A/N – I don't mean to harp on about this, but this story has been viewed 11,000 times (oh, my wizarding God! That number made me so happy!) and, at the time of my posting this, has only received 49 reviews at the 7 chapter mark. I don't like those odds, considering how much effort has gone in to writing to entertain 11,000 views...MQIE had a few hundred reviews by the time I convinced her to let me take over, and it must have hurt her to delete them when she handed this over for me to play with. So, for her sake as well as mine, please leave a little feedback. Please? It makes me work faster...

But I digress...

So, I'm writing chapter 14 while I edit and add things, and I've sort of surprised myself with the way I've decided to end the story. Not because it's a surprising ending or anything, but it wasn't what I had originally planned...however it has just continued writing itself. MQIE gave me her original outline and now I'm starting to shape this towards my chosen ending. I just hope it works! So, here's the next instalment. Again, I've used a large portion of the original text & built around it. Let me know what you think and, as always, I'd love for you to tell me what you'd like to see or where you would take the story from here. It mightn't happen, but I love to read your ideas. They keep me inspired.

Chapter 08 – Blame It On My Youth

Severus closed his eyes in a rare moment of relaxation. Only when he was brewing could he allow himself to be so vulnerable. His private lab was his own inner sanctum; a space where he felt safe enough to free himself from the weight of his inner turmoil. His cauldron and ingredients were to him what a blank canvas was to artists, or a quill and parchment to a novelist. Words couldn't describe the way they allowed him to siphon away his excess emotions, but the product of his self-induced therapy was always a work of art; exquisite and complex and, more often than not, wonderfully useful.

Today was to be no different. He had disappointed himself by not having the strength to avoid a humiliating experience with Remus, and hated himself for not having the emotional strength to tell his only child that he loved her too. But here in the lab he could work away the worst of his troubles and sort through the myriad of thoughts and emotions that plagued him until he felt some sense of closure.

The scent of sandalwood wafted up from the bench and he exhaled slowly, rotating his shoulders to relieve the pent up tension. This project was to be one of his finest, he decided, stirring the final ingredient into the cauldron. The liquid shimmered up at him as it simmered; a swirl of pastel colours refusing to separate and, instead, forming a rainbow-like pattern in the bowl. The ghost of a smile flittered across his lips; he knew his daughter would love this new hair care solution (though her hair had become more manageable than the horrid bushy mess it had once been, aside from colour it now took after his own and would likely become lank and oily without the correct care) and he knew that she would take his true message from it.

-?-

Remus let out a weary sigh as the discussion with his daughter came to a close. He was glad that she'd been able to see where he'd been coming from, but still felt terrible about the position he had put her in. After all the years of knowing her, Hermione had never been one to act impulsively, so why did he dare to imply otherwise, and in such a crass manner to boot? Parental worries could only explain so much of his behaviour, the rest was simply due to his own foolishness. He truly trusted his daughter to think things through before trusting another person with such intimacy, so it was entirely out of line for him to grill the Malfoy boy as he had. Still, he decided, watching Hermione sort her own thoughts out, it can't hurt to keep an eye on him.

After all, he wasn't a complete idiot. Teenage boys could not be trusted. And that wasn't only because contraceptive charms and potions, like Muggle prophylactics, weren't one hundred percent effective either, though he'd been sure to drive that point home with his daughter as a precaution.

Meanwhile, Hermione considered all the things that had just been said between Remus and herself. The discussion had been awkward, but she was pleased that they had both apologised and listened to one another. It said a lot for their relationship as father and daughter that they could be rational about such a difficult topic.

Realising that the silence had drawn out between them for a tad too long, Hermione stood and stretched. "I think I'm going to go see Dad for a bit." She cocked her head to the side, "Are you okay with that?"

Remus nodded; he could use the extra time to mull things over again. "If you want to stay in his quarters for the night, I'll understand. You haven't seen him in a while." Though it pained him to say as much, her beaming smile was his reward and, on some level, redemption for his earlier misdemeanours.

Hermione moved towards him, bent forward and placed a light kiss to his cheek; her first true physical act of endearment towards him. "Thank you," she said, smiling gently at his awed expression. "I'll be back up tomorrow at some point. Don't brood terribly much; we don't need another Severus Snape in the castle."

