A/N: Hello everyone! This fanfiction is written in equal parts by me, Commander Valeria, author of "Don't Leave Me" and animalwriter, author of "The Serpent's Kiss". I'm posting this on my profile but it was written by both of us in a joint effort so please don't forget to leave reviews for both of us! We really do appreciate them :)

This story it is set in the same universe as "The Serpent's Kiss" and "Don't Leave Me", which tell the tales of two new Hogwarts Professors, Dinah Samson and Lucy Ketteridge, who find themselves romantically involved with Severus Snape and Sirius Black, respectively. The two become friends, but the friendship is marred with difficulty along the way because, as we all know, their significant others do NOT get along with each other. By this point, though, we know that Severus and Sirius have made an uneasy truce. We're also pleased to say Dinah and Severus have married, while Lucy and Sirius are engaged.

It's now the summer of 1999 and the Snapes are coming for a visit to what Lucy and Sirius have termed Hogsmeade House. Lucy and Sirius find themselves in a less than pleasurable position when their friends arrive at the door.

If you are curious about the history of the characters and their back stories please check out both of the main stories, because we won't be going into them in too much detail here. There are a few important developments for both couples in this story, so if you are reading the main ones you should also definitely check this one out.

Finally, disclaimer: We don't own Harry Potter!

Chapter 1

Lucy was finishing up an apple, in the sunny kitchen of her Hogsmeade home, when the guests they'd been expecting knocked on the door. "Sirius, can you get that?"

Her fiancé stood up from the chair he'd been sitting in, "You know if you keep eating like that you are going to get fat."

"Shut up. I'm hungry," she said, grabbing another apple. She was feeling rather moody so she wasn't going to tell him yet again that she'd never had to worry about her weight before and she doubted she'd suddenly gain a hundred pounds overnight. On top of all that she was becoming more and more paranoid that she was actually pregnant. She didn't know who she could talk to about this and, like other secrets she was keeping, the longer she kept this from others the bigger the problem got.

On his way to the front door, Dinah and Severus knocked again. They could knock as much as they wanted. His mother wasn't here and he wasn't going to rush either. He wasn't dreading this visit as much as the previous one…of course he'd had more notice of this one too. As he opened the door Dinah was poised to knock again, "Good to see you Dinah," he turned to her husband, who was scowling, and gave a sharp nod, "Severus." Looking them up and down he could see why Snape might be wearing that expression. They were both in Muggle clothes, Severus in a white Muggle shirt.

"Sirius." Severus's scowl disappeared for about a second as he nodded back, and then it was replaced on his face.

Dinah just chuckled and rolled her eyes, "Don't mind him. He's mad because I made him go watch a Muggle film with me."

"It's appalling the way those Muggles waste their technology," Severus complained, "Exactly what about that was any better than a play?"

She sighed, and then smiled at Sirius, "It's nice to see you, too."

He stepped back to allow them in, "Come on in. And I think it's the visuals, more versatility with the background sets and all that."

Severus just shrugged and tugged at the white dress shirt Dinah had probably dressed him in. "Still wasteful." He and Dinah stepped into the hall.

"Bedrooms and one of the restrooms are upstairs. The living room's right through there, as you know, and the kitchen is beyond that," Sirius said, gesturing to the appropriate areas. "Lu's in the kitchen eating…again."

Dinah raised her eyebrows, "That sounds like something I would do."

A small grin replaced Severus's scowl for a second when he said, "Clearly."

"Lucy's been eating a lot more than usual lately…" Sirius said, frowning. He didn't want to make it out to be a bigger deal than it was, but he was worried about her sudden change in behavior."Though I probably shouldn't have told you that. Women can be so funny about their eating habits being known."

"And some women don't care either way," Severus said.

"Oh, all right, so I like eating and I don't care who knows it," Dinah waved him off, "Come on, let's go say hi to my new eating partner."

When the trio entered the kitchen Lucy was stuffing the last of the apple into her mouth, "Emhi," she tried to say.

Dinah actually laughed, and then covered her mouth, "Uh, sorry. But was that supposed to be 'um, hi'?"

Lucy nodded her head vigorously. She took a moment to swallow before she could say, "Yes, sorry. How have you two been since Hogwarts let out?"

"Very good, thanks," she looked to Severus, who was still scowling, and then sighed, "Oh, please look more cheerful, will you?" She sat down at the table near Lucy and grabbed an apple of her own, "I seem to be not doing well by any of the men in my life at the moment," she grinned. "Severus is mad because I dressed him in Muggle clothes and made him go see a film in a Muggle theater. And Slinky is mad at me because he doesn't like his name." She rolled her eyes, "I told him to get over it. I always wanted a pet snake named Slinky and besides the name totally fits him." She took a bite of her apple.

"Oh, the name really does. I've only seen the Muggle films you've shown me but I've liked those." She looked thoughtfully at the diminishing bowl of apples, obviously unhappy that there were only two left.

"No. You don't want another one. You've already eaten five…in the last two hours."

