Tempestuousness

Ominous dark clouds overhead made Toby uneasy as he silently walked towards the huddled group of Ravenclaws on the Quidditch Pitch. Was he really doing this? Was he, Severus Tobias Snape, truly trying out for Quidditch? Granted, none of the gathered students knew it was their former git of a Potions Master of course, but still. He shook his head and drew in a slow breath. He had lost his mind. That was the only plausible reason for this he could figure now. He was more of an academic than an athlete. He didn't even take after his mother with Gobstones truth be told. Yet here he was, thinking he could play Quidditch now. Honestly?

As he stepped up to the line with an old broomstick in hand, a hush settled around him instantly. He caught all of their eyes briefly and noted their obvious confusion. It likely mirrored his own. Just what was he trying to prove here exactly, he wondered. That James Potter wasn't anything special for being some stupid Quidditch star? He frowned, feeling his mood darken with the approaching storm clouds as he realized that a part of him was still in a pissing match with a dead man. One would have thought that death would have ended that, but some wounds clearly were still too great for him to let go.

"I'm here to try out," he explained when Kai Higgins, the Ravenclaw captain, caught his look.

"Really?" Kai snorted softly and ran a hand through his spiky sandy hair. "All right then." The seventh-year Quidditch captain glanced down at his clipboard. "Name?"

"Toby Brooks."

"All right, Brooks. Let's see what you can do." Kai made a quick motion at a few of the others gathered on the field to hover about the pitch for a moment. "We'll start with Chaser first and progress from there." Kai then picked the Quaffle up and tossed it to Toby. "Impress me."

Toby caught it carefully and forced a polite smile. Impress him? He wasn't even certain he could play this stupid game in the first place. Refereeing it was totally different from playing it. A moment later, though, he mounted an old broom and hovered in the air next to two others. He glanced across at the three opposing Chasers and nodded to himself. He could do this. How hard could it be after all?

A short whistle below from Kai signaled the start, and Toby was off. He zoomed left and right like a mad man as he and his teammates made their way towards the three goalposts, tossing the Quaffle back and forth amongst themselves. He reached the large posts first and inhaled sharply when he caught the Quaffle back from his teammate. Without a second of hesitation, he threw it as hard as he could towards the rounded eye-hook post and watched it sail in past the opposing Chaser who double-timed as the opposing Keeper.

Gripping his broom tightly, he quickly jerked it around to head back in the opposite direction. His dark eyes watched the Quaffle sail in the air over his head towards one of the opposing Chasers. He leaned forward and shot off like a rocket. His mind worked out possible scenarios of the opposing team as he streaked the sky after the flying Quaffle. He banked suddenly when a Bludger flew at him, narrowly missing his face. Never before in his entire life was he as grateful to Harry as he was right then. The boy he had sworn his life to protecting was now protecting him by having shown Toby little tricks the prior night on how to avoid being unseated from the wretched Bludgers.

Toby's face broke out into a large grin not long after. Years of being a Potions master had helped him learn to recognize and identify patterns. So, as he watched the opposing team pass the Quaffle back and forth in front of him, he learned their pattern. Smirking inwardly, he banked widely to the right before diving down in a corkscrew. As the opposing team passed the Quaffle once more in efforts to line of their shot, Toby suddenly dove up and snatched it from the air. He tossed it quickly back at his teammates, chuckling quietly when he saw the shock on the poor opposing Chasers who had been tossing the Quaffle between themselves.

A whistle pierced the air then and called them all back to the ground. The moment he touched down, he felt hands from all directions clapping him on the back and congratulating him. He merely grinned and nodded at his audience.

"Now, that was some fancy flying, Brooks," Kai exclaimed, laughing as they approached. "All right, so you're wicked fast. So let's see how good your eyes are." Slowly, the Ravenclaw captain brought up his hand, clearly holding something in it. Uncovering his hand a moment later, the Golden Snitch flittered about the air before Toby's face before darting off. "Bring it down to me once you get it and we'll see how quick you were that time. Got it?"

