Meddling with Potions

by DragonGoddess629

Aurora-Nyx is asked to return to Hogwarts to teach a new Potions course. Now in the presence of Severus Snape, she must remember a past neither are ready to face. In time, both come to terms with their grievances, working hard to rekindle their friendship and face the love they once held. But with the threat of Voldemort's return, she must decide where her loyalties lie.

30. Chapter 30

Chapter Thirty

And Another New Year Begins

A/N: Someone, please be honest: has my writing gotten sloppier?

Disclaimer: I only own Aurora and any other OC's. Remember, I will occasionally use quotes from both the books or movie, depending on the scene; I do not own direct quotes or phrases.

~ oOo ~

"Severus!"

"Yeah?"

"Dinner's ready!"

Coming up from the basement, Severus made his way into the kitchen, washing his hands at the sink. Although Severus wasn't that much into Quidditch, he did agree to listen to the World Cup on the radio over dinner. And Aurora, who had just finished cooking, placed their filled plates on the kitchen table where she claimed her seat. Severus was the one to grab their radio from the cupboard as he claimed his seat as well; turning the knob to the correct channel, they waited a few seconds while static ignited their ears before any form of speech could be heard.

"So, who do you think will win? The Bulgarians or the Irish?"

"Mmmm…" Aurora took a bite of her dinner, moaning at how delicious it was once again. Covering her mouth, she said, "I bet the Irish. You?"

"Interesting; I'm thinking Bulgaria."

"Well, I guess we'll soon find out who wins."

Severus raised an eyebrow, fork held right before his mouth. "Want to turn this into a bet?"

This caused Aurora to smirk. "You and your bets I swear. Fine! Let's make a bet. What do you get if I lose?"

Swallowing, the man went in for another bite as his attention turned towards the radio. "If I win…" He grinned devilishly. "We have sex whenever and wherever I say."

"…seriously? I'll already do that anyways!"

"I'm talking about when we get back to school, Aurora."

"Shit…ugh, fine, I agree. However! If I win, you have to…"Aurora cupped her chin, trying real hard to think of what she wanted. She was quiet for several moments until the idea popped in her head and she snapped her fingers. "…ah! You'll have to wear a ribbon in your hair for a whole week."

"Done," Severus answered easily.

"And I'm talking about when we're at school."

The wizard dropped his fork unceremoniously. "Not done! There is no way I'm going to do that. I'm the Master of the Dungeons! I have an image to uphold."

"Then I guess we'll just have to see who wins the World Cup, won't we?" Aurora snickered, consuming the rest of her food.

And that's how they spent the rest of the night. They listened to a majority of the match while sitting at the kitchen table, but once the food and dishes were put away, they moved to the living room. With his back against the cushions, Severus planted his feet on the ground whereas Aurora lay across the couch, her feet dangling over her husband's legs.

"And would you look at them, folks!"

"Yes, what a sight ti believe! The stands are going wild. It seems the end of the Quidditch World Cup might be over sooner than we thing!"

"Oh wait, wait! It seems Miran is after the Snitch! Will he be able to capture it and win? As of right now, Bulgaria is in the lead with one-hundred and sixty points!"

"If Ireland catches the snitch, they win by a ten-point lead!"

"And…and…!"

"IRELAND HAS WON! I REPEAT: IRELAND HAS CAUGHT THE SNITCH AND WINS BY ONE-HUNDRED AND SEVENTY POINTS!"

"Ladies and gentlemen you have heard it here! The four-hundred and twenty-second World Cup has concluded with Ireland being the winners with a - "

"Ha!" Aurora stood from her seat on the couch and turned the radio off. She began dancing, thrusting her fists in the air at her victory. "Hahaha I win! I win the bet, I told you the Irish would beat Bulgaria!" Severus remained in his seat, eyes watching the woman as she bounced around their living room. That is, until he stood and snatched the woman from her feet. Hurling her over his shoulder, all the woman did was gasp. "Severus Snape!" She called from her upside down position.