Perhaps, Remus silently agreed as she flounced out the door, ruefully remembering his afternoon encounter yet again. However, another Severus Snape that could actually tolerate my presence…or more…would be more than welcome.

-?-

Reading through a specific passage in Hogwarts' school charter, Draco smirked to himself. Severus had been locked away in his private lab ever since he'd arrived and he'd therefore been left to his own devices. Subsequently, he'd been bored to tears until he discovered Severus' small library, and now it seemed that his time spent alone had actually paid off.

"You look incredibly smug," Severus observed dryly as he emerged from his lab, his signature shampoo safely bottled and ensconced in his robe pocket. "What are you reading?"

Startled at his godfather's sudden appearance, Draco jumped and snapped the book shut quickly, hoping against hope that Severus had not caught on to the topic of his impromptu research. "Nothing important," he responded, hoping he sounded nonchalant.

"On the contrary, Draco," the older Slytherin spoke with deceptive calmness as he reached across and nabbed the book from his student's grasp, "I quite believe the Charter is a very important document."

"Oh, it is," Draco back-peddled, his heart rate increasing with his sense of impending doom, "But I wasn't looking for anything important, really. Just…" He trailed off and averted his gaze.

"Just…?" Severus prompted, eyes narrowed.

With a put-upon sigh, Draco moved to elaborate. "I was just seeing if there were any major loopholes about pranks in class and that sort of thing." He shrugged. "It's our final year, and I just wanted to get some ideas…Give Potter a few parting shots and all that. For old times' sake." Severus lifted an eyebrow and Draco chuckled. "Alright, namely because it'd be incredibly funny."

Severus sighed and shook his head; he shouldn't be surprised really. Teenage boys would always be teenage boys. If it wasn't about sex, it was about battles for pack dominance and who would, essentially, be the alpha male. Though he demonstrated occasional spurts of maturity, it made sense that Draco would still be a slave to his basic instincts.

"I take it you found what you were looking for, then?"

Relieved that Severus seemed to believe him, Draco nodded. "I did. For instance, did you know-"

He was interrupted by Hermione's arrival as she dropped herself onto the nearest lounge with a loud, yet entirely content, sigh. "Know what?"

Draco shrugged and shared a sidelong glance with his godfather. "Nothing important. How'd the talk go?"

Severus, who had lost interest in Draco's prior topic, grasped onto his godson's question and narrowed his gaze at his daughter. "Talk? What talk?"

"Honestly," Hermione responded, levelling a glare at Draco for having said anything, "it's not a big thing. Remus just wanted a chat in private and-"

"What about?" The older Slytherin scowled having heard his ex-lover's name.

The sole female blushed despite her best efforts to remain unflustered. "I might have snapped at him and stormed off during lunch. He just wanted to clear that up, I suppose."

Though he was pleased that his daughter had put the wolf into his place, Severus frowned. "You are not being entirely truthful. What caused you to behave in such a manner?"

Hermione averted her gaze; another sure sign she was hiding something.

"Hermione," Severus' tone was deceptively calm, "If he said something out of place, so help me Merlin, I will-"

"It wasn't that terrible, Severus," Draco supplied, earning him a shout of frustration from his girlfriend.

"Draco!"

"You can't lie to the man, Hermione. He deserves to know what went on up there as well."

She scowled at him and folded her arms across her chest. "It's not exactly your place to tell, though, is it?"

"Well, it did sort of concern me."

The way her expression contorted told him that he was lucky she didn't castrate him on the spot. Somehow, he thought, I don't think we'll be 'making up' anytime soon.

Severus, meanwhile, was becoming increasingly irritated that he was being left out of the loop. "What did that pathetic excuse for a man do?" He hissed, already reaching for the pot of floo powder on the mantel.

"Dad! No! Just leave it!" Hermione intercepted the powder and removed it from within his reach. Face still red, she sighed and met his gaze. "He just said some things over lunch that got under my skin a bit. He didn't mean to upset me."

"That is entirely beside the point, you silly girl!"

Her eyes widened then narrowed into slits. "Excuse me?"

Realising that his current approach was not helping the situation, Severus raised his hands in surrender and took a step backwards. "I apologise, Hermione. That was uncalled for. I just do not enjoy seeing you upset by that…that…" she raised an eyebrow and he sighed, "man." He finished lamely, feeling as though he was the miscreant teenager in their relationship. It was almost an amusing thought. Almost.

