July 1981
Hogwarts
Severus walked into his private quarters and the sound of the door being shut behind him had him sighing as he closed his eyes and welcomed the silence of the dungeons.
That had been a stupidly long week.
For the first time he had experienced the O.W.L.s and N.E.W.T.s from a teacher's perspective – and it was worse than for the students.
It all began a month earlier when he had had to formulate the tests for the fifth and the seventh years, both written and practical ones, and deliver them to the Ministry for approval – for they needed to ensure he was following the guidelines of the Department of Education.
Then, for the two days of tests, Severus had had to stand in class until the last minute of each test, waiting for the dumber students to use every minute that they had – and every ounce of his patience – as they pretended to know what they were doing in front of their cauldrons for two hours.
And then Severus reached the end of the two days of tests with about eighty papers to mark and only three days to do it.
He sighed, but it was all finally done.
He had just delivered the papers to Dumbledore and now he'd only have to go through all of that again next year – if he were still alive then.
Focusing again on the silence of his quarters for a moment, he made the wise decision to shower, eat and do nothing for the next two days.
Saturday, August 22nd 1981
Severus was walking down the main street of Hogsmeade village, going back to the Castle after being to Ceridwen's Cauldrons to purchase some new personal items for potion making, and some needed ingredients for the school.
The sun had been up for just a couple of hours, and he could see that Madam Puddifoot's Tea House was full of people getting themselves breakfast.
"Hi, there, Severus!" he unexpectedly heard someone greeting him.
"Lupin," he replied with a frown, "Good morning. What are you doing in Hogsmeade this early?" his jealous mind already painting a picture of the wolf having spent the night at Florence's.
"I'm meeting Flor for breakfast at Madam Puddifoot's. Care to join us?"
"No," Severus cuttingly said, not hiding his jealousy, "I wouldn't want to interfere on your... breakfast."
Remus sighed, knowing exactly why the man in front of him looked suddenly annoyed.
"I'm here to discuss the Wolfsbane with her," he explained, "Flor wants to improve the next batch a little more and try a new interval between doses. I had the best full moon of my life last week. I remember everything that happened!" he sounded truly happy.
Severus's jealousy gave a small room to admiration, "She's making a lot of progress in a short time."
"She's bloody brilliant!" said Remus, glancing at the tea house, seeing Florence through the window, "And she has something all previous researchers didn't have: a willing werewolf to test her experiments on," he paused, deciding to mess with Severus a little more: "Well, "I'll go in. You know it can be dangerous to leave a woman like her alone, some other man may come and take her from you," he winked at Severus just to spite him.
Stupid werewolf! Severus thought as he watched Remus walk into the tea house and approach Florence's table, kissing her hand before saying something in her ear.
She looked up towards the window, smiling when she saw him outside.
Why don't you join us? She invited him. I'd love to share with you all I've done to the Wolfsbane so far.
No, I wouldn't want to interfere on your date. He angrily replied.
Florence sighed. This is not at all what you're thinking, Severus.
Right. He said, before walking away from the tea house.
To say jealousy was eating him up inside was an understatement.
He wanted to punch Remus's face and make love to Florence right there, on the table of the packed tea house, showing everyone she was his!
He growled low in his throat; he'd been increasingly angry the past few months.
He went to bed every night hard for her, no matter how many wank-sessions he had.
And the simple thought of touching another woman had him close to retching.
He wanted Florence in his bed every night; he wanted to be the one taking her out for breakfast and lunch, enjoying an afternoon by her side – something, he realised, they'd never done together, she'd never been seen in public with him doing regular things.
He frowned, as he walked back to Hogwarts, trying to put together what he knew about her refusing to marrying him: it had something to do with the war, with Florean Fortescue's ice cream shop, and with the fact that they couldn't be seen together in public.
Severus sighed in frustration, feeling he was as close to finding out the truth as they were to see the end of the war.
Saturday, August 29th 1981
That last week of August had been one of the hottest ever; Severus was glad he had chosen the dungeons as his quarters, for it was always at least five degrees cooler down there.
He had spent a restful afternoon just reading and planning his classes – which would start in two days.
After a year of teaching using Slughorn's lesson plans, he knew where he wanted to make some changes.
Severus showered and got dressed comfortably, thinking that the only way that night could get better would be if Florence was there.
But she is probably busy going out to dinner with the werewolf or analysing the effects of the special Wolfsbane she prepared for him.
