Severus scanned the street he had appeared on, several blocks over from Privet Drive and quickly removed his robes, the only distinctively "wizard" clothing he wore. In the dark, the rest of his attire could easily pass if not closely inspected. Besides, unwanted attention would only hinder his mission. Technically, he wasn’t supposed to be here and Dumbledore would likely have expressly forbid him from taking such a chance, had he known.

That was partly why he hadn’t mentioned Arabella’s request to the wizard; the second reason being his own inner force compelling him to do as she asked on several occasions -- to come to her on this night. He refused to let her down. Walking to the side door, he whispered a quick "Alohamora" to gain access to the darkened house. Once inside, he glanced around the kitchen he had entered and quickly spotted the living room and the stairwell just beyond.

At the top of the stairs, a faint light beneath one of the doors cast shadows along the wall and Severus found himself frozen, simply staring at the door. His wife was just on the other side that door. Severus could feel his heart begin to pound and an annoying quiver run through his body.as awareness washed over him. Could she still be in love with him after so long apart? Was he still in love with her? He realized, standing there, that he had adjusted to her absence, even grown accustomed to it. A chill ran through him at the thought that he didn’t know if he was still in love with her. Taking a deep breath, he slowly exhaled, stilling all emotions and burying them deep within his subconscious.

Walking down the hall, he pushed open the door. His eyes were immediately drawn to Arabella, the lamplight silhouetting her gaunt form through the old, worn nightshirt. He was glad that she had discarded her muggle disguise, as it provided him with the opportunity to study the "real" her. She was sitting on the side of the bed with her back to him, her dark hair hanging loosely down her back The outline of her figure revealed that she was thinner than he remembered--thinner than she should be. Unconsciously, Severus’ feet carried him closer.

As he approached the bed, he noticed her steady, even breathing and lack of awareness to his presence and realized she was deep within a memory spell. Climbing onto the bed behind her, he looked over her shoulder and spotted the picture of a much younger Harry than the one currently safe on Hogwart’s grounds. For a moment, he stared at the picture, caught between wondering what was so compelling about the memory it triggered that she would retreat into it knowing he was coming to her tonight and his curiosity over the thin, ragged appearance of the toddler in the photograph.

Absently, he began to run a long finger along the base of her neck. Arabella had always been extra sensitive to his touch in that spot and gently stroking the area had been his most common gesture of affection, especially when he needed to draw her from memory spells. He felt her tense in reaction and knew the sensation had reached through the spell. Instinctively, he wrapped his arm around her waist and drew her back to him so that he could reassure her. He needed her to know she was safe as the shock of being pulled from a memory wore off.

"Shh, Bella. It’s me." He whispered into her ear before leaning down to kiss her along the nape of her neck and down to her shoulder. He felt the subtle chills that ran through her body as she relaxed briefly into his embrace before shifting to face him. Severus’ arms tightened around her, supporting her body and keeping her close to him.

Arabella blinked several times before her eyes fixed on him. To look into her eyes after so many years was mesmerizing. He had almost forgotten how such warmth and depth of emotion could show so clearly through the icy, pale blue of her eyes. For him, it had always been like staring into a blazing fire, the generated warmth wrapping around him, burning off the chill while the firelight drove off his darkness. The fear that he wouldn’t be able to interpret what he saw in those eyes faded in the penetrating warmth of her gaze. He watched, taken aback, as shock gave way to profound relief.

He felt her hand gently caress his face, brushing away the few tears that had escaped unnoticed from his eyes. Moving closer, she wrapped her arms around him, embracing him tightly. After years devoid of any physical, much less intimate, contact his instinct to pull way was strong but overpowered by his awe of Arabella and her ability to open up to him and accept him after so long. He felt her tighten her arms around him briefly before she stepping away from him. The air seemed to chill around him as she moved away, a long buried piece of his heart crying out for her and the awakening feeling of belonging to and with someone else.

Rising from her place on the bed, she retrieved her dressing gown and fastened the belt before turning to face him again. He saw sadness and fear in her eyes and suddenly realized how affected she was by his fears and doubts. The tense silence between them was only broken by her slightly shaky voice.