"Yes, Aurora Snape?"

"What in the world do you think you're doing?!"

"Well," he peered backwards at her frowning face. "I may not have won the bet, but I'm still going to claim my prize."

Dangling, Aurora gave in, knowing Severus couldn't be talked out of whatever he was thinking, though she already knew what was to happen. Making his way upstairs and towards their room, Severus deposited Aurora onto the bed, tossing her as she landed heavily on the mattress. As her limbs stopped flailing, the witch was able to watch as her wizard slowly removed his outer frock, leaving him in just his trousers and white undershirt.

Crawling over the woman, Severus' long hair cascaded over her face ,tickling her cheeks, causing Aurora to giggle. The man peppered sensual, slow kisses down the length of her neck, leaving the witch a bumbling mess. She entangled her fingers into his hair, drawing him closer. Severus kissed down the length of her collarbone, whatever skin lay their, his lips touched. When he reached the top button of her shirt, he nipped it with his teeth, trying to undo the contraption, and when it came undone, he worked on the next.

That is, until…

"Agh!"

"Severus?"

Falling to his side against the mattress, Severus clutched his left wrist, sweat already appearing upon his brow. Concerned, Aurora knelt on her knees, clearing his face as his skin began draining of all color. The woman knew what it was: his Dark Mark. Taking hold of his wrist, she rolled up the sleeves of his shirt, kissing the mark which was blacker than before and slightly protruding from his skin.

She kissed along the edges, making her way towards the middle. She didn't stop even as Severus tried prying his arm away. Aurora wouldn't let go. Lifting her eyes to meet his, Severus seemed to relax the more they stared into each other's eyes.

It seemed as if forever and a day passed before Severus was truly able to relax. The moment his body stopped seizing, Aurora latched her arms around his neck, pulling him in closer. They lay there on the shared bed, one holding the other tightly as the other calmed his breathing until it was steady and smooth. Face now cold with dried sweat, Severus slowly breathed in, then outward.

"Aurora…?"

"Don't…" she began. "Don't ever scare me like that again, please."

"…I," Severus didn't know what to say. Instead, he tightened his arms around his wife, knowing exactly what had happened, but no words would leave his mouth to discuss the situation. Suddenly, Aurora swiftly stood from the bed, running towards their bathroom. "Aurora?!"

"…I'm gonna be sick!"

Standing just as quickly, Severus following his wife into the bathroom just as she stuck her head down to the toilet, hurling whatever remained from their dinner. Standing behind her, Severus held Aurora's hair away, rubbing small circles into her back, stating soft words. The woman coughed and hacked, trying to extinguish anything that remained in her stomach. When she decided she was alright, Aurora slowly stood on shaky feet towards the sink, rinsing her mouth out to reduce the taste of bile on her lips. Severus led her back towards the bed where he had he sit on the edge as he knelt before her.

"Where did that come from?" He asked softly.

Rubbing her lips, Aurora shook her head. "I dunno, it's just…seeing you in so much pain when there's nothing I can really do. I just thought of the reason why your arm was starting to hurt and…I suddenly just got sick."

Whisking strands of hair behind her ear, Severus offered a small smile. "I'm used to this; you are not."

"No, clearly not. But…" Lifting her face to stare at the man, she had a single tear fall from her face. "What does this mean, Severus? Does this mean that…" she swallowed. "…that he's back?"

"I don't think so, no. But something is amiss, that's for certain. As you know, it's been…acting up all summer."

"Yes," she answered slowly, rubbing her cheeks. "You haven't been able to hide it from me."

"No," he chuckled, despite the current situation. "I haven't. But that's ok, because I have you here, now. What you did a moment ago, that eased the pain."

"All I did was kiss your mark."

"And apparently that's all I needed." Smiling, Severus cupped the woman's cheek, though Aurora wasn't convinced.

