November 3rd, 1996
—S—
"Hey Dad," Aurora said cheerily as she came into his lab where he summoned her.
"Happy birthday, Aurora," he said with a bit too much resignation for his own good.
"Thank you," She said, hopping up on the stool she normally sat on. He stared at her, trying to decipher why she was so cheerful.
It might have been that Longbottom finally got the nerve up to ask her to court. It had been an amusing afternoon when the young man came knocking on his office door. Even more so when he'd asked for Hermione first, going deathly pale when he was informed she was unavailable. But, he did have to give the boy credit. He actually didn't run the words together this time, unlike when he asked Aurora to the Yule Ball.
But the boy had requested permission months ago, practically at the start of term. Severus had kept Longbottom's request to himself and Hermione, not wanting Aurora to feel like she had to either encourage or gently let the boy down before he even got the nerve up.
"You're in a pleasant mood." He noted.
"Am I not allowed to be? Is there a rule that says one must be sullen at sixteen?" She smirked.
"Watch the cheek," He said. "And no, I just find you uncharacteristically cheerful given the time of day."
"I passed out on my bed just after nine o'clock and slept until about forty minutes ago." She replied and seeing as how it was just after nine-thirty in the morning, Severus could understand his daughter's buoyantness. "Apparently quidditch is good for insomnia."
"Is it? I'll keep that in mind. May I have your hand, please?" He said, extending his own right hand.
"Sure, what do you need my- Ow! Dad, what the bloody hell was that for!?"
He smirked as he levitated the droplet of blood he extracted via wand from his daughter's finger and brought it over to the potion sitting on his work bench. The pink potion. The potion that very quickly took the smirk off his face and he had to force himself not to cringe when thinking about his daughter consuming it.
A contraceptive potion.
Hermione's allergy to the standard was something they had easily worked around. The charm, while not precisely as effective, was a good enough replacement when cast properly. And it had done the job and kept them child free for the period they had wished to be so, as well as preventing heartache from any possible losses the last eleven and a bit. But whether or not Aurora had inherited her mother's allergy to the potion was something he'd been putting off testing for what might be too long. He could have, perhaps, kidded himself into believing that she was still too young. He'd nearly done it when she and Fred Weasley had passed three months together, figuring if they had lasted that long than the prankster was serious in his affections to Aurora. He let it slip his mind when their break-up happened, and barely allowed it a passing thought when Longbottom sought his permission.
But then Minerva was complaining over breakfast about needing to deduct fifty points from her own house for catching Weasley and Miss Brown in a compromising position. She also requested that he cover their detentions. And while the prospect of doing so did give him some cheer, a long list of disgusting or laboring tasks coming to mind to punish them with, the reality that a friend of his daughter was engaging in such an activity meant that there was a distinct possibility that she might do the same thing. Be it with Longbottom or someone else, he didn't want to know, but the reality was she was the age he and Hermione were when they first had done it, even if it was only just.
He watched the drop of blood hit the potion and waited for the adverse reaction.
Nothing happened.
It was both a relief and disappointment.
"Dad?" Aurora asked, and he looked up at her.
"You do not have the allergy your mother had." He said, turning around and retrieving six more bottles of the contraceptive. "Take the first the next time you start your menses, and a new one every two months afterward."
Aurora frowned as she took the bottles from him, then really looked at them. Her eyes widened. "Dad, I, what? Why? Why are you… I'm not even ready."
"Good." He said. "It's what every father wants to hear, just short of a desire to join a nunnery. But the fact of the matter is, you're at the age in which sexual intercourse becomes much more common, and while I would prefer to believe you would never do such a thing, I'm also not an idiot. Take the potion, Rory. Even if you have no one you desire to do so with now, there will come a time when you will, and this way you will be ready. And do not share it with Miss Weasley or Miss Lovegood, or anyone else."
"Yeah. Pretty sure the idea of asking Professor Snape's daughter for contraceptive potions, knowing precisely where she would have gotten it from, is something no one would ever do."
"And where do you think Aunt Poppy gets them?" He asked.
