Apologies for the lack of updating, school keeps me busy a lot.
The rest of the year went by too quickly and so had summer, the Ministry of Magic calling Harry a liar for saying that Voldemort was back. Obviously no one believed him except for a select few. In turn everyone was calling Dumbledore a liar and that his age was interfering with his knowledge.
Celosia had stayed at her home for the entire month of July, sending Harry a new set of robes and Muggle clothing for his birthday. Obviously the Dursleys hadn't been giving him proper clothes, which made Celosia quite angry. Her sister was supposed to be taking care of him, not treating him like trash.
In the middle of August Celosia and Severus both moved into Grimmauld place with the other Order members. They were expected to pick up Harry and once Celosia had received note of his expulsion, she was outraged.
Harry sat in his bedroom; the Dursley's gone for an hour already. He glared at his wand that was sitting on his nightstand beside him, wondering why on earth the Ministry would expel him just for using a Patronus in front of his cousin. If he hadn't, they both would have been dead. It was the Ministry's fault. Why were Dementors running around?
A sound from downstairs made him jump up and he grabbed his wand, pointing it at the doorway. He was already expelled- he could use magic if he wanted.
The door opened slowly and he saw a small ball of light, a soft voice speaking. "Very clean, these Muggles."
"Stop with the chatter, Tonks." A gruff voice said and Harry set his wand down, someone using Lumos Maxima on the entire room as he grinned.
"Hello there, Harry." Remus grinned and set his wand down.
The real Mad-Eye Moody looked at the boy, nodding his head. "Alastor Moody. Nice to finally meet you properly, Potter."
Harry nodded and a woman with bright purple hair walked in. "Hi, I'm Tonks."
"This is Nymphadora Tonks, Harry." Remus introduced at the same time, Tonks scolding him.
Moody flicked his wand, all of Harry's clothes and belongings packing themselves up. "Come on Potter, we're going to get you out of here."
"Where are we going?" Harry asked, pocketing his wand as Moody shrunk his luggage, Tonks taking Hedwig's cage and shrinking it, the owl hooting as it landed on her shoulder.
"To your godfather." Moody answered and Harry grinned as they walked downstairs.
"Celosia!" Harry exclaimed, seeing his aunt waiting for them at the doorway. She grinned, embracing him tightly.
"Oh Harry." She smiled and looked at him. "You look quite well, nice haircut I see."
Harry just smiled and Celosia's brows furrowed. Placing her finger under his chin she moved his head to the right, eyes on fire with anger. "What is that?" She snapped and Harry looked in the mirror that was hanging by the door, seeing a red mark on his left cheek. "Did someone hit you?"
"Oh." Harry looked down. "Just when I came home with Dudley. Aunt Petunia didn't let me explain first and-"
"Petunia did this to you?" Celosia hissed and Harry nodded, looking away from his angry aunt.
"Come along, we need to get out of here fast." Moody grunted and opened the front door.
"You go on ahead." Celosia said, pushing Harry towards the open door.
"You aren't coming?" He frowned.
"I have a few words to say to my sister." She crossed her arms and Tonks frowned.
"Is Severus going to like that?" She asked and Celosia glared at her.
"What I do does not have to be confirmed by Severus." She snapped and walked towards the kitchen. "I'll be there as soon as possible, don't worry."
"Well no use in trying to get her to come with us." Remus shrugged and pulled Harry through the door, the boy taking one last look at his aunt's back before following the others.
Once they arrived at Order Headquarters, Harry caught sight of Sirius from a crack in the door, smiling before it shut completely, Molly ushering him upstairs.
Severus stood with his arms crossed as Remus, Tonks, Moody and Kingsley all walked in. "Where's Celosia?" McGonagall asked.
"She decided to stay." Remus sighed, sitting down next to Sirius. "She wanted a word with Petunia."
"And you let her?" Severus exclaimed.
"Told you he wouldn't like it." Tonks muttered to Remus and Severus narrowed his eyes.
"Is she still there now?" He growled and Remus nodded. Without another word the man Disapparated on the spot.
Landing on the doorstep of #4 Privet Drive, Severus saw the Dursley's car in the driveway, using his wand to open the door. Closing it behind him he heard screams from the kitchen, walking towards the direction of the sound.
"You hit him!" Celosia exclaimed, Dudley and Vernon sitting on the couch as Petunia stood across from her sister. "You slapped him across the face, it left a mark!"
"You don't know if I did that." Petunia set her hands on her hips. "He could be lying to get attention for all you know."
"He doesn't need added attention, especially a kind like this!" Celosia yelled. "I give him all the attention that you have never given him at all! He's the Boy Who fucking Lived for crying out loud! He already has too much attention that a boy his age doesn't need!"
Petunia huffed, the lights flickering slightly during Celosia's rant, Vernon and Dudley flinching back into the couch, Petunia used to it. Whenever Celosia or Lily were angry at home when they were younger, the same thing would happen depending on how much their magic was controlled and how angry they were. For the lights to flicker wasn't anything compared to what Celosia was feeling. For all she knew, a lamp could have flew across the room and smashed into thousands of pieces and it still wouldn't have matched her mood.
"I told you to take care of him!" Celosia exclaimed, trying to calm down. "Lily wanted you to take care of him, be the family that he never had the chance of having!"
