The next month flew by. The weather started to improve, leaves started to appear on the knobbly branches of the whomping willow and the temperature started to increase, meaning the students spent more and more time outside. They had quickly learnt of her engagement, and she had received many congratulations from the older students especially.

Serena's additional classes were proving popular and it was lovely spending time in the greenhouses with Pomona now that the weather was warming up.

Serena and Kingsley spent as much time as possible together, and despite their plans to wait they'd started thinking about possible locations for their wedding.

The other members of staff were also in good spirits as the retired Professor Flitwick had come back to Hogwarts to help her prepare the final years for their NEWTs. She spent four or five hours per week with the amiable man, talking over past exam papers and practical tests. She had a lot to learn.

It was at the end of March that tension started building in the castle, as the escaped prisoner was spotted in Hogsmeade.

Albus called a meeting in the school staff room with the teachers and some members of the Order of the Phoenix.

"This is the third year now," Severus complained to Albus, before the others had arrived. "Ever since Potter waltzed back into the wizarding world-"

"Severus, please, he is but a young boy. And I would remind you, that if it was not for Harry's actions then things may be very different right now."

Severus sat down at the enlarged oval table, scowling. "Such an arrogant little boy, an escaped prisoner roams the boundaries and he amuses himself in sneaking out at night with that Weasley."

"Harry is a child who has a sense of adventure and mischeviousness, just like his father-"

"Don't talk to be about his father," Severus threatened, his voice suddenly dark and menacing.

Albus sighed and sat back in his chair, and at that moment a group of teachers entered and bustled about the room before taking a seat around the table.

"Really Albus, we need to reinstate a Headquarters, this really will not do," Minerva said.

"Not to worry, Minerva, a place has been found, all in good time."

Tonks and Dawlish soon arrived, followed up by Sirius. Severus stood up at once, his chair banging behind him, causing several teachers to jump in their seats.

"What's he doing here?" he snapped, looking accusingly from Albus to Black, his fingers inching towards his wand.

"I was invited, Snivellus."

The spell left Severus' wand before Sirius even had a chance to move, but Albus was quicker than either than them and the shield charm that erupted in the centre of the table hummed with power.

"Civility is all I ask," he said calmly. "You are here united by a common enemy. Now sit down, both of you."

Severus and Sirius glared at each other before slowly lowering themselves into chairs on opposite sides of the table, their eyes glued on each other. The other teachers whispered around them and Sybil changed places, moving away from Severus who barely even noticed. More teachers came in and joined them and Kingsley and Serena entered last, hand in hand, which only helped to darken Severus' mood even further.

Serena plopped down next to Severus with Kingsley on her other side. She pretended not to notice that the only chair left had been next to Severus, as usual. Teachers could be really childish when they wanted to be, she realised.

"I apologise for calling you here today, but events have moved forward and we must plan for the worst. As you are all aware we are expecting an imminent attack from the small Death Eater community remaining."

"Why now?" Remus said, frowning.

Albus grimaced, "I believe that the last two attempts at Voldemort's… regeneration these last two years has led the Death Eaters to fear his return. If Voldemort does come back, they will need to be seen as having continued his values during his absence, else risk punishment."

"Do they think there will be another attempt at bringing him back?" said Poppy, looking horrified. "But how!?"

"Let's not panic, Poppy, we know of nothing at the moment, but there are signs, signs the Death Eaters are believing."

"Signs?" said Sirius in a confident drawl. "You mean their Dark Marks are getting darker, don't you?"

Albus hesitated and then gave a slow nod. "It is one of the signs."

"Come on then, Snivellus, get it out, we all know how proud you are of-"

The curse Severus shot at him was reflected just in time by a hasty flick of Sirius' wand and it rebounded off the wall behind his head and hit a portrait, causing the inhabitants to run terrified into the frame next door, cursing and shouting at Severus.

Sirius raised his wand but three powerful shield charms exploded in the centre of the table with three simultaneous shouts of 'Protego!" Everyone froze. Kinglsey, Serena and Tonks all had their wands drawn and their shield charms hovered between the two men who were glaring murderously at each other.

"What's going on?" Serena cried, looking between the two wizards incredulously.

"You do know he's a Death Eater, don't you?" Sirius sneered.

"The mangy dog was just leaving," Severus said in a dangerous tone.

"Gentlemen," said Albus firmly. "I don't want to ask either of you to leave, but if you can't control yourselves then I may have to."

The wands were slowly lowered and the charms between them were withdrawn.

As Severus sat down Serena turned to him and glared, "What the fuck was that about?" she whispered through tight lips.

Severus ignored her completely and spoke to the room instead.

"We believe the attack will target Hogsmeade, Diagon Alley is too protected, and they want the school to feel threatened. Do you plan on joining them like your brother, Black?"

Remus, who was sitting next to Sirius, placed a firm hand on his arm and pushed him into his seat, cutting across him quickly, "Do we have a time scale?"

"No."

"We must be ready at any moment," Minerva said, looking determined.

"My brother has been informed," Albus said, folding his hands together, "and we shall be notified immediately if there is any movement."

