Comments: Okay, so apparently in the epilogue I put that I am not human. What that is supposed to say is that I am, by all accounts, human. Whoops. –blush blush blush- Either that or you can just take it to mean that I'm some sort of mutant. Both ways work. But, ah, I think I will go edit that just because it calls attention to the fact that I am (am, am, am!) human. And we wouldn't want that, now would we? Besides, I spelt epilogue wrong like three times, too.
Oh yeah, and apparently the English and American versions of...road lingo...are quite different. If you couldn't tell, I'm an American, so...yeah. Freeways are the same as motorways, yes, and I was using miles per hour instead of kilometers per hour. Sorry!
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Chapter 2 – The Trial
Harry groaned and buried his head under his pillow as Ron shook him awake rather roughly.
"Geroff, Ron," he mumbled.
He heard a soft, feminine giggle from the corner of his room and shot upwards immediately. Unfortunately, he crashed into Lupin's head as he did so.
"Agh!" Lupin exclaimed, bringing his hand up to his head.
Harry ignored him and pushed him aside in order to see who else was in his room. He couldn't stop the disappointment from showing when he saw that it was only Tonks.
"What're you doing here?" he inquired curiously.
"The trial," Lupin grunted, clutching his head and looking at Harry warily.
"Trial?" Harry echoed.
Then he jumped out of bed with a whoop and ran to his closet. He nearly began to change in front of Lupin and Tonks, but remembering that Tonks was, indeed, a female, he walked into his closet, shut the door, and dressed in the dark. He then barged out and ran to his desk, shifting through his drawers hurriedly.
"In a hurry, Harry?" Tonks asked amusedly.
"Uh," he replied, not really listening to what she was saying.
He grabbed his box of Silver's letters and dumped it out on his bed. After a few moments of digging around in the pile, he found his comb. He dragged it twice through his unruly hair and figured that it was as good as it was going to get. He threw it onto his desk and then began to carefully compile Silver's letters back into the box.
"I take it those are from Silver," Lupin observed.
"Uh-huh," Harry agreed, gingerly pressing them down into the box, "We're going to see her now, right?"
He couldn't keep the eagerness out of his voice.
"Not if you're going to be as happy to see her as you are to see us," Lupin replied teasingly.
Harry grinned. "Sorry," he apologized, shutting the lid of the box with care and then enfolding each of the adults in a hurried hug.
"So, we get to go see her now, right?" he pressed as he released Lupin.
Lupin grinned. "Well, you'll probably get to see her after the trial. She just about punched Dumbledore this morning for saying no, and Snape looked about ready to give him a black eye, himself."
"Snape wants me to see Silver?" Harry asked dubiously.
"Not exactly," Tonks replied, giggling.
Lupin exchanged an amused glance with her before answering. "Snape wants Silver to be happy," he replied.
"I guess," Harry answered dubiously.
"You should be grateful that Snape stuck up for you, Harry," Tonks said, her voice both gentle and chiding.
"He only did it for Silver," Harry protested.
"That may be true," Lupin conceded, "But in case you haven't noticed, he really doesn't trust you with her in the first place. It took a lot for him to yell at Dumbledore so that you could try and squeeze in a five minute snog before you leave."
For a moment Harry was dumbfounded at Lupin's choice of words. Had he just said snog? Since when did Lupin talk about snogging?
"Uh, okay," he said finally.
Tonks looked at him amusedly. "What, do you think Lupin's too old to talk about snogging?" she quipped.
Lupin grinned and blushed a bit, but Harry was the one who really turned red. "Well, he's just never talked about it before," he replied.
Tonks giggled and turned to Lupin. "Why ever not?" she asked.
He shrugged. "He seemed to be doing pretty well on his own," he replied.
This caused Tonks to burst into helpless giggles. "You're just a chicken!" she accused, poking Lupin in the side.
"Am not!" Lupin replied, poking her back.
Still giggling, Tonks began to reach out once more, but Harry cleared his throat pointedly, and both adults straightened and did their best to look innocent.
"Right then, we should be going," Lupin said, as if Harry had been detaining them.
Harry rolled his eyes.
"Say goodbye to your family, now," Lupin instructed.
Harry glanced at the clock dubiously. It was six thirty on a Saturday morning – and Uncle Vernon would hate to be awoken. Then again, he really didn't have time to write a letter. He stuck his head out the door and yelled at the top of his lungs, "I'm going to a magical trial! Hopefully I won't be back later, but I probably will!"
