Going Public

When Harriet and Severus entered the kitchen together the next morning the others were already seated. Ron glanced at their linked fingers and sniggered. Draco looked at them and sniffed subtly.

"About bloody time." he laughed into his porridge, looking pale and tired but amused. "You two have been dancing around each other for months."

"Get in there!" grinned Ron, pumping his fist in the air. "I guess that explains last night's flickering lights then."

"I have no idea what you mean." smirked Severus, unable to keep the grin from his face.

"We don't need a nose like Draco's to know what you two were doing," Hermione laughed, "all the lights in the house were flickering. Some magical disturbance. That and the soppy grins you're both wearing this morning."

"Sleep well then?" Ginny smirked, "Eventually."

"What we did or didn't do last night is our business." Harriet said with mock seriousness.

"To be fair we expected that you would have done it way before that." Ron shrugged. "Especially after we walked in on-"

"Yes, thank you Ronald 'Cock-block' Weasley." Severus sneered, his mouth quirking up into a smile. "maybe if you learned how to knock..."

Harriet elbowed him playfully and dragged him to sit at the table.

"We should have the Wolfsbane adaptation ready by this afternoon." Severus said, pouring himself a coffee. "If all goes to plan we can test it before we go back to the castle."

"Hang on," said Ginny, "you don't mean you're testing it on Draco do you?"

"We don't have another werewolf hanging around." shrugged Ron.

"I can always bite you." sneered Draco. "You can be the test subject then."

Ron stuck his finger up at Draco and went back to his bacon.

"What if something goes wrong and it hurts him?" said Ginny.

"I have already performed basic tests on it and it should work fine," Severus said with confidence, "I just need a werewolf to test it on."

"It's fine Ginny," Draco reassured her, "I trust Evan, and if it makes it less painful I'm all for it. Full moons are exhausting."

Ginny looked unconvinced, but she conceded.

XXXXXX

Severus scooped a ladle of the Wolfsbane-like potion out of the cauldron and tipped it into a phial, handing it to Draco. Draco sniffed at the neck of the bottle and sneezed.

"It smells exactly the same." he said, holding it up to the light. "Do I just drink it or do I have to do anything?"

"I suggest just drinking it and see what effect it has." said Severus. "If you don't change straight away we can work from there."

"Here goes nothing." Draco said, his bravado faltering slightly. He threw back his head and drained the phial, gagging at the taste. He stood dumbly for a few seconds before his body morphed into his wolf form without a whimper of pain. He shook his white coat and lazily scratched an ear.

"Can you change back?" asked Harriet. Draco, cocking his head to the side, growled softly and with a pop he was human and crouched on all fours.

"That was weird," he said, getting to his feet, "it felt like an all over sneeze."

"That's what the animagus transformation is like." blurted Harriet.

Severus widened his eyes at her but it was too late.

"How would you know-" said Draco, realisation dawning, "You're an illegal animagus?"

"Draco you can't-" started Severus.

"And you?" Draco said incredulously, "I can't believe you both...wait, Ron and Hermione?" Harriet nodded, "Merlin's beard! That is so amazing!"

"So you won't say anything?" Harriet asked.

"No," smirked Draco, "but you have to tell Ginny. She'll kill me if I keep something like that from her. Why did you do it? It's really dangerous."

"Lots of reasons," Harriet said, "my dad was one too and he and his friends used to go out in animal form with Professor Lupin on a full moon. It could be fun."

"So much fun," grinned Draco, "with all the extra security around the castle it would be great to sneak out without anyone knowing."

"Absolutely not!" Severus snarled, "You will not risk your life for 'fun'. I forbid it."

"You forbid it?" said Harriet, raising her brows. "What gives you the right-"

"You insolent-" Severus growled, but Harriet spoke over him.

"Don't think you shouting at me is going to have any more effect on me now than it did when I was your student..."

"Wait," shouted Draco, "she knows?"

"Shit," muttered Harriet, "I've just got no control over my mouth today."

"Obviously." Severus sneered, but he couldn't keep a slight smile from his face. "You wouldn't have lasted five seconds as a spy."

XXXXXX

Monday evening in Harriet and Hermione's room Harriet finally told Ginny about the four new animagi in the castle. As Draco predicted Ginny was not amused.

"I can't believe you left me out of this!" Ginny raged, "I always get left out of the secrets. If this was Ronald's idea-"

"It wasn't Ron." interrupted Harriet, "we just didn't think."

"Oh great," Ginny snarled, "does Draco know?"

"He didn't," said Harriet apologetically, "I opened my big mouth yesterday."

"Last to know again." grumbled Ginny, sitting down heavily on Hermione's bed.

"There is something else," Harriet said carefully, "Hermione doesn't know either, nor does Ron."

"Go on." said Ginny looking intrigued.

"It's Evan." Harriet told her, hesitating. "I can't tell you all of it, that's down to him, but his real name isn't Asphodel."

