Even though she was working with the Order, Hazel spent much of her time cleaning up the ancient house. As the best curse-breaker among them, she would be called in every time someone encountered anything especially evil. While the others were working in the outside world, she found herself and Sirius leading all of the kids in getting rid of the creatures that roamed the house and the spells that had sealed it from everyone, wizards and Muggles alike.
Sirius was in favor of throwing away all of the books on the Dark Arts, but Hazel insisted on keeping them, making a pile in an unused room. She would make her way up there in the afternoons and leaf through them, deciding which ones were worth saving and which ones were too moldy, falling apart, or copies of books that she already had. Those she would have over to Sirius, who took great pride in burning them in the evening's fire.
Sunlight streamed into the dusty room, Hazel buried in a book when she heard the door open. It was far too interesting to look away, though. Inferi Encounters in the Incan World was one she hadn't been able to find anywhere. She assumed it was one of the kids bringing in a crate of books they'd found - they were cleaning out the attic, after all, and had called her in to break a couple of curses on things they'd found up there. It wasn't until a pair of arms wrapped around her that she looked up and smiled, realizing who had crept up on her. "Sev!"
"Hello," he smiled casually, spinning her around so he could kiss her properly.
"I didn't think you would be here until Friday at the earliest. Weren't you supposed to be recruiting the vampires or something?"
"They've been recruited," he reported grimly. Voldemort had been trying to gain allies wherever he could. "Though Moody has been tipped off as to their whereabouts. He's staggering the raids, but there will be Aurors arriving in town soon enough." He let her set her book down before embracing her. "It's good to see you again." He held her closely, allowing himself to relax a little. He smiled, his face buried in her hair. Lavender. Lavender and dust. They must have all been cleaning again. "How have you been?"
She let him go just enough to look him over. "It's a bit tiring being cooped up in here most of the time, but we found a cursed trunk full of strange dried wings… You might want to take a look at them, actually. I think they're dragon wings, but I haven't seen anything like them. Fred Weasley wrote his brother Charlie - the dragonologist in Romania - to ask, but he hasn't heard back yet. Anyway, it's been interesting. I wish I could be out there doing things, though," she sighed. "You look exhausted."
"I've been dealing with the vampires," he reminded her. "I've been up extremely late for the last fortnight."
"Stay here then," Hazel suggested. He frowned, but she kept talking. "It's only one night, and everyone knows about us by now anyway. If Sirius says anything, I'll tell his mother you're here and he'll never hear the end of it. You know she loves reminding him of how you'd have made a better son than he was."
That made him smile. Every time the portrait of Mrs. Black heard he was there, she would berate Sirius about how Sev had been a Slytherin, had been loyal to the wizarding side of his family ("Though it's a shame his mother married that filthy Muggle, the poor dear did the best he could with it!"), and had ended up with someone like Hazel ("Pureblood from the Ravenclaw family, next best thing to an heir of Salazar Slytherin!").
He didn't want to stay in a house that Sirius Black owned, but it was safer than asking her to come back to Cokeworth with him, where Death Eaters could show up at any moment. "Alright," he assented, leaning in to kiss her. "But I must be back in Cokeworth tomorrow, and then I'm off to Malfoy Manor."
"We'll be back at Hogwarts in a week. You're going to be back by then, right?"
"Of course. The Dark Lord knows I have appearances to keep up," he said, "and besides, I'm merely going to bring Lucius Malfoy up to speed on what is going on at Hogwarts. He says there will be a Ministry official there this year, and I'd like to know what we're going to be walking into. I'll be back in time to set up my classroom for the fall term, don't worry."
They managed to get through dinner without incident. Most everyone was focused on either the good news about Harry's hearing or the gossip about Mundungus Fletcher's cauldron import scandal, so Sirius didn't have much time to give them trouble. Remus sat across from them, pulling Hazel and Sev into a discussion about where the vampires and werewolves stood in the impending war. Sev had never hated Remus as much as he hated James and Sirius, but he never trusted him either. At least not after the werewolf incident. He understood that Remus had nothing to do with it (though Hazel had needed to talk to him several times about it back in school for him to believe it) and was just as angry at his friends as Sev was at his enemies.
Then there was the suspicion that would hit him for no reason. Remus and Hazel were friends, that was it. But they'd dated back in school, and they'd gotten back together when she'd become an Auror, and even a werewolf was better than an ex-Death Eater who hated what he saw when he looked in the mirror. He had no reason to be suspicious. After the dishes had been cleared away, she held his hand as they talked over cups of tea, lazily running her thumb over his own. There was something in the way she looked at him that said she was incredibly thankful he was back there safely. And yet he worried. He'd never been popular, he'd never been the kind of person anyone wanted around. Now that he had gotten so lucky, he was absolutely terrified of losing her.