Distinct grunts from Uncle Vernon and Dudley's room told him that he had successfully gotten his message across.
"We'd better be going before one of them comes in to beat me to a pulp," Harry commented brightly.
Exchanging glances, both Lupin and Tonks put a hand on his shoulder. Harry waited anxiously, and suddenly he found himself in the lobby of the Ministry of Magic. He glanced around wildly for Silver, ignoring Lupin's persistent tugs on his shoulder.
"Harry, she's not here," he finally said.
Shoulders slumping disappointedly, Harry turned in the direction Lupin was pulling him. Trying not to look too amused, Lupin handed him a badge that read, "Harry Potter – Witness".
"Witness?" Harry asked as he pinned it onto his shirt, "Am I going to be questioned?"
"You might be," Tonks replied, "Now come on."
Harry followed her down the corridors he himself had walked to his trial a year before, but instead of entering into the room where his trial was held, they kept going.
"We're going to a different courtroom?" he asked interestedly.
"This trial should be a bit bigger than yours was," Lupin replied.
And indeed, the room certainly was. Lupin pushed open the double doors, and Harry found himself in a room that was at least twice the size of the one his trial had been held in. There were a few people in it, getting seated early, he supposed. He looked around for a sign of Silver, but saw none.
"Come on, Harry, let's get our seats," Tonks said.
"Where's Silver?" he replied, "Are we going to save her a seat?"
Tonks and Lupin exchanged a meaningful glance.
"Harry, she's one of the key people in this trial," Lupin explained patiently, "She's a witness to convict all of the Death Eaters that are going to be brought up on stage, and she's going to have to get through the case of her custody. She's not going to be able to sit with us – her seat is at the front."
Harry processed this information slowly as Lupin spoke. "Well, do I get to talk with her before the trial?" he asked finally.
"She's going to be prepping until the trial begins," Tonks replied.
Harry frowned as he allowed himself to be led to his seat, which was about ten rows back from the aisle that was to the right of the center row. As they sat down, Lupin glanced at his watch. Harry noticed that both Lupin and Tonks, who was on Lupin's other side, seemed very tense. People began to file in, and Harry's heart gave a pleasant jolt as he saw the whole of the Weasley family – minus Percy - headed towards him, all of them beaming at him. Ron hurriedly took a seat next to him, and Fred, George, and Ginny all sat on Ron's other side. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, Bill, and Charlie sat to the right of Tonks.
"Hey, Harry," Ron greeted, and he was echoed by the twins and Ginny.
"Hey," Harry replied.
"How's your summer been?" Ron asked sympathetically.
Harry grinned as he told them about how his driving lesson the previous day, and then how he had taken Dudley's Ferrari for a drive. He wisely chose to leave out the part about looking at engagement rings in the window, and left marriage completely out of the conversation, although it was now, once again, weighing heavily on his mind. As the others snickered at the thought of Harry stealing his cousin's car, Harry turned to Lupin.
"Uh, Moony?" he asked.
Lupin looked at him questioningly.
"I was wondering...if it wouldn't be too much to ask...if you and Mr. Weasley could...if I could talk to you two. Alone. Soon. Now would be nice."
"You want to talk to me and Arthur?" Lupin repeated.
Harry nodded.
"Ah, well, the trial is going to start soon, so do you think you could wait until afterwards?" he said.
Harry frowned. "I guess," he replied unhappily.
Lupin looked halfway amused at Harry's disappointed response. "Is it something important?" he asked curiously.
"I think you could say that," Harry replied, a bit sarcastically.
"Ah, well, we'll ask Dumbledore if we have time after the trial," he said.
Harry nodded and turned back to see many curious eyes staring at him. Hermione had recently joined them, accompanied by Moody, so Harry now had six pairs of questioning eyes staring at him. He blushed, and silently cursed himself for doing so.
"What do you want to talk to my dad for?" Ron asked finally.
"It's...it's a...surprise," Harry said lamely.
They all looked at him disbelievingly, and he decided it was time for a subject change. "Erm, hi Hermione," he said in what he hoped was an innocently random voice.
Hermione smirked at him as she sat down next to Ginny. "Pathetic attempt at changing the subject," she informed him, "Now what are you really up to?"
To Harry's dismay, he blushed even more. "Nothing," he lied.
Hermione giggled. "Yeah, and that's why you're bright red," she replied.