"Something's going to happen this year, I just know it." Dropping her hands into her lap, Aurora sighed. "What're we going to do if he comes back, Sev? We've briefly talked about this before, but your mark has been acting up more and more. Obviously something's going to happen."

"We can't…" Severus shook his head, knowing that what he was about to say was an utmost lie. "I can't say that. You're right. Something may happen this year that will most likely change the course of everything we know."

Aurora held up her right hand, displaying her wedding ring. "What do we do about this?" She asked, concern etched across her face. "Severus, you're a prior Death Eater who married a Muggleborn…what's Voldemort going to do once he finds out? Hell, what's Lucius going to do?!"

"He's not going to just find out, Aurora."

"You don't know that! Especially now with this tournament happening this year?!" Aurora began to hyperventilate, breaths caught within her throat as tears poured from her eyes.

"Aurora, look at me!" As she did so, Severus rubbed his fingers down the side of her neck, effectively calming her breathing. "I don't give a bloody hell if Lucius finds out because we'll have a plan ready for him. I'm not going down in this world just because I married a Muggleborn. If anything, you can be just as scary as a Death Eater, so I'm not worried."

Clearing her face, Aurora was able to relax, a small laugh escaping past her lips as her breathing calmed back down to normal. "But what will we do? Lie and say I've hated Muggles this entire time? Lucius won't buy it."

"He'll have to, because I think that's the only plan we've got."

"What, that I lie? That's despite being a Muggleborn myself, I hate all Muggles and such?" Severus nodded. "It would never work. Lucius knows I'm a proud Muggleborn."

"But have you ever stated it directly to his face? Because I don't think you have. I think it's just an assumption he has about you."

Sighing, Aurora cupped Severus' cheeks. "I don't want to be the reason for your death," she repeated the same concept from several years past.

"And you won't be." Cupping her cheeks as well in response, they simply sat there.

Until Aurora felt an itch inside her mind.

"Are you…seriously using Occlumency on me right now?"

"Yes. I know I said I'd never, but I needed to test the strength of your barriers."

"Oh I could've just told you that my Occlumency is very weak, we know this. My strength lies in Legillimens, just like you."

"Well," Severus chuckled. "That's about to change. I'm going to train you in Occlumency starting right now."

She sniffled. "Seriously? Why right now? Couldn't this wait until morning?"

The man shook his head. "Nope. We have to start now, though, knowing you, it won't take you long to master this, Aurora. But it does take practice."

She smiled at the compliment. "I'll never be a master like you, Sev."

He shrugged. "Close enough."

And so, they practiced.

They practiced even without the usage of words to state they would. Aurora woke up in the morning with a barrier around her mind and went to bed with stronger protection. Day in, day out they worked on this in silence, even while discussing different matters. Being a master of Legillimens, Severus could easily penetrate her mind, even on her hardest days of working.

Finally, after two weeks time, Aurora was able to push Severus out of her mind without showing she was even trying.

They were sitting at the table eating their breakfast when Severus randomly used Legillimens as an attack and was effectively pushed out before he could even attempt in scouring her mind. Forget about just a barrier for protection, she shoved the man from her mind.

"How was that?"

Glancing upward from his spoon, Severus smiled evilly. "I did state you would become a master, did I not?"

This only made Aurora smile with glee.

~ oOo ~

And so, summer soon came to an end.

Severus and Aurora packed all their belongings before placing a protection spell around the house until the could return the following summer. Grabbing all their gear, along with Merlin and Sapphire, they apparated towards Hogwarts grounds, deciding to arrive the same day the students would, but only in the morning. They were greeted by their colleagues, some still congratulating the two on their marriage as they made their way down towards their chambers in the dungeons. By the time they arrived and placed everything where it was supposed to be, it was already nightfall, which meant the students would be arriving soon.

Including the students from the other two schools.

Severus was not as excited as Aurora, considering the Headmaster for one of the schools was a previous Death Eater: Igor Karkaroff. Aurora tried soothing Severus down, though there wasn't much that could be done.

