This story was written before the publication of Deathly Hallows, thus it doesn't follow some canon events. This fic is a translation of my original story "Conociendo a S." Please forgive any spelling or grammar mistakes.
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It's six in the evening, and here I am, waiting in the living room, while my wife Narcissa goes around, placing and retouching the vases and the dinner table, while reviewing the menu and makes sure everything is perfect. She looks especially beautiful tonight, and her face shines as she looks around, satisfied with her work.
I, sitting with my dog Treu's head on my knees, think that such thoroughness is a waste of time, especially considering who our guest is tonight, but I don't dare say a word, so as not to dampen her enthusiasm. Deep down, I know that beneath all that hustle and bustle, Narcissa hides a great curiosity, like me, to meet the woman accompanying our guest, whom we know only by hearsay.
For months, I have tried to get Severus to agree to officially introduce us to his wife, but he has evaded all my invitations. He only relented when Narcissa suggested that perhaps we should be the ones to visit them.
I think I should be clearer: the mysterious woman who will share our dinner tonight is called Selene Corine, she may be a death eater, and for her luck or misfortune, she is the recent wife of my dear friend Severus Snape.
Yes, I know, the idea of Severus married is as surreal as me handing out candy to muggle children, but the explanation for this shocking news is that the Dark Lord, before his fall, had the idea of rewarding to Severus for his services as a death eater with a wife.
Personally, I think that this marriage is nothing more than a farce, so that we can all have fun watching how such a unique couple evolves, and I repeat to myself that the Dark Lord had a rather peculiar sense of humor.
I must admit that I participated in the bets that arose around the wedding, saying that this marriage would last less than a week, and I lost miserably, because today it has been more than eight months since they married, without any attempt at a divorce from their part.
This fact surprises me greatly, since no one in their right mind would have put up with the unbearable behavior of Severus for so long, who can be very unpleasant when he wants to. So, I only have two possible explanations for this record: either Selene is a woman with a lot of character, or Severus is a tyrant.
Here they are, the bell has rung. One of the elves goes to open the door, and Narcissa looks around nervously again, while straightening her clothes. Before us appears the strangest couple we have ever seen.
I shake hands with my friend, who has remained impassive of Narcissa's two kisses, and then greet Selene. It is the first time I have seen her, and I am surprised by her youth, although it is clear that she is quite a woman. She is tall, very pale, and has straight, dark hair tied high on her head. Her brown eyes are now looking at me nervously.
Selene greets me shyly, and from the pose Severus has adopted, I can guess that they have been arguing. Or rather, I should say, that he argued and she listened. Instantly, I know that she is not the type of woman who can keep Severus in line, so I deduce that she is the one who must suffer from her husband's bad temper, and I feel compassion for this poor woman, since I know Severus' sour temper.
I don't blame Selene's fearful and clueless air, as if she didn't know very well what to do, always watched by her husband, who hasn't taken his eye off her, as if she were going to escape.
We go with them to the dining room, where the elfs are waiting, ready to serve us.
Treu precedes us, and waits for me next to my seat, as is his custom, even though Narcissa constantly complains, because she does not consider it polite to have a black mastiff present at dinner.
I motion for Selene to sit next to me, but Severus stops her with a brusque gesture and replaces her. I let it go so as not to spoil the atmosphere so soon, and Narcissa looks at them surprised, although she doesn't say anything either.
With dinner served, I try to start a conversation with Selene, to find out a little more about her, but every time I ask her a question, Severus answers for her, without letting her speak. She does nothing to protest, but stares at him with her wide brown eyes, in a gesture that I don't know whether to interpret as confusion, pain, humiliation or all at once.
I don't like my friend's attitude, and I try to ignore his interruptions to talk to Selene. I admit that I let myself get carried away too far by my enthusiasm and my desire to meet her, and I begin to talk about our past on the sark side. I find it very curious that such a shy and delicate-looking young woman was trained as a death eater, and my surprise increases when I learn that my sister-in-law Bellatrix was her tutor.
But Narcissa reminds me that it is not a good topic of conversation, since Severus was imprisoned in Azkaban after the fall of the Dark Lord, and I decide to let it be.
Narcissa, with her usual sagacity, picks up on the tension in the atmosphere and strikes up a private conversation with Selene, to distract her and lighten her mood. The poor woman seems more relaxed as she talks to my wife, and for the first time I see her smile.
Meanwhile, Severus and I discuss the latest news we have from the Ministry, especially a recently imposed law that I don't like at all. In my anger I may have raised my voice more than necessary, and I attract the attention of Selene, who looks at us carefully, and I ask her what she thinks about the matter, emphasizing her name so that she is the one who answers me, and not Severus.
He closes his mouth, sulkily, restraining himself from speaking, but the woman barely utters a couple of words. She is getting nervous, perhaps because she is not used to being the center of attention, until suddenly, the glass she is holding in her hand explodes, spilling the wine all over her dress.
Selene screams in pain, having been cut by the glass, and Narcissa rushes to remedy the situation and takes her to another room to clean her.
I am left alone with Severus, who looks with a serious expression towards the door through which the women have disappeared, and I cannot help but reproach him for his behavior.
He advises me to keep my opinion to myself, with the bad temper that characterizes him, but I insist, reminding him that poor Selene does not deserve such treatment, and that he should respect her, even if it were only to keep up appearances. Furthermore, I don't like that he refers to her in a mocking way, with a nickname that is nothing more than the diminutive of her last name. It seems rude and out of place to me.
Severus tells me that I should mind my own business and insist that I have no idea what is happening, and that he, and not me, is the one who is married to Selene, so he knows better than anyone about his motives to act like this.
We say these and other things to each other, and when the discussion gets more heated, the women appear again.
Narcissa smiles as if nothing had happened, although I'm sure she understands what we were talking about, but Selene seems confused, and looks at Severus strangely, with a slight blush on her face. She seems very distracted by something, but I don't blame her. I can see that Severus isn't very happy either.
We sit at the table again, but this time the silence is totally present, despite Narcissa's attempts to establish a normal conversation again.
An elf brings us a note from Bellatrix, in which she announces that she will come to visit us later with her husband and two friends. The note doesn't say so, but I know very well that, against all common sense, their small group has decided to carry out their plan and finally interrogate the Longbottoms.
I hope the matter hasn't gotten out of hand, because it would give us a new headache, and I know very well that Narcissa would be distressed by it.
Severus rises abruptly from his chair and announces that he and Selene are leaving. I already knew that Severus and Bella didn't exactly get along, and that they took advantage of any situation to argue and throw anything in each other's faces, but I had never seen a reaction like that on his part.
For once, Selene tries to argue back, but Severus stands his ground and repeats that they are leaving. She bows her head and slumps her shoulders, as if defeated, and makes no attempt to confront her husband again.
Severus doesn't accept mine and Narcissa's pleadings for them to stay and says goodbye to us as coldly as ever. When I say goodbye to Selene, I notice that her eyes are wet, and she looks at me as if she were begging me for something.
However, I know I can't intervene, and I just watch as Severus grabs her arm firmly and rushes her out of here.
Now that they're gone, I can't stop pacing and cursing my friend, who's been a real miserable oaf tonight.