Snape lay back against the headrest of his seemingly small, although in reality quite large, bed, casually stroking Ginny's hair as she slept beside him. He smirked when her arm curled up against her bare chest, and she snuggled deeper into the covers, releasing a sigh of contentment.

It seemed he had needed a night with his wife for some time, as he had never felt more comfortable then at that moment. All of life's worries and troubles were just sort of placed away somewhere, hidden in his mind, and would only resurface when he let them; later.

She had changed so much since school, she was most definitely a woman now, he had seen to that. He needed to erase all those old memories of her when she was in school, when she was a girl, and continue to replace them with everything and anything that happened now that she was his wife. His eyes closed as he reminisced memories to place in his private Pensieve, ones that he would make sure to keep out of his mind.

Ginny Weasley, another bloody redhead from that inbred farm, was seated first row in his First Year class, and just like her twit of a brother from the previous year, she seemed nervous.

First year was continuing for her, and Snape had watched the girl go from shy to outgoing to completely withdrawn from her classmates, shuffling between classes with her head down. Lucius had mentioned something about using a student for the Dark Lord, but preferred to keep the name a secret. Could Ginny be that student?

She was taken into the Chamber of Secrets... He had never seen Minerva so distraught.

Potter saved her - hurrah for bloody Potter for saving the day. Merlin.

Two years had progressed, and Ginny was one of the youngest members at the Yule Ball, with her date, urgh, Neville Longbottom. Snape was surprised her feet weren't hacked off by the boy's constant stepping on them. Well, when he got a closer look, he noticed the boy wasn't a completely horrid dancer, and Ginny was actually enjoying herself.

It was the end of her third year, and Voldemort had returned. She had been possessed by him two years earlier, yet she did not seem half as frazzled as the rest of the dunderheads around him.
He saw her once during the summer at Diagon Alley, buying some new school robes with her mother.

Gods, she had gotten tall. Well, for a Weasley anyway.

Her fifth year... His last year teaching for Hogwarts. She had flitted between several boys in the past two years, and her popularity was ever-growing. He had noticed a boy from his house, Blaise, constantly sending her looks, as if he was trying to decide something. Idiot boy.

He was gone from Hogwarts for her remaining years at school. However, he had seen her several times, although he had his doubts that she actually noticed him.

Ginny stirred beside him and he ended his musings, glancing down at her; still asleep. Well, perhaps some of these memories were worth keeping. It helped him picture who Ginny was today, and why she was. Having so many memories of her was like knowing someone their whole life, and with Snape and Ginny, it was nearly true. On his part, anyway.

"Severus..." Ginny whispered casually, her eyes taking in the rich setting around her, "I was joking when I said it would be nice to eat here... You... You didn't-"

"Nonsense," he stated sharply, cutting her off, "I read the menu out front, and I must say, I was intrigued."

Another month had passed, and for once, it was a completely blissful month. No boring parties, no shouting matches... almost no arguing in general. Of course, they bickered over little things, but he would give her a quick kiss, sometimes, and she would just let it slide, telling him he couldn't always kiss her and expect things to get better. He'd usually just laugh and tell her he was working on it, and she needn't worry.

Their meal had consisted of duck for Ginny, which she now added to her favorites list, while Snape seemed quite content with his fish. However, that wasn't what really got to Ginny. She was so thrilled, in an odd way, with his behavior around so many Muggles. He was courteous to the waiter, and even made a joke with the man who accidentally bumped into his chair when he was tucking his wife in at the table behind the pair.

He was just acting so... like a husband lately. Well, for the past little while it had seemed. And she... she was acting like a wife. They shared inside jokes, they talked about whatever topics that popped into their minds, and they shared a rather vivid bedroom life, as much as it made Ginny feel giggly to say.
She swung her chair around a little closer to Snape as their plates were cleared away, then delicately placed her hand over his. Despite being a reclusive man, Snape did not seem to actually mind public displays of affection.

He shot her a relaxed smile, and Ginny leaned a little closer, licked her lips, then whispered, "I... I love you."

Then she waited. She waited for the smile to falter, his eyes to widen, and his hand to snake away from hers. However, nothing of that sort came. He merely leaned in and gave her a quick kiss, "Of course you do... I love you, too."

"Severus... You're being stupid about this."

"Ginevra-"

Oh for Gods sake, he was using her full name as if it was some sort of threat. Ginny rolled her eyes and glared at him as he turned back to her, his eyes narrowed, "I'm not discussing this with you anymore!"

Three years into marriage. Three very, very long years. It had not been perfect, but granted, no marriage was. The fighting, however, had never been this severe, not since the beginning of it all.

