After New Years' they were a little more open about displaying any sort of affection in the halls. They'd given up on caring about what Rita Skeeter had to say, even though Hazel got a couple of 'you could do better' letters in the mail every day. Sev didn't stay over often, but it didn't bother her much. She was just glad that they could hold hands in the corridors and go for walks around the lake without having to pretend they were just normal colleagues.

By the time the second task rolled around, they were fairly comfortable with each other, even in front of the students. To an extent. Sev refused to kiss her in the hallways, but it was understandable. So when they ventured out to the lake to watch the second task, no one looked twice when they sat down next to each other, holding hands and trying not to freeze to death in the biting February wind. "So they have to get something out of the bottom of the lake?" Hazel asked as they settled in. "And fight all of the creatures in there?"

"Someone," Sev corrected. "Dumbledore placed their - hostages, shall we say - under a set of spells last night that would keep them from drowning or freezing. They'll reawaken when they resurface, but they're all people they would miss if something went wrong - siblings, dates... I'm sure you would be mine," he smiled gently.

Hazel thought for a moment, staring out at the dark water. "How would you do it?"

"Gillyweed. I wouldn't bother with potions or anything. All of the good ones are gillyweed-based anyway, and it only needs to work for an hour," he answered, peering through a pair of binoculars. "Potter's just gotten here."

"I was going to say one of the Scuba Spells or the Bubble-Head Charm, but that would probably work better. Gillyweed can't fail you and you can't get stuck with gills," she thought aloud. "Looks like Krum's transfiguring himself. Is that a shark?" She paused, raising her binoculars. "I think Delacour and Diggory are going for charms. What's Harry got? Wait, is he eating something?"

"Gillyweed," Sev muttered, setting his binoculars down. "So that's who's been breaking into my personal stores."

When Harry jumped into the water, the fanfare started to die out. "He could've gotten it from Pomona," Hazel suggested. Pomona was on the platform in the middle of the lake, since one of her students was a champion, and couldn't confirm or deny it.

It was a lot less exciting than the first task, but they occupied their time by scanning the crowd and checking on the surface of the lake ever so often. Hazel clutched his hand, both of them trying not to freeze even under their cloaks. Eventually Sev got tired of the freezing wind, casting a bubble of warm air around them. Hazel let go of his hand so she could stretch. "You don't have to move."

She laughed, lacing her fingers with his again. "I won't, don't worry." Leaning her head on his shoulder, she mumbled, "Muffliato." Their little bubble of warm air was now soundproofed too. "Sev, this is going to sound mad, but Moody seems different. I know you said it was just the stress of the tournament and all, but... I don't know what it is, but he doesn't seem like himself, and it's been months. Not the Moody I knew in the Auror Office, anyway."

Moody was out on the platform with the judges and a few others. Hazel turned her binoculars to him. He was watching the lake, scanning for something none of the others would be able to see. "Well he doesn't trust me," Sev said matter-of-factly. "He's been searching my office. There's nothing for him to find, but I understand why he does it."

"He's never liked you." It wasn't a comforting thought, but Hazel knew Moody would never trust a Death Eater, reformed or not. "When he first realized - he figured it out somehow, a long time ago. He told me I need to be careful and that I need to rethink who I spent my time with. I told him I trust you, and Dumbledore trusts you, so he could shove off. He didn't seem to like that."

Sev smiled, keeping his eyes trained on the water. Something had started bubbling up near the platform. "I appreciate it." He held up his binoculars, saying, "Delacour's back. She doesn't have anyone with her, though." They watched as Madam Maxine rushed to help her champion out of the water, the hysterical girl pleading with her headmistress to let her try again.

A few minutes later, Cedric Diggory surfaced, Cho Chang swimming next to him. Dumbledore reached out to help them up onto the platform as Viktor Krum surfaced, transfiguring back into himself. Harry soon followed, bringing not just his own captive but Fleur's as well.

While the rest of the professors were concentrating on watching Dumbledore talk to the chieftess of the merpeople, Hazel had just turned to say something to her companion when she saw Sev flinch. It was the slightest of movements, nearly imperceptible. "What's wrong?" she whispered, setting her binoculars in her lap. "Are you alright?"