Making their way towards the Great Hall, they were greeted by Minerva who smiled as she looped her arm through Aurora's. "Are you two ready for the new year?"

"No," they both admitted.

Minerva laughed. "And why not? This will make for an interesting year, that's for sure."

As they reached the large doors, Severus continued in as Minerva and Aurora stopped at the entrance. "We had a really good summer, Minerva. We weren't ready for it to end."

"Oh I bet." Minerva winked. "Oh you lovebirds! You two are so cute together! I spent all summer here with Albus going over the tournament and how it's going to effect the year."

"Really now?" They entered the Hall. "What kind of tasks are being issued this year?"

Minerva's face fell. "That part I do not know. It was kept secret between Barty Crouch and Albus. All I do know is that they are dangerous. They're always dangerous."

Aurora nodded to that as the two finally made their way towards the staffing table. Severus had yet to take his seat as he had been waiting for Aurora. Holding out her chair, he carefully waited for her to sit before pushing the device in, then claiming his own seat. Aurora happened to glance over to her other side to see some of the female staff smile at the exchange, leaving the witch confused, yet happy at the same time.

Albus soon entered the Great Hall, which meant the First Years were on their way. Excusing herself, Minerva made her way to greet the new students as the continuing students made their way inside towards their designated school tables. Several students waved to Aurora, who waved back with a smile on her face. It didn't take long for Minerva to return with the First Years to begin the sorting. It was fun and interesting to see the new students who would be in her class beginning the next morning.

And so, once the sorting had all been done and completed, Albus then stood from his seat to acknowledge all the students.

"Now that we're all settled in and sorted, I'd like to make an announcement." Albus stood before the students on his small podium. He began reading off a piece of parchment he had prepared earlier. "This castle will not only be your home this year, but home to some very special guests as well. You see, Hogwarts has been chosen…" But as he was speaking, Filch entered the Great Hall and began running up towards the Headmaster where they whispered back and forth.

"So!" With their conversation over and done, Filch ran back the opposite way towards the Great Hall's entrance and left the room. Aurora stole a peek at Severus who, now standing behind her, merely rose an eyebrow in question as well. "Hogwarts has been chosen to host a legendary event: the Triwizard Tournament! Now for those of you who do not know, the Triwizard Tournament brings together three schools for a series of magical contests. For each school, a single student is selected to compete. Now let me be clear! If chosen, you stand alone. And trust me when I say, these contests are not for the faint-hearted. But more of that later. And now, please join me in welcoming the lovely ladies of the Beauxbaton Academy of Magic, and their Headmistress, Madam Maxime!"

Just then, the doors to the Great Hall opened to reveal a set of ten young ladies in their required uniform attire. They stepped in unison, but soon were running pleasantly up towards the front, followed soon by their Headmistress. Clapping soon erupted across the Great Hall as Albus held his hands up to quiet the students.

"Now our friends from the North, please greet the proud sons of Durmstrang, and their High Master, Igor Karkaroff!"

This time, ten young men filed in a straight line came in with walking sticks, rolling them around in their hands. Then, they set them off to the side and ran towards the front, one doing an intricate dance while two others then blew a fire Phoenix from their wands. It was a sight to see, especially as the High Master came up and offered Albus a hug.

It was then more tables were conjured for our guests and food was soon served. When Severus finally claimed his seat Igor took the seat opposite of him and they stared at one another all throughout the night, leaving Aurora with a mental note to ask about that later. Otherwise, it was a pleasant evening with good company and fantastic food as always. Once dinner had been served and desert was now on the table, Filch and several others soon brought in a giant, gold cylinder of some sorts.

Pinching Severus' leg beneath the table, Aurora leaned in closer. "What do you suppose that is?"

"I have no idea, Aurora."

"Ah, so your name is Aurora, is it not?" Igor swiveled his body around Severus' to stare at her.