"Why can't you even consider it?" she demanded, planting her hands on her hips, as usual, "I just want to know you might consid-"

"Ginny, please," he droned, pinching the bridge of his nose, "I'm too old to even considerhaving children..."

"Well I'm not!" she shrieked, throwing her hands in the air for dramatic effect, "I'm not even thirty... Bloody Hell, Severus, I'm not even twenty-five yet and you're telling me there's no way?"

"You have Draco's kids... You can see them."

"I haven't seen Joyce in ages! It's like their divorced or something..."

"Perhaps they are."

"Don't change the subject!" she snarled furiously, "Keep on task! Even if I did see them, they aren't mykids! It's not the same!"

"I do not want children!" he reiterated firmly, "I spent countless years helping raise otherpeople's children at Hogwarts, so please excuse me if I'm a little sick of children!"

"Sick of children?"

"Not sick... But... I'm too far into my life to start a new family!"

"Yeah well... This... This isn't fair!" she shouted, her eyes starting to well, though she had no understanding why, "I... I've always wanted kids... You can't just take that away from me!"

"I'm sorry..." he remarked, his tone softening, "I am... It's not your fault that you were forced into this marriage..."

"Don't bring that up," she ordered sharply, her voice cracking, "Just don't. You know I hate it when you do."

"Well... Then I'm finished with this conversation."

"Don't you walk away from me!"

"Good night, Ginny."

"Severus!"

Ginny sat staring out the window, watching the snow fall lightly on the glass. It was her sixth Christmas with Severus, and he was doing what he usual did on Christmas Day; scrambling around one of the Alleys trying to get her gifts, last minute. The very thought of it made her laugh.

Her fight about children was still an ongoing struggle, but she knew as time progressed, she was slowly losing. It wasn't as if Snape was getting any younger. However, for some reason, he just didn't feel so many years ahead of her. They were not on the same level, she knew that, but they were trying.
As she sipped her hot chocolate gingerly, her eyes taking in the way her property looked in the snow, so elegant and comforting, she noticed something in the window reflection. A plant.

It was sitting in the corner, next to the Christmas tree, along with some other supplies. Clearly Snape was planning on sending it off to his clients, wherever they were in the world. He had set up some off-shore contacts and usually sold them supplies and Potion shipments. Ginny always encouraged the relationships he made, the friendships, since that meant they had an invite to some exotic country whenever they wanted a vacation.

She slid off her chair and made her way over, placing the mug atop the fireplace mantel, then kneeled down. As gently as she could, she touched the white, feathery pedals, smiling when it opened in her pale fingers. Moving closer still, she slowly inhaled the sweet scent, pulling away and dusting the pollen off her nose when she got too far into it.

Suddenly she felt something... different. A warm sensation had taken over her body, starting from the tip of her toes, and gingerly moving up her legs, the muscles relaxing. When the tingling reached her hips, she threw her head back as a small wave of pleasure rolled over her.

What the Hell was in that plant?

Ginny bit her lip as a feral smile spread across her face. Something was definitely wrong the that plant, but that didn't mean wrong in a bad way. Quite on the contrary, she wanted to keep that pretty little plant all to herself. But she may need Snape for this, as she not felt that aroused in such a quick period of time in a long time, and she didn't want to feeling to go away. No, now she wanted release.
The fireplace burst to life beside her, and Snape stumbled in, covered in tiny snowflakes that splattered his black cloak. His hands were full of packages, which he dropped upon arrival, and proceeded to dust the snow out of his wind-swept hair.

"Bloody weather," he snarled under his breath, freezing suddenly when he noticed Ginny on the floor, "There are countless chairs in this room... Any reason why you are sprawled out on the floor..." he paused, then cocked an eyebrow, "And ... panting?"

"I like this plant..." she giggled, nodding back to the small white plant in the corner, "I... I like it a lot."

"Oh, is that so?" he chuckled, folding his arms, "Don't you remember me telling you not to go shoving any sort of body part into my plants... You never know what could have happened."

"Stop being a lecturer," she ordered seductively, crawling toward him and tugging on the bottom of his cloak, "And start being a husband."

He grinned, then tossed his cloak off, sinking to his knees in front of her, "If you wish..."

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

Hello all, and thanks for enjoying this! I figured it was time to get all of this posted... because I wrote it a few years ago, and it seemed silly not to just upload everything now. The writing probably isn't my best work, but hey... It was from a few years ago, and it wasn't properly finished because at the time, I hadn't finished the story is was linked to. Anyway! Thanks for the support, and I hope I can continue to entertain!