"It's nothing. I'm fine. Er, let's talk about it later?" he finally decided, since she was giving him the look she always gave him when she could tell he was hiding something.

That night, as the Gryffindors and Hufflepuffs were throwing parties to celebrate their champions, Hazel found her way down to the Potions storeroom, where Sev had just found that even more of his gillyweed was indeed missing. Without a word, Hazel closed the door, shutting both of them in. "What's going on? There's something you're not telling me, something that's been on your mind for a while. I want to help, if I can."

With a sigh, he climbed down the ladder and rolled up his left sleeve. "It's been getting clearer for months. It has since fall term started. Back at the lake... I might have imagined it. I hope I imagined it. I could've sworn it stung, just for a moment." He rolled his sleeve back down to cover the brand he was so ashamed of.

"But… that can only happen if…"

"He's out there. He's coming back." It was something he'd been trying to deny for a long time, even in the face of Karkaroff's insistence. He had nothing to be afraid of. He'd covered his tracks well. But he was still worried, and now he had more than just himself to think about.

Hazel reached out for him, taking his hand and trying to be reasonable. "If he was back, we'd have heard something about it, right?"

"He's getting stronger. He will be back, probably before the year is out." It sounded more like a promise than a guess. "If he comes back, I don't know if I should tell you to run as far as you can or ask you to stay here, because I will need to go back to him, back to spying for Dumbledore… Then again, I suppose you wouldn't turn down the fight."

"And I'd say there's no way I'd just leave you to deal with all of that on your own," she smiled, pulling him into a hug. "We're going to be okay, Sev. Everything's going to be okay. We have to keep telling ourselves that."

As he held onto her, he was thankful that she didn't mind the awful blemish on his arm, the permanent reminder of the decisions he'd made in the past. He was terrified of what was coming, especially now that the Dark Mark had started to twinge. More than anything, though, he was thankful that he wasn't alone.

The two of them stood there for a little while before Hazel asked what he was up to. "It's been a long day," she told him, stepping back just enough to be able to look him in the eye. "I was going to get some grading done, but I'd much rather sit by a nice warm fire with a book. You're welcome to join me if you want. If you're worried, and you don't want to go to sleep alone, you're welcome to stay."

His face darkened a little. "There's something else I should tell you before too much time goes by. New Year's was… wonderful, but I don't think that will happen often. There's a reason why that was the first… I have never been the kind of person… I've hardly ever been drawn to, I've never even been affected by the veela, and I don't, I didn't, understand why for a very long time and - You're beautiful. You are. You're very… kissable." It elicited the briefest of smiles. She let him talk, slowly reaching for his hand. Entwining her fingers with his, she listened, letting him fill in the silence. "I like falling asleep beside you, being able to hold onto you and knowing you're there, but… there must be something wrong with me. I should want to… to jump into bed with you every chance I get, shouldn't I? I've just pushed it off, but now… there has to be something wrong with me. I - veela are supposed to... and they never... I never understood why some people couldn't think when they were around them. There has to be something wrong with me, but it hasn't much bothered me until now, so..." He tapered off, scowling at himself as he finally turned to look at her. He'd said too much.

"No, Sev. Some people are just like that. There's nothing wrong with you. It's just… a different flavor of the human experience," she smiled. "Seriously, though, Sev, if there's ever anything you want to do, or anything you don't, just let me know." She kissed his cheek chastely, adding, "Thank you for telling me."

"I don't want you to be… disappointed." Just another reason she could do better, he told himself.

"I would never," she promised. "I'd be happy if I just got to sleep next to you more often. You know, whenever you stay over, and I wake up and you've already left for a meeting or class or whatever, the bed always feels too big. Maybe we could make it a more regular thing? Staying together?"

There was no question about it. He'd been trying to figure out how to ask her himself. No matter how little he actually managed to sleep, he always slept better if she was there. "Yes. That's a nice idea. Though as Head of Slytherin House, I shouldn't be gone too often."

"Filius has the Ravenclaws under control. No offense, but they're a lot easier to manage than the Slytherins. I'm sure he wouldn't mind if I spent more time in the dungeons. In that case, why don't I change, grab my book, and meet you in say… ten minutes?"

A.N.: Ace Snape. That is all.