Chapter 13- New Beginnings

*****Severus*****

The first week of summer fell into a pattern that Severus never thought he would find so much enjoyment in. He and Harry would spend a few hours a day working on their own studies, Harry's summer work and Severus's personal research.

Severus would often look over the boy's progress as well. They would have meals together, usually in his own quarters. Harry would spend some time alone in the castle or the grounds, trained to call for a house elf the moment he needed anything. Severus had placed a tracing charm and various alerts on the boy now as well. Severus had taken the child to Hogsmeade once already, a treat for the boy to experience the village beyond the train station before his third year. Severus had even agreed to take the boy again in a week when at least half the Weasley clan would meet them there.

Severus thought that was quite selfless, willing to spend time in the same vicinity of multiple Weasleys when school wasn't even in session. Harry had already arranged a day in about a month for the Weasleys and Grangers to all be in Diagon Alley once school lists were out. He hadn't told the child yet, but Severus was even considering allowing the youngest Weasley boy to visit Harry at the castle, perhaps even to stay a few days. No one in the wizarding world would have believed such a thing of Severus Snape.

In the long Scottish summer evenings, Harry and Severus could often be seen flying in the quidditch pitch. Severus even began using the spare Nimbus 2000 when he was tired of being outmatched by the boy both in skill and in broom model, though he never would have admitted to Minerva that he used the thing. On days with poorer weather, they would spend evenings by the fire in their quarters, for the dungeon was a bit cold even in the summer. Most often they would play chess, which Harry had taken quite a liking to.

Severus was anticipating with very mixed emotions the child's next metamorphmagus lesson.

*****Harry*****

Harry had never arrived at their classroom before his teacher. He worried for several minutes before the door creaked open. She looked a mess, and Harry noticed that she was in her base form, which she never was before their lesson even began. Her hair didn't look like it had had any attention- even to be washed, in days, so Harry suspected that she had been in her base form for a while.

"Wotcher," his teacher greeted weakly.

"What's wrong?" Harry asked.

"I can't even give a lesson today. You're a better metamorphmagus than I am," she said, which Harry knew wasn't true. He still had trouble maintaining forms or coming up with made up people to look like. "But you can learn that it is difficult to maintain your form when you are- emotionally distressed."

"Why are you upset?" Harry asked quietly.

"Because, Harry, you could have been killed because of me. Because I took your father away from the castle. Or maybe just because I've been delusional for months. Take your pick." Tonks ranted, releasing her feelings.

*****Tonks*****

Tonks was surprised from her moping to feel small arms wrap around her. She looked down to see the Harry's black mop of hair, the child she felt so guilty, so responsible for. And he was trying to comfort her. When he was the one with every right to be upset.

"But I'm fine," he said. "And… and like I told him, maybe even if he was in the castle, he wouldn't have been in his rooms. And maybe if he had been there, he could have gotten hurt. I know I shouldn't have done it but- but it… it turned out okay. Just don't- worry about it, okay? I'm fine, and he's okay. And he's not mad at you, if you were worried about that. And he's not mad at me either. And- and I think he even likes you. I mean really likes you. He just doesn't show it like most people do."

Tonks smiled a bit. The child was wrong of course, about Severus, but he meant well. And Harry was safe, even if Severus was right that his self-preservation was too low. Tonks felt her magic in a way that told her that she would be able to morph herself again.

So they might as well go on with their lesson. Even if all she would ever be to the child was his teacher, and even thoug she wouldn't have anything at all with Severus, she would do the best she could for the boy.

*****Severus*****

Severus paced his room, having given up on accomplishing anything productive not long after Harry had left their quarters. Severus wasn't sure when he had even started thinking of them as their quarters. When Harry returned alone and started preparing for bed, Severus continued to pace.

"How was your lesson?" he asked, wondering if he had ever asked the boy before. He needed to work on communication. He enjoyed their companionable silences, but he hadn't considered that that might not be the boy's preference.

"It was good. Miss Tonks was- pretty upset at first."

"Why was she upset?" Severus stopped his pacing.

