The next day, in Hogsmeade, Lynne and Lily walked into the Three Broomsticks and ordered some hot butterbeers to stave off the cold that seemed to have seeped under their clothes and numbed their skin.

As they sat at a table and wrapped their hands around their hot mugs, Lynne demanded: "Spill it, auntie!"

"W-what?" Lily stammered, nearly choking on her butterbeer, her cheeks turning red fast.

Lynne gave her a knowing smile, "I know exactly who you're thinking of when you get that stupid look on your face, however–"

"Look? What look?" Lily played dumb.

"That dreamy one," Lynne pointed at her face, "However, today it's more stupid than usual. You don't even seem to know where we are, you're stuck on some sweet memory. So: spill it! What happened?"

Lily blushed redder, taking another sip of her butterbeer before biting her bottom lip and finally telling her in an excited whisper: "We kissed!"

"You... kissed?" drawled Lynne, looking surprised, "You and who? Which one?"

"Both," Lily whispered with a smile.

"Both?" Lynne eyebrows went up in her forehead.

"Yes. We are dating. Boyfriend, boyfriend and girlfriend."

"You and...?" Lynne needed her to confirm.

"Both! Yes," repeated Lily, chuckling, "The three of us, we are together. All three of us."

"Wow," Lynne sipped her butterbeer, "So you're with them and they are with you as well as with each other?"

"Yes."

Lynne tilted her had to the side, "Soo right now they could be snogging back at the castle and you're here..."

"Well, yes. And I have no problem with them kissing without me," she tilted her head, a thought coming forward in her mind: "I hope they do it in front of me though."

"Ugh– gross," Lynne grimaced, "The only thing worse than one boy is two boys. And one of them is my bloody cousin," she shivered in disgust and sipped her warm drink, taking time absorbing that information, "Wow... that's something we've all thought would happen someday, but still... wow! I honestly thought Sirius would never have the guts to admit he likes both you and Teddy," Lynne touched Lily's hand on the table, "This is amazing, auntie, I am so happy for you!"

Lily nodded, a sweet smile on her lips, "I honestly woke up this morning thinking that it had all been a dream, but it wasn't. They were both waiting for me in the common room and we went to an empty classroom instead of breakfast and kissed again, and again..." she sighed, clearly drunk in the memory of being with the two boys like that.

"Aww, that's so sweet – nauseatingly so," said Lynne with a playful grimace.

"Stop it," said Lily in a playful tone, sipping her warm butterbeer.

Then the front door of the Three Broomsticks chimed open and a very familiar face walked in, hand-in-hand with a tall, blue-eyed, brunette.

"Ugh, talking about nauseating," groaned Lynne, watching Stephen walk with his date to an empty table on the opposite corner, "I know he's your twin, auntie, but he's an idiot."

"I know, no offence taken," Lily glanced at the couple and shook her head, "Thankgoodness Gigi couldn't come, I bet he'd come here just to annoy her."

"I think she fancies him..." added Lynne softly, suddenly looking sad.

"That sixth-year?" asked Lily a bit confused by her comment, "She must, she's the one who invited him to–"

"No, not her. Gigi– I mean, I think Gigi fancies him," Lynne made herself clear in a whisper, causing Lily to nearly choke on her butterbeer a second time.

"What?" coughed Lily, "You're joking! Of course you are–"

"No, I'm afraid I'm not," she shook her head, "Think about it, auntie! They have never been able to stay in the same place together without bickering– it's like you said: if Gianah were here, he'd have come to our table just to pester her!"

Lily frowned, tilting her head, "He didn't even notice we're here..."

"Exactly! Because Gigi's not here!" Lynne leaned over the table and continued in an exasperated whisper: "It's like they can tell when the other is in the room! It's kind of creepy, really."

Lily seemed to be thinking hard about that, "But he's a complete git to her."

"And she's just as much of a git to him," Lynne pointed out, "And she's been upset lately... angry even."

"I don't know, Lynne," Lily shook her head, confused at how her niece had reached that absurd conclusion, "To me it's obvious they hate each other."

