"You've got to be joking," Severus said as he stared at the boy sitting alone in the Hogshead.
Students usually didn't go in the Hogshead because it was a shady place. Sometimes a stray third year would wonder in before backing out slowly. Then there were the students who didn't want everyone knowing their business. Surprisingly, the Slytherins stayed away from the place. He wondered why that was.
"You said you didn't have any issues with other Houses," Petunia said with a fake pout, it didn't work for her. She wasn't the pouting type.
"I meant like Hufflepuff or Slytherin, even someone from another school would be acceptable. But I refuse to sit and speak with a Gryffindor."
Petunia put her hands on her hips. "What's wrong with Gryffindors? Lily is a Gryffindor and so are some of your friends. Matthew is being raised by Gryffindors." That last part was more of a whisper.
He groaned. "I know but they are just so cocky."
"You mean James and Sirius are cocky. Are you still upset about the whole Stone thing?" she asked.
After a minute of thinking he shook his head. "No, at first I hated him but if he hadn't done what he did, you wouldn't be here. I don't know what I would be without you and Rin."
"Then why not give him a try, you trust me with every other aspect of your life."
Looking over at the Gryffindor, who was currently balancing a spoon on his nose. "Fine. Get out of here before I change my mind."
She smiled and padded him on the shoulder before leaving the rundown pub.
McLaggen looked up when he noticed him walking towards him, the spoon falling off his nose. McLaggen stood up and rubbed the back of his thick neck.
"Was worried you wouldn't show up. Petunia said she wasn't sure. I'm glad you did," McLaggen prattled on. "Would you like to sit?"
Severus nodded and sat down, watching the Seventh year take his seat. He didn't know much about Tiberius McLaggen besides, he was a good student, he was a member of Slughorn's secret group that wasn't so secret. There was also a rumor that McLaggen got around.
"This is cozy," Severus said glibly.
"Oh, this,' he said waving his hand around gesturing at the pub. "I thought since you are a private person you wouldn't like to sit in the middle of a crowded café."
"Acute logic."
"Well, thank you, I think you're cute too."
Severus sighed. "That's not what I meant."
McLaggen laughed lightly. "I know what you meant. I was just trying to be funny."
Severus noticed that McLaggen had a nice smile. Tiberius McLaggen was a tall bloke, he knew that McLaggen was taller than Kingsley. His heart hurt at the thought of Kingsley Shacklebolt. His first crush, if you didn't count Lily.
Between his third and fourth year of school Kingsley showed up at his grandparents' manor. He wanted to tell him something, but Severus was an idiot and told him how much he cared for him. The feelings only really started at the end of his second year. Kingsley said it was just infatuation, but he disagreed. Because of his feelings though, Kingsley said it would be better if he didn't visit him anymore, then called him a child. Severus never did learn what he wanted to tell him in the first place.
Because of his broken heart, it made it easier for him to fall for the lies by the sperm donor of Matthew. Just the thought of the man made him sick. At least he wasn't in his class anymore. Professors were supposed to be above reproach, what would Dumbledore do if he knew that one of his Professors had gotten a student pregnant?
"Severus?"
"What? Sorry, was a million miles away."
"That's alright, maybe I should talk about something more interesting than potions."
"Potions?" McLaggen was two years older than him, so they never had classes together, and his abysmal grades last year didn't get him invited to a secret club for overachievers.
"Yeah, it's my favorite class. What's yours?"
"Potions. I want to be a potions master, not sure after that."
"Really? I've wanted to be a potions master since I was small, but my dad works for the Ministry, he wants me to be an Obliviator like himself. I guess that's what I'll end up doing."
Severus heard the sadness in the older boy's words. His own grandparents said they wanted him to do whatever he wanted.
"Maybe once you leave Hogwarts, you'll get the chance to follow your dream."
Tiberius smiled. "Maybe, maybe I'll get my whole dream." The older boy grabbed his hand and held it.
Severus felt his cheeks warm. He inwardly cursed at himself; he would have to apologize to Petunia. "Would you like to study potions together? I'm sure I wouldn't be much help to you, but I would love to talk potions with someone else." None of his friends were much with potions, the best was Lily, but she still wasn't great.
"I would love that."
It had been a month since he started dating Tiberius. That sounded weird just to himself. He never thought he could be this happy. While he did still miss Matthew but as the letters came in from Molly to Gideon, he knew he was living a great life. No one would know his parentage and he would have a normal life. Now he could see a future in his own life.
"Have you made a decision?" he asked Tiberius as they walked to the Great Hall together.