"For everyone else, it's a matter of plausible deniability. They think Aunt Poppy brews them, or buys them from St Mungo's, or perhaps they merely magically appear in the infirmary to be available upon request, should the typical dunderhead not realize fifth year potion's kit has everything they need to brew it." When she stopped for breath, and he stared at her, Aurora shrugged. "My friends aren't dunderheads, and I'm fairly certain Ginny's already brewed her first dose. And Luna might have mentioned someone in Ravenclaw doing the same."
At least it is Miss Weasley and not her brother." He grumbled. "I at least can have some confidence in her brewing skill."
"She's dating Uncle Ollie." Aurora blurted.
"Aurora, it's far too early for teenage gossip." He said, waving her away so he could, perhaps, sneak back into his rooms and nurse a whiskey before the dinner to take place later in the day.
"It's family gossip." She retorted, placing five of the small vials down on the counter and uncorking the sixth.
"Then go tell your mother," Severus retorted before frowning. "What are you doing?"
"You said take it the first day of …."
He held up his hand. "Aurora…." He said in a warning tone.
She smirked, then swigged it back. "It's best to do this in front of you regardless of the test. May be something else that causes the reactions."
He gave her a half smile for thinking clearly, watching his daughter, his beautiful, smart, vibrant daughter as she waited a time for the potion to kick in. "It's disgustingly sweet." She said conversationally.
"I have been told this." He agreed.
"Well," She said after about a minute. "I think it's safe to say I am, in fact, allergy free."
"So, you are." He conceded.
"I'll see you and Mum later, then?"
"You and your entourage should be in our chambers by five o'clock." He said. "Anyone late won't be admitted."
She smirked, then surprised him by coming to his side and kissing his cheek. "Later, Daddy." She said, collecting her potions and leaving.
Daddy. Oh, he must have looked positively miserable for her to have used that title. With a heavy sigh, Severus headed back to his rooms, a fire whiskey or two calling his name, as he knew there was much more to prepare for than merely an evening with his daughter and her friends.
—H—
"Alastor," Hermione greeted the one-eyed wizard, and he smiled at her.
"H," He said, hobbling past her. "How's Hogwarts?"
"Limiting." She replied, following him into the sitting area of her and Severus' quarters. "Albus wants me to teach, of course, but it's pretty much just becoming a review of the last couple years. He doesn't seem to understand that they do need to learn, regardless of who is doing the teaching."
"How's Potter and the rest?" He asked.
"They are, admittedly, above and beyond. But then, they were actually learning, and there are some things Remus had taught Harry, that Severus had taught him in passing, that Harry has shown the others. You taught us about Patronus' in our fifth year, but I believe it was only really Severus who could cast a near-fully corporal one. He's powerful, so I suppose that isn't too much of a surprise. But Alastor, all of those kids can produce a patronus. All of them. They faced Death Eaters at the ministry and they all survived. They need more advanced lessons, but Albus refuses to allow me to do so. Or Severus. Or bloody anyone, though he has been taking Harry off on special lessons."
"We know what they are?" Alastor asked as they entered the sitting area.
"Why, our esteemed leader is teaching my sixteen-year-old all about Tom Riddle." Sirius said as he leaned back on the sofa, the space in the middle empty between he and Severus as they pair enjoyed some of the latter's whiskey. "Harry's wrote to me about it. Everything about Riddle's history, starting from what Dumbledore knew of his life prior to Hogwarts." He sipped his whiskey. "I'm not sure if he's trying to get Harry to understand him or sympathize with him."
Severus scoffed. "He still believes it's Lily's love that protected him for all this time. I will concede that Lily's final, magical act was quite likely a shielding spell strong enough to guard against even the killing curse. It was for Harry that she died, to protect him. Or, perhaps, it could have been something as simple as wards on the crib. Runes carved within that we would never have seen. Hagrid was the one who got to him, and frankly, without Harry there, I wouldn't have thought to look at it."
"What's left of Godric's Hollow now?" Sirius asked.