She shook her head, smiling softly. "I know. And he's in the same position, really. Which is what led to me storming off. He said some things about Draco and I, and made a few insinuations..." She blushed and deliberately avoided looking in her boyfriend's direction. "And I got upset because I'm used to being considered a mature young adult. I don't need someone trying to intimidate the boys I associate with, or implying that I'm likely to be a slave to my hormones without truly thinking about my actions."

Severus found that, as Hermione spoke openly about the issue, he could place himself in Remus' position as a concerned father. And he hated it. But, at the same time, he couldn't bring himself to accept any other position.

Hermione was still talking. "But I see his perspective now, too, you know? Draco explained it to me, a bit. So, I know it was wrong of me to snap when all Remus was trying to do was protect me. Though I did ask that he find a less embarrassing way to express his concerns next time."

"Enough." Severus spoke, his thoughts spinning about in his head. "I am…glad…that you could see the other side of the argument."

Hermione's eyes widened. Was he taking Remus' side? She wasn't sure how to react to that. On the one hand, she should be pleased that he was being more understanding of Remus and his position. But, on the other hand, it meant that he would be just as protective of her 'innocence'. She fought the urge to snort derisively; they had no idea. For a brief moment she considered telling him the truth, that she wasn't naive or virginal, but decided against it, thinking that to admit as much would only cause her parents to watch her interactions with Draco even more closely.

Severus, meanwhile, felt drained. He had just openly supported Remus' opinions on a rather important issue in their daughter's life. Granted, the wolf wasn't there to hear him do so, but that was of very little consolation. This was the same man he had cursed vehemently earlier that day. The same man who had manhandled him and fought him to the ground.

The same man who kissed you like you haven't been kissed in almost twenty years. A snide little voice in his head supplied.

He fought the urge to groan; why couldn't his life ever be simple?

-?-

"Knock knock," Draco said tentatively, tapping on Hermione's open door as he did so.

She looked up from her reclining position on her bed and frowned. "What do you want?"

"To apologise," he informed her, still loitering by the door. "Can I come in?"

She sighed. "If you must."

He smiled and closed the door in his wake, setting up silencing charms on the off chance that Severus decided to eavesdrop on their conversation. The man had been incredibly edgy since their late-afternoon discussion.

"Well?" Hermione looked up at him, her arms folded. She wasn't going to make his task any easier, it seemed.

"I'm sorry," he told her emphatically. "I really shouldn't have gotten involved in that argument."

She closed her eyes and shook her head. "There's a 'but' coming, isn't there?"

"Well, yeah." He sat down by her feet. "It's not fair to keep stuff like that from Sev. You know what he's like; if he thinks for one second that you don't trust him with that sort of emotional stuff, he's going to be more likely to pull back from your relationship, even though he rarely ever gets all deep and meaningful with you. And I know you don't want that to happen."

Hermione smiled wanly. "Well, no…"

"There you go," the blond nudged her gently, "I was just trying to help."

"I know…I just don't like people telling me what to do."

He grinned at that. "Tell me something I don't know, Granger."

There was a pause.

"I'm not wearing any knickers."

Not expecting such a blatant response to what had been a rhetorical comment, he slid off the bed in shock. "What?!" He asked, stunned and more than a little excited.

She laughed. "Alright. I lied…"

He launched himself from the bed and tackled her, intent on giving her the tickling of a lifetime as punishment. This, naturally, progressed to a heated make out session on the bed.

"Funny thing I discovered while you were off convincing Lupin that you're the perfect angel of a daughter," Draco said, flicking a locking spell at the door and inching kisses down Hermione's neck.

Instead of admonishing him and reminding him that her Dad –the scary one- was only a few feet away in the next room, she sighed and melted into his ministrations. "Hmm?"

He tilted his head to the side and whispered into her ear, despite having cast the silencing charm earlier. "The Professors' quarters aren't warded like the rest of the school."

"What?" Hermione shifted to look him in the eye, equal parts curious for information and excited by the implication.

Resting on one arm, Draco brought the other hand up to toy with the top buttons on her blouse, his lips drawn into a playful smirk. "It wouldn't be at all fair for the staff to have to remain abstinent all year round," he replied, "So only the areas generally frequented by students are warded."

"Well," she murmured, her mind reeling with the possibilities –and also fear of being caught- that this information brought, "That's very handy to know."

