I'd like to thank everyone who gave me reviews, even though there are few, I still appreciate them. Also an extended thanks to Dark Void Princess 21 for being a frequent reviewer.

To be honest I've been about 10+ chapters ahead for this story and I'm thinking about cutting it shorter than you all think. I've rushed a little but in the spur of the moment I wanted to start this series right away, even though I am limited on ideas. I will however begin posting chapters for my other story, Emerald Elegance, once I find the USB that the remaining chapters are on. Thank you, enjoy~

Patrolling around the castle wasn't as hard as Celosia thought it would have been. In fact it was downright boring. All she would do was walk up and down the corridors, wand tucked into her sleeve as she passed by each open door, peaking inside to make sure nothing was out of the ordinary. Occasionally she would cross paths with Kingsley, but they would do nothing more than utter a 'good morning' or other greeting before going on their separate ways.

Why she accepted the job was beyond her, however she was getting paid quite a sum of money. There were many upsides as well. She was fed fully like the other teachers, had more free time, saw Harry almost every day. And she had Severus.

The first task of the Tournament came and Celosia sat in the stands, bundled up in a thick black cloak and a Ravenclaw scarf around her neck. Her fingers were covered in leather gloves that kept her hands warm and made sure she could easily grab her wand if the need came.

She had known for a while that the first task had to do with dragons, and even told Harry about it. The effort was unneeded seeing as he had already known. It hurt Celosia more when Harry didn't come to her at all for help. Of course, the boy was smart. But Krum, Delacour and Diggory were all seventeen and soon to be graduating. They knew more than him. A piece of Celosia was sure that Harry got help from others, perhaps his clever friend Granger or a professor. She was grateful that people cared about him so much.

Viktor, Cedric and Fleur had all successfully gotten the Golden Egg from their dragons, which left Harry last. Celosia shook her head once she saw the dragon he was going to be going up against. Out of all the dragons, he just had to go against the Hungarian Horntail. Why couldn't Krum go for that one? Harry was only fourteen!

Right when Harry stepped out, the dragon didn't hesitate to try and hit him, making everyone gasp. Celosia herself flinched and so did several other teachers. Minerva on her left did the same action and even let out an audible gasp. Severus on Celosia's right however only pursed his lips and flinched slightly.

A hand shot up to Celosia's lips in fear and Severus looked at her from the corner of his eye. She had genuine concern for the boy and the worst had yet to come. Celosia's green eyes were glued on Harry, wide in a way that was pleading for him to be victorious for this round and uninjured. Severus could truly see the maternal side of her, and how Celosia had jumped at the chance to be the mother Harry never had.

She would have been a mother herself.

Severus was snapped out of his thoughts when Celosia started to grin. His eyes went back to Potter and saw he had jumped on his Firebolt. Celosia was proud that he had quick thinking and used his resources carefully. "Oh, it's coming this way!" Minerva exclaimed and sure enough, Harry had shot up into the sky right in front of the teacher's stands.

Without a warning Minerva pushed Celosia into Severus, the old woman pressing herself against the bleacher as the dragon tail slashed against the stands. Severus had fallen over in the act and Celosia fell pretty much on top of him. Debris started falling from the top and Severus put an arm over the woman, Celosia keeping her head down as her hair curtained her face, Severus' robe protecting her from any wooden splinters falling onto them.

A bunch of cheers from the students were heard and all the teachers started to sit up. Minerva was the first to sit in her chair properly, Celosia looking up but not completely leaning off Severus. All the professors had looked up at the sky to see where Harry and the dragon went and once confirmation was made, Severus removed his arm.

Celosia brushed her hair out of her face, sitting up as she looked over to her right. Severus had his arm around her back and the two looked at each other in the eye before a few more cheers from the crowd made them break away and sit back properly.