"The house is ash." Remus said from the kitchenette, fixing himself a cup of tea. "I'd gone not long after you'd gone to Azkaban, and before Severus went as well. The place is dust, nothing but the shell of the first floor left."
Severus frowned. "So, someone set it on fire after I'd left." He said.
"I suppose someone did." Hermione said as she sat down between her husband and their friend, Alastor taking the chair, leaving the love seat for Remus and the delayed Minerva.
"Coulda been anyone," Alastor waved it off. "Anyone at any time. A regular witch or wizard trying to burn the place the Dark Lord bit the dust, or a Death Eater wanting to try and earn back their Lord."
Minerva appeared through the fire place then, dusting herself off. She glanced at the men just as Remus came over to hand Moody a tumbler of whiskey before taking a seat.
"Have I already missed the important discussions?" She asked, gesturing to the liquor. "Or is Severus merely mourning?"
"What you lose?" Alastor asked.
"The ability to believe my daughter young and innocent." He replied, leaning his head back. "She's able to take contraceptive potion."
"Own fault on that one, ain't it?" Alastor smirked.
Severus lifted his head. "Better to know she's taking that than find out she's been impregnated by some dunderhead."
"At least that is one thing I have never had to worry about." Sirius smiled.
"Harry still could…" Remus started.
"Harry is with Draco." Sirius cut him off. "And I would bet my house that if those two make it through the war, they are going to spend the rest of their lives together."
"What did you wish to talk about, Severus?" Minerva asked, taking a seat next to Remus and cutting off any argument the two marauders may have had.
"A few things, actually." He said, leaning forward to set his whiskey down on the coffee table, steepling his hands between his knees. "We are facing what will likely be one of the most dangerous undertakings Albus has concocted yet: his own death. The fact that we were able to rid Miss Bell of her curse leads me to think that, with time and research, we could do the same for Albus. However, I don't believe the man would allow it."
"He hasn't even said anything 'bout it yet." Alastor replied. "Makes me think he wants to die."
"Which seems a bit odd since he wanted so desperately to become the master of Death once." Severus replied, and Hermione was certain she wasn't the only on in the room looking at him in confusion or disbelief. "He and Grindelwald were partners, or has he made everyone conveniently forget that he was once a rising Dark Lord himself?"
"I remember," Alastor said.
"I never knew to begin with." Remus said.
Sirius whistled, "neither did I. I had always thought he defeated Grindelwald."
"He did." Hermione replied. "In 1945, Dumbledore finally confronted Grindelwald, winning the duel and imprisoning him inside a fortress. But it was only because of the death of Dumbledore's sister, Ariana, that he turned completely against Grindelwald. Before then, the two were reported to have… well, to have acted like a pair of Death Eaters. Muggle baiting, torture, believing that witches and wizards were superior over non-magical beings, and that the statute of Secrecy need be eliminated, and a hierarchy be put in place for… for the greater good."
"They were also obsessed with wizarding lore, namely the Deathly Hallows. They believed obtaining all three items from legend were to make one the master of Death." Severus added.
"Okay, let's put aside the Hallows for now," Remus said, shaking his head, pinching his nose. "You're saying that Albus Dumbledore was once a man who wanted precisely what the Dark Lord is looking to achieve? And we are all following him…."
"Like puppy dogs?" Severus said, eyebrow twitching. "Why yes, I believe most of the order are."
"We'll get back ta Dumbledore's intentions another time," Alastor waved it off. "He don't want us knowing he's going to bite it, let alone help, so what's on yer mind, Snape?"
"How much danger we are all in." He said bluntly, and Hermione reached over and placed her hand on his knee. He glanced at it, covered it with this own, but virtually ignored it. "The fact that he refuses to tell the order means he likely expects one of two things: that either I will die very shortly after his demise, because he likely thinks everyone will believe I was truly working for the Dark Lord after all and go for my head. Or, the Order will splinter, and I am willing to bet he believes that should that happen, the side that will believe me guilty will have the greater numbers."
"That's your neck on the line," Remus said. "What about ours?"
"Hermione is his wife." Minerva said. "She'd be considered a traitor by association."