"Hey, apples happen to be an excellent source of fiber and can reduce the risk of disease," Dinah defended.

Sirius threw his hands up into the air, frustrated, "Fine, I give up. Eat one if you want. Here," he said reaching into the freezer, "eat this too." He sat a carton of ice cream in front of Lucy.

"Getting a bit hot-headed, aren't we?" Severus muttered, and Dinah elbowed him. "I was simply making an observation," he retorted, rubbing the spot where she'd hit him.

Lucy just handed the carton back to Sirius, "No. Thank you. I don't want ice cream."

As Sirius snatched the ice cream away with an exasperated expression, Dinah changed the subject, "So, any special plans for this visit?"

"Not really, no. I mean we've all been to Hogsmeade enough that we know it well," a small smile spread across Lucy's face, "Although we could show you guys the place where we're thinking of getting married."

"Oooh, that would be great!" Dinah exclaimed, "It's around here?"

"Yeah, it's by the lake, about fifteen minutes down the road or so," Lucy said, trying to be mysterious.

"The lake, huh?" Dinah smiled, "I wasn't sure if we were going to go around, but I brought a bathing suit. I thought maybe we could spend a day at the beach sometime."

Lucy nodded, "That sounds like fun, and with all the students gone for the summer it'll be nice and quiet."

"All right," Severus agreed, and stood, "Now if no one minds I think I'm going to take our things up to the bedroom and get out of this ridiculous Muggle outfit."

Dinah laughed, "Then maybe you'll be less grouchy with me."

"My anger with you is already to beginning to subside," he said with a small smile, then leaned over and gave her a quick kiss before grabbing their things and heading upstairs.

Dinah grinned at Lucy after he'd disappeared, "I finally got him to wear the white shirt. He's frustrated but I'm feeling especially triumphant today."

Lucy smiled, "I noticed, but I didn't want to say anything in front of him and make him more self-conscious," she turned to Sirius, "Why don't you go make sure Severus doesn't stumble into our room? Odds are he'll find one of the guest rooms but still, it'd be nice."

"Sure. I suppose if you're willing to leave us alone together there's little chance of us killing each other," he walked out of the kitchen, still a bit annoyed over Lucy's new eating habits.

"Nice not to have to worry about that anymore, isn't it?" Dinah said, as Sirius disappeared after Severus, and then flushed, "I suppose I'm partly responsible for that, but the er... means by which it came about are rather embarrassing now."

"Yeah," Lucy said, a bit uncomfortable with the turn the conversation had taken. They'd talked about the slapping incident before but not much. "I wish it hadn't come to that but in a way I'm glad. It helped him talk to me about what he did. We sort of worked through it," she smiled, "His issues are a lot less complex then mine."

Dinah nodded slowly, and shrugged, "We all have our issues. The important thing is to work through them when we can," a small smile formed on her face, "No matter how bad it gets it always works out."

"You're right. Now, is there anything new with you two? Besides the white shirt I mean. Any purchasing of grand mansions or travel to far off lands?"

Dinah laughed, "Not quite," and then paused for a moment, looking thoughtful as though she were about to say something. Then she shook her head and continued, "Just enjoying a nice quiet life together for the most part. Severus is still getting used to living in a 'Muggle-infested area' as he calls it. Of course, Spinner's End is all Muggles too but they don't really come out of their homes ever." She laughed; "Anyway it's sort of our compromise. Since we live in the dungeons in Hogwarts during the year then we get to stay at my house in the summer." She grinned, "That and we both know his house can't possibly hold all of my stuff."

Lucy wanted to laugh but held herself in check. "That's one of the reasons we've kept Grimmauld Place. That and I can't just let a house with all that family history go. Even if it is a bad history. Now, that you're living in the dungeons, it's a much farther walk if I want to come visit you. My little area of the castle is all but deserted. It'll just be me and Dora; for the first half of the year at least."

"I know. But I'll make sure we visit often. And then I could always send Godric over to keep Dora company, from time to time," Dinah teased.

"If those two keep it up I'm going to end up with kittens," Lucy said, not really teasing but not exactly displeased either.

"Well, we can share the kittens," Dinah said.

"I'm not worried about it really," Lucy smiled and shook her head, "It comes with having a female cat I suppose but we can share if you'd like. They'd be half yours after all." Lucy looked up at the ceiling, "Those two have been awfully quiet up there. Think we should check on them?"

"I'm sure they're fine," Dinah said, "Sirius probably just pointed Severus in the direction of the room and then just wandered off on his own. But I should probably go up - if we're going to wander around Hogsmeade or anything I should probably be in ordinary witch robes."

"Sounds reasonable," Lucy sighed, "Sorry I've just been feeling a little scatterbrained lately. The least little thing seems to be able to distract me."

"Hm," Dinah looked at her, "Is everything all right?"

Lucy chewed on her lip. She wasn't sure if she should confide in Dinah or wait and talk to Sirius. She wasn't even sure what she thought. "Um, yeah, I think so. Maybe I'm having trouble transitioning into summer mode. I used to have that problem as a kid."