Harry pointedly looked away, waiting for his facial temperature to lower. All at once, people began to file in at an extremely fast rate. He strained for a sign of Silver, but saw none. Fudge walked in, and immediately the talking dimmed to hushed mutterings as he sat himself at the head of the court. Ron suddenly tapped Harry on the shoulder and made a motion towards the door with his head. Harry turned, and his heart gave a great leap. Silver and Snape had entered the room, and were now the subject of much whispering and pointing. He made to get out of his seat, but Lupin firmly held him back.
"Not now, Harry," he said quietly.
"Why not?" Harry answered, straining against his hand.
Hermione spun to look at him disapprovingly. "Just look at her, Harry!" she hissed, annoyed.
Harry looked at Silver and realized that she was showing signs of nervousness – many signs of nervousness. Her brow was creased in concentration as she listened to whatever Snape was saying quietly to her, and she was biting her lip. She clung to the side of Snape's robes with one hand, and with the other she was twirling her hair around. Snape had one hand on her shoulder, and continued to speak to her quietly as they came up the aisle. Silver was oblivious to everyone around her, but seemed to be focused on the front of the courtroom. She passed them without even looking at them, and Harry caught a snatch of what Snape was saying.
"...no need to be afraid, now, calm down. Remember what we talked about. You can do this, Silver, you're going to be fine. I won't let anybody take you..."
Snape's voice faded away and Harry spun to face Lupin. "What does he mean, let anybody take her?" he demanded, "Her mother can't possibly take her, can she?"
"Since Silver is a girl, the court is going to favor her mother over Snape for custody of her," Lupin replied grimly, "Especially since her mother is pleading innocent to all charges."
Harry wheeled to face Silver once more. Snape had taken her to the first row and sat her down towards the middle. He sat next to her and allowed her to bury her face in his robes as he placed an arm around her. Harry could see grim determination in his eyes as he looked up at Fudge and the rest of the jury. Suddenly Lupin tensed from beside him. Harry turned and followed his gaze to the door, and the entire courtroom fell completely silent as Alexandra Meliflua entered.
In hushed, reverent whispers, people pointed first to Alexandra, and then to Silver and Snape. Eyes widened as people put two and two together, and, no doubt, rumors were spread.
Alexandra wore a confident smirk as she strolled down the aisle at a brisk pace. Her intense blue eyes searched intently through the faces of the crowd. As they passed over the aisle where Harry was sitting, her smirk intensified. She stopped next to their aisle, surveying them all with a superior look that unnerved Harry greatly. He wondered what the reason for her confidence was. Still smirking, she gave her hair a toss and continued down the aisle. He watched as her eyes locked onto Snape's. Snape gave her a look of utter hatred and put the hand that wasn't around Silver on her head, as if shielding her from her mother. Alexandra gave a laugh that echoed through the courtroom, and Harry saw Silver move closer to Snape. With a shake of her head, Alexandra sat a good few seats away from Silver, although there was nobody in between the two. Snape's grip on Silver tightened as he glared at Alexandra, no doubt wishing he could be the one to decide what her sentence would be. Harry had a feeling it would involve torture.
"So, Severus," she said, her voice ringing through the courtroom and causing everyone to rivet their attention to the threesome in the front row.
Snape glared at her in reply.
"Planning on trying for custody?" she inquired.
"No," Snape replied, "I'm planning on getting it."
His words seemed to inspire some confidence in Silver, who relaxed visibly. Alexandra's face, on the other hand, curled into a smirk of amusement.
"Why would anybody give you the custody of a child?" she inquired, her voice a low hiss, "You know you won't get it. Nobody in their right mind would appoint Severus Snape, known Death Eater and rotten old git, the custody of a child."
"He's not a git!" Silver exclaimed suddenly, turning to face her mother.
Despite the situation, Harry smiled. Both Alexandra and Snape looked momentarily shocked at Silver's passionate response. There was no answer, as Fudge suddenly cleared his throat and rapped on the podium, calling everyone to attention.
"Very well," Fudge said, "Now that everyone is present, we shall begin with the trial of custody."
"You can't do that!" Snape growled suddenly, "Her mother needs to be sentenced."
Fudge looked from Snape, to Alexandra, and finally to Silver. He looked thoughtful for only a moment, before his eyes flickered to the right and landed on Lucius Malfoy. Harry watched as Lucius made a deft shake of his head.
"We shall begin," Fudge repeated slowly, "With the trial of custody."