"And should this execution of the leader of the light have an audience, there can be no one from the light willing to let me and mine walk away unscathed. Even faking ignorance, as I am walking out with a bunch of Death Eaters, could be risky. You'll either be thought to be a traitor like your dear friend Peter, or you blow my cover, in which case you will fail to receive valuable information."
"So, what're ya suggesting?" Alastor asked.
"Liquid Luck," Severus replied. "Just enough to get us through that night, and to allow the children a small vial each for their own protection."
"Alright," Alastor nodded, "Suppose that could help. But still don't see how all of us need it, not just you and the missus?"
"Because I do believe there will be an audience, and I do believe that Dumbledore will ask you all there to bear witness to my turning sides. I wish to propose a plan that has risks. And, of course, requires a lot of misdirection, especially for people in the order who do not yet know the truth, and cannot until after Dumbledore's death."
"Why not let the others know now?" Minerva asked.
"Do you really believe Molly will be able to keep her opinion on this to herself?" Sirius asked, not unkindly. "She would go nearly blue when Harry or Ron would mention Hermione in the kitchen once it was discovered that H is Hermione. She doesn't like the idea that her youngest children have been preparing for war, have been vocal about their learning things no fifteen or sixteen-year-old should know, and let's not even get into her opinion on how we are raising our own teenagers." He smirked for a moment. "If she were to know the truth about Dumbledore, she'd have something to say about it. If she knew even more so the plan for him, she would have a conniption."
"Well that's Molly, but I always thought Arthur wise enough to understand the nuances."
"Perhaps, but he ain't really stealthy." Alastor smirk. "Got too many tells, that one."
"Kingsley would keep quiet, but he'd also have a hard time simply letting Albus pass on." Sirius conceded.
"And how would you know how Kingsley would take it?" Remus asked.
"I suppose that depends," Sirius retorted. "Can you say how Tonks would react?"
"Yes," Remus said, his tone suggesting his ready to argue his point.
"Precisely," Sirius smiled.
There was a knock on the doors in the office, and everyone looked to one another.
"I suppose that means time is up." Hermione mused, glancing at the clock over the mantel as Severus rose to answer the door. "It's nearly time for the children to show up, and that's likely one of them now."
"I ain't staying for a party," Alastor said as he got up.
"Oh, Al, lighten up. You sat through Hermione's sixteenth." Minerva chided as she stood.
Alastor hesitated. "Who all?" He asked Hermione.
"Harry, Draco, the Weasley children, Luna Lovegood, and Neville Longbottom."
"Longbottom?" He said, mulling it over. "Suppose I can get a good look at the kid.
"Good, because once they're all occupied, I wanted to talk to you about a plan I had for a Defense lesson."
—A—
"Are you ready to head down?" Aurora asked Neville who startled quite badly at her question. He quickly closed his herbology book, grimacing when the parchment filled with notes was stuck between the pages. "I might know a spell that will remove the ink." She smirked. "My dad taught me."
"Really? Won't it… won't it remove all the ink?" Neville asked, glancing at the book apprehensively.
"No, you just need to specify the color. Our ink wells are filled with black, the texts are usually written in either dark blue, gray, or green." She shrugged. "You should see how often mum has to remove things from her books. It's quite amusing, really, when you consider that my father writes notes in margins, and she loathes pages being written on. Well, except that one book."
"One book?" Neville asked, standing, heading with Aurora toward the common room door. Most of the Gryffindors were out in the Great Hall or socializing. She hadn't seen Harry virtually at all that day, likely off with Draco, and Ginny had gone to get Luna just before Aurora found Neville.
"Yeah," Aurora said as they stepped out. "Mum says it was the most romantic gift she'd ever gotten from him, and it was from before they even had their first date. A copy of Jane Eyre, with Dad's commentary all through it. She still has it, and all the little herbs and flowers he stuffed in it."
"What made it so romantic?" Neville asked as they slowly ventured down the stairs, his hands stuffed in his pockets as Aurora rested her hand on the banister.