"That's what it looks like, yes..." agreed Lynne, still trying to make her understand: "But some people have a hard time accepting their feelings and end up lashing out– at least according to Grandma Flor," she sat back on her chair, "She told me Grandpa Sev was mean to her once, hiding his feelings behind anger and sarcasm."

"Yes, yes, I know the story," Lily nodded, still doubtful of Lynne's theory about Gianah's feelings, "When the twins were little, mum went to Hogwarts to help dad and he was rude and she nearly gave up on him... but this can't be the same," Lily shook her head again, "Gianah avoids looking at Stephen most days and he can't set eyes on her without–" she stopped, suddenly seeing some sense in Lynne's theory, "Godric's sword!" she gasped, "I see what you mean: he lashes out because he doesn't know how to act around her! Because he likes her!" she finished in a shocked whisper: "He bloody likes her!"

"Yes!" whisper-shouted Lynne in reply, clearly relieved she finally had someone to talk to about that, "Didn't you notice how he glared at Sam that day she mentioned his father had tried to talk to Uncle Charlie about a marriage contract?"

Lily gaped, "No, I didn't! He glared at O'Brian?"

"Oh, yes, he did," Lynne nodded effusively before sipping her butterbeer.

"But... what about the girls he's been snogging?" Lily glanced at the table where her brother seemed to be trying to thrust his tongue down his date's throat, "Ugh," she made a face, taking a gulp from her warm drink.

"I don't think he realises he likes her like that... also, he thinks Gigi hates him," Lynne shrugged, venturing a guess at Stephen's thoughts: "So why not snog the girls that are interested?"

"Yeah, I get it," Lily softly said, looking out of the window, thinking hard about all of that, "Circe's tits, if they like one another..." she shook her head slowly.

"I know, right?" Lynne snorted, finding that a bit amusing, "When I first thought about it, I didn't want to believe it was true; it would be a lot easier if they honestly hated each other."

Lily looked at her niece, "This is a mess, Lynne."

"Yeah, but if you think about it, love always brings some sort of mess into one's life," she shrugged, "Even my dads had their little mess: me! Papa didn't tell dad he could get pregnant until I was already on the way."

Lily nodded, smiling, "Steph and I were also a little mess – mum was completely surprised to learn she was pregnant at the high of the war..." she finished her drink and eyed Lynne suspiciously, "You're really wiser than your age... it makes me wonder when did you learn so much about love. Have you been snogging girls in dark classrooms too?"

"No, I'm just very observant," Lynne blushed, looking down and fidgeting with a stain on the table, "But there's someone I like..."

"You don't say," Lily feigned surprise, choosing to stop talking about Stephen's mess, "And she likes you too."

Lynne looked at her with hope in her green eyes, "Do you think so? Sometimes I think so, but..."

"I'm sure of it, my dear niece," said Lily with a warm smile, completely ignoring her brother's disgusting snogging session a few tables away.

"Hm," Lynne hummed, thinking of something, "Maybe I should ask her more directly..."

"You certainly should," nodded Lily, "She likes you, I'm sure."

"Yeah?" Lynne blushed and finished her butterbeer, "I'll talk to her at the first opportunity," then she asked with a tilted head: "Just to be sure: we're both talking about Tiana, right?"

"Of course!" Lily laughed.

"It's her birthday tomorrow," Lynne said with a smile.

"I know, what will you give her?"

"I was planning on just some chocolates, but now... I think I'll add something more to that," she finished in a whisper, her heart racing at the thought of finally kissing Tiana Nott.

The day after the Hogsmeade visit, the Ravenclaw Quidditch team would be facing the Gryffindor team in the second match of that season. As usual on game days, the students from the two playing Houses were certainly going to be loud at breakfast.

For that reason, Sophie Snape had her breakfast as early and as fast as she could, wanting to avoid all that chaos before going to the Greenhouses; even though it was a Sunday, Prof. Longbottom had said she could help him at the weekends if she so desired.

Oh, I do desire, professor. She thought as she heard him say that – at the same time thanking Merlin that the object of her desires wasn't a Legilimens.

"Good morning, professor," Sophie greeted as she walked into the Greenhouse #1, where the more dangerous and expensive plants were kept.

"Good morning, Miss Snape," he replied with a small smile.