Kingsley sat straighter in his chair and spoke in his slow, reassuring voice. "Two undercover aurors have also been stationed in Hogsmeade."

Several heads nodded around the table, reassured by this news.

"I have written a basic plan with Tonks, just to have some kind of order, although I know we are not trained like we used to be," Kingsley continued, taking out a piece of parchment.

Several eyes looked down at the table and expressions darkened as they remembered the war.

"Don't hesitate to interrupt," he said, looking calmly at them all. "First of all, the teachers that will stay behind to protect the castle are…"

Serena looked in wonder at her fiancé, understanding why he hadn't been able to sleep the night before. It must be such a responsibility to decide who takes what role in a fight against very powerful wizards, but then again, as an auror it was his job.

"There should be at least two extra people in the infirmary," Severus interrupted. "Poppy may need help."

Poppy nodded and smiled a thankyou at Severus, "yes, Severus is right, I need at least one extra person to be stationed with me."

"Filius, you shall help Poppy then," Kingsley said, adding a note to his paper.

"Very well," squeaked the wizard who was balancing precariously on three cushions in order to see over the top of the table.

"Next, I have divided the fighting wizards into two groups, the main attackers and the main defence. Pomona and Dawlish are in charge of civilian protection. I know we won't be able to have any fixed plan but I would like to try and maintain two lines.

The attackers, so the first line, are as follows; myself, Sirius and Remus. The defensive, second line contains Tonks, Serena and Rolanda."

"Serena should be in an attacking position," Severus said quietly, looking past her at Kingsley. "Her strengths lie in that domain." Everyone looked between Severus and Kingsley, confused as to why Severus would know Serena's duelling strengths.

Kingsley was silent and Serena turned to him. "You know he's right," she said quietly, placing a hand on his leg. He looked at her tensely for a moment and then gave a nod. "Yes, I agree." He scribbled out her name, drew two arrows and gave a nod. "You will exchange with Remus." He looked up at Remus who nodded his agreement too. "Ok, that about covers everyone, Albus, you shall stay at the castle unless you are really needed, but from the information that we have I don't expect it to be a big attack."

Albus gave a slight bow.

"You've left someone out, haven't you?" Sirius drawled, a smirk on his lips.

Severus stiffened and Serena saw his wand slide out of its holder onto his lap. She drew her own wand for the second time that evening, but Albus anticipated the situation. "Now, Sirius, I advise you not to push further," he said wisely. "Are there any more questions?"

"What if the attack falls in the day when we are teaching?" Remus asked, his hand on Sirius' arm again, giving it a warning squeeze.

"The prefects shall be utilised to control the classrooms; they already have training in such matters."

Remus nodded.

"Any other questions? Okay, thank you everybody, Severus, if you wouldn't mind…"

Everyone apart from Severus stood up and began moving about, lingering to talk or heading straight out. Kingsley and Serena left with Sirius.

"Right, explain to me what all that was about then?" she asked Sirius the moment they were out of the door.

He scoffed, "what? With that slimy git, you mean?"

She raised her eyebrows and looked at Kingsley who shrugged. "What happened between you two?"

"He's always been a waste of space, from the moment he started school." Sirius sneered. "You want to be careful around him, he's got a mean streak, and he's downright pathetic. Never mind creepy. Do you know he stalked one of our friends for years? Fancied himself in love with her? And then went and joined the Death Eaters, if that doesn't tell you what you need to know…"

Sirius trailed off as they reached the stairs. "See you in The Three Broomsticks on Thursday for a few drinks? Remus said he's spoken to you both about it."

Kingsley nodded, "We'll be there."

"See you then," Sirius winked at them and then hurried down the steps and out the door to the apparition point.

Serena gave a long sigh and looked at Kingsley, not sure what to think.

"Don't forget, a lot of people still haven't forgiven him," Kingsley said quietly. "And no one will forget."

Serena frowned, "I understand that, but he was downright goading him in that meeting."

"From what Remus has told me there's a long history between them."

"Hmm."

"Anyway, I think it's time I retired to bed," he smiled mischievously.

"Oh come on," she said in a low voice, looking around the empty corridor. "The whole bloody school knows we're together; do we still have to pretend we're sleeping separately?"

He chuckled and risked a quick kiss. "Very well, but if anyone sees us, you're the one explaining it to Albus!"

She laughed and let him lead her by the hand to his quarters.

…

Severus had had enough. He knew it, he knew that the moment he mentioned the Death Eaters everyone would go back to looking at him with distrust, giving him disgusted looks when they thought he wasn't looking, or fixing him out of the corner of their eyes as though they thought he might suddenly attack them.

And it meant the return of Black. Fucking Black. That disgusting dog still seemed to have everyone under his filthy charm, a smile here, a joked there, it was all so easy for the brilliantly handsome Sirius Black.

Even she liked him, he could tell. He had seen her, laughing at his tales and touching his arm so carelessly, like she always did. And seeing her with him, seeing her so happy drove him crazy with jealousy and anger. Why the fuck did Kingsley get to be happy? Why the fuck had she chosen him?