-?-

Severus paced the fireplace in his bedroom, still trying to reconcile his thoughts. It seemed that Remus truly did care about their daughter; so much so that he was willing to argue with her about her association with Draco. But, at the same time, it was more than obvious that he had no idea just how terribly his comments and their timing affected Hermione.

And, Merlin, he couldn't stop thinking about their brief kiss and the proclamations that had followed the interaction! How he yearned to believe the other man, to fall back into a loving, fulfilling relationship.

But such wants were a weakness. They were foolish. They were wrong.

Or were they?

Didn't Remus deserve another chance? He, himself, had done some loathsome things over time: he'd willingly become a Death Eater and participated in acts of unmentionable monstrosity, for Merlin's sake, regardless of his intention to spy. Surely Remus' youthful mistakes could be forgiven as well. After all, in Remus' position, could he honestly argue that he would have acted any better?

A frightened, pregnant, teenage werewolf who was shacking up with a Death Eater spy… what options had he truly had?

Severus growled in frustration. First he had loathed himself for allowing Remus to hurt him, and now he was beginning to loath himself for hurting Remus! It was preposterous! It was frustrating! It was…life.

Sitting down, he allowed his head to fall into his hands. Merlin, he was such a mess.

-?-

Days passed by without any major incidents. Severus, still in the process of sorting through his thoughts and emotions, eventually gave Hermione her gift and was rewarded, yet again, by a hug and a quick kiss on the cheek. It left him smiling softly for hours, though he wouldn't ever admit to such a thing if someone were to question him about it.

Hermione attempted to divide her time evenly between her parents and Draco, though she found hiding her relationship with the aforementioned blond quite difficult. Remus always kept a keen eye on her and Severus was more alert to their interactions than ever. A part of her found the entire thing thrilling; sneaking around only seemed to make her trysts with Draco more exciting (though they hadn't had a chance to take advantage of his discovery about the wards), and knowing that her parents cared deeply was vaguely endearing, but the other part of her hated lying to the people she cared most about, and particularly hated the thought that she was acting as though her relationship and sexual awakening was something to be ashamed of.

Draco, for his part, seemed to truly enjoy her company, even when they were simply reading in the library or conversing on a purely platonic level. It was nice, he decided, to have found a pureblooded witch that he got along with so very well. She wasn't just breeding stock, or good for practice, but was rapidly becoming a good friend. Though it sounded corny, it truly felt like the romantic babble that Greg usually waffled on about.

And, speaking of Greg, the other boy had sent a letter stating that he and the other Seventh Years would be returning to the school a week early to settle in properly for the most important year of their schooling. The theory was that they could do with the extra week at Hogwarts to catch up with one another without the first through sixth years getting under their feet, and that, when the rest of the school did return, they would be more than prepared to get on with their final year of studies.

So it was, then, that on the twenty-fifth of August, Draco and Hermione, under the supervision of both her parents, found themselves waiting anxiously at Hogsmeade station for the Hogwarts express.

"Oh, maybe I shouldn't have worn this thing so early." Hermione muttered, fiddling with the shiny 'Head Girl' badge that had arrived two days earlier. "It's not as though the entire school's coming together."

Draco rolled his eyes and smoothed over his robes. "No, but the Seventh Years are, and we have to wear uniforms again; it makes sense that you should wear the badge. I'm wearing mine." He gestured to his prefects badge; the very same one he'd worn with pride since their Fifth Year.

"Yes, well, this is a little different. I feel like I'm wearing a big sign that says 'I'm officially the boss of you'."

Not the least bit insulted by her unintentional slight over his 'lowly' prefect position, the Slytherin laughed. "They're all expecting it anyway, Granger. Besides," he smirked, a sure sign that he was about to tease her, "you never minded bossing the others around before."

"Oh!" She cried in mock outrage, before turning to face her parents. "And you're going to let him get away with that?"

Severus, taking the opportunity to use the last of their privacy, offered her a playfully malicious grin of his own. "It's not as though I can take points away for the truth now, is it?"

Offering him a faux-scowl, she poked her tongue out and turned her back on him, before giggling loudly.

Remus silently observed the interaction, teetering between jealousy and hope. He was shaken from his thoughts, though, by his daughter's excited squeal.

