He wasn't sure why it was always him who seemed to be stuck with weekend patrols. At first, he thought perhaps, it was because he was a newer professor and then, Quirrell had shown up and he knew that wasn't the case.

'The old man probably thinks you are best suited to scare the students who attend their weekend parties.' He rolled his eyes at the thought. It was the same students he usually caught and over the years, many had tried to outsmart him. Each and every single one of them claimed they would be the first to trick him.

Tonight wasn't one of those cases.

"Screw Snape! That idiot is on the other side of the castle!"

"But what if he…"

"Awww is little Charlotte a little scared?"

He stopped in his tracks, the wheels in his mind turning. He knew the voice all too well and he also knew Aubrey was one of those students he had caught out on more than one occasion.

"Please Aubrey…." He heard Charlotte's voice. "Please let's go quickly…"

"Why you don't want him to see you all hot like this? Think it might ruin your professional relationship?" Aubrey drug her last two words out. "Or maybe it's those few drinks you had. You're a light weight!"

Severus found himself moving closer to the voices finding himself more curious than angry. He peaked around the corner and felt his breath get caught in his throat.

Aubrey was leaning against the wall, throwing her hands around and slurring her words. He wasn't surprised at her attire; a shirt and skirt you could barely call clothing and heels that made her increasingly taller.

Charlotte however, did not look like the Charlotte he was used too.

A dark tank top that clung to her body just around her navel and a dark red skirt that hung snug against her hips to her mid thighs. Her hair was pulled up into a high bun with pieces hanging around her face and her face was covered in the same makeup Aubrey wore at that moment.

He knew he couldn't stand there, behind a corner, gawking at his student like a school boy would; he would have to cast his feelings aside and let them know they had been caught.

'At least take some joy out of catching Andrews.' He snickered to himself.

He slowly walked up towards the pair; Charlotte's back was to him and Aubrey, who was still yelling her slurs, seemed to have her eyes locked on Charlotte.

Severus stood right behind Charlotte for a moment until he saw her body tense up; he pulled out his wand and held the light up to the two. Aubrey gave him a smile that he could tell, didn't mean she was happy to see him. Charlotte still hadn't turned around when he spoke.

"Surprise surprise Miss Andrews, catching you wandering the halls on another Saturday night reeking of liquor." He moved so he was besides Charlotte now, her eyes cast downwards. "Wasn't it last time you told me I would never catch you again?"

She pushed herself from the wall and stumbled forward slightly. "You're such a git…"

"Aubrey!" Charlotte's voice finally rang out, reaching out to grab her friend.

"Miss Matthews let her continue." He glanced over at her but she still wouldn't meet his eye.

"Yeah the man wants to know what all us students really think about him!" Aubrey laughed. "You're an ugly git who will probably die alone. I mean who would want anything to do with you? Who would want to have sex with you?"

Charlotte didn't stop her, much to his surprise. Instead she wrung her hands together, looking at her feet with her cheeks heated up. He wanted to question it but knew there were other matters at hand.

"Are you finished yet?" he raised his eyebrow.

"Yeah I am!" Aubrey grabbed Charlotte and went to pull her away from him. In a split second, Charlotte was being pulled forward and landed on the ground; her legs dragging across the hard flooring as her friend slid as well. Aubrey, who had passed out, seemed unharmed while Charlotte was rolled over on her back, holding her leg and biting her lip.

Severus found himself down at Charlotte's side, examining her wound; it seemed to have begun as a scrape and then opened up into a cut with blood gushing from it. Charlotte was doing her best to put pressure but he could tell she was in pain.

He reached out to help her and she turned away. "I'm fine…please don't waste your time."

He went to say something when Aubrey groaned and shifted slightly. He knew he needed to get the passed out girl to her room and then deal with her punishment later. He could feel Charlotte's eyes on him again and she shifted, sitting up a bit.

"I..I don't think I can walk on my own…" she bit her lip again.

"Wait here." He didn't give her a chance to respond and flicked his wand, hovering Aubrey in the air and moving quickly towards the Ravenclaw common room. They had only been a short distance away from the entrance so Severus found himself back at Charlotte's side quickly enough.

"I stopped the bleeding…." Her hands were covered with blood as she pulled them away from the gash.

He looked at it for a moment and let out a sigh. She would be okay but leg needed rest for the night. Without a word, he helped her up and she began to try and walk only to fall into the wall with a cry of pain.

"You did say you couldn't walk." He reminded her, wrapped his arm around her back to steady her. His heart was racing as she leaned into him, avoiding his gaze.

"I thought maybe I was wrong." The moved at a snail's pace. "Apparently not."

It took them a bit longer to make it to the common room then it had when Severus had just floated Aubrey beside him. As they entered, Charlotte stopped seeing Aubrey sprawled out on the couch and went to pull away.

"Thank you Severus." She whispered.

"I still need to get you to your room." He held onto her tighter and kept moving towards the stairs. She tried to wiggle free but he held his grip tight. When they had made it up he asked her which, room was hers.

"I can make it from here…." Her body was growing warm and he could feel her hands becoming sweaty.

He didn't listen and soon enough was dropping her down onto the bed. Charlotte put her leg up and Severus couldn't help but let his eyes travel to them; her skirt had risen slightly showing even more of her thicker thighs.

It was then he knew how bad of an idea it was to be here.

Charlotte, who either was clueless at his stares or didn't care, gave him a small smile. "Thank you Severus."

"I should punish you." The words sounded differently than he had intended. His mind began to throw images at him, all involving him making his way to her bed. He swallowed hard.

Her mouth hung open slightly and she seemed to be unable to speak; she wrapped her arms around herself causing him to be more aware of how low her shirt dipped. Their eyes seemed to be locked to the others.

