"Harry's not had the best time of it lately, has he?" sighed Hermione sadly.
"Bit of an understatement, don't you think?" Ron muttered.
Ron and Hermione had hoped that come September first, Professor Snape would have figured out how to reverse Harry's condition. But on the morning they were to depart for their fifth term at Hogwarts, Harry's condition had not changed. While everyone else rushed to gather their things before leaving for King's Cross Station, they knelt before the infantile Harry as he kicked happily in his bouncy chair in the living room.
"It's not going to be the same without him there," said Ron quietly. Hermione gave his hand a light squeeze.
"I know, but…maybe this is a good thing."
Ron drew her an incredulous look, "How the hell can this be a good thing?"
Hermione shrugged, "Well, he's had such a rough time of it lately; the Dementor attack, the Hearing at the Ministry, the Prophet making up lies about him all summer…"
Ron nodded in agreement, "The nightmares, too... they were getting worse. And what happened to Cedric…"
Hermione and Ron looked sadly at the bouncing baby.
"He looks so happy," Ron noted. "Happier than he has been in a long time."
"Maybe the old saying is true," she mused. "Ignorance really is bliss. You know, a part of me is glad that he can't remember anything. Not about us, obviously. I mean all the bad stuff. I like that he can sleep peacefully for once in his life."
"It's not real, though, is it?" Ron pointed out. "He might not remember all the bad stuff, but it still happened. The danger still remains."
"I know," she sighed. "But I'm not going to begrudge Harry for being able to take a break from it all, even if it's just for a little while."
"Yeah, it's not like Harry's going to stay like this forever," said Ron hopefully. "Snape will fix it soon enough."
"Yeah, sure," replied Hermione uncertainly.
A squeal and a loud clatter drew their attention away from Harry and they turned to see Tonks tripping over a table leg as she entered the room. She stumbled onto her knees and dropped two large paper bags in her hands, the contents spilling all over the floor.
They rushed forward to help her back to her feet and she smiled sheepishly at them, "Cheers. Someone better shift that table out of the way, it's a bloody health hazard!"
Hermione helped Tonks gather up the spilled contents from the floor and paused as she picked up a baby grow with a lion stitched on the front.
"Oh Tonks, this is adorable!" she cried. Tonks beamed.
"I know, right? I saw it when I was out getting some supplies for Harry and I couldn't resist. Check this out."
She held up a pair of dungarees embroidered with tiny snitches fluttering their wings. Hermione crooned, "Aww, he's going to look so cute!"
Ron groaned and turned to joke with Harry about the broody women but paused as he remembered again with a jolt of annoyance that his best mate was now a baby.
"Are you two quite done playing happy families? You have a train to catch," came a sharp voice. Snape lingered by the doorway watching them. Hermione's cheeks turned pink and she quickly stuffed the last of the clothes back into the bags. Ron glowered at the Potions Master but knew better than to argue back. Tonks, however, smirked and rose to her feet.
"Got something for you, Sev!" she said cheerfully, holding the tiny dungarees under Snape's chin. "Unfortunately they don't have it in your size, but I think it matches well with your brooding expression."
Ron snorted and stared at his feet, trying and failing to smother his smile. Snape rose an eyebrow at Tonks, "Is this your attempt at humour?"
"It is," she grinned.
"Well you're not very good at it, are you?" he retorted. Tonks gave an overly dramatic gasp and covered her heart with her hand.
"Oh, how you wound me, Severus! Come on, admit you found it a little bit funny."
Snape swept past her without another word. He knelt in front of Harry and proceeded to cast various incantations in silence. Harry leaned forward desperately trying to grasp Snape's robes, but he kept enough distance between them so that Harry couldn't reach him.
"Looks like Harry's taken a shine to you," mused Tonks with interest.
"Further evidence of the severity of his condition," Snape sniffed.
"Clearly," Ron muttered to Hermione and she stifled a snigger. Mrs. Weasley popped her head into the living room, looking flustered.
"There you are!" she cried sounding exacerbated. "Come on you two, we're already running late."
"Just a minute, Mum," said Ron. "We just need to say goodbye to Harry."
"Alright dear, just make it quick," she nodded, glancing at her watch and disappearing back out into the corridor. Hermione and Ron approached Harry, but Snape didn't move out of the way.
"Sorry, Professor," said Hermione apologetically. "Can we just take a moment to say goodbye to Harry?"