A few hours later Hazel climbed into bed, looking over at Sev and asking if they could talk. Immediately his stomach dropped. This is it. That's why she asked you to stay, so she didn't have to do this in front of everyone. No, she wouldn't kick you out now. It's the middle of the night and everyone knows you're here. Don't be ridiculous. "Before we go back to school, before whatever chaos we're about to walk into… I know it's been a while, Sev, but I also know you - we - take these things slowly, and I know we already are, but I know we also haven't talked about it, we haven't really defined anything let alone - everyone knows, but do you think it's time we say we're actually together? Like properly dating?"
He sat up a bit more, grappling with the question. "How are we not… properly dating?" The words felt foreign coming out of his mouth.
"I just meant - Voldemort's back. People are starting to disappear like they used to. You're so wound up in both sides that I never know if you're coming home. So I think we should say things, like actually say things, just in case. If anything happens - I know it's silly, and it doesn't really matter, but it would make me feel better if we actually said it."
"I detest the word 'boyfriend'. It sounds childish." And every time I hear it, I hear James Potter taunting me about you when you weren't around.
Hazel laughed, more relieved than anything. "Then what am I supposed to call you?"
"I don't know, but not that. You're right though," he conceded. "We should say it, even if it doesn't matter. We've been… together for long enough. We ought to be able to say it." From the look on her face, he could tell there was more. "Is there something else bothering you?"
Hazel frowned, but she ultimately shook her head. "It's nothing. I just - I'm sorry for the way they talk about you, Sev. I'm sorry they don't trust you, I'm sorry Sirius refuses to stop calling you all of the awful nicknames he and James came up with when we were in school, I'm sorry… Do you remember how we'd practice Legilimency on each other until we could walk into each other's minds whenever and we'd hardly notice?" He raised an eyebrow. "Sometimes, whenever you have a particularly strong thought and we're in the same room, I can catch some of it."
"What did you…"
"Earlier, when we were talking with Remus… You know we're friends, he and I. That's it. It's been that way for years now. And you - you make me happier than he ever did. Yes, I worry about you constantly, but there's no one I'd rather be with. I know you doubt yourself all the time, but you are incredibly brave, and beyond handsome, and worthy of all sorts of good things even if you don't believe it." Suddenly he was extremely interested in an intricate detail of the wallpaper, avoiding looking her in the eye. "I'd tell you to stop doubting it, but that's not how it works, so doubt yourself all you want, but I'll be here no matter what. I lo-" she caught herself, Sev intensely pretending he didn't notice. "Look, I care about you so much, Sev. I hate that all that doubt - I hate that your own mind is getting at you, but when it does, tell me, and I'll tell you you're wrong."
"Thank you." He wasn't one for emotional discussions, especially not now, not here in this revolting house. But he understood why it had to be now. He didn't have to worry about her here, but he was sure she worried incessantly when he was away. It would get a lot easier when they were back at Hogwarts and could see each other all of the time. "When we get back to school, you should move your things down to the dungeons."
"Are you asking me to move in with you?" she laughed, finally settling in beside him.
"You already spend half of your time down there anyway. I can't leave the Slytherins, as Head of House and all." He wound an arm around her as she pulled the blankets over them both. "You're under no obligation -"
"Of course I will, Sev. You just have a way of not directly asking for things you want when you're afraid you'll be let down."
"What an insightful remark right before bed. You do have a way of… perceiving people."
"I got it from you."
"I taught you Legilimency, not seeing into people's minds that much."
"Severus Snape, for an intensely private person, you can be devastatingly easy to read sometimes. At least for me."
He kissed the top of her head, reaching for the lights. "Well then. Goodnight, my dear perceptive… girlfriend. I have got to find something better to call you."
"As long as you don't say it like James and Sirius used to, you're fine," she assured him. "But goodnight, my wonderful... Sev." She laid her head on his chest, settling in for the night. He would sit awake for a while, thinking about what she had said, but more importantly, what she had almost said.
She loves me. She's going to wait for the right moment to say it, but she loves me. When was the last time anyone ever said that? Mum, right before she died. But no one's ever said it to me like that. Not like Hazel means it. But do I say it back when she does? Do I love her? Oh Merlin, what does that even mean?