"I guess we should go back inside now," Lucy said, watching Dinah drive down the road. "If someone happens to look out their window they're likely to think we're criminals or something."

"I am a criminal," Sirius said, as Lucy grabbed his hand and led the group inside.

"Oh, hush. They cleared your record."

Back in the room they had first appeared in, Lucy and Sirius sat close together on the couch, his arm around her shoulders. Severus sat stiffly in a chair across from the couple. ""Professor, I've been wanting to ask you this since I started teaching at Hogwarts; well actually since we were in the Order together. I'm sure you'll say no, but I was wondering if you remember teaching me?"

"Hm," Severus made a noncommittal noise, not meeting either of their eyes directly, "It may surprise you, but I remember the majority of my students. Regardless of performance."

"Oh," Lucy said, not sure how to take that statement, "You're probably thinking of that one time I got detention…"

"You got detention?" Sirius asked, surprised.

"Once," she sank lower on the couch, making herself smaller. She was beginning to regret bringing up this topic for conversation; it had seemed like a safe one earlier. "I was a third year. In Potions."

Severus sighed, "That comment was a generalization and not meant for interpretation. I remember students more clearly than I do grades. As far as I can recall your performance was decent enough. I believe you received either an "Acceptable" or "Exceeds Expectations" in your O.W.L.s. I do recall the detention, however."

Lucy sat up a little straighter, relieved that Snape wasn't referring to her specifically with his comment. "I think it was "Outstanding" actually. I think that's what you required to continue on with Potions. I know I got an "E" in my N.E.W.T.s because I had to have that in order to start my Auror training."

"Wait, I want to go back to this detention," Sirius interrupted, "What could Little Miss Perfect possibly have done to get detention?"

"I'm not perfect. Getting detention proves it."

"One detention," he pointed out, "I got detention at least once a month."

"I argued with the Professor. I had read about being able to substitute one ingredient for another in whatever potion we were making at the time and I asked about it. He told me no and I argued my point with the facts I had on hand. I had the book with me."

"Hm," Snape frowned, "You must have done exceptionally well in that case. I don't give Outstanding scores easily."

Sirius snorted, "Not to Gryffindors anyway. I suppose it's lucky you were a Ravenclaw, Lu."

"Sirius, don't. We all tend to favor our own houses in some way."

"Not Dinah," Severus, although he had initially looked angry at Sirius's comment, became suddenly subdued after Lucy spoke, and an unusually curious expression crossed his face. "She continues to insist that separating students into houses is bad practice."

Lucy nodded, "In some ways I think it is. Think about it. We share a dorm with the same people we go to class with and eat with. Though the students do get free time and can socialize with anyone they usually don't. The only reason I really socialized outside my house was because I was related to Bill and Charlie and Tonks was almost as much of an outcast as I was…because she's really clumsy, not because she was shy or socially inept.

"At the same time though it gives students like Harry something they've never had before, family. They also learn how to deal with each other and resolve conflicts because at the end of the day they're still sharing a common room and probably a bedroom with these people."

"All valid points, I suppose," Severus agreed thoughtfully. "Perhaps it's simply a matter of pushing sorting back a few years. Dumbledore once confessed to me that he often felt sorting took place too early in a student's life..." he grimaced suddenly and shook his head, not offering any more on the subject. "At any rate, like him, Dinah is an incurable idealist."

"That's not such a bad trait you know. Though delaying sorting brings up a whole other set of problems. Like where do we put them? The only dormitories we have are the houses, unless you want to count the faculty's rooms. And besides, I don't know that delaying the sorting would matter much anyway. As I told Dinah not long after we met, 'it's amazing how much we change and yet still stay the same'. I have no doubt that if I were to be sorted now I'd still end up in Ravenclaw," Lucy laughed a little, "Perhaps not as quickly as before, though."

"I often wonder if that is the case for everyone," Severus mused, seeming distracted. "Hopefully so."

"Mm," Lucy said, sensing that anything more than that would delve into a subject that Severus was not interested in sharing. The group quieted, Lucy absently stroking Sirius's knee while he did the same to her arm.

She stopped and flushed when she noticed Severus regarding them with a raised eyebrow and a mild cynical expression. But he said nothing more than, "I wonder when Dinah will return..."

Lucy was about to try and think up some kind of response when a movement near the staircase across from the front entranceway caught her eye. "What in the world...?"

The rest of them turned with wide eyes to see what she had been staring at. A small brown bag with a long looping handle, along with a pile of nicely folded Muggle clothes, had just come into view floating through the air over the staircase. The strange cluster of objects reached the bottom and their three pairs of eyes followed it as it floated through the sitting room past them. A window on the far wall opened, allowing the items to float through and out of sight as the window promptly shut behind them.

There was complete and utter silence for a few moments as they all tried to digest the meaning of this recent event. And then without warning, something happened that caused both Lucy and Sirius to jump and shrink back in their seats. Severus had started laughing. Not simply a mild chuckle like they had recently witnessed at Number Twelve Grimmauld Place... that had been shocking enough. But this was real laughter.