"Yeah. Got it." Toby nodded, glancing upwards at the now black sky. He grimaced when the heavens opened up a moment later, and rain poured from the sky.

"Clock starts the second you lift off," Kai stated, pulling out a small pocket watch.

Toby brushed back his long hair and sighed. This whole scene was reminiscent of Harry's third year when the Dementors decided to attack him during his Quidditch match. He wiped the rain from his eyes and pushed off, taking the stormy skies. He hovered for a moment when he got the necessary height and glanced around. A part of him hoped that he was as lucky as Harry usually was and found the damn thing right away. At the sight of lightning flashing in front of him, he inhaled sharply and decided to fly in a grid pattern.

It felt like a lifetime had passed before he finally saw the glittering gold Snitch. He shot off after it. His ears rang from the loud thunder booming all around him. Outstretching his hand towards the stupid tiny object, he tried to snatch it out of the air, only to have the Snitch dart in the opposite direction at the last moment. He growled and took off after it again.

Once more the sky lit up from a streak of lightning followed quickly by the thunderous boom. He felt his insides clench before a memory flashed behind his dark eyes. He tried to shake it away, knowing that his Occlumency barriers still weren't working properly enough to push it away. However, the memory was stronger.

There above him were the beautiful green eyes that he loved so much. Attempting to speak around the blood that had pooled in his lungs, he rasped as he pulled the person closer, painfully recognizing that the person he held onto wasn't Lily but her son. He pleaded with the boy to take his memories, to learn the truth Harry needed, to see that Snape wasn't the traitorous bastard everyone thought he was. He wasn't certain which was leaving him faster, his blood or his memories. He felt the darkness settle in, panic gripping him at the realization that he would not make it back to his wife and unborn child. So, he rasped three little words that took all his energy to say. Yet again in his life, he found himself begging for Lily to appear as he stared deep into those green eyes of hers.

Lily, I beg you, he thought in his seemingly last moments. Please. Please hear me. Watch over my family, Lily. Please. Protect them as I've done with your son all these years. Please. His body slackened then as he waited for a sign, any sign that she had heard him. There was none, though. His hand fell to the floor with a loud thump, his final breath exhaled. Once more, the green-eyed, redheaded woman of his youth whom he had devoted his life to had abandoned him in his time of need.

Toby inhaled deeply as he came quickly out of his thoughts. He felt the dizzying rush that came from being jerked from his memory. Closing his eyes, he shook his head and groaned. He had a Snitch to find. Focus was key to that. So, he rubbed at his eyes, wiping the stinging rain from his face. However, yet another flash of lightning sent him back deep into his memories, another flashback holding him hostage.

A haunting melody of a woman singing mournfully floated around him in the darkness, her sadness seeping into every part of his frail, broken body. It was as if she was calling him to her, a beautiful siren whispering sweet promises of peace and tranquility. But he knew that his afterlife wouldn't be bliss as it was for so many others before him. He wasn't finished yet. Nor was he ready to leave his wife and unborn child behind without knowing if they were safe, alive.

The woman's lament continued as she called him to her once more. He wasn't ready. Didn't she know that? He still had so much left to do, so much more to experience. He felt the cold tendrils of death snaking up his skin like the vines on a Tentacular plant. He wasn't ready. Not yet. He needed to know if Aurora and their daughter were all right. He needed this, to tell his family, the woman he loved that he'd always be there with her and their daughter. That they wouldn't ever be alone. The woman's melody slowly started to speed up, a crescendo clearly building.

He then found himself bathed in green, then red, next yellow, and finally blue—each ironically a House color of Hogwarts. The four lights deeply warmed him inside, a strange strength soaking into him and giving him a feeling of renewed vigor that he required. He could feel as well intense sadness mixed with grief and anger. Brief flickers of images of people he knew flashed in his mind. He could see Fred Weasley lay across Percy's lifeless body, shaking him with all his might as Ron screamed next to them. He could see Lupin shielding Tonks from falling debris and pulling the young Auror to safety, ducking when Killing Curses were sent their way. He then watched as Neville Longbottom, a boy who had been overlooked by everyone, became a man and hacked off Nagini's head in what could only be described as Neville's one bad-ass moment. Another flash, and he saw Bellatrix in all her craziness aim for Ginny Weasley. He observed the only Weasley daughter step forward into the path of Bellatrix's Killing Curse as she yelled at her boyfriend to look out—the words dying on her lips as she fell backwards with a sick thud a moment later. Once more, an image flickered and showed him Harry's defeat of the Dark Lord with a well-executed Expelliarmus.