"Don't call me a coward but I'm just going to do it. You don't know my father; he's been telling me since I was born, I was going to work in the Ministry."
"Can't you get a job working with potions there?" He knew for sure they had many potions masters working there.
"What are we talking about?" One arm slung around the back of his neck, and another went around Tiberius's neck.
Severus rolled his eyes then shrugged the arm off of him. Hitesh Patil was Tiberius's best friend. He didn't really like him; he was too much a Gryffindor for his taste. He was very annoying, especially with his sunny disposition.
"He says I shouldn't listen to my dad," Tiberius said.
"I've been saying the same thing since we were eleven."
Tiberius shoved the other boy away. "Yeah, but that was about sneaking into the kitchens and begging for apple tarts from the house elves."
Hitesh shrugged. "Still makes sense, your dad just wants a clone, not a son. You have an older brother, why can't he be the clone?"
"Because he's thick, he might as well be half troll."
All three of them laughed. Severus hadn't met Tiberius's older brother, but he had heard all the idiotic things the older boy did.
As they entered the Great Hall Hitesh came to a complete stop, causing them to bump into him.
"What's wrong?" Tiberius asked.
"Wrong? What could ever be wrong when a Goddess walks among us."
Severus looked around the older boy and saw her. Divya Bhatt was standing next to her house table. Divya was the Slytherin seeker and captain, she was also way too smart for Hitesh.
"You have no chance. She has shot you down every time you've made a go of it," Tiberius told his friend sympathetically.
"Shows what you know, she's agreed to go out with me on our next Hogsmeade weekend."
That was one thing he liked about the two, they didn't think badly about Slytherins. Hitesh, his mother was a Slytherin, his father went to school in India. Tiberius, his parents were both Ravenclaws, but his godfather was a Slytherin.
"What did you do to get her to agree? Steal her cat?" Severus asked.
Hitesh put his hand over his heart with mock hurt. "I'm sad you think I could do such a thing. No, I just told her that I'm rich."
"But you're not, your parents work at the Ministry, which doesn't make tons of galleons," Tiberius said.
"Listen, mate, I'm rich of heart."
"Did you tell her this?" Severus asked.
"I'll tell her after the date, by then she'll be in love with me."
"So, you're planning on confunding her?" Severus asked, smirking.
"Laugh all you want, you'll see. You should be running off to the Ravenclaw table, let the men saunter to their seats," Hitesh said, putting on a display of sauntering. Shaking his head, he went to his table.
When he got to his table, he felt like someone was watching him. Looking around he saw no one being obvious about it. Before he knew it Rin and Petunia were sitting beside him.
"How are the lovebirds?" Petunia asked.
Severus threw his toast at her, she easily dodged it. "What did I say about that kind of talk?"
"That you'll make us wish we were like Nearly Headless Nick. You're no fun," she said with a sigh. "Oh, I've got good news. Professor Dumbledore is allowing me to study with Madam Han this summer."
"What? I thought you were going to be spending time with me?" Severus hated how whiny he sounded.
"She's a Aurologist, a real one. Just the things I can learn from her."
There wasn't a class in Hogwarts that taught the subject because there just wasn't that much of a need. She had only been having extra assignments given to her by another professor but none that saw what she saw. He knew that since Petunia found out not all wizards could see auras, she wanted to learn more. He was being selfish.
"I'm sorry, that's great. Where are you going?"
"Seoul, Korea."
"That's far away. Are your parents going to be alright with it?"
Petunia smiled. "I'll be seventeen before I leave, that's an adult according to Wizarding law. They're not happy but they can't stop me."
"It's not fair, you'll be able to do magic this summer," Severus whined. Both his friends would be able to do magic then at home, Rin turning seventeen last summer. He had just turned sixteen, he wouldn't be seventeen for another year.
"You live in a manor with grandparents that bend over backwards for you, get over it," Petunia said, pushing his shoulder with hers. Rin nodded along with his girlfriend.
It wasn't going to help him to still argue because they were right, his grandparents were amazing. So much that he felt guilty for not telling them what had happened, but he didn't want them to be disappointed in him or worse ashamed.
Quietly, he ate breakfast and thought about his life. It was good right now, but it wouldn't be if his grandparents ever found out about what he did. Then people would find out about Matthew, and he would be an outcast in their community. No one would question him being a Weasley, except for him not being redheaded. The wizarding community knew that Matthew was adopted by them but as long as no one found out about his conception and birth, it wouldn't matter.
