The end of the school year was a rememberable one. Severus was pleased to see Florence was determined to return to the classroom for the last few weeks of term. He had to admit he was shocked, but he was proud to see she hadn't caved after the first couple of days. She still would return to the quarters during break and lunch, but she slowly brought Eileen for dinner at the hall, at first for a little while and then for the whole meal.
'Where is Remus?' Florence asked Severus after she noticed his absence.
'He has handed in his resignation after the events of that evening.' Severus said simply.
Florence tilted her head, 'I still don't see why…'
'Apparently someone let slip Remus' secret.' Minerva said, narrowing her eyes at Severus.
Severus snorted, 'I don't see why I would.'
'Then explain how the majority of Slytherins were aware of what happened.' Minerva said fiercely.
Severus shrugged. Perhaps the students put the pieces together and worked it out.'
Minerva snorted, 'I think you are giving them more credit than they deserve. Not to mention your well-known hatred of the man.' She raised an eyebrow at him.
'And what about your precious Gryffindors? Letting a murderer escape?'
'There is no proof to say my students did such a thing.'
'As there is no proof that I told the Slytherins about Lupin.' He gave a little smirk as Minerva shook her head at him.
Florence turned to Severus, 'I hope for your sake your telling the truth. There aren't many people willing to give a werewolf a job. I'm going to say my goodbyes before he leaves.'
Severus nodded, and Florence squeezed his hand. He tried to subdue the guilt he suddenly felt. The night of the incident he went to check on the Slytherins, like the other heads of houses had done. He had been angry and humiliated, and the old rivalry had resurfaced.
'Is everything alright, Professor?' Draco Malfoy asked curiously.
'I was just checking everyone was okay. A werewolf was spotted on the school grounds.' There was a sudden uproar of questioning about the identity of the werewolf. The constant questioning about the werewolf had prompted Severus to reveal the truth about Lupin.
'Who is it, Professor?' Malfoy asked eagerly, 'You must know who the person is.'
'Professor Lupin.' Severus said calmly.
The looks of shock and horror on the students' faces gave Severus a small victory. The students that saw Lupin as one of the best professors now saw him in a poor light, disgust was written on their faces.
He left quickly, a smirk forming on his face as the students talked excitedly amongst themselves.
/
When Severus returned to his quarters he was surprised to see an angry Florence pacing. She stopped when she heard him enter, 'You said you weren't the one who told the students about Remus.'
'I did say that.'
'Then why did about thirty students come up to me today asking whether what you told the Slytherins was true?' Florence asked, raising an eyebrow at him.
Severus took his cloak off and carefully folded it, trying to figure out what he was going to say, 'I am not proud of my actions. Before I came back to our quarters I paid a visit to the Slytherin Common Room and I was still angry about what happened.'
Florence sighed and shook her head, sitting on the sofa, 'I thought you were over all this.'
Severus poured himself a drink and ran a hand through his hair, 'I am!' Florence pulled a face, 'I am now.'
'I really don't know if you are. You've spent a lot of this year stuck in your past and this proves it. Not to mention you lied to me.'
Severus put down the glass and sat next to Florence, taking her hand, 'I only lied because I didn't want to upset you. I promise I'll be completely honest with you.'
Florence sighed, meeting his gaze. She could see he felt sorry for his actions, 'Promise me you won't hide anything from me?'
He kissed her lips softly, 'I promise.'
Florence smiled, squeezing his hand, 'Thank you. Oh! I forgot, you got a letter earlier.' She held her hand out and a letter flew over.
He grimaced, 'It's from the Malfoys.'
'Have fun reading that.' She said, getting up, 'I'm going to take Misty for a quick walk. Eileen is having a nap and there's a bottle made up in case she's hungry.'
Severus nodded, reading the letter, 'They've invited us over for dinner.'
Florence quickly grabbed her wand, 'See you in a bit!'
Severus sighed, he knew it would take a lot of convincing for her to go to Malfoy Manor. Not only was there clear tension amongst the Malfoys and Florence because of Draco's behaviour in her class, Lucius Malfoy was convinced that Florence had some unknown power. Severus was just glad there was no set date for the dinner, Narcissa had simply said they would owl Severus and Florence at a later date and that the Malfoy family was excited to meet the new arrival.
He set down the letter when he heard Eileen crying. He hurried to the nursery and carefully picked her up, 'Shhh. It's okay.' Eileen snuffled a little and smiled broadly at her father, 'You're probably hungry,' he checked the time and hummed, 'Definitely hungry.'
He sat down in the rocking chair and reached for the bottle on the table. Eileen giggled happily at the sight of the milk bottle, 'It's a good thing your mother leaves a bottle when she goes out. Do you reckon she'll be willing to attend the dinner?' Eileen held onto his finger as drank from the milk bottle, 'That's what I think. A strong no,' he smiled fondly down at her, 'I hope you stay as sweet as you are now,' He heard the door close and the familiar sound of a dog panting, 'It seems your mother is home.' He put down the empty bottle and carefully carried Eileen and Florence smiled when she saw them standing by the nursery door, 'Did you have a good walk?'
Florence smiled, 'Yeah, Misty found Fang and they chased each other around the grounds. Has Eileen been fed?'
'She has. I was wondering would you be okay with going to dinner at the Malfoys during the summer?'
Florence carefully took Eileen from Severus, 'Ermm, I would prefer not to but if you want us to, then yes I'll go.'
'I would prefer not to. It just makes things easier if I go along with what they want.'
'I don't know why you put up with them. They are not pleasant people.' She put Eileen into her day crib.
Severus hummed, 'I know. Narcissa isn't all that bad. I know them from my time as a student and Lucius convinced me to be a part of the Dark Arts,' his eyes drifted from Florence's, 'He's kept me tied to him because of that blip in my past.'
Florence squeezed his hand, 'I'll go with you.'
Severus gave her a small smile, 'Thank you. I know you would rather do anything else.'
'I'm happy as long as I'm with you.' She wrapped an arm around his neck and kissed him softly.