"Well, I think it was the fact that he underlined a passage that sorta resonated with him. And it was during the proposal scene. I'm not sure, really. I suppose I don't quite share their idea of romance."
"And, uh, wh-what is your idea? Of romance, I mean?" he asked, clearing his throat and taking a deep breath. "I mean, the box Fred made…."
"And ended up selling," She smirked. "Though, to his credit, I did say he could. And it isn't identical to the one he made me." She sighed, pondering. "I'm not sure, precisely. One would think that my parents are the prime example. Friends who fell for one another, stayed together through what would have torn many apart. There was faith in one another, that they would always be together. And they have, they have weathered so many storms. And it is wonderful, but… I don't know."
"Well that's helpful." Neville mumbled, and Aurora glanced at him, wondering if he realized she'd heard him. "So, get any mail today?" he asked after the silence lingered to long, and Aurora watched as Neville's face twisted in agony, and his hand nearly rose to palm his disheartened expression.
"I did." She said, smiling in an effort not to laugh. "Molly Weasley sent me a somewhat stilted letter of best wishes, though it seemed quite… cold in feel. Not entirely sure I understand that one. My various grandmothers all sent me galleons because the Granger one doesn't know me as well as she'd like, the Prince one knows that if she could have given my father money at any time to spend how he liked, she would have, and the McGonagall-Wood one is never certain what my taste in clothing is. The twins sent me a card and some Instant Darkness Powder. And jelly slugs, I do love Jelly slugs. Conveniently with all the yellow ones taken out, I am really not a fan of those ones."
"So… yes." Neville said.
"Well, I saw how much you regretted the question the moment it left your mouth, so I figured I would answer it in detail to make you feel somewhat less silly."
Neville gave a chuckle, and Aurora was quite pleased with herself.
"I've been meaning to ask you." He started, "if perhaps… if maybe the next Hogsmeade visit you'd like to go just the two of us. I mean, just us… and you know it's meant to be just us this time."
"I'd like that." She said as they headed down into the dungeons.
"Really!?" Neville's voice pitched and echoed off the stone corridor.
"Yeah," Aurora replied. "Why wouldn't I?"
"I have a rather long list of reasons why I figured you'd say no, but I'm not sure I should be getting into them and turn my luck," He smirked, and Aurora chuckled as they came to her father's office door.
"I doubt any of them could change my mind. Unless, of course, one of them was that you actually didn't get my parent's permission. In which case, I have to decline to appease them."
He didn't seem nervous about the prospect, so Aurora assumed as she entered her father's office that Neville had, in fact, braved her father once more in order to get his blessing. Or cheated and asked her mother.
She didn't knock as she headed into her parents' rooms, simply opening the door that appeared for her and walking through, making sure Neville was following so they wouldn't shut him out.
She was a bit surprised to find Draco and Harry already there, but more so by the abundance of adults she hadn't counted on.
"Happy birthday, Uncle Sirius." She said as she went over and sat on the sofa beside him.
"Happy birthday, Rory." He smirked.
"Any particular reason why you're here?" She asked, noting the not-quite Professor Moody speaking with Harry, Draco chatting with Professor Lupin.
"Just a few things your father wanted to chat with us all about, nothing in particular." He shrugged. "And your mother had an idea she wanted to run by a few of us."
"Bloody hell," Ron's voice cut through the haze of chatter, and everyone looked at him as he, Ginny, and Luna came through the door, held open by Aurora's mother. "I'm in a teacher's chambers."
"I see your powers of observation hasn't changed throughout the years." Hermione said, but Ron merely turned about as he continued to move forward. "If you were expecting coffins, I'm sorry to disappoint."
"I think he was just expecting it to be darker, more dungeon-y," Ginny smirked.
"More books than the library in here!" Ron nearly shouted.
"Haven't spent much time in the library for studying, have you, Weasel?" Draco snorted.
"Yes," Aurora heard her Dad say. "We heard of your escapades from the previous night," he quirked a brow, making Ron blush.
"Can we please pretend that we aren't at Hogwarts, and that my friends and I are not in a room filled with three current professors, and two past ones."