Screams then tore through the air, but not from anyone in the Great Hall. More sadness seeped into him. More grief. More loss. More fear. And then hope appeared as the sun rose, bathing the Great Hall in a warm light. Next came the relief followed by a sense of finality. It was over. Finally. But the screams continued until suddenly there was a deafening silence.

"Protect," a male murmured around him.

"Defend," another male chanted.

"Love," a woman spoke.

"Rebuild," the last voice, another woman, breathed.

Air rushed into his lungs suddenly. His eyes then burst wide open. Somber blue eyes had replaced the green of Harry's now. Then came the pain as it surged into his veins, flooding his entire body. He screamed in efforts to escape it, but only the sound of his gurgling on his blood was heard.

"Shh, my boy," Albus Dumbledore cried, holding Snape's broken body against him. The elderly wizard's body shook from the terrible heart wrenching sobs that erupted out of him. "Shh. Oh, my sweet boy. It's over. It's over now." He ran his remaining hand over Snape in a soothing manner as he continued to sob and hold Snape against him protectively. "Oh, Severus. Please. Please forgive this old fool. I've asked too much of you over the years. Taken too much from you. Oh, my boy. Please forgive me. I was wrong. About it all. You deserved better. So much better, my boy. Forgive me."

"Severus!" a piercing female's scream reverberated around the shack. "SEVERUS!" She cried again, her voice starting to go hoarse he noticed.

At first he had thought that his wife had walked in to find him in Albus's arms, all bloodied and broken. But he could tell that Albus hadn't heard the screams by the way the older wizard continued sobbing for forgiveness. So he knew then that he was hearing her through their link. He closed his eyes and focused on her, desperately wishing he could be with her and tell her that everything was all right. However, all he saw was darkness, a result of being too mentally drained to establish their connection with each other. He trembled as he heard his wife crying out his name, feeling the sadness and grief in her shaky voice.

Without any notice, his vision blurred briefly and allowed him to see her. His heart recoiled at the sight of blood that covered her from head-to-toe. Her screams, louder now, filled his mind, piercing cries of a tortured soul. The moment he noticed her slender, bloodied hands clutching her abdomen as she curled in on herself, he felt himself be ripped from her and thrown back into the Shrieking Shack once more. Fear gripped him now as panic rushed through his veins and overpowered his own pain that flooded his neural pathways. Something was wrong with his daughter.

"Brooks, you all right?" a voice suddenly yelled beside him.

Toby gasped and quickly jerked his hand as he found himself yanked out of his memories abruptly. He realized soon after that he was still in the air, now soaked to the bone from the profuse sweating and rain. He swiped at his face and trembled faintly.

"Hey, Brooks. Did you hear me? I asked if you're all right," Kai repeated, staring at him strangely for a moment. He then blinked in understanding, his voice lowering into a compassionate tone. "You know what? Never mind. Let's get you back down on the ground." The Ravenclaw captain slowly reached across and grabbed a part of Toby's broom to help guide him down just in case something happened again.

Toby stumbled the moment he touched back down and closed his eyes. His emotions swirled like a tornado inside him. He exhaled slowly when he felt Kai's hand rest on his shoulder.

"You did good today. Go on. Hit the showers, Brooks."

He nodded numbly, not even bothering to correct Kai's poor grammar. He walked across the pitch, hearing the intense whispers from the others around him. He brushed it all off, though, barely even noticing their words.

