Warning: Slight OOC Severus in this chapter, he will be more normal later in the story. Hopefully.
Jess landed at the edge of the school grounds with a light stumbling jog; she smiled at Severus who had agreed to meet her at the gate and walk up to the school with her. Severus smiled back as he was assaulted with memories of the two of them with Lily Evans in school. Jess had been a Slytherin, one of the best, despite her status as a muggle raised pure-blood. Jess had been the only person to stand by him, even after his decent into darkness, despite her hatred of Voldemort and his follower's actions.
"Hey there, Sev" Jess said greeting her old friend.
"Ugh, still calling me Sev, I see."
"Severus, you will always be Sev to me."
"Wonderful, so, how's the family"
"They good, Dad is stressed as hell with the presidency and mom is about to strangle him, but none of that is new."
"And how's the boyfriend"
"Severus!" Jess exclaimed, blushing brightly "I do not have a boyfriend."
"Oh, I thought you were dating that Leo guy, the way you're always going on about him" Severus said smirking lightly.
Jess stuck her tongue out at him and started up the path to the school. Severus' echoing laugh could be heard as he followed after her; once they reached the Entrance Hall of the school Severus led Jess to her chambers on the seventh floor.
"Here we are; you will need to think of a password for the portrait, and make it something good."
"Okay, how about this, En Dios Confiamos, In God We Trust" Jess said with a smile.
The portrait nodded before swinging open to reveal a very nice suite. As they entered Jess took stock of her surroundings; the portrait opened up to a small sitting room with a kitchenette off to one side and two doors, one leading to the Master Bedroom, with an attached bathroom, and the other to a large study and library.
"Wow, this is really nice" Jess said as she looked around.
The walls were stone, but the floor had a very lush chocolate brown carpet, the furniture around the room was forest green, and there was a fire roaring, in the biggest open fireplace she had ever seen, in order to illuminate to room and provide warmth.
"I think I am going to start unpacking but if you want to stay around we could catch up" Jess said hesitantly, know how Severus felt about dull chit chat.
Severus shrugged his shoulders lightly, "Okay, but you start. I'm not very good at small talk."
Jess smiled, "Any new students that you know will be in your house?"
"Actually my godson, Draco Malfoy, will almost definitely be in Slytherin, unfortunately so will the children of several Death Eaters, including but not limited to, Nott's son, probably Parkinson's daughter, but hopefully not the sons of Crabbe and Goyle, those two are dumb as a pair of stumps."
"Just like their fathers" Jess laughed.
"How about with you?"
"Well, my father was elected President of the United States two years ago, my sister's black boyfriend got shot at almost killing a friend, and my father's Deputy Chief of staff, plus hit my father, though minor, and I am falling in love with my dad's best friend who is a whole 15 years older than me. And I don't know what to do about any of it."
"Okay, why was the boyfriend shot at?"
"Because he's black and she's white and some people really don't like that."
"Okay, did anybody die?"
"Thankfully no" Jess sighed
"Then nothing needs to be done there that likely hasn't been done yet. Now tell me about this friend of your father's"
"Severus, you are acting really weird today. What's gotten into you?"
Severus sighed lightly, "I was thinking the other day, and we haven't really just sat down and talked since Lily and James were killed. You lost your best friend on your birthday for Christ's sake, and I lost the woman I had loved for as long as I could remember. I don't want to lose you and us not be speaking too."
Jess hugged Severus tightly. "Severus, you are like family to me, and no matter how angry I might get at you, or how stupid you may act, I will never not speak to you."
Severus smiled, then slowly that smile turned into a smirk, "Don't think that this gets you out of telling me about this guy."
"Fine. His name, as you well know, is Leo McGarry, he's a kindhearted man with a wicked since of humor, he has a smile that could melt the iceberg that sank the Titanic, he is loyal to everyone he cares about, but also to the entire country, he is a voice of reason in a mass of chaos – and I love everything about him. Don't get me wrong he has some negative attributes too, like his temper, and his past trouble, but I love him, not despite that, but because of it, because without all of it, he wouldn't be Leo."
"Wow, you really do love him, don't you? So what are you going to do about that" Severus asked
"I kissed him. Before I left I kissed him and said goodbye, but I left before he had a chance to react."
"So when will you see him again" Severus asked
"I'll likely be going home at Christmas, and I am going to try and get custody of my godson, if he wants me to of course. I won't try to take him away from his family if he is happy, but you and I both know Petunia, and any man that could willingly marry that heinous bitch cannot be any fun either."
"Well, here is my advice, next time you see Leo, or whatever his name is, kiss him like your life depends on it, but this time stick around to see how he reacts. You never know, he might try and jump you right on the spot."