"Three, actually." Uncle Sirius smirked. "I was a sort of pseudo professor for a year. Defense against the Dark arts."
"So… no one over the age of seventeen in this room has never been a professor here." Ginny said, looking about the room.
"Except for Moody." Harry noted.
"Nope, taught yer parents back in the seventies." He said. "Was just before I lost my eye and leg."
"Perhaps we should heed Aurora's request." Hermione said, and Aurora sighed with relief. "But first, before the food-"
"Oh," Ron grumbled.
Ginny gapped at him. "We found you in the Great Hall stuffing food in your face."
"Yeah, well," Ron shrugged. "Didn't eat as much as I usually do, knowing we were coming here."
"Anyway," Aurora's mother continued, glaring at Ron before turning back to her with a smile. "We wanted to give you something, Poppet." Aurora watched as her mother looked to her father, and he withdrew a small box from within his robes, handing it to Aurora. "When I turned sixteen, I was informed by my well-meaning foster parents that it was traditional to give a ring," she said as Aurora opened the box and revealed the citrine, oval stone set in silver ring.
"It's lovely," Aurora said, removing it from the box and slipping it on to her right hand.
"It's also enhanced with protective measures." Her father said. "One being a link to Draco."
"Me?" Draco asked, confused.
"Yes," He said. "You have a ring from your mother, that allows her to go to you. Your Aunt and I can do the same with Aurora, but should she need to escape a situation that puts her in danger, it will send her to you. With us, it's never known where we could be, and who we may have to pretend to be. The danger she faces could come from either side of this war. But you do not play a part, you have chosen a side, and it is the same one she aligns with. If she's in danger, and you're not with her, then it's less likely that porting to you will make her situation worse. And so, you know, your mother has given us permission to add the same charm to yours, so that you may got to Aurora's side if need be."
Draco nodded, both in ascent and understand, rising from his spot to go to his Uncle.
"Do you really think it's going to be that bad?" Harry asked apprehensively? "Enough that Rory would actually be safer going to one of us than either of you?"
Aurora watched her parents exchange weary looks, glance at the other adults who all seemed to share the same trepidation.
"If all goes as planned," Professor Lupin said slowly, "It will never be more dangerous for any of you."
November 10th, 1996
"Aurora," Neville said softly, nervously, and she looked up from her transfiguration notes to meet his timid gaze. "Are… are you… you're busy, I'll just…"
"It's advanced notes." She admitted with a sheepish grin. "Career counseling may not come around until May, but Professor McGonagall is also my aunt, so she wants to try and convince me to follow in her mastery. And since she probably knows I haven't decided yet."
"Yeah," Neville grinned, and then seemed to realized why he was there in the first place. It dropped, and his nerves came back in full force. "So, you're free then?"
"Sure," She said, waving her hand over her notes and tidying them up.
Neville gaped. "You can do wandless magic!?"
"We all can if we put our mind to it," She said picking the books up and putting them inside her bag. "Our wands are merely a tool, a way to channel our magic." She then withdrew her wand, and then banished her bag back to the dorms. She smiled cheekily, "And tidying it pretty much the only wandless I can do intentionally. So, there's that."
He laughed nervously, stuffing his hands in his pockets and stepped back a bit to give Aurora space for her to move around the sofa. "So, where are we going?"
"Well, umm…." He stiffened his spine and lifted his chin. "Come with me."
"'Kay," She smiled, following him as he led her out the portrait hole.
Neville helped her through, then led her down the stairs to the ground level of the castle. The further away from the common room they went, the more Aurora frowned, and when he turned to the side door that was a more direct path to the green houses, Aurora nearly questioned what he was up to. Instead, she kept quiet and hoped her father or mother weren't on rounds for the evening.
When they were out in the cool night air, Neville reached into his pocket and withdrew something. Pointing his wand at it, he enlarged a cloak. "Here," He said, blushing as he wrapped it around Aurora's shoulders.
"Thanks," She said, curiously watching as he repeated the processes again for himself. "Neville, what are we doing?"