She returned his greetings with an open smile, taking her place across from him at the long worktable.

Neville had watched her approaching the greenhouses through the glass windows, since the moment he arrived at the silent and humid greenhouse he'd hoped she would come spend the day with him. He knew he shouldn't have told her she could help him on Sundays too.

Sophie Snape was three months away from turning seventeen, the age of consent in the wizarding world (Which I should not be thinking about! He immediately admonished himself).

His point was: she should be out enjoying her day off with people her age – not spending it inside a stuffy humid greenhouse with her old (Closeted pervy, he thought to himself) Herbology teacher.

But the moment he'd seen her long ponytail swinging from side to side as she moved down the path from the castle, her sweet curves clad in jeans and a fluffy-looking light blue jumper, his heart skipped a beat before starting pounding in his chest.

"Good morning, professor," Neville heard her sweet voice as she entered the greenhouse.

"Good morning, Miss Snape," he replied, forcing his smile to be as small as possible.

But she blessed him with a beautiful smile in return to his measly offering, stopping in front of him and putting on her gloves.

"Where do you want me today, professor?"

Fuck.

His mind immediately filled up with nothing but inappropriate answers, the memories of his dreams coming forth and making his blood rush – very inappropriately – south.

She had asked that exact question in his dreams many times, and his answer was usually to bend her over the nearest table and–

"Professor?" she asked, touching his wrist, a small frown in her face.

"Miss Snape," he said, clearing his throat, "You can start with the Cowbanes, check if the humidity levels are still good in the shallow water tank and take an overall look at their habitat, then you can feed the Snargaluffs and we'll harvest some mature pods afterwards."

"Alright, professor," she nodded happily, turning to go to the Cowbanes' tank.

Sophie walked around the Cowbanes' habitat, stealing glances at her professor from time to time.

She loved to watch Neville at work, the way he cared for each plant – especially the seedlings – with such attention, checking each leave, flower, pod and stem with focus; his large hands wrapping around the plants with both assertiveness and softness.

It was oddly arousing.

Even the horrible Venomous Tentacula seemed to enjoy his ministrations, letting him milk her poisonous juice without grabbing him or throwing him across the greenhouse like it usually did with students. Quite the opposite, in fact, happened: the dangerous plant released some spores whenever Neville approached her, as if he was a potential mate.

The stupid plant. Sophie mentally groused.

If anyone ever accused Sophie of being jealous of a plant, they wouldn't be that far off – but she'd definitely deny it!

If that morning Sophie had walked down the stairs from the Ravenclaw Tower at her usual time, she'd have seen two girls entering an empty classroom on the fourth-floor, one of them strangely blindfolded.

"Where are you taking me, Lynne?" asked Tiana with a smile, despite the soft blindfold covering her eyes.

"Patience, Miss Nott," Lynne chuckled, closing the door, "Aaand... we're here, you can remove the blindfold."

Tiana pulled on the soft fabric and gasped as she saw that all desks had been pushed to one side of the classroom and the other side was covered in soft-looking grass, the window overlooking the Great Lake and a part of the Forbidden Forest had been enlarged and a blanket was laid on the grass right by the window, a sumptuous picnic on top of said blanket.

"Lynne," Tiana exhaled.

"It's too cold outside for a proper picnic," Lynne nervously explained, "And I know that you love picnics and I wanted to take you on one but–"

Tiana threw herself on her, silencing her nervous rambling and wrapping her arms around her neck, hugging her tightly.

"Thank you, Lynne. This is amazing!"

Lynne touched both hands to the shorter girl's waist, holding her close, being enveloped by the sweet hazelnut scent of her lovely dark hair.

Tiana moved to take a step back, but Lynne held her in place, looking into her blue eyes, "I'm glad you like it."

"I love it," Tiana said breathlessly.

Lynne looked down at her rosy lips and felt her hands tremble as she lowered her face towards Tiana's, her heart pounding in fear, dreading she was about to be rejected and lose not only the girl she liked but also one of her best friends.

Tiana gasped softly when she realised what was about to happen: Lynne was going to kiss her!

So she quickly stood on her tiptoes, meeting her half-way, her lips touching Lynne's in a sweet close-mouthed kiss that turned into two and then three.