Snape looked murderous, and Fudge appeared to be uncomfortable. He glanced to the side, and Harry saw a very familiar head of red hair bobbing excitedly. Percy. He saw that the entire Weasley family was now completely tense, looking frozen in their seats.
"Custody trial held on the twenty-sixth of August," he said boredly, "Child of Alexandra Meliflua and unknown father-"
Harry watched as Silver turned in her seat to shoot Dumbledore, who was sitting in the second row as well, a death glare. Dumbledore gave her an amused and innocent look, and she turned back towards the front with a roll of her eyes.
"-Custody will be vied for by Alexandra Meliflua, Severus Snape, Bellatrix Lestrange, and Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy."
Silver gave a whimper that was audible throughout the courtroom, and Snape jumped up, shaking with anger.
"I was not told that there would be others trying for custody!" he yelled furiously.
"We do not make it our business to-"Fudge began, but he was cut off.
"Well, you should," Snape growled in a voice that commanded silence.
Harry made as if to get up, but Lupin and Ron yanked him down. He realized what was happening at the same moment that Lupin said it, in a low whisper.
"They're trying to increase their chances of getting her."
"Please, Severus," Fudge was saying, seeming to suddenly realize that he was, indeed, the Minister of Magic, "Take a seat and stay calm."
"Oh, I'll take a seat," Snape began, "After I-"
The courtroom never got to find out exactly what Snape was going to do before he sat down due to the fact that Silver had grasped his arm and was firmly pulling him down. He turned to look at her for a moment before complying, glaring at Fudge as if he would like nothing better than to kill him. Alexandra gave a soft laugh from her seat, tilting her head back slightly as she did so.
"What's wrong, Severus?" she asked innocently.
"What's wrong is that a bloody bunch of Death Eaters is competing for the custody of a trial!" Snape roared.
Suddenly he looked thoughtful. "With the exception of myself, of course, but that's besides the point."
"Now, Severus," Fudge said, "You have no proof that th-"
"Actually, I happen to have enough bloody proof for the lot of you idiots," Snape interrupted, "Which you would have had the opportunity to see had you ran the trial for custody last, AS IT WAS BLOODY SUPPOSED TO BE!"
Snape's voice echoed through the courtroom, but other than the sound of his voice, everyone was completely silent. Fudge looked taken aback, as did Alexandra. On Fudge's left sat first Amelia Bones, who looked very confused, indeed. Further down sat Umbridge, who looked slightly pleased, much to Harry's dismay. He felt a surge of hatred towards the teacher, and gripped the edge of the seat so tightly that he thought he might break it.
"Ah...Severus...surely...well, you would...the trial of custody must be run first, you see, because...well, it just has to," Fudge stammered.
"Because you're getting paid for running it first," Snape challenged.
"No!" Fudge exclaimed, much too quickly, "I certainly...no...the idea!"
Snape gave a derisive snort. "Fine then, Cornelius, let's just get this over with," he said.
Suddenly, Snape's gaze transferred to Percy, who was scribbling furiously on a piece of paper. He narrowed his eyes, and ever so slowly, Percy's eyes rose, and widened when they came into contact with Snape. He dropped the quill he was using to write immediately, and Snape gave a satisfied smirk. Fudge watched Snape with a mixture of apprehension and amusement before continuing.
"Right then," he said, struggling to get some papers in order, "The, ah, custody. First to be questioned, Alexandra Meliflua."
Alexandra stood up with a confident toss of her head, smirking at Snape as she walked past him and sat down in a chair facing the courtroom, one leg crossed over the other. Fudge simply looked at her for a moment before beginning.
"Miss Meliflua," he said in a businesslike tone, "You have been charged with the following concerning your daughter: physical abuse, verbal abuse, and magical abuse. How do you plead?"
"Innocent," she said boredly.
"Right, then," Fudge said, "Now, ah, would you mind explaining exactly why a trial of custody is needed?"
"Well," she said, smiling much too sweetly at Snape, "I went out to go shopping one day for Silver and I because we were running out of good things to eat-"
"You barely fed the child the crusts of your bread," Snape interrupted.
"Severus," Fudge snapped, losing patience, "Please do the court a favor and remain silent until you are asked to speak."
Glowering, Snape complied.
Looking triumphant, Alexandra continued. "-So, after buying some bread, sandwich meat, and a bag of candy, I went home. I had always preferred to walk to and fro, you see, because the view is so beautiful. When I came into sight of my house, I saw him," she pointed a finger at Snape, "taking my gorgeous daughter by force!"