He knew the answer of course, I mean look at the wizard, he was built like a bloody house for one. He was an auror, you couldn't find a more worthy career, and he was a good person. There wasn't a scratch on his record. Everyone liked him, everyone wanted to be friends with Kingsley bloody Shacklebolt.

Anyway, he had had enough of the lot of them. He knew what he needed, to get her out of his mind. He couldn't believe he hadn't thought of it before. It had been so long… almost a year, perhaps. It was normal he was thinking about her. She was the only woman he had touched in forever.

He'd cast heavy charms on his appearance, masked his magical signature and apparated to Knockturn Alley, walking with purpose towards the building hidden at the end of the cobbled street. He was only obsessed with her body, that was all. From the very moment they had duelled and he had seen her stomach and bare skin, it had been all he could think about. But it was just a fascination, that was all, it was just physical.

He slipped in through the doorway and was greeted by the host, a middle age squib with too much makeup.

"What can I do for yuh' darlin'?" she asked, tapping her red nails on her desk and trying to see up underneath his black hood.

"One hour." He dropped a money bag on her desk. She opened it, her eyes widened and she handed it back to him, standing to lead him through to the room at the back of the house where girls lingered in next-to-nothing, lounging on chairs or sitting on tables, watching him curiously.

"Take yuh' pick."

Severus' eyes grazed over them closely. Too small… too old… too dark… Too skinny…

His eyes lingered on the girl at the end who was gazing at Severus' dark hood nervously. She was about a foot smaller than Severus, she was thin, but had wide hips and her breasts weren't grotesquely big. He looked closely at her face. Her long hair was blonde, but her eyes were blue. Damnit.

"Her." He nodded at the girl who stood up slowly. The squib gave her a stern look and a small shove and the girl started up the stairs, Severus following her.

They arrived in a room Severus had used before- wooden floor, peeling wallpaper, and a king-sized bed, at least it had been freshly made, he thought.

The girl sat on the edge of the bed and seemed to relax slightly as Severus lowered his hood. He was unrecognisable, he knew, but perhaps she had been fearing worse.

"Have you been here before?" she asked, a slight London accent when she spoke.

"Yes," Severus said curtly, taking off his cloak and throwing it over the chair in the corner. "And I'm not paying you to sit there."

She jumped up and began pulling at her underwear, but Severus slapped her hand out of the way. "I'll do it. Now get on the bed and don't speak."

She did as he asked, watching him as he removed his black boots and socks and undid the first two buttons of his shirt. He knelt onto the bed and pulled her light body towards him, caressing her pale skin with his finegertips and hating how his body reacted so quickly when she pushed her hands into his hair and pulled him down for a kiss.

"Close your eyes," he ordered, quietly.

"I don't-"

"Close your eyes, dammit."

She did as he said and- there- she could have been her sister. "Serena," he sighed, his body crushing hers and his hands finding her breasts. He placed kisses on her neck and stroked her skin with his rough hands, The girl started to unbutton his trousers and he let her, groaning loudly when she took his cock in her small hands. "Gods, Serena, you will be mine." He returned to her neck, biting and sucking, wanting to leave a mark, needing to leave a mark. "You will be mine!" he growled.

He flattened his body on hers, pulling down her scanty pants and letting his fingers find her folds. The girl gave a loud moan and Severus kissed her, forcing his tongue roughly into her mouth. "No noise," he breathed dangerously against her lips, "or it will be the last thing you ever do." In her fright the girl's eyes flew open but at his furious expression she shut them tightly again and nodded, her body stiff.

Severus continued touching her, feeling her hips, her legs, her breasts, this body he had thought so much about was here, beneath him. He pushed into her roughly and seized her by the shoulders, thrusting deeply into her, but ever since she had opened her eyes it was all he could see, it wasn't her, this whore, it wasn't his Serena at all!

"Turn over" he growled, flipping her onto her knees and pulling her bottom towards him, taking her from behind roughly, and hissing at the sensation of his cock being sucked by her tight channel. He grunted as he thrusted into her, pulling her blonde hair with one hand and gripping her hips tightly with the other as he pummelled, her name echoing through his head with each movement.

He spilled his seed inside her with a throaty groan and closed his eyes. God, it had been too long since he had felt a woman wrapped around him.

He opened his eyes when he felt her move beneath him and he withdrew quickly, clearing away the mess with his wand and shooting her with a cleansing spell for good measure. She gave a tiny appreciative smile and lay back on the bed, waiting.

Severus stood up and buttoned up his trousers, feeling more and more disgusted with himself by the minute, as he always did after he came to this place. He felt bile rise up in his throat as he tied his shoelaces. How could he have compared her to this prostitute? How could he have ever thought that this would work? That he would just forget her?

He picked up his cloak and threw it on.

"But, mister, you paid for an hour," the girl said anxiously, clearing thinking about the reaction of her boss if she didn't make enough money. "Please, stay, I'll do anything you want, I'll be your Serena."

Severus shook his head and threw her the bag of money. The girl gasped when she opened it, but he had already gone. The stranger could have bought his 'Serena' for a whole night with this much money, she thought.

…