As the date of the March staff meeting drew closer, Severus became increasingly nervous. Several times, he shot Hagrid angry looks, which the half giant took as Snape�s natural demeanor.
�Do you think he told Dumbledore?� Karina asked her husband the day before the staff meeting.
�Most likely,� Snape sighed.
As a joint decision, Karina had stopped taking the potion and was showing more and more with each passing day. By this time, she had gained 30 pounds and had received some sidelong glances from a knot of 4th year Ravenclaw girls. Luckily Severus was able to mask his part in Karina�s weight gain. At 9:00 the following night, Karina kissed her husband as he headed up the stairs towards the staff room.
�Don�t do anything too rash,� she said, giving him a rather stern look.
�Yes love,� he responded as he turned and opened the door to the small lounge.
As he entered, the rest of the staff turned their attention towards him. He heard whispers of �poor girl� and �an absolute outrage� die down as he entered. He took his seat quickly and crossed his sallow arms over his chest. He avoided eye contact with Dumbledore, McGonagall and Hagrid.
�Well does everyone have their lesson plans?� Albus asked, sitting back in his royal blue suede chair by the blazing fire.
Everyone nodded and reached for scrolls of parchment. The room seemed rather quiet, as if everyone was on edge. Snape noticed that his colleagues kept glancing at him nervously. He ignored it as best he could. The rest of the meeting passed as usual, discussing progress, if they thought they would be able to teach everything for NEWT exams in May. At 11:00 Albus adjourned the meeting.
�Thank you everyone,� He said as he rose from his chair.
Everyone gathered their assorted things together and began trickling out the door. Snape did not move. He sat quietly in his chair. Oddly enough, McGonagall did the same. When the last staff member had left Snape rose and closed the door. He pivoted silently on his heel to face the aged woman. Little did he know, but Karina was listening right outside the door.
�What are you still doing here?� he asked, his voice barely audible.
�The same reason you are,� she answered, just as quietly.
�Is that why you married her? Because she was pregnant?� McGonagall questioned suddenly.
�No. I love her. Get it through your head!� he screamed.
�You don�t love her,� McGonagall whispered, a tear gliding down her creviced cheek.
�What? What did you see in her that you didn�t in me?� she questioned, trying to hold the tears back.
�I never loved you! It was all in your head!� he spat angrily, his hands balling up into fists.
�No. You�re lying!� she yelled, unable to restrain the tears any longer.
�I�m not going to take you back!� he seethed, trying to restrain his hate towards the woman in front of him.
�Since you walked in on us, you�ve been jealous. That�s all you are, a jealous bitch,� he bellowed.
�Don�t you ever call me a bitch!� she erupted.
With that, she slapped him hard across the face, leaving a red handprint on his milky skin. The blow made him stagger backwards slightly.
�You whore!� he snarled as he regained his footing.
He took a step towards her and smacked her several times in revenge. The force of his slaps sent her to the ground. By now she was sobbing uncontrollably. Snape, engulfed by rage and anger, continued beating the woman. She begged him to stop but it was no use.
Outside, Karina sat in shock. She�d never known her husband to be so violent. The mere fact brought cold chills to her spine. Realizing that she had to do something, she rose and drew her wand from the folds of her robes. Taking a deep breath she yanked open the door and walked in on the scene.
�Severus stop!� Karina shouted authoritatively.
�You promised me you wouldn�t do anything rash and now you�re beating her to a pulp!� she continued.
�I�m not sure this is the person I want to raise my children with,� she concluded.
He stopped mid-slap and looked at his young wife. All of a sudden, the situation registered in his mind and he moved away from the elderly woman that was lying nearly unconscious on the floor.
�Oh my god!� he gasped.
�Wh-what have I done?� he sobbed.
�You could have told me you two were together before we were. It would have saved everyone a load of trouble,� Karina said taking his hand in hers.
�Lets get her to the hospital wing,� Karina suggested.
With that, they made their way to the hospital wing. Karina stayed there while Severus went to try and explain things to Dumbledore. Neither Snape nor Karina were sure of what was going to happen. As Snape arrived at Dumbledore�s office, he took a deep, steadying breath. He knocked and waited in the still air of the night.
�Come in,� came the aged voice of the headmaster.