"Look, there it is!" She pointed down the track. Sure enough, the Hogwarts Express was rapidly approaching the station. Within minutes it had stopped before them, allowing an onslaught of chattering teenagers to disembark.

Draco and Hermione soon disappeared into the throng of students, leaving Remus and Severus alone with one another.

Remus decided to use the situation to his advantage. After all, Severus had been surprisingly civil during this outing; a far cry from their last encounter. Certainly, the other man had been silent and withdrawn for the most part, but he hadn't made one scathing comment yet. It fuelled Remus' hope to rekindle their friendship, if nothing else.

"I'm incredibly proud of her, you know." The Gryffindor spoke softly. "Head Girl and all. She's been through a lot to get here."

Severus sighed and arched an eyebrow in his ex-lover's direction. He'd been contemplating their next private interaction for days and it was finally here. He'd had a long time to think about his possible responses and their possible consequences and, in an uncharacteristic display of optimism, had chosen to take a great leap of faith. There was absolutely no telling what this would do to his reputation, or his sanity, but it would please Hermione, and that was all that mattered. And if it were to lead to anything else in the unforeseeable future, well…that wouldn't hurt either, he supposed.

Taking a fortifying breath, he offered the other man a wan smile, which lasted mere milliseconds, and nodded. "As am I, Remus."

For the werewolf, it was as though the rest of the world had evaporated around them. Severus hadn't called him by his first name in what felt like eons. The flicker of hope in his chest erupted into a roaring flame and it was only by sheer luck that he was able to restrain himself from whooping with joy. Smiling brightly, he nodded back in Severus' direction, unable to trust his voice.

Their moment was soon interrupted by Hermione returning with Harry, Ron and Neville in tow.

"Hello, Professor Lupin." Neville greeted Remus warmly, before nodding in Severus' direction, "Professor Snape."

"Hello, Neville," Remus responded brightly, "Boys."

Hermione glanced suspiciously between her parents; Remus' happiness, while it was nice, was rather out of character considering his track record when being left alone with Severus upon late. Severus merely arched an eyebrow at her. She pursed her lips, certain that something was up. But, before she could consider it too much, Draco had arrived with Gregory Goyle by his side. She barely had a chance to greet the boy that Draco had told her so much about before her companions noticed the two Slytherin additions to their troupe.

Immediately, Ron had his hackles up. "Oi, what are they doing here, then?"

"Ron!" She cried, before Draco, or, worse, Severus could intervene, "Don't be so rude! I asked Draco to join us, and Greg is more than welcome."

The redhead appeared to splutter for a moment. "Draco and Greg?" He echoed, his face going a funny shade of puce. "Malfoy and Goyle you mean."

Thankfully, before she could explode, Harry had joined the conversation instead. "Ron," he tried gently, barely glancing at the Slytherins, "I think that's a bit extreme. We're not Firsties anymore, are we?"

"Well said, Potter." Greg chimed in, blatantly sidling up to the Boy Who Lived and clapping him on the back. Draco had previously warned Hermione of the tall, muscular boy's crush on her friend, but seeing the Slytherin move in on him so quickly was still a surprise. Then again, Draco had moved in on her quickly enough, too.

When Harry blushed and ducked his head at the compliment and the contact, though, Hermione was momentarily gob-smacked. That was Harry's crush? She would never have seen Greg as Harry's type, though one could have said the same about her and Draco. Or the same of Severus and Remus. A goofy grin worked itself across her face. It was actually quite cute, she decided, watching the two boys interact. And how nice for Harry and Greg that their respective feelings were so clearly reciprocated.

Ron goggled from the sidelines, having also worked out what was happening. Neville, for his part, seemed charmingly oblivious to it all. "So," Neville said, attempting to break the tension that had developed while Harry and Greg trailed off into private conversation, "How were the rest of your holidays?"

Like Harry and Ron, Neville had also been at the Order meeting, namely because he'd also played a key role in the final battle. It wouldn't have seemed right to deny him a position after all the work he had done; he had been forced to grow up just like the rest of them, so there'd have been no point to deny him entry into the Order either. However, he'd been stuck by his Grandmother's side the whole evening.

Hermione grinned. "It was good. I got to know the Professors better, and Draco and I spent a lot of time exploring the castle…" She shrugged. "It was nice." She cocked her head to the side. "What about yours?"

Neville smiled gently. "I spent a lot of time with Gran talking about what's going to happen after this year. It was emotionally exhausting, but overall it was rewarding enough."