"Dinah left without taking her Muggle money and while still wearing her robes," Severus explained. "I hadn't thought much of it until now. She must have just remembered and used a summoning charm. At any rate, it will probably still be some time before we can expect her back. That is," he stopped and cleared his throat, looking suddenly embarrassed as his face snapped back to its normal stoic expression, "Well, I believe that's what we just witnessed. Yes." He stood up, "I believe I shall attempt to find the restroom." He left the room

Lucy and Sirius stared at each other after he left.

"And everyone thinks I'm the crazy one," Sirius said.

"That was…really strange," Lucy said, shifting on the couch. "I'm all for him being happy and all but," she shook her head, "I don't know, that was plain weird."

"I don't know about that," Sirius said, probably doubting whether Snape deserved happiness after all that had happened.

"Oh, come off it. Even a crazy murderer is allowed to be happy, let Severus get some if he wants."

Sirius shuddered, "Please I really don't want to think about Snivel—" he cut himself off at a glare from Lucy, "Severus getting some."

Lucy rolled her eyes at him. Sometimes it really seemed like he'd never gotten past the age of sixteen.

"You are disgusting," Lucy looked around slightly worried, "He's been gone awhile…do you think he's okay? Is he hiding? Should I try to go find him?"

"He's fine. He'll come back when he wants to. We're just sitting here in the living room. We aren't chasing him away or anything."

"Well, we haven't exactly made this the friendliest atmosphere either."

"How so?"

"With the comments and the touching."

"You like the touching."

"Yes, well, it seems to be making both Dinah and Severus uncomfortable and I'd like them to feel comfortable. I don't think they're quite as…" Lucy searched for a different word and couldn't think of one, "comfortable in their relationship as we are. They haven't been seeing each other all that long really and their first impressions of each other weren't as stellar as ours."

"No one in the world could have the same spark as us. Though anyone meeting Severus for the first time is sure to have a rather unfavorable opinion of him."

"Hmm he doesn't exactly make it easy to be friendly to him at times that's for sure, but I suspect you know more about that than you're letting on."

They both looked up as Severus came back into the room from a back hallway he had disappeared into, his usual frown planted firmly on his face. "As she won't be back for a while, I'm going to attempt to find something to drink in the Muggle kitchen. If you want something, say so now."

Lucy rose from the couch, "I don't want anything thank you, but I'm interested in checking out a Muggle kitchen. Do you want me to bring you anything back Sirius?"

"Just one thing."

"What?"

"You."

Lucy shook her head, "Flirt. Is there anything in the way of a beverage I might bring back with me?"

"I'd really like a butterbeer but I don't think Muggles have that."

"I doubt it but I'll find out."

"Not that I'm aware of," Severus said, "But if you insist on coming, let's go now." He turned and walked towards the kitchen, forcing Lucy to rush to keep up.

She hoped that he would be a little more relaxed without Sirius in the room. It was a long shot she knew, but she was an optimist. In the kitchen, the pair stopped and looked around them, not touching anything. "You don't happen to know anything about Muggle kitchens, do you? Probably not. After all, why would you? It's just that it seems like it would be kind of rude to start looking through cupboards and the like without permission…" She was babbling again and she was pretty sure the other professor hated it when she did that, especially as the habit seemed to be rubbing off on Dinah.

"I don't believe she would mind," Severus replied, staring at the tall silver thing with two doors on it that stood in front of them rather than at Lucy, "Seeing as she left without thinking about much of anything, clearly."

Lucy giggled, "You're probably right," she took a step towards the thing Severus was staring intently at, "What do you suppose this does?" She pulled on the handle, "Oh, my that opens up…it's certainly cold in this thing. Oh no!" she began searching through her robes, pulling out a rather soggy package, "I forgot about my popsicle! I was going to eat it once we got here but now it's melted! Well, this is unfortunate. It's a good thing Dinah's gone to get clothes," Lucy placed the melted popsicle on a shelf in the cold thing, "Maybe that will help," she closed the door quickly.

"'This thing' is called a refrigerator," Severus said slowly, not bothering to explain how he knew this piece of information, "And closing it will not help when any cold beverages we may be seeking are likely inside of it." He walked forward and opened the door again, looking the shelves up and down.

Lucy stood on tip-toe to peer over his shoulder at the contents inside the refrigerator with her melted popsicle, "What's all that?" She pointed to a cluster of bottles holding red, yellow, and brown contents.

"Various condiments I would assume," Severus rolled his eyes, turning the bottles around so that the labels could be seen, "Ketchup, mustard, and barbecue sauce."

"Oh," Lucy said, disappointed it wasn't something more interesting, "You know, you seem to be pretty knowledgeable about Muggle things for a pureblood," at Severus's expression Lucy tried to backtrack, fearing she has insulted the man. "I don't mean that as an offense. It's just that most purebloods don't know much, if anything, about Muggles."