Aurora merely smiled. "Aurora-Nyx," she corrected. "And you're Igor, Head Master of Durmstrang." She held her hand out for him to shake. "It's a pleasure to meet you."

Igor grasped her hand gently before bringing the back of her hand to his lips. "It's my pleasure to meet you." Turning her head away, Aurora was caught off guard by such an action. In his seat, Severus was fuming.

"Your attention, please! I'd like to say a few words." Albus walked up to the device, placing his hand upon it as he called towards everyone. "Eternal Glory. That is what awaits the students who wins the Triwizard Tournament. But to do this, the student must survive three deadly tasks. Three…extremely dangerous tasks. For this reason, the Ministry has seemed fit to impose a new rule. To explain all this, we have the Head of International Cooperation, Mr. Bartimus Crouch…"

Albus was then cut off by the ceiling. The top of the Great Hall erupted in loud thunder with a clash of lightning, rain soon followed as it began to fall from the enchanted sky. Aurora merely glanced up, ready to be cast away in rainwater when there was a grunt from the opposite side of the staff table, and then, there was nothing. Glancing over to see who had discharmed the sky, Aurora was surprised to see it was Alastor Moody, the Auror. Seeing as how she and Severus had received letters stating he was to be the new Defense professor, Aurora was still surprised he was here. And drenched nonetheless!

Bartimus Crouch took a stand beside Albus now that everything had calmed down. He gained the attention of all the students in the hall before speaking. "After due consideration, the Ministry has concluded for their own safety that no student under the age of seventeen should be allowed to put their name forth for the Triwizard Tournament. This decision is final!"

And that's when everyone began to yell.

"That's rubbish!"

Aurora and Severus could clearly hear the Weasley Twins over everyone else as the rest of the student body growled and joined in with their disappointment. Glancing at the man, Severus merely shook his head at how the students were acting. Albus, however, was not going to take anymore embarrassment from his students.

"SILENCE!"

Albus called forth, and everyone seemed to calm down, except for the fair few. Casting his wand down, the gold cylinder soon began to disappear as it melted downward, revealing an old, rather large goblet sort of thing - Aurora had no idea what it was. "The Goblet of Fire," Albus called out. The enchanted goblet soon lit with blue flames, casting a dark glow across the lit hall. "Anyone wishing to participate in the tournament, merely write their names upon a piece of parchment and throw it into the flame before this hour on Thursday night. Do not do so lightly! If chosen, there's no turning back. As of this moment, the Triwizard Tournament has begun."

Later that evening in the confines of the personal chambers, Aurora was changing from her typical attire into shorts and a tank top. Crawling into bed, she watched her husband as he changed as well, donning loose, flannel bottoms an no shirt. She bit her lip watching his muscles flex.

"I know you're staring," his voice loomed through her ears.

"So what," she countered, smiling all the while. "I'm not allowed to ogle my sexy husband?"

"I don't know about the sex part, but you're free to do whatever it is you want." Severus crawled in beside her as Aurora leaned against his bare chest.

"Oh shut it," she argued. "You're sexy and you know it. Besides, I'm the one who gets to stare so I'm the one who gets to decide if you're sexy or not."

"Mhm."

Leaning her head upwards, Aurora noticed Severus' eyes were closed though his mouth was set in a straight line. "Something's wrong. What's running through that head of yours?"

"Nothing."

"It doesn't sound like nothing."

"It's nothing Aurora."

"Was it something I did?"

"No."

"Then why can't you tell me?" Moving over, Aurora leaned her back against the headboard. Turning his attention towards his wife, Severus opened his eyes to see hers pleading towards him. "Please…what is wrong?"

Severus was quiet as he reached for her hand, the same one she used to shake Igor's earlier that night. "He…kissed your hand."

"…who did?"

"Igor."

"Oh! Is that what's bothering you? Well you have nothing to fear my dear husband."

"That's not the point, Aurora!" Moving from the bed to stand in front of it, Severus grasped his hair, acting as if he was going to pull it out.

