Severus and Antlia sat side by side at the Slytherin table as they ate dinner with the rest of their classmates. It had been weeks since the party and the pair was doing rather well. They still weren't officially an item, but the students around them had noticed a change in the way that they both behaved towards one another. Antlia always seemed to be physically close to the dark haired boy, and even he seemed to be in a bit of a better mood when she was near by. In fact, it appeared that whenever they weren't in class, they could almost certainly be found together. They both seemed in much better spirits now that they were talking again, making Narcissa and Regulus both glad to see the changes in their friends.
"So Slughorn is throwing a winter party before the break."
Antlia's eyes sparkled as soon as the words left her brother's mouth. "A Christmas party? That actually sounds fun."
Lucius scoffed a little. "Eager to drink again so soon?"
A small blush rose to her cheeks but Severus was quick to jump to her defense. "There's nothing wrong with indulging every once and a while."
The blonde haired wizard pulled a sour face but Narcissa shot him a look. "Antlia wasn't the only one who drank a little too much. All ended well so don't give her such a hard time."
Regulus smiled kindly at his sister. "You're allowed to bring a guest that's not a member."
She thought for a moment. She would like nothing more than for Narcissa to attend with her, but then again, she was sure that Lucius would take care of that. She couldn't help but think to Remus, but she knew that no part of her bringing him was a good idea. Besides that, she was sure that the guest ordeal was more than likely a bring a date situation. A party for the Slug Club was likely to be a pretty formal affair.
"There will be no need. We will be attending together," Severus stated rather blandly.
"Oh, we will?" She asked with a chuckle, finding herself amused. "This is news to me. I might have plans, you know."
"Well you've got plans with me now," he mumbled before taking a bite.
She smiled a little before rolling her eyes. "You're absolutely ridiculous, Severus Snape."
"Do you have a dress?" He asked, brushing off her response easily.
She shrugged a little. "I've got a few dresses."
He immediately looked to Narcissa. "Make sure she has a formal dress."
Narcissa started to say something, but Regulus cut her off, grinning. "I'll write Father. We'll get her something. No Slytherin, and certainly no member of my family is going to show up looking anything less than stunning."
"Hey, I'm still here, you know. I can take care of myself."
"Hush," her cousin smiled warmly at her. "Let us do this for you."
After curfew that evening, Antlia found herself in her usual spot in the Forbidden Forest, waiting on Tom. He had sent a message through Regulus that he wanted to speak with her. She was used to him calling her on such sort notice, but what she wasn't used to was having to wait on him. Usually, he was already there by the time she arrived.
After what felt like ages of waiting, she heard a loud pop before he suddenly appeared, dusting his hands off as he approached her. "Tom, it's good to see you," she greeted him warmly.
A charming smile overtook his features. "Well, Kitten. You seem chipper. I take it that your personal issues have been dealt with?"
She nodded carefully. "Things are definitely better."
"Good. I have a request for you."
Antlia stared him down, curious. It had been a while since he had asked anything of her. "Yes?"
"Make sure to go home for the holidays to your father. I have plans and I might need your assistance," he stated calmly, his simple brown eyes seeming to be evaluating her like always.
She couldn't help but to frown. "Is it really important enough that I can't stay in Hogwarts? I'm sure I could apparate off the grounds. It-"
"No," Tom cut her off quickly. "I don't want Dumbledore to catch you testing the barriers. It will be much easier if you are in London with no restrictions. I have already notified Orion that you will be staying with him."
She eyes him cautiously, feeling rather annoyed. She didn't like her choices being taken from her. It was one thing when her father had told her to either spend the holiday with him or at Hogwarts, but having Tomt ell her where shew as going to be was rather irritating. Ever since she and Severus had been spending more time together, she had been considering spending her holiday at Hogwarts with him.
"Alright," she finally said, knowing it really wasn't up to her. "And what do you want me to do?"
A small grin began forming on Tom's face. "Wait. You'll know when it's time."
Severus walked quietly down the hall to Antlia's room. It was well past curfew but he didn't care. He wanted to see her and late at night was about the only time he could get her alone. He knew she had been to a meeting with Tom and might be tired, but honestly, he was okay with the idea of falling asleep with her and talking later.
When he opened the door, he found Antlia sitting in the floor, her hair pulled back into a messy pony tail as she slaved over a bubbling cauldron. Her emerald eyes looked tired, but she had them trained on the potion in front of her. Whatever she was working on, it was clearly important to her.
"Am I interrupting?" He asked quietly as he shut the door behind him and moved over to sit beside her.