Several minutes later, he stumbled blindly into the locker room. Like a newborn calf's, his legs were wobbly, causing him to grab the wall and feel his way to the showers. He waved his hand towards the taps and stripped down quickly, throwing the soaked clothes far from him. The second he stepped into the steady stream of water, he closed his eyes in relief. He leaned his forearms against the wall and let the warm water flow off him. He wanted to let go and forget everything. But he knew he wouldn't ever be that lucky. The memories of that day would always be with him, seared in the back of his mind. He drew in a sharp breath as a new wave of memories overtook him and forced him to recall even more.

Groaning softly, he opened his eyes and found himself on one of the cots in the hospital wing. He drew in a shaky breath, the sharp stabbing pain nearly causing tears to fall from his eyes. He then noticed Madam Pomfrey step into his line of sight.

"Don't try to speak. Your vocal chords were badly damaged." The matron then glanced down somberly before she glanced back up at him, her eyes misty. "I-I'm so sorry." When he shot up in efforts to find his wife assuming the worst, Pomfrey quickly pushed him back down. "Aurora's alive, Severus, but I have her heavily sedated right now. Please. Lay back before you undo all my work."

His eyes darted to her, as if to ask her to explain what was going.

"She was attacked by several men in your office. It seems that she was tortured first and then beaten." Pomfrey closed her eyes and exhaled slowly. "I'm afraid the damage was too great to your unborn daughter. I tried everything, but I couldn't save her. I'm sorry, Severus."

He stared at the matron numbly, trying to make sense of everything she was saying. He then blinked and let out a sigh of relief. Aurora was alive. Hurt badly it sounded like, but she was alive. He hadn't lost her. They had both survived. Felix Felicis, he was grateful for that. He still had Aurora.

"I haven't informed her yet about the baby. I'm not quite certain how to, I admit." Pomfrey wiped a few tears from her eyes. "I'm sorry. I know this is a—Oh, Severus. You could've trusted me. You could've been a part of the pre-natal exams. I wouldn't have excluded you from that, regardless of my stupid anger about Albus's supposed death. There was no reason you had to be excluded from that. I know it's not—that it doesn't help now, but . . . truly, I'm sorry."

The memory faded then, and he soon found himself sitting on the shower floor with his knees against his chest. The tears feel freely from his eyes, mixing with the warm water. When he had woken up that day in the hospital wing, he had been so scared and worried that he'd be told that he had lost his wife, the woman he loved with all his heart, the one who was different. Oddly enough, it had been a relief to hear Pomfrey inform him that only their unborn daughter died. He supposed he hadn't processed it then and still hadn't to that day actually. He had Aurora. That was all he needed.

"Toby?" Celes's voice floated into the locker room a few minutes afterwards.

He stifled his sobs quickly, forcing his tears back. He had to be strong for her. None of this crying crap. He swiped at his eyes and attempted to push himself back up. Only his legs wouldn't cooperate, so sitting on the floor against the back shower wall it was.

When she pulled back the hazy shower curtain soon after, he forced a sheepish smile at her.

"You do know this is the boy's locker room, right?" he joked half-heartedly, swallowing back more of his tears. He watched her eyes soften instantly before she stepped in, fully dressed, and knelt in front of him, grabbing his hands and squeezing them gently as the water soaked her.

"Oh, my prince," she whispered, using her silly little name she had called him privately when they were dating—a name that he had grown to like eventually since it was a throwback to his half-blood prince moniker he had called himself when he was younger. She then sat beside him and wrapped her arm around his shoulder in a comforting one-armed hug.

He leaned his head against her shoulder and sniffled. "Look at me. Sniveling like some hapless toddler. Pathetic, isn't it?"

"No," she murmured, running her fingers tenderly through his long hair.

He scoffed, drawing in a shaky breath. "Liar," he mildly replied, closing his eyes and savoring her loving strokes. She had always somehow calmed his soul in ways no other woman could. Lily never even tried he would have decided if he were ever honest about her.

"Talk to me. Please," she softly pleaded. "Let me in again."

"I can't," he quietly admitted.

"Why?"

"It's my cross to bear, Celes, not yours."

"You're wrong, love." She paused for a few moments and pressed a gentle kiss against his forehead. "It's ours. Remember? You and me. We're a team now."