Snape entered and solemnly closed the large brown oak door behind him. He faced his coworker with a grave look. Blotches of grey accented his normal pallor.
�Are you alright?� Albus asked, rising from his seat.
At first, Severus could think of nothing to say. He simply stood there, mouth slightly open, staring blankly at the wizard.
�Um, I�well,� he began.
�Severus, please sit,� Dumbledore instructed.
Snape did as he was told. Once in a chair, he ran his hand over his face and sighed.
�Minerva and I�had an argument,� the younger wizard stated softly.
�I see,� Dumbledore answered.
�Or at least it started off as an argument,� Snape continued.
Snape retold the entire event to the headmaster, pausing often to stop himself from bursting out in tears. When he was finished he sat back in his chair breathed a sigh of relief. Retelling the situation seemed to make him feel better.
�Perhaps you should have told Karina of your prior involvement with Minerva,� Albus suggested.
�That�s what Karina said. She�s right. You both are,� Snape muttered.
Just then a soft knock sounded on the door and Karina entered. She was smiling and a bit breathless.
�She�s going to be ok,� the girl stated happily.
�Oh thank god!� Snape whispered, turning his gaze heavenward.
With the news, the three of them went to the hospital wing to visit. As they entered, Snape hung back, unsure if his presence was a positive thing. Seeing his reluctance, Karina turned around and grabbed his arm, dragging him over to the bed.
�Sit,� Karina ordered.
He did as she said.
�Now, we�re going to be outside. Apologize to her,� she demanded, giving her husband a determined glare.
�Minerva I�� he began.
�I know you didn�t mean it,� the woman whispered softly.
�It�s my fault. I should have told her,� he muttered, wiping the tears from his grey eyes.
�Yes you should have,� she said quietly with a little laugh.
He leaned over and embraced the woman, burying his face in the sheets. Taken by surprise, Minerva smiled and patted him on the back.
�Severus not so hard,� she gasped.
�Sorry. Minerva, I�m truly sorry for what I did. I was just so� I guess I---� he mumbled.
�Shhh. I know, I know,� she reassured him.
Suddenly, Severus felt a hand on his shoulder. He turned around and met the mesmerizing eyes of his youthful wife. He could see in her eyes that she was a bit frightened by what had happened.
�Can I talk with her for a while?� Karina questioned, locking eyes with the sallow-skinned teacher.
�Yes, of course,� he said and vacated the chair.
They switched positions and Snape, with one last glance at his colleague exited the room. Karina took a deep breath and then let it out. Her crimson and gold hair hung loosely about her shoulders.
�I�m sorry for being such a bitch to you Professor,� Karina stated, with a great deal more composure than her husband.
�Apology accepted,� the aged woman said.
�I am at fault as well. I should not have been so rude to you either,� Minerva said, sitting up to face the young girl.
�Well you want to know something?� Karina inquired, a serious expression on her face.
The woman nodded.
�If our positions had been switched, I would have done the exact same thing. We both love him,� Karina finished.
�That we do. But in the end, he chose the one he loved more and I think he made the right choice,� McGonagall said, a wistful air to her voice.
�Thank you,� Karina answered, blushing slightly.
�However, I still do not approve you having children,� McGonagall continued in her usual manner.
Karina had to laugh. She was glad that McGonagall was back to her old self. The teenager wasn�t one for lots of touchy feely sentimental situations.
�Well too bad. I�m 7 months in and there�s no turning back now!� Karina stated, grinning jovially and rubbing her swollen stomach.
�7 months! My god!� McGonagall exclaimed.
Just then, Madame Pomfrey and Professor Dumbledore walked in. Both looked relieved to see Minerva�s condition so positive.
�Miss Clark, it�s late and you don�t want to tire yourself out,� Madame Pomfrey ordered kindly.
�She�ll have plenty of that soon enough,� McGonagall piped up.
After saying her goodbyes Karina joined Snape in the hall. He looked somewhere between utter relief and massive guilt.
�You know, she�s going to be alright,� Karina said, taking her husband�s hand.
�I know but I�m afraid�afraid it might happen again,� he responded, his gaze cast towards the dark stone floor.
�It won�t� Karina said definitively and with that they headed for bed.