"Why don't you take him then!" Petunia shot. "Since you're so good at knowing how to be a mother."
Celosia felt a pain in her heart and glared at her sister. "I'm doing a better job that you; I don't go around slapping my nephew around!"
"I didn't know that he hadn't harmed Duders at the time!" Petunia defended.
"So if you didn't know that Harry was involved at all, you would abuse him anyways?" Celosia glared at Petunia, the woman at a loss for words. "I can't take care of him, you know that. You need to be the one to keep him in this house until he turns seventeen."
"I can't handle that boy in this house!" Petunia roared.
"Because he's a wizard?" Celosia screeched, hands on the couch as she gripped at it hard. "When will you let that go, Petunia? The Dark fucking Lord of all fucking dark magic is after Lily's son. The blood wards are in this house, not mine. It isn`t just protecting him, it`s protecting you too!"
Petunia watched as her sister turned from angry to a mix of anger and sadness, shock written all over the older Evan's face. "You need to take care of Harry; I don't want the wards failing if he's removed." Celosia said firmly, her eyes starting to flood with tears. "I don't have any other family beside you, Petunia! My husband was killed by this dark bastard, and so was my baby, my baby sister, my brother-in-law! I can't afford to have Harry or the three of you dying either!"
Severus watched from the doorway, Vernon and Dudley already knowing his presence but Celosia and Petunia too much in the argument to even look over at his direction.
"You are the only sister I have left Petunia." Celosia said, tears falling from her eyes. "You, Vernon, Dudley and Harry are the only ones I have left, I have no one else."
Petunia let her arms drop, Celosia quickly wiping away at her tears as Severus stepped further into the room. "Celosia," he said softly and she looked up at him in surprise. He took her hand, wrapping his arms around her as she buried her head in his shoulder.
Severus looked at Petunia with a hard glare. "If you touch Harry Potter again in any way that will harm him, you will speak to me directly." He hissed so dangerously that Petunia looked at him with wide eyes. Before any of them could say a word Severus Apparated on the spot, taking Celosia with him.
The two arrived back in Grimmauld, the Order meeting over as dinner was starting. Celosia felt the spinning stop and Severus relaxed slightly. Sirius, Remus, Tonks, Hermione, Harry and the Weasley's looked up at them in surprise and wonder, Harry standing up immediately but remaining where he was.
Celosia knew where they were but wasn't aware of their surroundings. She wrapped her arms around Severus' neck tightly, burying her face in his neck, refusing to let go. Severus stared at her shoulder before placing his hands around her waist, allowing her to remain in the embrace. He set his chin on her shoulder, staring at the ground and then meeting Harry's eyes.
Harry saw the look of pity and care that Severus had for Celosia and in that instant he swear he saw the Potions Master hold her tighter. "Aunt Celly," Harry said softly and Celosia sighed, pulling away from Severus slightly before looking at him in the eye, a single tear still remaining on her cheek. He quickly brushed it off and Celosia pulled away, turning completely to look at Harry.
Without a word Harry walked into her open arms, embracing her just as tightly as he had hugged Sirius minutes before. "Oh Merlin, I'm so glad you're alright." She muttered. "We'll talk to the Ministry and make sure you attend Hogwarts this school year."
"What happened to you?" He asked quietly and Celosia brushed her fingers against his left cheek softly.
"Nothing you need to worry about." She smiled.
"You two must be hungry." Molly said and Celosia shook her head.
"I'm fine for now, thank you Molly." Celosia muttered and Severus nodded, walking towards her.
"Arthur, make Potter aware of his hearing." Severus suggested. "I will make sure Celosia is well and up in her room."
"Alright then." Arthur nodded and they all watched as Severus set his hand on the back of Celosia's waist, leading her out of the room.
"Who knew Snape could be compassionate." Ron muttered as dinner continued on.
"I told her that Severus wouldn't like her staying." Tonks said and bit down into her food.
"Do you ever remember those two being close?" Remus asked Sirius, who was still watching the doorway that they disappeared through as he chewed his food.
"I remember them trying to claw each other's heads off. But being close like that, no, I don't think I've ever witnessed that." He muttered and shrugged it off.
Severus walked Celosia into her guest room, her belongings already placed out as she sighed again, stripping her cloak off as Severus closed the door. She pulled her wand out of her belt, setting it on her dresser as she quickly took off her belt and boots, collapsing onto the bed with a hand over her eyes.
An added weight to the bed and the sudden smell of musky potion ingredients filled her senses. "You were wrong about what you said to Petunia." Severus said suddenly and she removed her arm from her eyes, looking up at him.
"About what?" She asked, and he moved close to her face, his long black hair brushing against her cheek lightly.
"You do have someone else." He whispered softly, his breath grazing her lips lightly as she didn't dare tear her eyes away from him. "You have me. I told you from the very beginning I would always be here. I'm sticking to that promise."
Celosia blinked and smiled softly, her hands going to the back of his neck, her fingers tangling themselves in his hair. "Thank you, Severus." She whispered and leaned up, capturing his lips with hers. It was the first kiss they had since the New Year and it felt like fireworks all over again.
Setting a silencing charm on the door and walls of the room, Severus tossed his wand to the ground, where it was slowly joined with both of their attire.