Severus sighed, and gave a nearly unnoticeable shrug, but the normal frown remained set on his face. "If you must know, I'm half-blood."

"I'm sorry, I wasn't trying to pry. I just…you know, there's probably no digging myself out of the hole I've gotten into. I could really care less about who's a what but that should be no surprise coming from someone with my background. Actually it seems to me that the majority of the most talented witches and wizards of the age are half-bloods and Muggle-borns. It's good that it's that way I think. New gene pools help keep everyone from getting inbred. The Blacks have the most messed up family tree…and this isn't getting us something to drink."

Severus shook his head, looking almost more amused than frustrated, probably at her rambling. "Dinah likes to bring up the inbreeding reasoning a lot as well. But that's neither here nor there." He pointed to the lower shelf, "It appears that this is where she keeps her beverages."

Lucy reached past Severus and grabbed a clear bottle of what she assumed was water and another container that read "Root Beer". "I think I understand how to use this one," she held up the bottle of water, "but what is this one?" she held up the other container.

Severus just looked at her and raised an eyebrow.

"Well I can read that it's root beer. I'm talking about the container. What is it? And how does one open it? I'm not really sure I understand what root beer is either. Is it like butterbeer?"

Severus frowned, "It may depend on your opinion. Certain aspects of the flavor might be similar. I can't quite recall..." he shook his head and took one of the bottles of water. "At any rate, I intend to look for a glass to pour this into because I refuse to drink out of this Muggle bottle."

She looked around the kitchen for a moment before walking towards a cabinet. "Well, if this were my kitchen I'd put the glasses next to this rather strange looking sink, or at least that's what I assume it is," she reached up to open the door and pulled out two tall glasses, "Not everything is so terribly different in the Muggle world. But that still doesn't explain how we are going to get the root beer out of that thing."

"Try and figure it out," Severus smirked, unscrewing the translucent white cap from the bottle of water and pouring it into a glass.

Lucy looked at the container, noticing a metal tab and a partially cut out semi-circle around one end of the tab, "You must have to poke a hole in it somehow as there's nothing to twist off and it doesn't have a bottle cap…" She had a hard time getting her fingers underneath the tab but once she did it pressed down on the semi-circle, causing the can to hiss at her. "Is it supposed to do that?" she asked while continuing to pull up on the tab, quickly breaking through the can and making a hole in the top. "Oh! Look at that! I figured it out," she smiled to herself, "I guess I'm still a Ravenclaw after all."

"Excellent," Severus said with a sort of half-smile, tossing the empty bottle idly into the sink and heading back towards the living room without asking Lucy to follow.

"Oooh!" she grabbed the glass and took it and the root beer out of the kitchen with her, quickly following Severus. "Severus!" she said it a bit louder than she intended but he stopped and turned around. "There was one more thing I wanted to ask you before we rejoined Sirius. Have you gotten Dinah a Christmas present yet? If you haven't I can help if you'd like. Or perhaps I can look at it and let you know if she'd like it. I don't mean to offend you for about the hundredth time or anything it's just I know how guys can be when buying presents for girls. Just two months ago Sirius got me a wand case for my birthday…it wasn't anywhere near my birthday nor did I really need a wand case…"

Severus just stood there staring at her for what seemed like five minutes. His gaze was either calculating or unreadable, she couldn't quite tell.

"So... I guess that's a no, then? Well, that's fine; it was just an idea after all. Back to the living room then." She hurried past the still-unmoving Severus toward the living room, embarrassed.

"I hadn't really thought about it," Severus's sudden, unexpected announcement caused her to turn back around to face him, surprised. "I suppose I probably should buy her something, shouldn't I?" he continued, almost to himself.

"It'd be a good idea. I don't think Dinah's one of those girl's who'd get mad if you didn't but I do think she'd be hurt. I don't know for sure that she's gotten you something either, so that's something else to consider."

Severus almost laughed, "I doubt she'd know what to buy for me. But I suppose if you have any suggestions I wouldn't mind hearing them."

Lucy giggled, "Gift giving is a tricky business for anyone. Don't think you're the only one that's hard to buy for. Clothes aren't always the best idea, unless you know her taste and size. Size is the most important. If you don't know that you run the risk of it being too small and making her feel fat and if they're too big she might think you think she's fat. Jewelry is always good but in my opinion it depends on how serious the relationship is. Personally I appreciate the sentiment when someone buys me a book but I also secretly hate it. There's a good chance I either own it or have read it but that's me not Dinah. My best advice would probably be: think about the things she likes and her interests. That should lead to the right present…just make sure you don't give her a wand case four months before her actual birthday. That's libel to lead to an argument."

Severus grimaced, "Women are impossibly complicated."

"Yes, we are, but that makes it all the more fun doesn't it? Besides, some of us, Dinah and me included, appreciate the effort even if it does sometimes fall flat. We'd best be getting back I think," Lucy said, heading to the living room, not asking Severus to follow, much as he had done a minute or two before.