Disclaimer: See Chapter 1 and 2 for various and sundry disclaimers.

Thanks for the reviews…

Mercury Gray… Glad you liked the use of "curled." I was happy with how that turned out!

Evenstar Elanor… Will Meredith come back? Maybe, maybe not. You'll have to see.

Wyall Jared… Best sequel out there? Yikes! I hope the rest of this continues to live up to your high praise!

Chapter 3: Like Wildfire

Serena was glad to see the familiar profile of Hogwart's as she and Severus approached on their brooms. They had elected to fly to and from their vacation in Ireland and enjoy the late August weather. Of course, to be cautious, they were camouflaged from below to prevent any Muggles from seeing them.

They touched down near Serena's cottage and stowed the brooms away. Their luggage, which had been towed behind them, was immediately pounced upon by Mina, Serena's House Elf.

"Mina will clean and press your clothes, Miss Serena," said the House Elf. "Mina will do it right away."

"That's not necessary," said Serena with a smile.

"Oh, but it is, Miss Serena. School starts soon and Miss Serena must be ready. Miss Serena is always kind to Mina, so Mina takes good care of Miss Serena." The House Elf folded her arms and nodded vigorously. Mina had been Serena's House Elf since she arrived at Hogwart's, but the shy creature rarely made herself seen until recently.

Serena had given Mina a scarf several months ago, ostensibly freeing the House Elf from servitude. She'd told Mina that she'd like her to stay, but Mina was free to leave Serena's service if she were ever unhappy. That didn't seem likely. Mina had been so touched by the gesture that she'd vowed to remain with Serena forever. When Hermione had heard about the scarf, she'd adamantly tried to involve Serena in her campaign to free all of the House Elves until Serena very firmly told her to drop the issue.

Serena looked around. The cottage was spotless and the wood positively gleamed. Mina had kept herself busy while she and Severus were away.

"I have something for you, Mina." Serena reached into one of her bags. "Actually, two things."

"Something? For Mina?"

"Thank you for taking care of the house while I was away."

The House Elf took the first bag and opened it. She pulled out a small apron, white and dotted with little green shamrocks.

"Oh!" gasped Mina. "An apron! Miss Serena has given Mina more clothes!" Mina looked up at her adoringly. "Mina has always wanted an apron."

Then the House Elf opened the other bag and squealed with delight. Inside was a box of toffee candies. "All the other House Elves will be jealous," she said. "Miss Serena has given Mina sweets, too!"

From the side, Severus watched the entire scene with one eyebrow raised. He had little use for the House Elves. One tidied up his flat in Slytherin House. It – he didn't know if it was male or female – was a servant of the school. He didn't mistreat the House Elf, but he didn't acknowledge the creature either. It occurred to him that once he and Serena were living together, that Mina would be part of the household. The House Elf was so enamored of Serena, that he doubted she would leave – ever – despite the fact she had her freedom.

"I was going to straighten up my office. May I walk you to Slytherin House?" asked Serena.

"You may."

Serena turned and then stopped as Mina gasped again. She realized the House Elf was staring at her hand. Gently, Mina reached out and took Serena's hand, lifting it and examining the ring on her finger.

"Miss Serena's shiny new ring is beautiful," said Mina. She looked up. "Mina knows this is a special ring. Has Professor Snape asked Miss Serena to marry him?"

"Yes, he has," smiled Serena.

"And Miss Serena has said yes?" asked Mina.

Now Serena did laugh. "Yes, Mina, I said yes."

Mina looked at the ring and nodded again. "Professor Snape has excellent taste."

"Why, thank you, Mina," he said, not quite sure if she meant the ring or Serena. "I'm so glad you approve." He couldn't hide all of the sarcasm in his voice and both Mina and Serena gave him a funny look.

As they walked towards Slytherin House, Serena looked over at Severus. "You're going to get that a lot over the next week you know," she said. "You know news on this campus spreads like a bloody wildfire. Everyone's going to hear about this in short order." She waved her ring-adorned hand at him.

"Doubtless."

"Be nice to them."

"If I must."

She shook her head. "Well, here's your first test…"

Up ahead, Serena spotted Professor McGonagall, Madame Hooch, and Madame Pomfrey, probably her three closest friends on the campus. McGonagall and Hooch shared Serena's love for Quidditch and Madame Pomfrey, the school's nurse, had helped save Serena's life last semester, and for that, Serena had a special fondness for the woman.

"Hullo!" said Serena with a wave.

"Serena. Severus." McGonagall gave them a smile. "Have you had a good summer break?"

"Very good," said Serena. "And you?"

"Excellent… Thundering dragon wings! Let me see your hand!"

Serena started to raise her right hand.

"Not that one, you cheeky creature!" said McGonagall. "The other one. With the ring."

"The ring?" said Hooch. "The RING?"

"My goodness!" gasped Pomfrey as Serena brought her hand up. "It's enormous."

Snape wanted to disappear. There were far too many women here who were going to be asking far too many questions in a matter of moments. Get it over with, Severus, he said to himself. They'll be positively batty over this. Women get so caught up in things like weddings. The sooner they get their answers, the sooner they'll stop asking you questions.

"Lovely," said McGonagall. "Congratulations to the both of you."