"You have enough to worry about," he argued, feeling the tension in her.

"Then help me by letting me in again so I can cross one of my things to worry about off."

He half-snorted. "You're a terrible Slytherin."

"I know. That's why I'm a Hufflepuff, remember?" she reminded with a faint smile.

He sighed, drawing in a slow calming breath. "I'm a monster."

"No you're not, love."

"I am." He grabbed his wet locks of hair and tugged on them to produce pain so he could focus more on his words. "Merlin, do you know that when I learned about our—about her, my first emotion wasn't grief or sadness that instead it was relief. Relief, Celes. You've been tearing yourself up inside over her, and I've just been carrying on like it was nothing, like your pain is nothing."

"You haven't," she countered.

"I have." He frowned as he thought about his wording for a moment. "Each time I think to myself about how lucky we are, I'm practically screaming how I didn't care about her, about you being hurt so deeply by your loss." He scoffed. "Did you hear me just now? I said 'your loss.' As if I wasn't her father either. Merlin," he growled at himself.

"That doesn't make you a monster." When he started to argue, she cut him off before he could even get a word out. "No. Listen to me. We barely saw each other last year. You were busy being headmaster, rescuing the students from the Carrows, and helping Harry. I was just keeping my head down like we agreed, so no one would figure out about us. Sure I told you everything Pomfrey said, but at the end of the day we weren't together. We couldn't be without risking someone finding out. It was a sacrifice we had to make."

"For the Greater Good," he dryly said, shaking his head.

"Yeah." She sighed. For several minutes, it was silent as the water fell on them. "Toby?"

"Yes?"

"I fucking hate the Greater Good."

He chuckled, unable to help himself. "Me too, love. Me too." There was something about his wife that he just couldn't ever find the right words to use to describe her. Their relationship that spanned from a rocky friendship to a secret marriage was all roses and thorns honestly. Bickering and bantering back and forth—oh, they had fought against their obvious attraction at first, but like all things, they soon surrendered to it as idle curiosity took over. Wounds that ran deep in both of them were soon healed by the other. A friend, an ally, a confidant, a partner all wrapped up in the word 'lover.'

"Toby?" she said a little later after their skin had become all wrinkly.

"Yeah?" he replied quietly, snuggling against her.

"You're naked," she giggled.

"Yeah, and your point?" he laughed, pulling her further against him so that she nearly straddled his lap. He smiled when she turned, and her lips brushed against his. He swore her kisses were Phoenix tears. Lightly, he traced her lips with his tongue, tasting the sweet lip gloss once again. His fingers gently ran up and down her back as he continued his sweet loving of her. However, it was not to be he soon found out when someone's throat was harshly cleared above them behind the shower curtain.

"If you two are quite finished in there," McGonagall said dangerously, "kindly remove yourselves from this shower immediately."

Toby winced as he felt Celes stifle a laugh into his neck. This truly wasn't funny in the slightest. They were breaking every rule of decorum in the book and seemingly flaunting it. This would, in fact, be the second time they had been caught.

"Yes, Professor," he replied dutifully, lightly smacking his wife's bum when she continued to laugh silently against him. Merlin above, his mother was going to murder him over this. He grabbed Celes's outer robes when she offered them and quickly covered up with them before they emerged from the shower. He glanced down, feeling his cheeks redden at the sight of the gathered students in the doorway to the locker room looking in curiously.

"Headmaster's office. Now," McGonagall barked, giving them both a severe look of disgust.

Toby nodded slowly and stooped to pick up his clothes as he walked past the pile. When he felt the slender hand slip into his a moment later, he seriously could have murdered Celes right then. He heard McGonagall's soft growl of annoyance behind them and winced again. While he was rather glad that his wife was enjoying herself immensely, he was rather worried about how this would all end up.

As they walked through the onlooking students, he heard the frequent whispers.

"Do you think they really did it in there?" one student asked another.

"Look at him. What do you think?" another student replied.