Watching him from afar broke her heart. He was really bothered by what had happened at dinner. "Are you…mad at me for that? Because I had no idea he was going to kiss my hand."

"No! No…" Severus watched his tone, knowing he was lashing out at his wife for no reason. "I just…"

Standing from the bed as well, Aurora made her way over and grasped her husband's hands. Taking hold of them, she brought his fingers to her lips, kissing each digit as Severus merely stared. "Whatever it is you are thinking, you need to stop and talk it out with me," she demanded softly.

Observing what she was doing to his fingers, Severus softened shortly as he pulled the woman into his arms. "I'm sorry," he whispered into her ear. "I just wish…I could do that publicly to you."

"Do what, kiss me?" When he nodded Aurora's face fell. "But…we decided to keep our marriage a secret from the school. Are you saying you want us to become public to all the students?"

"I don't know. But sometimes…I wish I could kiss you as freely as Igor did tonight. I think he's interested in you."

"Interested? Psh, he can be as interested as he wants to be, I've got my man right here." Tugging on his arm until Severus bent to her height, Aurora kissed him on the lips. "Whatever you're thinking or feeling, it's alright, Severus."

Holding her tightly into his chest, the man kissed the top of the woman's head. "There's something you need to know about Igor."

Stretching her head upwards, she asked, "Oh yeah? And what would that be?"

"Igor's like me…he's a previous Death Eater."

"Oh, that? I kinda figured that out already."

Severus rose an eyebrow. "How did you…?"

"You two were acting weird all night and would randomly stare at each other. I figured you might've known one another previously and kinda assumed he might've been a Death Eater."

"Just…please be careful around him."

"What's he gonna do, kiss my hand again? I'll keep an eye out, but I'll be fine. Now!" Tugging his hand back towards their bed, they crawled in, Aurora laying on his chest, resuming her previous position. "It has been a long day for us, so let's get some sleep in preparation for tomorrow. I have a feeling it's going to be a bit busy."

"You know what I'm surprised about?"

"And what is that, Sev?"

"I'm surprised you haven't really mentioned the tournament at all these last few weeks."

Huffing, she removed herself from his chest once again to lean against the headboard. "I mean…there's a lot I could say. It just seems conspicuous there's the tournament the same years as the World Cup, especially with what happened at the event and the Dark Mark showing up in the sky."

"What, do you think something's going to happen?" Aurora nodded. Pulling the woman into his arms, Severus held her closely once more. "I will admit, the beginning of this year has been rather…different. But that doesn't mean something will happen."

"Something weird has happened the last three years, Sev. Something is going to happen by the end of this year, I just don't know what it will be."

"You worry too much."

"And you worry too little!"

"Oh I worry, but that worry is focused on you, mainly."

Chuckling, Aurora leaned forward to kiss the underside of the man's chin. "Oh you treat me so special."

"That's because you're the only special person in my life, Aurora."

~ oOo ~

The next few days were spent busy as Aurora prepared for the new term. She was full on busy with her three different courses but it didn't matter to her, she was just happy to be back at teaching. She would wake in the morning and sometimes she and Severus would spend their mornings together and consume breakfast in their chambers or they would spend it in the Great Hall.

And then came the nights.

During the nights, she and Severus would love one another, sometimes intimately, sometimes they would cuddle by the fire and discuss their day, and sometimes they would enjoy dinner by themselves. They were still technically newlyweds who wanted nothing more than to spend every waking moment with each other. They had that over the summer and loved every second of it, but come the start of the new school year and they're separated once more. Though it didn't take them long before they were reunited at night once more; in more ways than one.

"Aurora!"

Glancing up from her desk the second day of school, the woman smiled. In the doorway to her Potions classroom stood Harry, Ron and Hermione. Grinning, she waved them over as she placed her quill down. "What're you three doing here? Shouldn't you be upstairs in the Great Hall for lunch?"

