April 28th, 1999
Fleur ran up behind Azrael and jumped on his back. He had heard her coming and now that he was fully immersed in Helios' workout and diet plan, he had not only gained muscle, but by some stroke of luck, he had hit a tiny growth spurt too. As a result, Azrael had managed to not topple forward after the French part-veela girl had launched her petite body at him.
'Well hello,' he projected over his shoulder at the blue-eyed girl.
"Bonjour!" she exclaimed as Azrael continued walking with her on his back. She began prattling on in French about how Jo's hair was spelled pink after a spell gone awry and Azrael just nodded, only interrupting to ask if she wanted to go to his room to hang out. Fleur muttered a quick 'oui' and they continued on their trek through the school with Fleur on Azrael's back.
By the time they got to Azrael's room they were conversing about hair colours in general. 'I think Jo looks good with brown hair.'
"Oui, but she would look better with a dark blond," she countered as Az took down the wards on his door and she whispered the password as one of three people who knew the password to Azrael's rooms.
'Why don't you colour your hair. I'm sure you'd still look gorgeous in any colour you chose – even green,' he teased. Fleur had become obsessed with how green his eyes were.
"Pas de vert," she moaned in dismay. "À mon dieu."
He dumped Fleur unceremoniously on the sofa and plopped down beside his giggling friend. He liked Fleur for her mind and sense of humour. She also didn't push the whole creature issue like others would have as she knew what it was like. She liked Azrael because he was one of the few male students at Beauxbatons that didn't drool and fawn over her. Plus he was easy to get along with.
Fleur's hair dangled in front of her eyes and Azrael pushed it back, tucking it behind her ear. 'You were saying?' he asked, bringing Fleur out of her dazed state. She, on impulse, closed the distance between their faces and kissed Azrael.
He jerked back, eyes wide and fell off the couch. "Oh my – I'm so sorry! Are you hurt?" Fleur was scared that he had hurt himself in his haste to dislodge her lips from his own.
'Why did you do that? I- I- I'm not even straight!' the boy shouted in distress. 'Ouch. That burns,' he projected off-handed. His finger gingerly touched his lips and they felt like they were scorched and bruised.
"Where are you hurt?"
'My lips; they feel really painful. I think it's the bond kicking in. Maybe Severus can fix it if it doesn't go away,' he trailed off before glaring up at Fleur. 'Why did you kiss me?'
She flushed, "To make sure we had no chance at being anything other than friends."
'You could have asked. I would've told you I'm gay.'
Fleur tilted her head, "What is 'gay'? I'm not familiar with the English term?"
'Uh... gay is another word for homosexual,' he said bluntly.
"Oh... You don't like girls then... Great, you can help me with something else then. Please, Azzie?" Fleur crooned.
'As long as it's nothing embarrassing and you never call me Azzie again,' he agreed.
April 30th, 1999
"Az! Je veut ce! Pleeeeease! You have agreed already. Come on. Do not be un bébé."
Azrael's brows furrowed together. 'I don't think I can do this. You are my friend Fleur but I can't just walk up to another guy and talk feelings with him. I don't have feelings, remember?'
With a toss of her silver-blond hair, Fleur fluttered her lashes at her companion. "I promises it will work. And of course you do. Nous sommes amies, non?"
He rolled his eyes at her improper English that she was slowly improving by talking to him every day. 'You are so lucky I'm seeing Severus tonight. My lip is killing me. It looks like I was punched.' His hand subconsciously lifted to the sore area on the right side of Azrael's mouth. It was turning a purplish colour as if he had been in a fight and had taken a heavy blow to the mouth. He had been ruminating on how he would get rid of it for the past few days as bruise salve and washing the area hadn't done a thing.
In all honesty, Azrael felt like there was no way Fleur's crazy idea would work – at all. She had roped him into telling her crush that she liked him. Dear Merlin... this had trouble written all over it.
"What happened to you?" Severus demanded as soon as he caught sight of his young friend. He grasped Azrael's jaw and examined his bruised lip.
'Fleur, actually, believe it or not. She didn't even hit me.'
"Then what did she do?"
Azrael quirked an eyebrow, 'Give me your hand.' He took the older man's hand and placed it firmly over the bruise. It hurt more at first but then the swelling disappeared altogether as if it had never existed. Releasing Severus' potion-stained fingers, he grinned. 'Fleur kissed me and that's what happened, Sev. No joke.'