"Lucky git," yet another student exclaimed. "Getting that piece of fine—"

"Merlin, he's my idol."

Toby groaned inwardly as he heard the students. Really, their behavior was nothing to look up to. It was atrocious. Fun as hell, but appalling.

"I wonder if he's any good at it," a female student asked.

"Obviously he is. I mean, she can't seem to get enough of him. Did you hear about the other day? They snogged on McGonagall's desk."

"Wow." Several students nearby laughed. "Wicked."

"I suggest everyone return to their common rooms now," hissed McGonagall, "before your Houses are left with no points."

That scattered the crowd instantly. Toby continued walking forward towards the castle, raising an eyebrow when he caught Harry's wide grin as the other young man stood off to the side with Luna. Honestly. This was nothing to be proud of. His breath then caught in the back of his throat when he felt Celes kiss his cheek with a soft giggle.

"Miss Martins!" McGonagall growled. "Cease in that immediately."

"Yes, Professor," she replied, not bothering to turn around to address the other witch.

They walked in silence the rest of the way. They marched up the staircases before they finally reached the stone gargoyle that guarded the Headmaster's office.

"Password?" the gargoyle drawled.

"Pop Rocks," McGonagall answered behind them a moment later.

The gargoyle frowned and shook its head. "Password?" it repeated.

"Pop Rocks," she growled back, glaring at the gargoyle.

"Wrong."

"What do you mean, 'Wrong?' It is not," she barked. "Albus changed it this morning."

"I know, but he's not—"

The sounds of heavy footfalls then echoed as someone rushed down the corridor. Toby turned his head and quickly glanced down at the floor at the sight of his father-in-law running towards them.

"Minerva, wait!" Orin called out.

The Transfiguration professor sharply turned towards the older wizard and sighed. "Not now."

"Please. Just hear me out, Min."

"This doesn't concern you, Orin. This is a matter between the headmaster and them."

"Huh?" The salt-and-pepper wizard took a step back and glanced at the young couple. His eyes then narrowed on them. "What'd they do?"

"Oh? You haven't heard yet?" McGonagall bitterly asked, anger seeping into her cold voice. "They were caught in the showers together."

Orin coughed loudly. "What?"

"You heard me. These two continue to flaunt their rule breaking—"

"Now, Min." Orin lowered his voice slightly. "Come on. You remember what it was like being in love. You get caught up in the moment, especially when you're young like them."

"That doesn't excuse their behavior!"

"No. It doesn't, but do we really need to jump to expulsion over this?"

"I caught them snogging on my desk, Orin! On my desk! And now this happens!"

"So, they're really in love," he said with grimace, tugging on his earlobe.

McGonagall glared at him before she huffed. "I am not going to stand by and wait for the day where she ends up pregnant!"

Celes giggled, much to Toby and Orin's utter horror. Toby quickly turned his hand and squeezed his wife's wrist painfully. It, however, didn't stop her in the slightest.

"Too late," the young Hufflepuff said in a sing-song voice.

The stern Deputy Headmistress gasped before she grabbed her chest and stared at Celes in sheer shock. Her eyes then darted to Orin before they fell on Toby.

"You're . . . you two . . ." Her green eyes then flashed dangerously as her jaw clenched.

Orin quickly stepped in between Minerva and Celes. "Now, it's not what you think, Min. I promise you." He drew in a quick breath. "It was a little unsettling to me at first too, but really it's not what you think that's going on."

"Not what I think?!" She then pointed at Toby and Celes, who were standing behind Orin silently. "They're fifteen years old! They don't know anything about raising a child, the sacrifices they'll have to make. They're practically throwing their lives away. And with you condoning it as them just being in love, you're practically giving others the right to make the same mistake!" She huffed angrily and glared at him. "Honestly, I thought you were smarter than this, Orin."

"I am. Under different circumstances, I'd agree with you, but I can't in this case. Just trust me."

Her green eyes narrowed briefly before her lips thinned even more. "This young lady could've been your daughter, Orin. Hell, Aurora was pregnant when she was fifteen. Would you have been so ready to jump to their defense then? Your eldest daughter, fifteen and pregnant?"