They both murmured a thank you and then Serena said, "But before you ask any more questions: no, we haven't set a date or any of that. This just happened a few days ago. In fact, you three are the first to know."

I adore you, thought Snape, seeing the opportunity Serena was handing him. "If you ladies will excuse me, I need to check in on how Slytherin House is shaping up for the arriving students. I'm sure you have other questions for Serena, and I'm also certain her answers will be much more detailed than mine." He looked at Serena. "Dinner tonight at my flat?"

"I'll be there at 7:00," she said.

Severus disappeared down the hall at a rapid pace that was just shy of looking like he was running for his life. All four women watched him hurry around the corner and then began to laugh.

"Poor man," said Hooch. "There will be far too many questions for his taste over the next few weeks."

"Oh, bother that!" said Madame Pomfrey. "Do tell us how he proposed! I hope he was at least somewhat romantic…"

"He was," said Serena. "He was actually very romantic…"

Snape saw the Bloody Baron floating through the hall as he approached the door that would let him into the common room and dorms that made up Slytherin House. Coming down the hall the other way was Albus Dumbledore. His long fingers toyed absently at the ends of his white-grey beard.

"Ah, Severus," he said. "I see you're back from your jaunt to Ireland."

"We are. Have you had a good summer, Headmaster?" The small talk made Severus wince despite the fact that deep down he was fond of Dumbledore.

"Yes, yes," smiled Dumbledore. "But I'm looking forward to seeing the new students settle in."

Well, thought Snape, I ought to tell at least one person… "Before you hear it from Professor McGonagall, I have a bit of an announcement."

Dumbledore peered over the rims of his glasses. "An announcement? This sounds serious. Don't tell me I'm losing my potions professor at the start of the year!"

"No," Severus replied quickly. "Nothing like that. While we were in Ireland I…" He stopped looking at the floor and looked the Headmaster square in the eye. "I asked Serena to marry me."

Dumbledore steepled his fingers together and smiled. "That's wonderful!" he said as his eyes sparkled. "I'm so pleased for the two of you. She said yes, of course?"

"Yes. She said yes. Only a few people know right now," said Severus. "You. Minerva. And Madams Hooch and Pomfrey know as well."

Several hours later, all of the teachers were comfortably ensconced at the head table in the Great Hall. The Sorting Hat finished selecting new students for Houses and everyone tore into the welcoming banquet. After the main meal cleared away, the students turned their attention to the Headmaster.

"What's going on now?" whispered a new Gryffindor student.

"For the first night, the Headmaster always makes a few announcements. Once he's done, we'll have dessert," whispered Ginny Weasley.

Dumbledore made a few routine announcements like the traditional warning to the new students to stay out of the forest. Then he paused and a mischievous grin quirked the corners of his mouth.

"Before we get to our delectable selection of desserts tonight, I do have one other announcement. Very excellent news for our staff," said Dumbledore. He peered over his glasses at Serena and Severus. Snape went pale, if that was possible, and looked at Serena. She mouthed the words: I didn't ask him to do this…

He gritted his teeth. Severus Snape was a very private man. He rarely expressed his feelings in public, and he jealously guarded his personal life. He didn't want a public announcement like this, but he realized that he hadn't specifically asked Dumbledore NOT to announce it.

The students murmured for a moment. Normally, the "exciting news" was the announcement of a new Defense Against Dark Arts Teacher, but they had all known last year that Serena would be back.

"I'm pleased to announce that Professors Castleton-Black and Professor Snape are engaged to be married." He began to applaud and after the momentary gasp from the students, they began to applaud, too.

Serena smiled and nodded her head. Next to her, Severus sat stiff and upright. Under the table she poked him in the leg, hard. He flinched and turned to her with an angry glance.

"Smile," she said in a hushed whisper. "You're supposed to be happy about this."

He turned back to face the students and managed a thin smile, about as big a smile as any of the students ever saw from him.

"Married?" said Ginny Weasley. "How exciting!"

"Professor Castleton-Black will be such a pretty bride," said Hermione. Several of the girls sitting near her nodded in agreement and there was a fuss and bother of romantic sighs from many of the teenaged girls. Further away, at the Slytherin table, the response wasn't so positive.

"He's going to… marry… her?" snorted Draco as if he'd smelled something foul. "How can any self-respecting Slytherin even date a Gryffindor, let alone MARRY her? And she might not even be a pureblood. Sickening." My father will be interested in this Appalled, but interested...

"Bloody incredible!" said Ron from his place at the Gryffindor table. "Snape? Married? I'd never have believed it."

"Then you obviously weren't paying attention last year," sighed Hermione.

"You're totally dense, Ron," added Ginny. "How could you miss how in love they are?"

"Snape never shows emotion," said Ron defensively. "And Professor Castleton-Black doesn't exactly share her bloody personal life with us…"

"You just have to look for the clues, Ron." Hermione rolled her eyes.

For a split second, there was silence at the Gryffindor table until Harry spoke up.

"So… Who's going to break the news to Wood?" he wondered out loud.

Okay, what do y'all think? These first few chapters are definitely some story set up… trust me, I've got something planned that's more than just the wedding and honeymoon. Please read/review!