Severus, beginning to get fed up with idle teenage chatter, began to round the students up and into carriages. Hermione, as Head Girl, took her cue and started to assist him, noticing that Greg, also wearing his badge, had begun herding people towards the thestral-drawn vehicles.

Soon enough, they were the last group standing. "Come on, then," Hermione said, pulling Ron, who was still suspiciously contemplative, into the last carriage, "Everyone in."

"There's not enough room for us all," Remus informed her, "So I'll just wander up after you. I've got to stop in at a few stores anyway, so I'll meet the lot of you up there."

"Are you sure?" Hermione asked, concern lacing her tone. "Here," she climbed over everyone else's feet and leapt back out of the carriage, "I'll walk up with you." She turned back to meet Severus' eyes, "If that's okay with you too, of course."

The Slytherin nodded. "Don't dawdle." He gestured to the sky. "It's almost dusk. Dinner will be served soon."

Hermione nodded and, together with Remus, waved the group off, before setting off up the path at a relaxed pace.

-?-

"So," Hermione began, beginning the leisurely walk back up to the school, "what, exactly, was that back there?"

"What was what?" The werewolf feigned ignorance.

Grinning in what could only be described as one of her 'girlier' moods, the young woman looped her arm through her father's and shook her head. "Remus," she began, smacking his forearm gently, "don't play stupid. What was that exchange between you and Dad all about? You were smiling. Smiling. After being left alone with him."

Rolling his eyes good-naturedly, Remus sighed."You're reading too much into the situation. I was simply pleased that we'd been civil. You know how difficult that's been lately."

"Well, yeah," she conceded, but was in far too good a mood to be put off. "What was all that added hostility about, anyway?"

Skin on skin, lips on lips, tongues duelling, hands roaming all over one another…Remus shook his head to clear it of the treacherous thoughts. "Nothing, Hermione. I told you to drop it." At her crestfallen expression he sighed again. "I thought you were determined not to meddle?"

Hermione pursed her lips and eyed her father almost knowingly. "That was before," she said, considering her words carefully. "It's obvious that the two of you made each other happy… once upon a time, at any rate." Remus moved to speak, but she silenced him with a firm squeeze of her hand to his arm. "Neither of you would be quite so bitter and closed off to one another now if some strong emotions hadn't been at play." She offered him a small smile, as though to soften the blow of her words. "Is it so terrible that I'd like to see you both happy again?"

They walked a few moments in silence as Remus considered his daughter's words. Did she honestly believe that Severus would be willing to give him another chance? She was closer to the Slytherin than anyone else; surely she'd know what he wanted better than any other. Or was it simply a case of wishful thinking on the teenage girl's part?

Hermione watched Remus out of the corner of her eye, being as patient as possible as he processed her words. She truly hoped that he and Severus were on the path to becoming friends again, if nothing more. However, she wasn't stupid; she knew that the likelihood of Severus Snape opening his heart up to Remus Lupin again was slim. She wasn't naïve enough to believe that anything further than civility between the two would definitely develop, but she was hopeful. She knew that both men yearned for the happiness and love they'd shared in their youth…perhaps, with just a little manipulation on her part, they'd at least reclaim a friendship of sorts.

Of course, after witnessing their interaction today, perhaps she didn't have to interfere at all.

-?-

Ron Weasley was vaguely confused. He loved and generally respected his best friends without question, but it appeared that they had both suddenly gone completely bonkers.

Firstly there was Hermione. He found it a little alarming that she had accepted, quite happily might he add, that her father was none other than Severus –greasy dungeon bat extraordinaire – Snape. Then she had stayed with him for the majority of her holidays and had called him 'Dad' at the Order meeting, effectively freaking both he and Harry out. To make matters even worse, it appeared that, whilst under the Slytherin's influence, she had befriended Draco –their arch-nemesis – Malfoy.

To add insult to injury came Harry's easy acceptance of the sneaky, slimy blond's cohort, Gregory Goyle. In fact, not only had Harry accepted the larger boy, he had welcomed his presence and then proceeded to openly flirt with him! Now, Ronald had nothing against homosexuality, just so long as every man and his three-headed dog knew and respected that he, himself, was most definitely into women, but he drew the line when his best mate flirted with the enemy.

Sadly, though, no-one –not even Neville- seemed to have the same quandary with the situation.