"I- I think you should see her," Harry said. He didn't appear to have anything further to say.

"She has left the castle?" Severus asked, walking aimlessly again.

"Yes, sir. But I think she'd still like to see you. She said she was going to use Professor Dumbledore's floo. I think she was just going home."

Severus knew the boy must think he was mad, caught in his ceaseless pacing. "I'm going out for a bit. You'll be alright? You'll call for a house elf or floo to the headmaster's office if you feel unsafe?"

"Yes sir," the child said, smiling.

"1312 West Beaks St. E20," Severus said, stepping into his floo, entirely insane. This was rash and Gryffindor-ish, and… and entirely insane. He stepped out of the grate on the other end, first seeing the wand pointed at him. She was an auror after all. The witch lowered it slowly.

"You didn't come by my rooms after your lesson," Severus said, feeling suddenly helpless. The witch didn't have to come see him if she didn't want to. So, in response to his own distress, he had decided to come, uninvited into her private residence. Though she had never minded doing the same to him…

Severus noticed that unlike almost every time he had seen her this year, she was in her most common altered form, which she would sometimes use in their lessons, but more often didn't. Did it bother him that she resembled the girl he taught for years? Why was she always in her base for around him, when she wasn't even in it when she was in her own home alone?"

"No, I didn't," was all she replied.

"Why?"

"I- didn't think I would be welcome?" she said, almost a question.

"Was it because Harry was staying in the rooms?" he asked cautiously.

"No. It's because I've been some silly little girl living in some fantasy, and I could have gotten your son killed," she said. Severus thought she was about to cry. He hadn't seen her cry except for that one, terrible night.

"No, you're not," he told her with certainty, "You're not silly, or a girl. You haven't been for a while, and I haven't thought of you as such, since the moment you first broke into my quarters, since you invaded my- personal comfort."

Tonks gave a bit of a laugh, "Well, there were things you needed to hear. That was rather bold of me, wasn't it?"

Emboldened himself, Severus walked the three strides between them. He placed his hand on either side of her face, even if it wasn't quite the same face that he had been thinking about for months. It was still her. He leaned in, what had to have been excruciatingly slowly, and she did not pull away. Severus could feel the magic in his lips and hands when she melted into her base form. The magic felt so relaxing and absolutely perfect. Everything about those moments was flawless. Severus leaned forward to almost seamlessly keep contact with her lips and cheeks as she reverted to her shorter form. He felt her hands touch the nape of his neck before reaching into his perpetually greasy hair. He dropped one had from her cheek to pull her closer to him.

Severus broke the kiss what he thought was a few minutes later, though he couldn't tell. He ran his nose along her cheek, almost cuddling it into her neck. She had said she liked his ungainly nose. "I've wanted to do that for months," he admitted, whispered into her neck.

Tonks was breathing heavily, "You knew I would have let you."

"I know. I had to get over myself, I suppose. To look forward instead of behind?" he said, still unsure of himself, even after the best kiss of his life by far. "What do you say, Nymphadora?" It had felt right to take that one more liberty.

The witch scrunched her nose, similar to when she would change her form, though she didn't, "Call me Dora," she instructed. The witch smiled then, arms around his neck. She had to have been on her toes or making herself taller, because he was barely leaning over her now.

Severus stopped wondering which as she kissed him again, as electric as the first, even without actual magic happening. It was perhaps not fairy-tale-traditionally perfect. Severus's large nose pressed into her face, and it was difficult for him to breathe through it, just like during their first kiss. She no doubt thought it felt odd, after she coaxed him into opening his mouth, rubbing her tongue over his crooked teeth. But she didn't seem to mind his nose or teeth or greasy hair that she ran her fingers through. And for the first time in his life, Severus couldn't bring himself to care about them either as he surrendered himself into another perfect kiss.

A/N: I couldn't really feel any closure to the year without a real Snape/Tonks moment, and I wanted to give some time for each pair of characters to have their time in this tiny chapter. Stay tuned for what it to follow, though I am not exactly sure of my future posting timeline. Please leave feedback and encouragement!