She nodded, "Okay, just checking."

"Thanks for asking," Lucy said, following Dinah out of the room.

"See?" Dinah said to Lucy when they made it to the upstairs hall, "I told you they'd be in separate rooms. Why don't you go see what Sirius is up to and I'll go change. Then we can decide what to do."

"All right," Lucy said, winking, "Take your time. We're in no rush."

Dinah laughed, "We'll see." When Lucy grinned and continued down the hall she turned back around and knocked on the closed door, "Severus? Can I come in?"

There was a short pause, and then a sarcastic note in his voice when he replied, "No, you can't, it's not as if we're married or anything."

She laughed, "For your information I was asking to be polite since we're in another person's house."

"Come in."

She opened the door and stepped in to see Severus back in his black robes. She frowned and shrugged. She was used to him like this. But ogling him in the white shirt all day had been quite fun while it had lasted. "I figured I should change out of my Muggle clothes, too," she said, closing the door behind her.

A slight frown crossed his features as he looked her up and down, "That might be unfortunate."

She shook her head, "You hate Muggle clothes but you like me in them. You realize how little sense that makes, right?"

He smiled and came forward, wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling her close, "Well, who can possibly account for my tastes?"

She wrapped her arms around his neck and laughed, "Not me."

"Mm," he leaned closer to her, "Well, either way, I suppose you should change and we can go back downstairs. Lucy and Sirius are waiting."

"Perhaps," Dinah grinned and stepped back, "She told me to take my time but I sense she was joking. Too bad."

He chuckled, looking a bit embarrassed, "So you say. Now change clothes."

"Yes, yes," she changed into her witch robes and they went outside to find Lucy and Sirius standing in the hall having a rather heated argument.

"I didn't say you were fat! All I meant was that your eating habits seem to have gotten a bit out of control!" Sirius yelled at a visibly upset Lucy.

"I heard you say I was fat and then you handed me ice cream! That was embarrassing! I know I've been eating a lot more lately but I can't help it! I'm hungry all the time! Do you think I want to eat like this? But rather than eating the three gallons of ice cream like I want to instead I'm eating more apples than any normal person should!"

Dinah exchanged a glance with Severus. This seemed a bit extreme just for a little appetite issue. An intervention seemed necessary. "So!" she exclaimed, and they both turned to her. She smiled, "If you're done arguing maybe we could wander around town, do some shopping, stop and have some butterbeer at the Three Broomsticks or something? Our treat, since you were nice enough to have us here."

"Um, yes. That'd be nice. Thanks," Lucy said, grabbing a tissue.

"Sorry about that," Sirius apologized, looking embarrassed.

"That's all right," Dinah waved it off, "Fresh air will help. And we can talk about something else like the, uh... weather."

"Ignoring Dinah's lack of creativity," Severus said, and she shot him a glare before he continued, "We should leave if you're both ready."

"Yeah, we're ready. Let's go," Sirius said, grabbing Lucy's hand. She didn't look too pleased about that, but she didn't pull away either.

Outside, Lucy looked around and commented, "It's quite warm don't you think?" with a slight smile at Dinah.

Dinah giggled, "Yes, it is. But the sun's out. That's nice."

"You're actually talking about the weather," Severus rolled his eyes.

"Yes, I am, and it's a very interesting and deeply philosophical subject for discussion. Come on, let's go shopping. Is there anywhere you guys would like to stop?" she addressed Lucy and Sirius.

"Well there's Scrivenshaft's, Gladrags…I don't find Dervish and Banges all that interesting but Sirius likes to go there every so often, or there's Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes. A new bookstore's recently opened up, called Magical Mutterings. Not a very good name I know but the shop's not bad," Lucy said rapidly.

"If no one minds I would prefer to avoid the Weasley shop," Severus said.

Lucy laughed, "I don't mind. I usually only go there to visit and neither one of the twins are here now. Sales slow down in the summer you know, so they left the running of the place to one of the employees."

"Oh, I don't know," Sirius said, "They sell good quality stuff in there. Might be worth checking out."

"Quit teasing," Lucy said, smiling and tugging on his arm. Things seemed to be cooling off between them now that they were outside and distracted.

Dinah smiled, "That's all right. Actually, I'd like to go look in the bookstore. Since it's new."

"And this time I won't spend a month trying to pay you back," Lucy smiled.

"Yes," she laughed, "Although I didn't mind. Wow, that seems like ages ago. Probably because I feel like half my life should have passed in that time... kind of did, really," she shared a small smile with Severus and looped her arm into his.

"Hey," Sirius murmured, pulling Lucy closer and leaning down to whisper, "I'm sorry."

Lucy leaned her head against him, "I'm sorry too." A bit louder she said, "Magical Mutterings is just right over here."

Dinah nodded, glad that they had apparently worked the issue out for the moment. It was much nicer to see them happy together than arguing. And of course, Lucy did still seem to have some emotional issues. "Okay, let's go." They all headed to the bookstore.