"Oh, come on. That was totally different from this!" Celes argued before she blinked and bit her lip in clear regret afterwards when McGonagall's head snapped towards her. "Crap."

This was seriously getting out of hand in Toby's mind. So reacting instinctively, he glanced at the gargoyle and watched the stone statue quickly slide to the side to allow them inside. McGonagall stepped back suddenly and glanced at Toby in confusion, her hand quickly reaching for her wand.

"It's empty, sir," the gargoyle quietly announced to Toby.

"Min, let's step inside the office, all right?" Orin gently said. He frowned when her eyes darted to his, the mistrust showing clearly. "Please. Just trust me again. It's all right. I promise." She blinked before she glanced towards the young couple and slowly followed, her hand still on her wand.

The minute the door closed behind them a moment later, cutting them off from the rest of the castle, Orin cleared his throat and glanced at the couple as he waited for them to speak, but Toby kept his lips firmly pressed together. There was no way in hell the young Ravenclaw was going to touch this with a ten foot pole.

McGonagall glanced at each of them for a moment before her eyes fell on the salt-and-pepper haired wizard. "Orin?" she said breathlessly, shock not even coming close to describe her feelings right then. Her eyes were wide.

Orin winced and tugged on his earlobe again. "Yes, Min?"

"What the hell is going on?" the Gryffindor quietly asked. "How'd he open the door and how'd she know that?" Her face showed the state of chaotic emotions swirling about her. "What's going on? Answer me." Her voice was full of hurt and betrayal and obvious confusion.

"Maybe you should sit down first," he gently said, clearly delaying the inevitable for a bit longer.

"Do not treat me like I am some heart patient, Orin," McGonagall snapped. Her nostrils flared as her eyes darkened. "Answer me. How did he, a fifteen-year-old boy," she demanded, pointing at Toby, "open that door when Albus has been having nothing but trouble with it ever since his return?"

"I don't know, Min. You'd have to ask him that," Orin answered softly. His warm brown eyes briefly flickered to Toby before his frown deepened and he ran a hand through his hair with a sigh. "She knows it's different because Celes is Aurora, Minerva. They de-aged themselves."

"What?" McGonagall glanced at the young couple before she turned back to him. She then smacked the older wizard hard against the face. "For days now you've let me worry about them when you knew—you KNEW—they were all right."

Orin silently rubbed his reddened cheek and sighed. "See that's not true, Minerva. I told you they were fine each time you told me that you were worried. You just didn't want to take my word about it."

"Don't you dare blame this on me, Orin Sinistra," the Head of Gryffindor growled as she pointed her finger at him warningly.

"I'm not. It's just that the kids are doing an experiment or something for Aura's class. They're observing everyone's reactions, honest reactions, and recording it. I couldn't tell you without ruining that for them."

"You lied to me."

"No."

"Yes!"

"Fine. I suppose you're right and I did, but I had to in order for them to get honest results." Orin's shoulders slumped as he seemed defeated now. His eyes closed in pain before he shook his head. "I swear it wasn't to hurt you, though. I mean, ask Aura. I told her last night to knock it off with the crap she was pulling around you. I saw how frustrated you were getting about this whole Celes thing. You know that. I was there with you every night you were ranting to me about it. Remember?"

"You could've told me, Orin."

Toby shifted his weight silently and exhaled heavily. He glanced through his long hair towards his wife and caught her ashamed look as she glanced down at the floor. If what Orin said was true and that the man had told Celes to knock it off, Toby assumed that was when Celes was with her father and sister in the other room earlier that night.

"It was our fault, not his, Minerva," Toby quietly interrupted. "We asked him not to tell anyone. He was just following our request." He caught the witch's fierce look and sighed. "If you want someone to be mad at, be mad at us."