He sat in front of his unlit fireplace and tried to enjoy a glass of firewhisky before going to bed, but he was jealous and angry at her. She had no problems being seen around with other men, but he had to wait to hear her excuses one day.
Until then, she was out having her fun with Black and Lupin.
He took a long sip of firewhisky and reached for the bottle to pour himself another glass, but a sharp pain on his left forearm had him dropping the empty glass onto the rug.
"Dammit!" he cursed, as his Dark Mark burned even more painfully. He remembered that an attack had been scheduled for that night, but he hadn't been chosen to take part in it - apparently, now he had.
Using magic to fix the glass he had dropped, he poured the firewhisky in it and drank it all in one gulp, then he changed his clothes and walked into his fireplace, going to Hog's Head to disapparate from there.
Delacour Manor
Florence was playing with the twins in the backyard, enjoying the lovely warm summer's evening.
Remus Lupin had gone to her house that afternoon to get his dose of Wolfsbane Potion and Florence invited him to stay for dinner. The twins loved playing with their Uncle Moony, who they thought was the coolest person in the world for being a werewolf.
Florence had made a few more changes to the Wolfsbane formula. She told Remus she would like him to take two doses two to prepare for that month's transformation; to which he replied he'd happily take a liter everyday if it meant no longer being an irrational beast for a whole night every month.
Remus watched the sizzling meat on the grill while glancing at Florence as she played and ran with the twins in the backyard.
It wasn't difficult to understand Severus and Sirius's fascination with her – she was a gorgeous woman, incredibly bright, sexy, and talking to her was always a delight; it was easy for anyone to fall for her.
While he, so far, had no romantic aspirations towards her, Remus was still a warm-blooded man with eyes, and he could imagine how incredible a night of sex with her certainly was – something he had to admit to having dreamed of once or twice, after seeing her being thoroughly kissed by Severus a couple of months ago.
He flipped the steaks once more and saw that they were almost ready.
"Just a couple more minutes here, Flor!" he shouted.
Then he heard her say: "You heard Uncle Moony! Let's clean up to eat, boys!"
And Nicholas walked into the house to wash his hands, but James, as usual, was giving his mother a hard time.
"No! I want to play more!" he shouted.
"It's time for dinner, Jamie," Florence said firmly, "Get in the house to wash your hands."
"No!" he stamped his foot, "PLAY!"
Florence walked to him and the little boy tried to run, but she had expected him to, so she easily caught him and walked past Remus, carrying the boy under her arm like a potato sack.
Remus just chuckled and shook his head, thinking how he'd love to see Severus dealing with James.
Later that night
Florence walked out of the house and into the back porch, getting the glass of wine that Remus reached out to her.
"Thank you, Moony."
"They're sleeping?" he asked.
"Yes. Finally," she exhaled.
"James and Nicholas are one person split into two – one's got all the good manners and the other is pure wickedness."
"Exactly," she chuckled, "Can you imagine Jamie as a teen? I already have nightmares," she playfully shivered.
Remus laughed, before sipping his wine and looking at her with a serious expression: "They told me they know who their dad is and that one day he'll be the one cooking them dinner."
"Yeah, I told them the truth a while ago," Florence looked at her wine glass sorrowfully, "As much of it as I could anyway."
Remus nodded, "Has Severus ever seen them?"
"Yes. More than once, actually. But it's been a while since the last time," she sipped her wine.
"And he's never once questioned you?" Remus frowned, "He's such a clever man, how doesn't he see it?"
"I don't know, but I'm glad Severus still believes Sirius is their dad. You know if he finds out the truth, my father could find out as well and kill him, and then come after the twins."
"I know. But one look at James and... I mean, how can anyone believe Sirius fathered that kid?"
Florence shook her head, forcing out a smile before throwing back the rest of her wine, "That's so true."
Remus couldn't not address her obvious sadness: "I'm sorry for bringing him up."
"It's alright. I wish I could tell Severus everything. I've dreamed many times about it... but I don't want him to die just because I love him," she looked at the dark backyard, not really seeing it, her thoughts on the man her heart and body yearned for.
"I get it, Flor," Remus watched her, feeling her disconsolateness; he shook his head, thinking to himself:
How has Sirius ever thought he had a chance with her?
Florence finished her second glass of wine and Remus reached out the bottle to her.