"Lynne..." Tiana whispered, needing to make it clear for her, "I-I like you, Lynne."

"I like you too, Ti," whispered Lynne in reply, a mix of relief and happiness washing over her.

And they were kissing again, lips caressing slowly and inexpertly, testing what was good and what they liked more.

Tiana smiled broadly when they stopped, needing to breathe, "This is my best birthday ever!"

Lynne chuckled, pulling her by the hand towards the picnic blanket, "I'm glad you think so."

They sat on the blanket, side-by-side, so close their thighs touched, and Lynne leaned towards her again, smiling as she saw Tiana raise her chin at the same time.

"Happy birthday, Ti," Lynne whispered over her lips.

And Tiana pulled her to another kiss.

Meanwhile at the Great Hall, the chaos that Sophie had avoided ended up being even worse than she could have imagined; the students from her House were picking up fights with Gryffindors and even Hufflepuffs – which caused the Slytherins to enter the fight and even threaten to root for the Gryffindors that day.

Stephen walked into the Great Hall just in time to see Teddy pulling Sirius – fully dressed in the Gryffindor Seeker Quidditch kit – away from Michael Bulstrode, a sixth-year Ravenclaw who hated everyone whose family had been involved with the Order-side of the war.

"You're really begging to be expelled, Bulstrode," commented Stephen in a bored tone, walking towards the older and bigger teen with his signature self-confidence, "I know my sister Sophie has enough on you already."

"Fuck off, Snape, this isn't about you!" growled Bulstrode.

"You're threatening my friends," he motioned Sirius and Teddy, "So it is about me, and about my family," Stephen narrowed his eyes at him, sniggering: "You know my family? The one that runs this school?" he glanced at the high table, waving at his mother who was already looking at them with a questioning arched eyebrow.

Bulstrode briefly followed his gaze and then glared at him, before turning and sitting at the Ravenclaw table without another word.

Stephen joined the Gryffindors at their table.

"Stupid Bulstrode," growled Sirius, sitting between Lily and Teddy and accepting the glass of juice the latter had poured him.

"Just forget about him," said Lily, caressing his arm.

Stephen made a face at the obvious gesture of care, finding it both interesting and disgusting how they were always showing openly how they liked one another. He darted a glance at Gianah, who still avoided talking to him.

She just shot a questioning arched eyebrow at him in reply.

To which he replied with a smirk just because he knew she hated it. Then he looked up and down the table, "Where's Lynne?"

"It's Tiana's birthday today," said Teddy, as if that explained something.

"So? Where's Lynne?" repeated Stephen, pilling up eggs and sausages on his plate.

"She planned a surprise for Tiana's birthday," explained Lily, as if that was obvious.

"Why would she do that? Nott is always following her around, like some homeless cruppy. It's quite annoying."

"And what do you call what Potter does?" scoffed Gianah, glancing at Sirius whose head snapped towards her, frowning, "Cause he'd follow you down the Great Lake if you fancied a swim with the giant squid."

"Oy!" Sirius complained, but neither Stephen nor Gianah looked at him.

"Shut up, Weasley!" growled Stephen, "We're friends–"

"Or, maybe," continued Gianah, with a mischievous glint in her blue eyes, "You're trying to steal your twin's boyfriend; it's obvious you looove how Potter worships you."

"Hey!" Sirius complained again.

Stephen was about to ask her if she was jealous of the time he spent with Sirius when his mind caught on something else she'd said: "Boyfriend?" he turned his face to his sister and his two friends, narrowing his eyes at them.

"Yeah," confirmed Sirius, "We... well, we've officialised it," he smiled at Lily and Teddy.

"The three of you?" asked Stephen, his full plate of food completely forgotten.

"Yes, of course," said Lily, smiling at the two boys.

"You should have told me!" said Stephen in an offended tone, "I have to know these things! And you two," he pointed at the boys, "You should've asked for my–"

"Your what?" interrupted Lily, dropping her cutlery and adding cuttingly: "I am certain you weren't about to say your permission!"

"You're my sister!" exclaimed Stephen, "They're my friends! I should've been consulted!"