She felt his arm brush against her back and it made her tingle, a small warmth creeping into her cheeks. She tried to diminish it, thankful it was winter so she could blame the cold. She looked at the sky again, not being able to see Harry or the dragon. Fear welled up in her. Hopefully he would be alright. They were off the stadium grounds, anything could happen.

"Smart thinking, that Potter." McGonagall had started to praise. Everyone in the stadium started to make small chat, the Weasley twins yelling out bets, but none of the professors took notice. "This will take a while to repair though. I'm going to go sit up with Filius and the others. There's hardly anything left of my seat anyhow."

"Alright." Celosia nodded as the woman left. She sighed inwardly. Now it was just her and Severus. She wanted to catch a glimpse of him again but went against it, fixing her cloak and scarf.

"She's right, it was a clever use." Severus said and she whipped around to look at him. He looked at her and nodded.

"It was." She agreed. "Nothing against the rules either. Was that a Firebolt he was riding?"

Severus nodded and she smiled. "Where did he get it?"

"From Black." He sneered. "Just last year. I'm surprised you didn't know."

"Remus was escorting me to Headquarters." She muttered quietly and looked down at her fingers in her lap. "Leave it to Sirius to give one of the fastest brooms to a thirteen year old boy."

"Black is reckless." Severus frowned, looking out into the stands of students. "Potter however knows how to ride a broom."

"That good, eh?" She smiled. "Just like his father."

"Yes." Severus' voice went cold and Celosia looked up at him, her green eyes piercing into his.

"You can't treat him badly just because he bears strong resemblance to James." She muttered, moving closer to him so no one could listen into their conversation. "He has Lily in him too. Hell, he technically has me in him."

"His personality is an exact duplicate of Potter's." Severus sneered, not at all fazed at how close Celosia was being. "Arrogant, rude, no respect for authority."

"But he's smart." She said sweetly, smiling at him. "Like his mother. Kind, loyal, brave. Like a true Gryffindor. Like both of his parents."

Severus growled under his breath and clenched his fists. Celosia sighed and set her hand on top of his left one, making him stiffen and look at her. The sharp, alarmed look in his eyes didn't faze her and she looked at him with a smile. "Harry is not James. He's his own person and is the son of both James and Lily. You aren't going to base him off James' actions."

Severus frowned and looked straight ahead, not moving his hand from Celosia's grip. Her other hand went to his upper arm as she came closer to him and placed her lips close to his ear. "Just because James bullied you doesn't mean you have to bully Harry."

Severus stiffened at the close proximity of Celosia, and the words she just spoke into his ear. Her lips brushed against his earlobe ever so slightly while she was talking and he felt a tingle go down his spine. He hadn't felt something like this since Lily had been alive. Her hands were still placed on his arm and from any professor looking at them from behind, it looked like they were necking instead of in deep conversation.

Celosia blinked, taking in the strong scent filling her senses. It was hard and musky, a scent she always loved in a man. It was mixed with a few herbs, definitely from potion making and it made her eyes flash in hunger. A man who smelt absolutely wonderful would provide no hesitation of Celosia jumping his bones. However this was Severus Snape, the man she had loved her entire life, mixing in hatred for him as well. Their close proximity made her realize just how bold her move was but she didn't dare retreat. This was by far one of the few moments that she had the chance to be the closest she had ever gotten to Severus and she wasn't going to pull away.

Her breath on his neck made him suck in sharply. Celosia didn't seem to notice as she inhaled again, Severus feeling everything. He prayed none of the students could see them and he also prayed no distraction would ruin it.

Celosia moved her head so her lips were lined up with his neck right below his earlobe. Severus noticed the movement and held his breathing, impatiently anticipating what she was going to do. Slowly he moved his head towards her and she moved hers up, green eyes meeting dark brown. The look of want was definite in her eyes and soon they flashed back into the innocent yet bold green. Their noses were almost touching now and it would only take one small lean forward to fill the distance.