She then dissolved into completely fake tears. The entire court shifted it's gaze to Snape, seeing how he would handle this accusation. For a moment, he simply sat and blinked at Alexandra before he recovered himself.
"Oh please," he grumbled, "Is that the best you could do?"
He shook his head and leaned back in his seat, one arm draped over Silver's shoulders. Silver looked mildly surprised at his reaction, but didn't say anything. Snape turned his gaze to Fudge, smirking slightly.
"Go on, Cornelius," he prompted.
Looking shocked that Snape hadn't killed Alexandra, Fudge hurriedly continued.
"And, ah, why are you pleading for custody of the child?" he asked, reading the question from a piece of paper in front of him.
"Because," Alexandra said in a tearful voice, "She's my only child, and I...I would just be devastated without her."
Fudge nodded sympathetically, as did Amelia Bones. Umbridge looked sickened, but grudgingly gave a solitary nod when prompted by Amelia. Harry felt his heart drop to his stomach.
"What day was it?" Snape asked suddenly.
Everyone turned to look at him. He was glaring at Alexandra determinedly.
"What...what day was what?" she asked.
"When Silver was taken," he replied, "What was the date?"
"I...I don't...I don't have to answer that," she stammered, apparently taken by surprise.
"And why didn't you report her missing?" Snape continued, "After all, you knew I worked at Hogwarts, so obviously, if I had taken her, she had to have been there with me. Why didn't you come and get her? And why don't you know the date she was taken? If she's so dear to you, why can't you remember it, and why didn't you come after her?"
Alexandra glared at him defiantly from her seat, and Snape looked especially triumphant.
"Severus, you do not have permission to question the defendant...the accused...the...you do not have permission to question her!" he exclaimed, and then, with a glance at Percy, "That will not be recorded."
Percy nodded, scribbled what looked like a third of the page out, and then sat with his quill at the ready. Fudge turned to Amelia and Umbridge, who were staring at Snape in a kind of questioning fascination that Harry decided was quite amusing.
"Any questions?" Fudge asked.
"No," Umbridge replied immediately.
"Yes," Amelia replied at the same time.
Umbridge glared at her fellow worker, but Amelia ignored her as she fixed her gaze on Alexandra.
"Miss Meliflua," she said in a pleasant tone of voice, "Would you mind telling me what the date was when your daughter was taken?"
Alexandra glared at Amelia for all she was worth. "The..." she paused, probably trying to think up a date. "The seventh of July," she finally said.
"It was the nineteenth!" Snape crowed triumphantly.
Everybody turned to him, and he gave them a patronizing look. "What?" he asked, "If I kidnapped the child, at least I get to decide the date it happened."
Silver smiled from beside him, and Fudge looked vaguely amused. Alexandra glared at him with even more hatred – if that was possible. Snape simply smirked at her.
"Erm...right," Fudge said, looking to be battling between laughing at or reprimanding Snape, "You may return to your seat, Miss Meliflua. Next we have...Mrs. Lestrange."
Harry looked around for Lestrange, but didn't see her until she stood up from beside Lucius. She walked past Snape slowly, giving him a sickeningly sweet smile.
"You had better do a better job than she did," Snape told her, gesturing to Alexandra.
Lestrange just made a face at him as she walked up and took her seat.
"Ah, Mrs. Lestrange," Fudge greeted, shuffling through his papers. He finally frowned as his eyes landed on the words. "I see you have also been charged with physical and verbal abuse of the child," he noted, "Well, how do you plead?"
"Innocent," she replied instantly.
"Right," Fudge said, "Please explain to us why you are needed to have custody of the child."
"Well, Alexandra is absolutely my best friend," Lestrange said in a girly voice, "And she was completely heartbroken when her poor, innocent, daughter was taken from her. She knows that since she's been charged with these utterly ridiculous charges that she may not get custody, and she wanted to make sure that if she didn't, at least I could. She knows I'd take proper care of the sweet dear, you see."
At this, she shot Silver a smile. Silver made a face at her in reply. Fudge looked back and forth between the two females with a hint of amusement. He then turned to Amelia and Umbridge.
"Questions?" he inquired.
"No," Umbridge stated.
Amelia looked thoughtful for a moment. Umbridge glared menacingly at her. "Erm, no," she finally decided.
Fudge nodded and glanced at Percy. "Got it?" he asked.
Percy's head bobbed enthusiastically up and down.
"Court will be taking a fifteen minute recess," Fudge announced.