"Consulted?" repeated Gianah, rolling her eyes, "Get off your high thestral, Snape. You're not that special."

"When will you do something about that jealousy, Weasley?" Stephen retorted, glaring at her, "You can't stand that I have started dating around; now Lily and they are dating, next it'll be Lynne and Nott; perhaps you should accept one of those contracts you told us about."

"Why?" Gianah scoffed, folding her arms, "Just because you can't stand being alone with yourself and need to have a girlfriend to buffer your obnoxious personality it doesn't mean I am the same!"

"Who's on a high thestral now?" Stephen replied with a smirk.

And she threw her pumpkin juice at him.

Meanwhile, at the high table, Florence let out a heavy sigh and her husband looked up, immediately seeing the full-on argument at the Gryffindor table.

"Why is Stephen covered in pumpkin juice?" Severus asked, continuing to have his breakfast as if nothing odd was happening.

"You really don't know?" replied Florence softly.

"Hm," Severus hummed in response, before turning to look at her with a concerned frown, "Wasn't the Prophet sending someone today to cover the Quidditch match because Viktor Krum confirmed he would be coming here with his son?"

"Yes," Florence drawled, understanding what he meant just as they heard their son James say:

"What is Rita Skeeter doing here?"

Severus and Florence exchanged a worried look: Fuck.

Stephen jumped up from the bench and scourgifyed his clothes, hitting the table with both hands next and leaning to shout at Gianah, "What's wrong with you!"

"Your presence!" she shouted back, also jumping up from her seat.

"You're insane!" he replied, pointing a finger at her.

"Ooh you haven't seen insane yet, Snape!" she retorted in rage.

"You just can't control yourself, can you Weasley?" he leaned further over the table, and she didn't retreat, leaning towards him, making it so that their faces were mere centimetres away from one another's.

"I am fully under control, Snape," she growled, poking a finger on his shoulder, "You're the one who can't forget I have suitors – in plural!"

His eye ticked in barely restrained anger, "Why don't you marry one of them already and get the fuck out of Hogwarts!"

"Maybe I will," she replied with a smirk that quickly grew into a full smile as she watched his eyes harden in silent fury.

"My my my. What do we have here?" they suddenly heard a saccharine voice ask and turned to find a short woman dressed in a colourful tweed set standing beside the Gryffindor table; her calculating, bespectacled, green eyes moving from one face to another making it clear that, despite her question, she knew exactly who each of them were.

"That" replied Gianah, pointing at Stephen, too angry to realise who that woman was, "is an idiot that thinks he's better than everyone else!"

"And that" continued Stephen pointing at Gianah, "is spoilt princess that thinks she's too good to admit she's into me!"

Gianah gasped loudly and jumped on top of the table, smacking him across the face.

The whole Great Hall fell silent, making Skeeter's soft: "Is that so?" accompanied by a giggle sound louder than they actually were.

Severus and Florence were by them in seconds, knowing they needed to do some quick damage control.

James followed his parents, stopping beside the reporter, "Miss Skeeter, let me walk you to the Quidditch pitch, Viktor Krum is already there talking to the Slytherin team."

"Of course, Prof. Snape," she replied with a large smile, as if nothing gossip-worthy had just happened.

"Call me James, ma'am, we have too many Snapes here, it can get confusing fast," James said with a forced chuckle.

"Oh, of course," Skeeter pulled his arm and wrapped her manicured hand around his left bicep as they walked out of the Great Hall, "On the way down to the pitch, James, you could tell me how you really feel about Mr Krum's visit, since it's widely known your wife, when a student here, had an affair with him."

Bloody hell. Florence sent her husband, having overheard the woman's words. This is going to be a very long day.

"You're bloody certified, Weasley!" Stephen shouted, making everyone look at them again, "You should be chained to a bed at the Janus Ward instead of at a regular school!"

"Enough, Stephen," ordered Severus.

"She hit me, dad!" he replied, touching his cheek.

"We saw it – the whole school saw it," said Florence somberly.

"And the whole wizarding world will hear of it tomorrow," finished Severus.

Stephen frowned and froze as he realised what he meant: "Fuck, that woman was..."