The crowd erupting in cheers made them both whip around towards the stadium, Harry speeding over to the egg on his broom. He had no bruises or injuries that Celosia could see and he grabbed the Golden Egg, everyone cheering.

Celosia herself stood up, joining into the clapping. Severus frowned. Why is it this boy could take all her attention away from him? Severus clapped politely as Celosia squealed and marvelled over her nephew. "That's Lily's son!" She grinned happily.

"Great job, love!" Celosia smirked as she entered the champion's tent. Harry was the only one there, changing into his Muggle clothing. "I'm impressed."

"Thanks." Harry grinned. "Took a lot of effort."

"But you did it." She smiled and leaned against the wall. "Do you play Quidditch?"

"Yeah." Harry nodded and Celosia's eyebrows rose. "Since first year."

"First year?" She exclaimed. "What position?"

"Seeker." He smiled sheepishly and Celosia scoffed.

"You're kidding me. Who recruited you?"

"McGonagall."

"Ah, that woman." She smirked and shook her head. "Recruited your father too. In his second year of course."

"He was a Seeker too." Harry smiled. "A good one at that from what everyone has been telling me."

"He was." She agreed. "Sirius and he were non-stop talking about Quidditch all the time. Quite annoying."

"I can't imagine really." Harry smirked and Celosia chuckled.

"How did you know you could use your broom?"

"Oh, Professor Moody told me." Harry explained, taking his wand and tucking it into his pocket. "He's really been helping me the most, next to Hermione. She's trying but sometimes it just doesn't work."

"Well I should thank him for taking such great care of you. I never would have guessed that summoning your broom wouldn't break the rules." Celosia gulped. Maybe she shouldn't have said that. It made her sound like she wasn't capable of helping Harry at a length that Moody could and had.

"If I need help with the other tasks, I'll let you know." Harry assured and Celosia nodded, both of them walking back to the castle. "Was my mother into Quidditch too?"

"Oh, Merlin no." Celosia laughed. "She was always so annoyed at how your father and Sirius were talking about it. She wasn't really the athletic type. More of a book person."

"And you?"

Celosia stared at the sky. "I never really thought about it. I don't mind the sport but I can't imagine myself playing it. I was a top student, just like Lily. For us, education went first. I became Head Girl in my sixth year until the end, so that took most of my free time away."

"What house were you in?" Harry asked.

"Ravenclaw."

"Ravenclaw?" Harry was shocked. He thought she would be in Gryffindor; she certainly had the personality for it.

"I guess the Sorting Hat thought I was smarter than your mother." Celosia chuckled. "Or the Hat thought that Lily was going to be placed into Ravenclaw as well. Usually it likes to keep siblings together. I wasn't surprised that Lily was in Gryffindor, she definitely fit into it."

"Did you regret getting into your house?"

"I did for a little bit, but I decided to make Flitwick proud." She smiled as they came through the castle doors. "I spent most of my time with your mother and the Marauders rather than my own friends in Ravenclaw."

"Must have been hard." He muttered.

"I managed it." Celosia said softly and looked down at Harry.

"Ms. Dilaurentis." A voice called and Celosia and Harry both looked up. Moody limped over, Celosia smiling.

"Hello, Alastor." She said sweetly. "It's nice seeing you again. I believe in the months that passed, we haven't talked properly."

"Yes." The man's magical eye whizzed around and he stopped in front of them. "The Yule Ball preparation requires your attention. McGonagall believes that if you take after your sister, you will be able to assist with decorating the Great Hall for the occasion."

"Of course." Celosia turned to Harry, smiling and kissing her index and middle fingers, touching them to Harry's nose and then ruffling his hair. "Good job today, love."

Moody watched as Celosia walked off, waiting until she was completely out of sight before turning to Harry. "Job well done today Potter. Horntails are a nasty piece of work."

"Yeah, I could see." Harry scoffed and Moody patted his shoulder heavily.

"Better get work on figuring out what the second task is."