"You'll see." He said, glancing upward and then doing a double take." We gotta hurry, actually," He said, taking her hand and guiding her quickly along the path to the greenhouses.
Having spent a fair amount of her childhood in Hogwarts, Aurora had known the greenhouses fairly well, including which ones to avoid. Which was why she stopped short when Neville tried to lead her into greenhouse five.
Her halting had her tugging on his arm when he kept moving. He turned, looking at her over his shoulder, and a genuine, true, excited smile washed over him, causing a rush of something to zip through her veins. "Come on!" He said, tugging her hand, and she obeyed.
This particular greenhouse wasn't overly humid, merely warmer than it was outside. The windows weren't frosted, and much of the foliage inside were large enough to block the view of the interior from the outside. And all of them were benign, or at least as far as Aurora could tell. She stopped just inside the doorway, looking around, wondering why this one had always been off limits.
"Is there devil snare or anything lurking in a corner I don't know about?" She asked.
Neville laughed, "No," he said, waving his wand and dimly lighting some sconces placed few and far between. They brightened the space enough to see, but not so much that it drowned out the night. "Come on, this way." He said, stuffing his wand up his sleeve and retaking her hand, pulling her deeper into the green house.
"Why are we in here? I was always told this wasn't a safe space."
"It's the apprentice greenhouse," Neville explained, and she hummed in understanding. "Remember the plant I was telling you about?"
"Yeah?" She said, and he stopped in front of a fairly large plant box with a single, closed, white-petaled flower inside.
"It's going to bloom tonight." He said, and as he said it, the petals slowly began to move. "I was actually aiming for your birthday, but… got it a week off. Then again, it's not like… not like I could change the moon cycles, and that's … that's what's needed for it. New moon and all."
"Oh." She said, watching as each iridescent petal began to curl outward.
"I had this whole plan," Neville continued, his focus on the flower while his thumb lightly brushed the edge of her hand. "I was hoping it would have bloomed for your birthday, and I was going to bring you out here, and show it to you. Originally, I was going to re-pot it for you, but the more I read up on it, the more I found out they don't like to be moved. So, I actually started to grow another, too, but that won't be ready until the Christmas Hols. And I couldn't wait that long, because … well, I'd already put off asking you to… umm… well your Dad called it court."
Aurora turned away from the large, magically enhanced flower, and looked at Neville who was nervously looking at his shoes. He then looked up and met her eyes.
"I've had a crush on you for a really long time." He said.
"I know," She confessed.
"Oh," He said, surprised, then, more sadly. "Oh."
"Is that okay? That I knew? I mean, I didn't want anything to be different between us…."
"Yeah, suppose that's evident." He said mirthlessly.
"But that's not to say that I wouldn't want to … court you."
"But if you knew… and you didn't…."
She put a finger on his lips to quiet him, and the surprise of it had him turning quite visibly red, even in the low light of the green house.
"I knew, and I didn't want things to change because, well… you're my friend. One of my best friends, and we have so many common friends that I worry…. And there was Fred, and I liked him, I do-did, and…." She sighed, taking her finger away and resting her hand on his shoulder. "Now I'm mucking this up."
"Think I mucked up first." He sighed. "I should have just left things as was."
"No," She said, shaking her head.
"Yeah, I think I really-"
He stopped talking when she gently tugged on his shoulder, bringing him toward her. And when he stiffened and wouldn't move, Aurora brought herself closer. She paused, studying his face, seeing the nervous anticipation in his eyes, felt the pounding of his pulse against her thumb where it rested on his neck. Aurora wasn't sure he'd even breathed since she moved, and she smile before closing the space and gently pressing her lips to his. He didn't reciprocate, but she knew better than to think it anything other than shock. So, she kissed him again, and felt his hand touch her back briefly once, twice, then finally settled between her shoulder blades. He put his hand on her waist just as she moved her lips away, and this time he was the one who began the next drag.
Aurora's other hand found its way into Neville's hair, and he breathed deep through his nose, pulling back quick enough there was actually a smack to the end of their kiss, making Aurora giggle.