"My tests are of far greater importance than your childish sentimentalities, Ms. Granger," he replied silkily. "You will have to wait until I have completed my run of tests."
"But we need to go now-" she began, but Snape cut her off.
"That is not my concern," he retorted, not even looking at her. Tonks huffed and grabbed Snape's wrist and lowered his wand.
"Stop being an arse, Sev, and give them a moment to say their goodbyes!" she barked. Ignoring the incredulous look Snape threw her she inclined her head towards Ron and Hermione, "Go on, say goodbye to Harry."
Ron and Hermione made their hurried goodbyes and scurried out of the living room, leaving Tonks with a fuming Snape.
"Who do you think you are?" he hissed, rising to his feet and looming over her. Tonks looked up at him, completely unruffled. "Undermining my authority in front of students is completely unacceptable."
"Oh, stop being such a grumpy git, Sev," she chided. "They only wanted to say goodbye to their friend! It's no skin off your big nose, is it?"
She playfully pinched the tip of his nose and Snape slapped her hand away, positively fuming now, "Stop calling me that! You will address me as Severus, Snape or Professor."
Tonks burst out laughing, "You want me to call you Professor? You're overstepping the mark a bit, don't you think?"
"It wasn't so long ago you were one of my students, Nymphadora," he inflected sharply. Tonks frowned in annoyance at the use of her name and Snape smirked, pleased to have finally riled her. "You've always had a problem with authority figures. I'm surprised that they even let you into the Auror programme with your long history of demonstrating a blatant disregard for the rules."
Tonks smirked and leaned her face closer to Snape's, so close that their noses were almost touching. "You act as though rule-breaking is a bad thing. But you know plenty about breaking the rules, don't you, Professor?"
Snape blinked, uncertain of how to respond; Tonks' tone was serious, but her eyes had a playful expression to them. Was she disparaging his Death Eater status? Perhaps she was simply teasing his studiousness. Snape eyed her suspiciously - what was her angle? Always armed with some kind of vicious retort or defence, Snape's mind drew a blank, distracted by how close Tonks was to him, her warm breath tickling his tense lips.
"If I did I was never foolish enough to get caught," he sneered, his voice sounding hoarser than he had intended. Tonks laughed softly and lowered her gaze.
"Everyone always said you were a stickler for the rules, but I always suspected otherwise. I'm curious, Professor, do you have a rule against sleeping with former students?"
Snape's eyes widened and Tonks' mischievous grin broadened. Snape felt a hot flush of anger and to his shame arousal spread through him. She's mocking you, he thought. She had to be. There was no way she could possibly be serious. She's just trying to get a rise out of you, he warned himself. Well, she had certainly succeeded in doing that. He lowered his gaze and stared at her lips, rose-pink and slightly parted. He still hadn't answered her. His brain seemed to have jarred. Perhaps the heavy silence growing between them was his answer.
Harry let out a squeal of annoyance at being ignored. Severus came crashing back to reality and realised where he was, standing in the living room practically nose-to-nose with Tonks while an infantile Harry Potter whined for attention. It was a strange position to be in, even by Snape's standards. He cleared his throat and stepped away from Tonks, his legs feeling a little unsteady.
"I have to complete my tests before returning to the school," he said stiffly and turned his back on her towards Harry. Tonks watched him for a moment then nodded.
"I need to be making tracks anyway, I'm seeing the kids off at the station. See you later, Sev."
Snape bristled at the nickname but didn't respond. He waited for Tonks to leave the living room before closing his eyes and letting out a long, exacerbated sigh. For all he had disparaged her, Snape privately acknowledged that Tonks was a perfectly competent Auror - exceptional even. When she had been a student at Hogwarts, she had always excelled in his classes. Her biggest shortcoming was her clumsiness, occasionally causing chaos tripping over cauldrons and spilling hazardous potions in the classroom. But she was smart and hardworking; even her cheekiness couldn't detract from her competency. And loathed as he was to admit it to himself, he did actually think she was funny. And beautiful. And brave. And absolutely out of your league because you are the old dungeon bat, he reminded himself harshly.
Snape opened his eyes and glanced at the baby who stared up at him expectantly. Snape glowered at him. He resented having to be in the company of the remaining Marauders more than he already needed to be. Hated the fact that once again he had to be the one to sort out Harry's problems. He blamed himself for his inability to handle normal social interactions with beautiful women with more decorum.
"I place the blame for this situation entirely on your shoulders," he declared, glaring down at the baby. Harry blew a raspberry and smiled contentedly.