"Oh, I assure you, Severus Snape, I am mad at both of you," she snapped, glaring at both him and Celes. "Whatever thing you've set out to accomplish here, whether that to make Hogwarts a—"

"No," Celes cut in. "My research isn't meant to ridicule anyone. Hell, I'm not even certain what we'll find at the end of this experiment." She sighed. "Like I said in my note to you earlier, I'm lost and stumbling around now trying to find my way again." She rubbed her face. "It's strange but it's oddly enough therapeutic to be this fifteen-year-old snotty brat who pisses off her professors for the hell of it. For months now, I've had everyone treat me like I'm a piece of glass ready to shatter at a moment's notice or a powder keg ready to ignite. I mean, you and Septima keep fussing over me, and it just . . . I don't—I just want to feel normal again. Happy and in love. That's all. And I am as Celes Martins. I'm happier than I've been in months. And I know that's crazy. Pomfrey tells me constantly that it's not healthy for me to try and disassociate myself from my true self, but I don't want to be Aurora right now. I just want to be a fifteen-year-old girl who has fun and is happy. That's it."

Toby closed his eyes as he heard Celes's admission. He had a feeling that was the case, but he wasn't ever going to push it and find out for certain. He was in the boat of ones who treated her like glass now, but he honestly knew he couldn't live with himself if he hurt her again.

"Oh, sweetheart," Minerva quietly whispered, her eyes losing their hardened edge.

Celes's voice cracked slightly as she begged, "Please don't. It really doesn't help me. Not this time." Her arms then wrapped around her midsection protectively, and her breathing started to turn into quick, short, panicky breaths. "It just brings back so much crap I don't want to remember." Her eyes remained fixed on the empty portrait where Dumbledore had been in the previous year.

"Aurora, please listen to me." The older woman sighed softly. "You are going to have to deal—"

"Not now I don't," Celes replied shortly. "I can forget it ever happened and just make certain that it's better this time. Please, Minerva. Just let me do this. Let me be 'Celes' for a bit longer."

"The behavior you've exhibited lately, however, is grounds for expulsion," McGonagall stated with a sad sigh. Her green eyes then fell on Toby for a moment before she looked away. "And judging by the other professors' opinions about you as of late, you likely would be expelled immediately and sent home. Away from him."

"But that's not fair!" Celes argued as Toby and Orin remained silent.

"My dear, it's not about fairness," Minerva stated quietly. "You've broken numerous rules over the past two months. You've skipped most of your classes."

"Because Pomfrey wouldn't let me out of the damn hospital wing. That's it!"

"No. That's not it, and you know that," Orin said, cutting in gently.

Toby frowned instantly. He glanced between Orin and Minerva, wondering what he was missing. He then noted Celes's sudden tension, recognizing that she was likely going to run soon.

"She wouldn't let me leave, Dad!"

"Only because she, like me, is worried about you. You're not letting any of us in, baby girl." Orin then sighed, looking at Toby. "I'd bet you aren't even letting him in anymore either."

"Well, then you'd lose that bet," Celes snapped, taking a step back from all of them.

"Oh? Then you've told him why you were seen heading towards another man's rooms?"

Toby stiffened instinctively. It still unsettled him greatly to hear that. Drawing in a slow breath, though, he stepped towards Celes.

"That's enough. Please?" Toby sighed, looking sadly towards Celes. He gave her a smile encouraging smile to let her know that everything would be all right before holding his hand out to her. He could see the fear in her eyes as she stared back, knowing that she was scared that they'd push her to the breaking point. When she finally slipped her hand into his, he felt himself relax in response. "Our behavior, as of late, has been atrocious. We admit that, Minerva. And it likely does deem expulsion. On both of our parts. Because I assure you that I will not willingly leave her side ever again. We've had more than our share of time apart over the years." He then drew in a breath. "All in the name of Albus's Greater Good, in fact." He caught Minerva's flinch instantly. "So, if you believe that is the next course of action, then I believe Celes and I have some packing to do." He slowly turned to lead Celes and him to the door, hearing the fury of whispers from the portraits behind them.

"That won't be necessary," Minerva called out as his hand touched the doorknob.

Toby stopped in mid-step, smiling inwardly. Like candy from a baby. "Then, we'll see you later in Transfiguration, Professor McGonagall." And with that, they left.