He did too, his smile so elated that it made her heart swell.
"Sorry," he said, blushing. "Just… it was… I didn't expect that when I brought you out here."
"Am I moving too fast for you, do I need to slow down?" She partly teased.
"NO!" He half yelled, cracking his voice, making her laugh harder as he blushed and groaned. Neville bowed his head, his forehead touching hers. "Merlin can I please stop embarrassing myself in front of the girl I like. Please?"
"Still just the girl you like then? Not your girlfriend?"
He reared back. "You are now, aren't you?" Then frowned. "Aren't you?"
"I'd like to see if it fits." She said, feeling her own cheeks redden. "I do like you, Neville. I wouldn't have gone to the ball with you if I hadn't. Or to Hogsmeade. And I want to do that again, hopefully without finding one of our house mates in the process of being cursed next time. And I would like to know it is a date going in."
"Yeah," he said with a breathless laugh, "Yeah, probably better when we both know, right?"
Aurora nodded, glancing at the moonflower in full bloom. "My muggle grandmother has a couple of those. Well, the non-magical version. They're a lot smaller and grow on something like vines."
"They're distant cousins of each other, actually." Neville said. "It's said that the muggle versions actually originated from ours. Sorta like a squib, born without magic, so they were smaller and didn't shimmer like this one does. But they kept the night blooming characteristics, and apparently also have a much more powerful scent, and… I'm going to stop talking about plants and, maybe, kiss you again, if it's alright?"
Aurora giggled, "yes, I think that might be alright."
"Okay, good," He said leaning in and kissing her, surprisingly adept for someone who had never kissed anyone before. After a few minutes, he paused and asked, "How am I doing? Is this okay?"
"You're doing fine." She assured, him, giving him a quick peck.
"Really? Because, if you want me to try and snog like Ron was."
She chuckled. "Please don't."
"Okay," He chuckled, then resumed his very sweet but confident kiss.
—S—
"I think it's sweet." Pomona said, and her arm physically barring Severus from storming over to Longbottom and ripping him away from his daughter.
They'd been doing rounds together, and when she noted the light in the green house, Pomona had asked if he wanted to see what Longbottom had been cultivating. He didn't expect to find him with his hands and mouth on Aurora.
The moment they spotted the teenagers talking to one another in front of the admittedly brilliant looking moon flower, the head of Hufflepuff immediately put up a silencing charm around them and locked his feet to the ground. By the time Severus had countered her jinx, Longbottom was leaning in, making his move.
"I know I gave the boy my blessing, but I didn't think he'd actually go through with it."
"Well, Aurora looks happy, doesn't she?" Pomona asked, a romantic sigh lacing each word of the sentence. "A much better match than Mr Fred Weasley."
He turned to his colleague and scowled. "You're playing favorites."
"And you're not?" She countered.
"I dislike the idea of any of the miscreants running around the castle being anywhere near her, except her brother and Mr Malfoy."
"And Mr Potter." Pomona added.
He grumbled a slight agreement but wouldn't fully own up to that being true.
The teenagers parted, and with Aurora's hand in his, Longbottom led her out the other door of the greenhouse.
Severus spun and quickly followed them out, stalking them a short way and not quite catching up to them when he heard Hagrid below a greeting to them, then offer to lead them back to the castle. An offer the teenagers warmly accepted, Aurora parting from Longbottom to loop her arm around Hagrid's hand and ask how he'd been.
"They grow up, Severus." Pomona said, clapping him on the shoulder. "You can't always be her protective shadow. Sooner or later, you'll have to let her stand on her own."
Pomona didn't seem to realize the weight of what she'd just said as she continued up the path to the castle.
But Severus did.
Aurora would be of age in, officially, less than a year. And in that time, the war would get worse, and who she decided to kiss in greenhouses would be the last thing Severus would have to worry about.
With a heavy heart and a buzzing mind, Severus slowly returned to the castle, wishing he'd had a time turner to go back before everything became so dire.
Fred fans, try not to despair. After all, there will be about 71 chapter total, anything could happen!
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Until next time, everyone!