She shook her head, not looking up. "I'm almost done. It's got to be done tonight, but we can still talk."
"What is it?"
Her faze lifted for just a moment as she studied him, unsure. "Its a potion," she began as she looked away and continued stirring. "that stops a werewolf from transforming during a full moon."
Confusion washed over the dark haired teen for a moment. A potion to help a werewolf? Why was she even bothering with-Lupin. He could feel the blood pooling to his ears as he realized that not only was Antlia helping the werewolf, she had befriended him. "Antlia, I told you to stay away from him. He's dangerous."
"No, he's not. He's actually a friend of mine, Severus," she returned, a it of of cold bite to her words.
"Antlia."
"No! He's my friend! He was there for me when you weren't. And he's not dangerous. As long as he continues to take this potion, he doesn't even transform."
He scowled at her words, knowing she intended for them to sting a little. "Even if he wasn't a werewolf, he's a muggle sympathizer. Do you have any idea what would happen if anyone found out? Antlia look at me."
For a moment, she was silent, just pouring the potion into small viles until the rosy colored liquid was gone from the cauldron. With an exasperated sigh, she met his eyes. "It's not such a big deal, Severus. Calm down."
"No, you don't understand. If someone catches you with him and tells Tom, he won't be pleased. And Tom is not the forgiving type. He's not the person you think he is, Antlia. He has a temper and he wouldn't be happy to learn that you're gladly spending time with a half-breed."
"You're forgetting something. I'm a half-breed."
He hesitated. "You're different. Your kind might as well be considered human."
"But I'm not," she pushed. "And Remus is my friend. Since he's also a magical creature, we share a bond together. He understands what I feel. I know I can't force you to understand, but this is important to me."
Severus' eyes just narrowed as he stared the girl down. "You fancy him. Have you been with him this whole time?"
Her eyes fluttered open in shock. "What? No! I-"
"Don't lie to me, Dubios!"
Her face grew bright red as she tried to piece together words and calm herself down. "Severus, I have no interest in him the way that I do you. None. And he knows that. I haven't done a thing with him and nor do I want to." She stood up quickly and walked over to him, grabbing a hold of his hand. "I'll show you."
Before he could say a word, he found her memories wash over him. At first, it was startling. A wild blur of her emotions flooded him and confused him. They went back to every moment she had spent with Remus and he could feel everything she had thought and felt as clearly as if it had come from him. He felt the bond she had spoke of and he saw for himself that she was being honest-there were no romantic feelings or moments, just two friends sharing their thoughts and feelings together. When he felt her mind pull away when her hands let go of his, he was left sitting there, just staring at her.
"You were friends with another werewolf before him."
The blonde haired girl's head dipped as she fiddled with her fingers. "Nolan, yes."
"You feel guilty about his death. Why do you think you're such a horrible person because of it?" He whispered, his face much softer than before as he gently stroked her cheek.
"I've done a lot of things I'm not exactly proud of. Nolan died because of me. If I had never told him about the world of magic, he wouldn't have died and my mother might even still be alive."
He watched her silently as tears began forming in her eyes. He kenw what it felt like to lose a family member-he had lost his mother as well-but he couldn't imagine what she was feeling. Her mother had been murdered. Not only that, but it seemed that her friend had been drug into the middle of the commotion as well and it had cost him his life. She must have been so alone. At least when his mother had died, he had Lily to get him through things and help him deal with his cruel, muggle father. Antlia had been left utterly alone with no one to lean on.
"Shh," he whispered, wrapping his arms tightly around her. "You're okay. Whatever happened, I'm sure you did what you had to. It's okay."
He could feel her sobs as she pressed her face into his chest. It was almost strange to have her crying in his arms, completely sober. She was always so happy and well composed on the outside as she went about her days. Even when he had been avoiding her, he had never seen her show pain or weakness, not even for just a moment. And she had no fear over being in Tom's presence, that was for sure. When she had carried out her task of torturing Bertha Jorkins, she had seemed just as calm and collected as she had been in any other moment. Having witnessed a portion of what went on in her mind and having her there in his arms, quietly crying, just grounded his thoughts of her. As powerful and strong as she was, the girl wasn't unbreakable. She had clearly been hiding a lot of pain for an unhealthy amount of time. It was time she allowed herself to let go of some of it, or at least share it.
"I'm sorry, Severus," she whispered, still clinging to him. "It's late. We should be asleep."
He carefully shook his head as he started rubbing her back. "I'm here for you, Antlia. And if helping Lupin and being his friend helps you, then I won't stop you. I just want you to be safe and careful."
"I will be, I promise. I just need this, I really do."
"I know."