"Rita Skeeter. Yes," Florence nodded, looking at his face, seeing he had blood coming out the corner of his mouth, "Go to the infirmary, Stephen," she said shooting a brief glare at her son and he didn't dare to defy her.

"Miss Weasley," she continued when Stephen was out of the Great Hall, "Detention this week, refer to Prof. Hagrid at five o'clock on Monday–"

"Magical creatures?" whined Gianah, "I'll have to clean up poop?"

Florence narrowed her eyes at her, "Do you want it to be two weeks?"

"No, ma'am," Gianah whispered.

"And fifty points will be taken from the Slytherin House."

They all looked at the four hourglasses lined side-by-side behind the high table. It was clear that the Slytherin House would not be winning the House Cup that year – again.

Gryffindor won, with Sirius catching the snitch after forty minutes of a violent and challenging match.

And the rest of that Sunday went by peacefully.

However, the next day, the Monday Prophet brought the bombastic headline:

Trouble in the Heroes' Corner?

Yesterday, the multiply awarded, gorgeous reporter behind the quill that writes these brilliant article was invited to cover a lovely Quidditch match inside the grounds of our beloved Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, where the famous ex-Quidditch player Viktor Krum, 34, decided to spend his Sunday afternoon with his son, the gorgeous Aleksandr, 14.

Mr Aleksandr Krum, heir of the Krum empire, is an impressive seeker himself, having been playing for his House's team at the Beauxbatoms Academy, where he is currently attending his fourth year of magical studies as a member of the Papillionlisse House. The young Mr Krum's chosen school was a surprise when he was first enrolled for everyone thought the son of a Durmstrang Champion would be a Durmstrang himself, but no. And the reason for such choice befell on Mrs Krum, who was a Beauxbatons student herself, being sorted into the same House as her son. The Papillionlisse House is renowned for its great artists, and their uniform is elegant shades of Purple and Silver.

Alas, I digress, but how can I not when my day at our beloved British School started with a disconcerting display of savagery in the Great Hall.

Oh dear readers! The moment I set foot in the loud Great Hall of Hogwarts Castle I was flabbergasted by the violence – PHYSICAL VIOLENCE – of one Miss Gianah Black Weasley against none other than Mr Stephen Snape. Not only was the young man covered in his own blood but also pumpkin juice that, sources informed me, had been thrown at him seconds before my arrival by the same hysterical girl.

The youngest son of the famous war-hero couple, Severus and Florence Snape, both 51, had to be taken to the school's infirmary at once to have his injuries looked after by the school Mediwitch.

Concerned about the boy's well-being, I asked about Mr Stephen later during the game half-time, and then I was informed that Mr Stephen can't play Quidditch due to Miss Weasley's insistent harassment! The poor boy can't even watch the games!

Is this how the head of the British Government controls things in his own house? Allowing his daughter to physically assault the children of his friends like a barbarian? Or perhaps everything isn't as perfect as they seem in the heroes' lives. Could their friendship be just a façade? The truth remains to be unearthed, and I'll certainly dig it for you!

Do not fret about my physical integrity, I was lucky enough to be rescued and escorted to the Quidditch pitch by the gallant and attractive Prof. James Snape – who's currently married to our muggleborn extraordinaire Hermione née Granger.

Prof. James Snape, contraire to Mr Aleksandr Krum, was a Durmstrang student, having shared a common room with our illustrious visitor of the day, Viktor Krum, during their students' days – which, one may quickly reach the conclusion, was not the only thing they shared in their teens. You all certainly remember, dear readers, that Mrs James Snape – Miss Granger at the time – was at the Yule Ball during the last TriWizard Tournament with none other than Viktor Krum himself! At the same time, we all have heard the tale of how Mr James Snape met his now-wife during the Quidditch Cup of 1994, months before she appeared in the Ball with the then Durmstrang Champion! Not to mention the scandalous affair then-Granger had with Mr Potter that same year! Oh, my! This writer can't help but wonder if the gorgeous Prof. James Snape shouldn't be concerned."

Florence let out a heavy sigh and lowered the newspaper, shaking her head.

"I knew I should've let Draco buy the Daily Prophet when he offered."