"How peculiar."
Severus pulled his hand back as he realized he was still in the hallway as Azrael had arrived early and had come to find him. The younger man looked up at the intrigued expression on the Potion Master's face and smiled. 'You're hiding something. What are you thinking? Is it news?' The older just waved his comment off and they proceeded down to the dungeons. Azrael found himself wondering what it was that Severus didn't want the students around them to know.
Once they were through Snape's office and into their shared quarters, Severus elaborated on his silence. "We found out today that in four months, Hogwarts will be hosting the Tri-Wizard Tournament. The students aren't allowed to know until September when it is announced by the Headmaster, which includes your Beauxbatons friends."
Upon receiving a puzzled look, Severus continued, "The Tri-Wizard Tournament promotes camaraderie amongst the three big schools: Hogwarts, Beauxbatons and Durmstrang." He walked into the kitchen and Azrael followed, listening intently. "The visiting schools bring a selection of around twenty to thirty delegates from their school along with the Headmaster or Headmistress and a few of their teaching staff," he said as he filled a kettle with water and set it to boil. "One champion is chosen from each school by a third party and those three students then must compete in three gruelling tasks."
After a moment of thought, Azrael asked, 'What types of tasks?'
"Dangerous and life-threatening ones. Children have died in this competition. And for what; A thousand galleons and their name written on a cup they'll never see again?" Severus snapped.
'Sev, what's wrong? Why are you so snippy?'
"I want you to promise me you won't even think about entering," he blurted out. There was a knock on the door in the middle of Severus' sentence. He hastened his way to the door and exited to his office where the knock had originated from.
Hesitant hands lifted the hot kettle off the stove and reached into the cupboards with familiarity for well-aged mugs. As Azrael started dousing the tea leaves in boiling water from the kettle, Severus' stride approached the door again with more than one other pair of feet following. "Ángel, we have company," he said dully. As he came into sight, Azrael could see the older man giving him a 'we'll talk about this later' look.
He reached for two more tea cups from the worn shelf that bowed with its burden of dishes. He looked up to see his "father" and Remus' smiling faces protruding from behind Severus' dark form.
"Pup! We've missed you!" Sirius was elated by the sight of the boy that had grown up so much over the last year and a half. "It's as if we never see you anymore." He embraced his pseudo-son.
The youth snorted and gave a smile, 'That's probably because I live in France now.' He projected while squeezing back.
With a roll of his blue eyes, Sirius relented and released his grip and moved aside for Remus.
"He's been driving me up the wall for a month now to come and visit and let him out of his gilded cage for once," Remus whispered conspiratorially in his ear during their embrace.
'You should visit more then,' was his cheeky response. 'Tea?' he offered as he remembered the cooling kettle and the tea cups.
Echoes of "yes" reached his ears and he shooed everyone out of the kitchen so as to have more space in the tiny nook. Azrael prepared tea and brought it out on a tray before taking his seat. He gave Sirius and Remus their cups before fixing one for Severus and himself out of habit.
Sirius eyed the familiar camaraderie betwixt the two men before him and saw a faint appreciative smile on Snape's lips that hadn't been there in the entirety of their childhood at Hogwarts. He thought for a moment that maybe there was more to the relationship between his "son" and the greasy bat than met the naked eye. No matter how much he detested the dour, black-clad man in front of him; no matter how he loathed that Severus Snape was still around after all these years – he found himself appreciating the person he was helping his son grow into.
And as long as Azrael was happy, he was content. He could live with having to come down to the lowliest dregs of the Hogwarts dungeons if this was where his son wanted to live. He could live with ignoring the existence of the hook-nosed git across the table. He could live with insulting Snape a million ways to hell only in his head to make Azrael happy.
He would, of course, still wish the stiff would drop dead any minute now, but he would not say it... not in front of his kid, anyways.
Sirius excused himself from the table to get more tea. He carried his cup into the kitchen before anyone could see the grin formulating on his face at the thought of Snape dead. The only one who seemed to notice anything amiss was Remus. The werewolf could tell his companion was thinking something not by his expressions, but his actions.
It was only when Sirius was in the kitchen with the kettle in his hand that he had realized his actions as well – he still had a cupful of tea.