"Skeeter was right?" Hermione exclaimed in surprise.

"Not exactly," Harriet said, "it will be in the paper soon enough. There is more to it, but I have to talk to Evan before I tell you the rest."

"What?" said Ginny eagerly.

"The paper will say he's Severus Snape's son, but they don't know the whole story." Harriet explained, "that's all I can say right now."

"I knew it." said Hermione. "Why couldn't I find any record of him in muggle or wizarding records then? My cousin couldn't find any trace of him."

"I really can't go into it," she told them, "but there is a good reason. As soon as I can tell you I will."

"Alright," said Hermione, "I know you would tell us unless you had a good reason."

"What is the deal with you two then?" asked Ginny, "Are you actually dating or what?"

"I guess we are," Harriet blushed, "but we haven't actually talked about it. I suppose him saying he loved me kind of rules out him wanting to date anyone else."

"The L word already?" smiled Ginny, "No wonder the lights went crazy."

"What does it mean exactly?" Harriet asked, "Is there a particular significance to the lights or something?"

"It doesn't happen often," explained Ginny, "but sometimes, when two people have a romantic connection and their magic is compatible, the magic can run out of control and combine with the other person's. Results can be unpredictable. The more their magic complements each other the more dramatic the effects."

"Do you mean every time I sleep with Ev lights are going to flicker like that?" Harriet said, concerned that their bedroom antics could be detected by the whole school.

"Usually a simple contraceptive spell and privacy ward should prevent the effects being experienced outside the room." Ginny shrugged. "You must both be really powerful if it could effect the whole house through that. Like Dumbledore powerful."

"Oh, erm," said Harriet, looking very awkward and slightly worried, "how do you do these spells and wards exactly?"

"You didn't use protection?" gasped Hermione, "What were you thinking Harriet?"

"I didn't know," she muttered, "I'd never...well you know. How was I supposed to know?"

"Well," Hermione frowned, "I'll give you that, but surely Evan should have known. You wait until I speak to him, he should be more responsible."

"He didn't know either," Harriet blurted out, "he'd never...oh shit, please pretend you didn't hear that." she pleaded when she saw their expressions.

"That's so beautiful," sniffed Hermione, "it's like you were meant to be together. Even your animal forms match."

"Really?" said Ginny, "Thats cute. I wish I could do the animagus transformation too."

"We can help you through it," offered Harriet, "but only if you promise never to let Evan know that I let that slip."

"My lips are sealed." grinned Ginny. "If for no other reason than to prove that I can keep a secret, next time you all have some big plans you feel like leaving me out of."

XXXXXX

It was a week later, when Harriet and Severus entered the Great Hall for breakfast and the hum of conversation stopped. Every eye in the room seemed to be on them and they all looked intrigued.

"I guess Skeeter broke the story then." Harriet whispered to Severus as they passed silent students on their way to the Gryffindor table.

"Either that or one of us has grown an extra head." Severus muttered back, keeping his face carefully blank.

Mutters were breaking out around the hall as they took their seats and the Slytherin table seemed to be particularly stunned by the news. Judging by the furtive looks they kept shooting at Severus the Slytherin's appeared to be torn between being scared and awed by Evan Asphodel's supposed bloodline. Soon two Slytherin's broke away from the table and approached him.

"Excuse me," Blaise said respectfully, with Pansy Parkinson stood slightly behind him looking nervous, "I just wanted to say, I'm honoured to meet the son of such a brilliant man. If I had known I would have asked you to pass on our respects to him before."

"Really?" Severus said with his lip curled in distaste. "Would it have stopped you turning on Draco? Betraying your housemate?"

"I apologised to Draco about that." said Blaise, looking uncomfortable and almost backing into Pansy. "I understand that you are defending Draco, but I would like to be friends, if I can prove myself somehow..."

"I doubt that-" Severus started.

"Zabini," Harriet interrupted, calming Severus with a hand to his arm, "I suggest giving him some time. He will get back to you when he is ready."

"Do you know where the Professor is?" Pansy blurted out, looking terrified as Severus turned his glare on her.

"I couldn't tell you where he is." Severus said carefully, "Now if you don't mind, I would like to eat my breakfast in peace."

The two Slytherin's scurried back to their table to curious mutters.

"You could do without alienating the Slytherin's," Harriet whispered to Severus, "they sometimes hear things we don't and you never know when we might need their help against Greyback."

"I won't put up with poorly veiled attempts at sucking up to me just because of some news story." he muttered irritably. "I see no reason to pretend differently. And you are still far too trusting."

"You really need to control your temper." Harriet arched an eyebrow.

"My temper?" Severus exclaimed, "You're-" he noticed her teasing smile and snorted, "Very amusing. You're insufferable you know."

"So you always tell me," she winked at him, "yet you seem to endure it well."

"I should be made a bloody saint." he said with a grin, confrontations with Slytherin's all but forgotten.