"Detention?" she squeaked out.

He cleared his throat. "Detention."

She looked away. "Alright…"

"I said I should punish you." He sighed. "But I won't. You aren't the usual ones out and if my hunch is correct, it was Miss Andrews who dragged you out."

"Thank you." She knew better than to argue.

"I better go. If someone was to see me in here they might…"

"Think the wrong thing?" she finished for him with a soft smile. "I understand. I don't have any other roommates besides Aubrey in here but just in case…"

He turned to leave but flung himself around when she stopped him.

"Or…"

Her eyes were wide and innocent and she was breathing heavy; her cheeks were tinted but she was still looking at him. He could see now that she was starting to feel some effects of what, he assumed was the alcohol.

He stepped back towards her, silently begging her not to continue. Severus knew if she asked him to stay, he would in a heartbeat. He could see the words forming on her lips the ideas rolling through her head.

She wanted him, he knew it. Her posture had changed, her pupils dilated, she licked her lips while staring at his.

Then as if something flicked in her mind, she turned away with a small, uncomfortable laugh. "I was just going to say or we could talk some more…but I know you're on patrol and I wouldn't want to keep you. Goodnight Severus and thank you again."

He turned a left silently as she laid down on her bed.

Charlotte had let him off the hook in a sense.

He wasn't sure if that was a good or a bad thing.

"Can I come in?" her voice pulled him from the memory. Somehow she was still managing to leave him completely speechless; he hadn't seen her coming. He thought he was going to have to track her down and convince her to talk. Now here she was, wanting to be let in.

So he let her in, not really knowing what else to do. He noticed her hands were shaky as she brushed by him.

Charlotte was as nervous as he seemed to be.

She glanced around the room for a moment and began to walk over to his desk. "Firewhiskey? Can I have some?"

He followed behind her and pulled another glass out, pouring the liquid in and passing it over to her. She took it from him and studied it for a minute before taking a quick gulp. She shook her head and coughed a bit before taking another gulp.

"I can't understand how you men drink this straight." She tapped her fingers on the glass before turning her eyes up to him. She took a breath in and practically screamed at him. "I'm sorry for the other night!"

She raised the glass to her mouth again taking a bigger gulp then the last two.

He watched her and slowly took a sip from his glass, waiting to see if she would continue.

Charlotte fidgeted on the spot. "I overacted…" she paused and pushed her feet off, pacing around the room, studying the different things he had hanging on the walls or sitting on shelves. "When I figured it out…what you and Ellie were up too, all I could see was red." She moved around a bit more before ending up in front of him again with an empty glass. "I couldn't stop myself. Ellie might not be related to me by blood but I still see her as my daughter even though she will never truly be that."

"Not telling you about her was for my own selfish reasons. I knew all these years that she could be yours and I just didn't want to think about it…." She took a deep breath in and let it out shakily. He could tell by her actions how hard of a time she was having. But he didn't stop her.

"I wanted you to hurt like I felt you had hurt me and this was the only way I knew how to do it. Then I started realizing how stupid that was and when we came here and I saw you…I didn't want to do it anymore. I was going to tell you…"

She put the glass down, rubbing her temples with her eyes shut tight. When she looked back at him, he knew she had been trying to stop her tears. "I didn't know how to tell you that I had kept this from you. Aubrey, anyone would expect that from but me? Then I would have to tell Ellie what I did and I didn't want to disappoint her. Make me think I am like her mother…"

"I'm sure she doesn't…"

"No you're right, she thinks I am worse. She almost said she hated me." Her anger was rising.

"She hasn't even come close to saying that to Aubrey. Do you realize how much of a failure I am to her? But great now she has you and it will all be better right?"

"What happened with you and Andrews?" the question came to his mind when he heard Aubrey's name. After Ellie's answer he had more questions than before, questions only

Charlotte could really answer.

Charlotte began to rub her throat and bite her lip. "Aubrey is Aubrey. She pushed me to far one day and I couldn't have that."

"She did something to Ellie?" he couldn't be sure if Ellie had been completely truthful with him.

"She'd be dead if she laid a hand on Ellie." Her hands left her neck.

They were silent for a few moment before he realized what he needed to do. He was sure, Charlotte had been putting herself through a lot of mental grief over the past week over something no one really seemed to be upset about. He surely wasn't and Ellie had begged him to talk to Charlotte in the first place. She blamed herself more than she needed too.

"Ellie doesn't hate you. She wanted me to…talk to you." He began. "I forgive you Charlotte for this all and I would prefer just to move past it."

He wasn't sure what she was thinking or what she would do next. Her body was still for a moment before letting out a sigh of relief. "I don't deserve but thank you."

"So what do we do now?" He asked slowly.

Charlotte thought for a moment. "I know Ellie wants you in her life and I want you to be there for her too. I might be her guardian but you're still her father. I know you and if you're still the same man, I know you will take your responsibilities seriously."

He nodded. "Yes I am still that man and if you are the same woman I knew back then, me giving you money for Ellie, for all these years, would be out of the question."

"I don't want your money."

"Even still, I would like to make sure that Ellie has everything she needs for her school year and for when she isn't at school."

"I am not asking you to do that."

"I wasn't asking you if it was alright Charlotte." He told her. "I am telling you I am helping regardless of what you may want or not want."

Charlotte crossed her arms. "I am not going to win this one am I?"

"No you're not."

"Fine." Charlotte turned and headed towards the door. "Oh and Severus."

"Yes?"

"I'm not the same woman I used to be. Not even close." She opened the door and nodded to him. "Goodnight."

She shut the door leaving him alone with his firewhiskey and two empty classes.

'She isn't that girl anymore.' He told himself. 'But what if I want her to be?'