"No, thanks. I've had enough. If the hospital calls me for some emergency, I can't go to work half-drunk," she stood up, "I asked Tiffany to get the guest room ready for you."
"Thanks. I think I'll finish the Dark Lord's great wine and then go to sleep."
She laughed softly, before saying: "Good night, my friend," and she turned to go inside.
Remus watched her go, wondering if he should refill his wine goblet or drink straight from the bottle, when he suddenly heard a loud gasp.
"Flor?" his head snapped up and he saw her still there, standing a few feet from the door, her breathing picking up the pace.
Remus frowned and stood up, going to her, worrying as he saw she had brought her hand to her chest as if in pain, "Flor?" he touched her arm, "Are you ok?"
"Something... something's wrong," she focused her magic on what she was feeling and gasped again: "Severus!"
"Do you want me to go to the castle?" he offered, "Call Dumbledore?"
"No, I-"
Then a Phoenix feather appeared in front of them.
Florence turned to Remus, fear and emergency in her eyes, her voice fast and trembling with anxiousness: "Can you look after the boys, Remy? If not, I can call Eileen–"
"Go, Flor!" he said firmly, "Don't worry about the boys. I'll stay here until you return."
And she ran to the fireplace, flooing to Hogwarts.
Florence walked out of Dumbledore's fireplace and ran to the dungeons, knowing that was where Severus were.
She knocked on the locked door of Severus's quarters and Pomfrey opened it, immediately saying: "In the bedroom."
She stormed into the room and her heart nearly stopped as she saw at the man on the bed: Severus lay limp on top of the covers, he looked paler than usual and had streaks of dry blood near his right ear and temple.
"Pomfrey, what's his situation?" she asked, approaching the bed.
"He had cuts and many bruises upon arrival but I took care of those... I called you here because he has a serious concussion and his brain is rapidly swelling. That's not something I have experience on fixing in a short time - and I know time is of the essence in such cases..."
Florence had heard enough; blocking out all voices, she took a deep breath, forced herself to forget who her patient was and focused only on fixing his injury.
She moved her wand over his head, looking at the image that formed above him. It was exactly like Pomfrey had said: he had a concussion and his brain was swelling – nothing Florence hadn't seen before in the emergency unit at St. Mungus Hospital.
She efficiently moved her hands on intricate patterns above him, whispering several incantations while she drained the fluid from the swollen area and repaired tissues along the way.
It took her long minutes, but she healed all injuries she could find in his brain. Then she moved down his body, checking him for other wounds that Pomfrey might have missed – but there were none.
Then she allowed herself to breathe, casting a cleaning spell on his body and touching his face; she bent forward and kissed his lips softly, not caring that Pomfrey and Dumbledore were in the room.
Severus moved then, whispering: "Florence," lifting one hand to her cheek, and slowly opening his eyes.
"I told you I didn't want to see you hurt like this again," she whispered.
"I'm sorry, love," he smiled softly, "But if you keep coming to save me, I'll have to get hurt at least once a week."
She sighed heavily, casting: "Adoze," and Severus fell asleep instantly.
Then she stood up straight and looked at the other two people in the room, who watched that scene with compassion.
"How often does this happen?" she asked them.
Pomfrey glanced at Dumbledore before replying: "Every week he has some sort of wound. He doesn't always let me care for him, though."
But Florence wasn't looking at the mediwitch, her angry eyes were on Dumbledore, "You're going to get him killed."
Dumbledore shook his head slowly, "That's where you're wrong, my dear. Severus takes on missions for the Order that not even I know about," he paused, "I believe he's trying to atone for all the damage he has already done."
She narrowed her eyes at the headmaster, not fully believing him, but she knew arguing with him would be useless, so she turned to look at the man on the bed again and couldn't hold back the tears anymore.
"You two can go," she whispered, sitting beside him and caressing his hair, "Remus is looking after the twins for me. I'll just stay here a little longer."
Dumbledore nodded and left the dungeons with Pomfrey.
Florence locked the door after they'd left and returned to the bedroom, needing to stay close to him.
She removed her flat sandals and lay down beside him, touching her body to his and sighing, feeling his warmth, reassuring herself that he was still alive.
"If you keep rubbing against me like that," he said with his eyes still closed, "There won't be a spell in the world that will keep me asleep, Florence."
She moved a few centimetres away from him, but still held his hand.
"And you came to my rescue," he whispered, turning his head to look at her, "Again."