So he sat through the carriage ride in silence, his thoughts whirring in his head faster than he could truly process them. If anyone else noticed his unusually sullen demeanour, they didn't let on.

Once at the school, Ron dismounted the carriage and made his way up to Gryffindor Tower alone.

-?-

"So…Congratulations again on the Head Boy thing and all that," Harry said as he and Greg prepared to part ways. He couldn't help but feel awkward, as though he were on a bloody date with the boy. Which was pathetic, he knew, but he couldn't help the fact that being near the overtly masculine boy gave him sweaty palms and made his brain go all fuzzy. It had been this way since the end of the war, when allegiances -and Greg's surprising intelligence- were revealed, but, for one reason or another, he'd never really spent any time alone with his crush. The idea that Greg might reciprocate his attention was thrilling and daunting all at once.

"Ta," Greg replied, thrilled at the chance he'd gotten to finally spend some one-on-one time with his not-entirely-secret obsession. "We should get together for a game o' Quidditch at some point this week, before the littlies get 'ere."

Harry grinned; it wasn't all that long ago that their cohort had been the 'littlies' of which the Slytherin spoke. "Sounds like fun," he said, turning to speak to his best mate instinctively, "Doesn't it, Ron?" He blinked. The red-head was nowhere to be seen. "Ron?"

"I think 'e took off a while ago," the taller, rather handsome (in Harry's opinion, at any rate) boy replied.

Crinkling his brow, Harry realised that perhaps he had been somewhat preoccupied. "Bugger. I'd better go find him. Bet he's in a snit."

Harry walked away, pleasantly warmed by the sound of Greg's rich laughter.

-?-

Severus sat in his chambers, his mind abuzz with questions and hopes which he would never speak aloud. He had done the unimaginable and had been pleasant –not merely civil but pleasant- to Remus. He wasn't entirely certain what the purpose such a show of emotion and vulnerability was, but he knew that he had not imagined the jolt of enjoyment he'd felt when Lupin had smiled so brightly in response.

Merlin, he was certain that this could not -and would not- end well. However…

Get a hold of yourself, man! What's done is done. Severus sighed.

He was so terribly conflicted. He had been this way for some time, and had hoped that by actually taking a step to do something –anything- to push the issue one way or another he'd feel more confident about his position with the wolf, his ex-lover, by now. Naturally, that was not the case.

So now he had a choice: to continue on this path he had so recently chosen, or to pretend that it had never happened and go back to practically ignoring the other man.

The latter was certainly the easier and safer of the two options, but that didn't necessarily make it the right one. Especially when he couldn't forget their recent kiss...

Blast it all to hell!

Severus was so terribly conflicted. Now, more so than ever before.

-?-

"Oi," Harry said, addressing his best friend as he entered the Gryffindor Common Room, "Why'd you run off like that?"

Ron scowled. "I didn't 'run off'; I had more than enough time while you flirted with the boofhead to walk away calmly and get here a good twenty minutes before you."

"Ron," the black-haired youth began, his tone somewhere between pleading and irritation, "don't do this." He was proud of himself for not rising to the bait of the insult against Greg. Boofhead indeed.

"Don't do what exactly?"

Harry shifted uncomfortably; this discussion was not going as well as he'd hoped it would. "This." He gestured between them. "Making a big deal out of nothing."

"Nothing?" Ron knew that his voice was somewhat shrill. "I don't think it's nothing! First Hermione goes all Slytherin worship on us, then you and bloody Goyle…" He shrugged, not willing to complete his sentence, as though the very thought alone was too disturbing to voice. "I don't know what to make of it all."

"Don't make anything of it! We're growing up, Ron. We're maturing. Trying to put the past behind us and all that."

"Oh, is that what you lot call it, then?" The red-head had moved on to full-blown sulking. "I'd call it being bloody idiots."

Harry sighed and bit his tongue. There was only one person who was acting like a bloody idiot at that moment, and it certainly wasn't him. "Ron…"

"No, Harry. Leave it alone." Ron shook his head and started heading up towards the dorms, intent on shutting himself up in his bed with the curtains drawn, to avoid having to acknowledge his best friend's existence at all. "Leave me alone. I know how I feel and I'm sorry if it's not bloody 'mature' enough for you."

He was gone before The Boy-Who-Lived could utter another syllable.