He took a step in front of the mirror, and critically stared at his reflection. He smoothed his clothes, running his hands over the richly embroidered fabric, straightening his collar and cuff links. Snape was still disappointed with the colour, and was wondering about what on earth could have convinced him to wear one of his least favourite colours. But when he turned to look around his bedroom, and his eyes fell on the few new pieces of furniture brought in by the house-elves for his wife-to-be perusal, he suddenly had all the answers he was looking for. Once ready, he moved into the adjoining room, and waited for Professor McGonagall to join him, before leaving the castle for the ceremony. He was in such a great state of agitation that he found impossible to sit, so he began pacing the room up and down. He used to be a patient man, but the long wait was definitely leading his nerves to breaking point. He almost jumped on the spot when the door screeched open, and Minerva McGonagall came in.

"Oh, Severus! You're really handsome, my boy," she fondly told him.

"Thank you, Minerva. Can we go now?" he anxiously said.

"What was of your trademark coldness, Severus?" she teased him, with an amused smile gently arching her lips.

He limited himself to glare at the older witch, without even saying anything back. He was actually too busy trying to keep his emotions under control. They reached the beginning of the torch lit path just outside the castle. Snape offered her his arm, and they began walking down it towards the lake. As soon as they put foot on the path, an ethereal music magically resounded all around the place.

"Minerva, please, promise me you won't leave my side until we reach the altar," he said, with a slight hint of hysteria in his voice.

"Are you nervous, Severus?" she asked him, with an indulgent smile.

"I think that deadly scared would surely be more appropriate," he said, staring stonily ahead.

The wedding guests formed two aisles on both sides of the path. A loud murmuring spread as soon as Snape and McGonagall came into sight. To see Snape dressed in gold was a bit of a shock for everyone. Snape was walking, trying to focus his full attention to the spot under the arch where he was supposed to stop. The sight of a beaming Remus Lupin by the altar gave him some relief, because he knew that Remus was going to stand by his side until Alexandra arrived too.

Snape's anxiety only released him when Alexandra and her grandfather finally came into sight. It was like he had been fearing she might have changed her mind, but now she was there nothing else mattered to him. She was wearing a beautiful silver silk dress, and a crown of leaves and flowers of myrtle encircled her head, holding a gorgeous veil, a portion of which softly hid her face. A broad smile lit up his face when she stopped by his side. Each line of his face relaxed, making him look younger, and unmistakably happier than words could tell. Her grandfather lifted the veil covering her face, gave her a fatherly kiss on the forehead and went to join his wife.

Alexandra was beaming with joy, like every happy bride is meant to be. She gave Severus a sweet smile to which he answered with a stare full of love. She was so beautiful, and he could not believe his luck. He had always doubted he would ever find the right woman, someone to love unconditionally with all his heart and soul. He had long believed there was no place for love in his life, until he met her. It really needed a Charms teacher to bewitch him! Cornelius Fudge cleared his throat, and began his ritual speech.

"My friends, we're gathered here to witness the promise of endless love between this man and this woman, who have come here to be united in the sacred bond of marriage," he pompously said. "This couple has willing chosen the traditional rite and, as Minister of Magic, it's my duty to remind them that their bound would be unbreakable, once it comes to its full completion," he said, puffing his chest out in an impression of authority. "Who gives this woman?" he asked.

"I do," sounded Joseph Falconbridge's deep voice.

"Well, then. If somebody knows anything that could prevent this union from taking place, speak now or be silent forever!" he said, then made a pause before going on with the ceremony. No objections!

"Would you, Severus Snape, son of Lord Mortimer Snape and Lady Elizabeth O'Connor, take this woman as your legitimate bride?" he asked the bridegroom.

"Yes, I will!" came Snape's resolute answer.

"And would you, Alexandra Falconbridge, daughter or Lord Duncan Falconbridge and Lady Miranda Wallace, take this man as your legitimate bridegroom?" Fudge asked the bride.

"Yes, I will," she heartedly said.

"The rings, please!" the minister said, and the small Karkaroff boy timidly made his way to the altar, carrying the rings on a red velvet cushion. Alexandra and Severus smiled down to the kid, while Fudge unfastened the ribbon holding the two golden rings.

"May the powers of the four elements bless these rings. Air, Earth, Water and Fire," the minister said, pointing the rings in succession to the sky, to the ground, to the lake, and then to the flame of a torch. Then he handed the smaller one to Snape, who took Alexandra's left hand.

"With this ring I, Severus, take you, Alexandra, as my legitimate bride, to love you and honour you, in richness and poverty, in health and illness, till death us do part," he said, fondly boring his eyes into hers, before he slid it on her slender finger.

"With this ring I, Alexandra, take you, Severus, as my legitimate bridegroom, to love you and respect you, in richness and poverty, in health and illness, till death us do part," she said, her voice slightly trembling with emotion as she put it on his long finger.

"It's with the powers given to me by the Ministry of Magic, that I declare you husband and wife. You can now kiss the bride," Fudge declared.

Severus embraced Alexandra, and passionately pressed his lips on hers, in a tumult of cheers and applauses from the crowd. The newly-weds and their witnesses signed the act of marriage. Only one thing was left before the ceremony was over. Albus Dumbledore, as the closest person to the couple, was invited on the podium to give them the final blessing.

"Honour, riches, marriage blessing, long continuance, and increasing, hourly joys be still upon you! Hecate sings her blessings on you. And may the Heavens descendants send you, Merlin's blessing so is on you," the headmaster recited.

At his word, a ray of light fell on the wedding couple whose robes reacted to the magical forces called on them, and began to shine like the sun and the moon the two lovers represented. Now that the rite was finished, the notes of the Celtic Ebudae resounded as a wedding march, and Mr and Mrs Snape led their guests back to the castle, where a luxurious banquet waited for them.

Nobody had ever seen a happier couple than Severus and Alexandra, their joy was almost contagious, and guests kept proposing a toast to the couple's health every now and then. After the feast was over, the hall was cleared of his many tables, and room was made to let people dance. Severus and Alexandra opened the dances, later followed by other guests and students. They stopped in front of Hermione, who was merrily chatting with Ron.

"Hermione, we wanted to thank you again for everything you did for us. Without you help, I'd not even be here," Alexandra gratefully said.

"It was nothing, really," Hermione muttered, blushing furiously.

"May I have the pleasure of this dance, Miss Granger?" Snape gallantly said, offering his hand to the girl.

"Ehm ... yes, of course Professor," Hermione accepted, though deeply embarrassed. Ron did not like it very much, and was glaring at Snape through angry slits. Alexandra found the boy's reaction really funny.

"Would you, please, make me dance, Mr Weasley?" she gently asked him.

The boy was startled by that sudden request, but he was more than pleased to accept it. His jealousy temporarily forgotten, he cheerfully began waltzing with his Charms teacher. Meanwhile, Harry was dancing with Pansy Parkinson, who had recently began to show some interest in him. Draco and Pansy were again in good terms, as the boy had profusely excused himself for the awful way he had played with her feelings. She had forgiven him, yes, but nothing more than that, considering she had completely lost interest in him. Draco invited pretty Ginny Weasley to dance and, after a little initial hesitation, she accepted. He was one of the cutest boys in the school after all.