"I'll always come to your rescue, Severus. I really don't want to see you die."
He closed his eyes briefly, taking a deep breath, remembering he has seen her with Lupin a few days ago, and the need to make her marry him was nearly all-consuming.
"Don't say it, Severus," she shook her head, sensing his intention, "You know we can't."
"The day for truth hasn't arrived yet?" he whispered, frustration heavy in his voice.
"No," she replied, shaking her head, knowing he was talking about her telling him the reason she refused to marry him.
He wiped the tear that rolled down her face and pulled her head towards his, touching her soft lips to his, his tongue meeting hers slowly, tasting wine.
"Drinking, love?"
"Just wine with Remus. He had dinner at my place."
Severus frowned, anger and jealously starting to take over him.
"Dinner with the wolf, and wine was involved. You've been spending a lot of time with him lately," he looked down at her body, noticing her summer dress; it was sexy, showing a generous amount of cleavage.
He touched the heart-shaped jade above her breasts, "And this is what you were wearing?"
Florence just rolled her eyes at him.
"Your brain was bleeding twenty minutes ago, and you're worried about what I was wearing to dinner with a friend in my own house?"
"Obviously, if that's what you were wearing and the friend was Lupin."
She sighed, feeling his hand move over her breasts, barely touching her skin, teasing her.
"Stop it, Severus. You are in no condition of doing anything."
"Really?" he arched an eyebrow, "Tell that to my dick."
Florence glanced down his body, seeing that he was hard.
She bit her bottom lip, her veela changing her thoughts from worried to aroused.
She got closer to him, almost touching her lips to his, whispering: "For us to do this, you'll have to be very very still."
"I can do that," he replied eagerly.
"Hm... I don't think you can," she shook her head slowly.
"I'm certain I can," he insisted.
"First," she kissed his lips, whispering: "Promise me you'll be more careful."
He just looked into the light-green eyes that he loved so much, shiny with unshed tears.
"I love you, Severus," she continued, "I don't want you getting yourself killed..."
And he silently nodded once, knowing he couldn't really promise her that.
But she was satisfied with his answer and began kissing down his chest; he was as immobile as he could while she worked on giving them both pleasure.
Hours later, when he was fast asleep and with no signs of his brain swelling again, Florence got dressed and left his quarters, without looking back at the man on the bed. Her veela was growling, not wanting her to leave his side, but Florence ignored her, going to the hospital wing.
Luckily Pomfrey was still up.
"Florence," said the mediwitch, coming towards her.
"Tell me when he's fully recovered, will you, Poppy?" she whispered, "I can't stay here, I..." she sighed, the pain in her chest making it hard to breathe, "I have to go."
Pomfrey looked at her with sympathy, seeing how much it hurt her to walk away from Severus.
"I understand, my dear. I'll sent you a message as soon as he is cursing around the castle again."
Florence smiled, wiping a few tears before leaving.
Remus was in the living room, reading the Daily Prophet, when Florence walked out of the fireplace, looking heartbroken.
"What happened, Flor?"
"He was hurt. Brain injury," she sat on the closest armchair, "But I healed him. He'll be good as new in a couple of days."
"He's lucky to have you."
She smiled through the tears, "Is he, Remus?" she wiped her face, "I don't think so. If it weren't for me he'd have never changed sides. He'd be just a loyal Death Eater, not a double-agent with enemies on both sides," she let out a heavy sigh, "I can't even tell him why I refuse to marry him."
"He's proposed to you?" he asked in surprise.
"Many times... can you imagine how confused he must be? I fall into bed with him at every opportunity, but I won't marry him. I say I love him, but won't marry him. I save his life and still... won't marry him," she wiped off a few more tears.
Remus pondered for a few seconds, then he spoke: "Flor, isn't Severus a very important Death Eater? Maybe if you tried talking to your father–"
"And what will happen if I talk to him and he doesn't change his mind, Remus? Severus dies, my children die," she shook her head, "No. The price to pay for that conversation going wrong is too high."
"Yeah, you're right," Remus had to agree.
Then he just stared at the woman in front of him, she looked devastated, "You know if this is how you get when Severus gets hurt... if he died, you wouldn't survive a day."
She smiled sadly, "I know. Eileen is aware of it. She'll be the boys' guardian."
Remus just nodded, realising that the only solution for that heart-breaking situation was for her father to die, but that didn't look like it would be happening anytime soon.