Immediately Harry vaulted out of his seat and climbed over the others. He was going to Silver whether they liked it or not. He fought his way past the crowd that was headed towards the door when he felt somebody fall into his arms.
"Uh, sorry," he said absentmindedly, peering over them for a sign of Silver.
"You are?" Silver asked with a giggle from his arms.
He looked down at her in surprise, and then grinned. He nearly pulled her in for a kiss, but he then remembered the look of nervousness on her face that she wore when she entered the courtroom.
"Hey," he said, stroking her hair gently, "How are you?"
"I'm okay," she replied, a hint of mischief in her eyes, "I think I might be better if you kissed me."
He grinned and willingly obliged, pulling her into a gentle and reassuring kiss. She poured her emotions into him, and he sensed anger, sadness, but above all, fear. He pulled away and pressed his forehead against hers, distantly taking notice of Snape in the background. He stroked her cheek gently, and she closed her eyes to his touch, making him want to kiss her all over again in a very different manner than he had previously.
"Oh, Harry," she said suddenly, "If they get me..."
She trailed off as her voice broke, and Harry pulled her into a hug. "They're not going to get you," he said fiercely.
She sniffled against his shoulder, and he could tell that she was suppressing tears. "I c...can't imagine living with L...L...him," she said, shuddering against him.
Harry was surprised at the fact that she couldn't seem to bring herself to say Lucius' name. He wondered what, exactly, Lucius had done to her – but on the other hand, he might not want to know. He didn't ask, but simply rubbed her back soothingly. In their silence, he caught a snatch of Snape's words.
"Filthy, rotten, disgusting lies," Snape snarled angrily, "We should have thought of that – we should have all run for custody – Dumbledore should've bloody run for custody!"
Harry felt Silver looking intently over his shoulder, and he turned her slightly so that he was able to see, as well. Snape was shaking with anger his hands in fists, looking as if he were about to punch the first person that talked to him.
"Well, Severus," Lupin said calmly, "You're the only one that's not charged with some form of abuse or the other."
"I bloody well better not be," Snape growled, "But that's not it."
Lupin fixed Snape with a questioning stare.
"My father," Snape said, thrusting each word from his mouth with hatred before glaring stonily at the floor.
Silver gently pushed against Harry's chest. "I have to go to him," she said, giving him an apologetic glance, "It hurts him to talk about his father."
Harry nodded and let her go. She gave him a brief and longing kiss before trotting over to Snape and tugging on his sleeve hesitantly. He turned to her with a sharp glance, but when he saw her, it melted away to be replaced with both appreciation and shock.
"Good Merlin, child," he said, "Why aren't you with Potter?"
She simply put her arms around him in reply. He gazed down at her with an unreadable expression on his face, quickly to be replaced with one of alarm when she began to shake.
"What is it?" he asked, concern lacing his harsh voice.
"I don't want them to have me," Silver replied shakily.
"I won't let them take you," Snape said calmly, "You know that."
"But I want to belong to you," she answered, her voice lined with a sweet innocence that was completely irresistible.
Snape tilted her chin upwards and brushed away a tear that was running down her cheek. "No tears," he said, trying to sound annoyed, "You don't need papers for that."
She smiled at him and pulled him into a hug that looked as if it had the potential to cut off his circulation.
"Good heavens, child," Snape grunted, "You're going to kill me."
She giggled and loosened her grip. Snape looked a bit relieved. She looked up at him questioningly, and he looked from her to Harry with a mildly amused expression on her face.
"Go on, you and Potter still have a good ten minutes," he said grudgingly.
Beaming at him, she broke away and danced over to Harry. She threw her arms around his neck and kissed him lightly as she reached him. He grinned at her in a rather teasing way.
"What?" she asked curiously, tugging at his hair.
"Do the words 'mood swings' mean anything to you?" he replied.
She giggled. "Nope," She replied, "I'm having trouble with those two and 'emotional'."
"I'll bet," he muttered, causing her to giggle once more.
He reached forward and pulled her into his arms, where she rested her head against his chest and gave a contented sigh. He couldn't bear to think of what would happen if anybody other than Snape gained custody of her. Breathing out a sigh, he pushed the thought out of his mind as he planted a kiss atop her head. All that mattered right then was that they were together, and he was going to enjoy that for as long as he could.
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Note: I start school on Wednesday, so I might not be updating as much! I will try to update at least twice a week, but I'm not sure what my workload is going to be, and so on. Wish me luck!