"I didn’t think you were going to come."

"I told you I would," he replied. Even to his own ears, he sounded cold and distant and he silently reprimanded himself.

She looked at him for a moment, a pained expression in her eyes, as if she were waiting for him to say something else or trying to read his expression. For a brief instant, a profound sadness flashed across her expression, before she turned away from him completely. "I missed you, so much," she whispered.

"Bella, what’s this all about?" he asked in a gentler voice as he rose from the bed and approached her.

"We can go downstairs if you would be more comfortable," she said. He simply looked at her, his eyebrows rising at her delay tactic. Sighing, she continued, "What do you remember about Halloween in 1980?"

He looked at her, searching for any clue as to what this was all about. "Lily and James came to visit, they brought Harry with them…" his voice trailed off as he remembered the pictures on her bedside table. Walking back to the table, he grabbed the one picture he had only briefly glanced at before. Studying the picture, he realized he not only didn’t remember it being taken, he also noticed how, when he tried to remember, his mind would automatically drift to something else. He wouldn’t have even noticed the effect if Arabella hadn’t moved to stand beside him, holding his hand to the picture frame. Fear, confusion and anger seemed to overwhelm him as he realized a memory charm had been placed on him. "Why?" he demanded.

Arabella sat down on the bed, pulling him down beside her. Taking his hand, she wove their fingers together. "Harry was born on July 31. He was conceived on October 31, Halloween."

Her words tore through him, leaving behind a numbing shock as her meaning sunk in. Halloween ’79 had been the night he and Lily and been effectively forced to spend a night as lovers, to fool Voldemort, to stay alive. The very thought that Harry was his son caused aching emptiness to spread through his chest. He felt her hand against his cheek and instinctively turned toward the comfort it provided.

"I’m so sorry, Sev. When we placed the charm, Harry was only a few months old. All of us agreed, you included, that it was the best way to protect both you and Harry from Voldemort. There was no way we could anticipate what was going to happen." She paused for a moment, as if to give him time to absorb what she had said so far. Shifting next to him on the bed, she turned his head to face her. "Severus, please. I need you to trust me now. Please."

He saw her eyes brimming with tears and felt something give way within him. "Why Bella, why now?" he asked, his voice husky and thick with emotion.

"I set the charm to wear off as you sleep tonight. That’s why I wanted you to come. I promised you that we would face this together and, as things are, I can’t return to Hogwarts for a few more weeks." She hesitated for a moment, looking uncertain. "Will you stay here with me, Sev? Please?"

Severus could only nod his agreement, unable to speak for fear of succumbing to the emotions that were beginning to overwhelm him. She drew up next to him, wrapping him in her embrace. As naturally as if fourteen years had not passed, his arms went around her small frame. After a few minutes, Severus separated from her, and rose to his feet. Using their clasped hands, he drew her to her feet in front of him. Letting his hands drop to her waist, he studied her, trying to judge what would she would do or say next. She smiled at him, but the happiness that sparkled in her eyes was tainted with worry.

"You need to sleep, Sev," she said, simply, before her unsteady hands began to make quick work of undoing his vest, cravat and dress shirt. He looked down on her, unable to resist raising an eyebrow and tease her with the unspoken question.

"What? You planed on sleeping in all these clothes you insist on wearing?" she asked, her voice teasing and sarcastic as she turned and carefully placed each meticulously folded item on her dresser. By the time she turned back to him, he had already stripped off his pants, socks and shoes, leaving him standing in boxers and an undershirt.

Arabella took his hand and led him over to the bed. Turning down the covers, she crawled in and waited for him to settle himself. He stiffened when she drew close to him, only to relax under her gentle touch and the warm feeling that flowed into him from her caressing fingers. He could hear her whispering to him as his eyelids grew heavy and his thoughts seemed to become calm and quiet. He was vaguely aware of two things as he slipped into sleep; that one, Arabella was using a sleep inducing spell to lull him and two, that no matter what rift or expanse separated them due to fourteen years spent apart, he would find some way to bridge it. He needed and wanted her too much to let her go without a fight, even if the fight was with himself.