"We finished lunch already," Hermione answered as she placed her back upon the desk that used to belong to her.

"Oh really? And how come? Shouldn't you enjoy the rest before heading off to classes afterwards?"

"No, we wanted to come see you," Harry offered. "To see how your summer was and everything."

"You three are just the sweetest!" Closing her ink pot, Aurora stood and swiftly gave each one a loose hug. "My summer was great! I went and enjoyed several days in Greece and then spent most of my time relaxing and preparing potions for the school year."

"You went to Greece? I've always wanted to go!" Hermione exclaimed.

"Was it hot?" Ron asked bluntly.

Aurora shook her head. "Oh no, no it was absolutely perfect." Then again, she couldn't exactly tell the three her true reason for visiting was due to her honeymoon. Shrugging, she continued to smile, both at their appearance and her memories. "What about you three? Anything exciting happen while you were at home?"

"We went to the World Cup!" Ron said happily.

"And let me guess…" Leaning against her desk, Aurora crossed her arm, one hand fondling her chin. "You supported Bulgaria, did you not?"

Ron's eyes widened. "How'd you…?"

"You seem like of Viktor Krum fan to me, that's why."

"A fan unlike any other!" Harry stated as he sat himself upon one of the desks. "You should've seen him!"

"Oh, I can, I can!" Their professor chuckled. "It was a close match, a very close match."

"Were you there?"

"Oh no, no. That day I was with Professor Snape all day and we caught the match on the radio."

"Wait…you were with Snape that day?!" Ron seemed confused and appalled. "Why…would you even spend a day with him during the summer? OW!"

Hermione smacked his arm, winking in Aurora's direction as she remembered their conversation from the previous year. "Leave it be, Ronald! She's allowed to be friends with the staff outside of school, you know!"

"Yeah Ronald!" Aurora mimicked then giggled. "But, seriously, I've been helping him all summer concocting potions for the infirmary."

"Does he live in a cave? I bet you he lives in a cave. OW! Hermione, stop hitting me!"

"Then stop being so rude!"

Aurora waved her hand as Harry spoke up, returning the conversation back to one of his favorite subjects. "Are you glad Ireland won?"

Aurora nodded. "Professor Snape and I made a bet to see who would win and, lo and behold, I was right."

"What'd you bet?" Ron asked inquisitively.

"That's between me and Professor Snape, mind you." Aurora winked. "But trust me, it was good. I must apologize though, you three saw everything at the Cup, did you not?"

Three faces fell. "Yeah we did. It was…kinda like something from a nightmare."

"Who was the adult with you?"

Ron answered with, "My dad."

"Oh good, good, you were in capable hands then!" Fiddling with her quill, Aurora sighed. "I am sorry you three, that's something you shouldn't have to see at all."

"It's ok, don't be sorry. We made our way out of it unscathed," Hermione said, holding a book in her hands. "It was…quite the adventure though."

"I bet," Aurora said. "Makes me wonder who will have the adventure of becoming their schools Champion this Thursday."

"And why does it have to be you can only enter if you're seventeen? What rubbish!" Ron exclaimed, crossing his arms together.

"That's because people die in this tournament, Ron," Aurora stated firmly, wanting the young wizard to understand. "As Dumbledore said the other night during the feast, these contests are not for the faint-hearted, nor should they be taken lightly."

"I get that, but still! It's not fair we should have the right to decide for our own sake whether we want to risk our own lives or not."

"Trust me Ronald, you do not want eternal glory."

"And why not?"

"Because it's not worth risking your life over. Besides, if your mother ever found out you wanted to enter this tournament, you'd never hear the end of it."

DING!

That was the bell ended their lunch period. Aurora glanced outside her door to already hear students making their way down into the dungeons. Shaking her head, she said, "Well I guess that's it. This was wonderful guys! Thanks so much for stopping by!"

"You're welcome Aurora! We wanted to see how you were faring," Hermione answered.

This only caused the woman to smile. As she watched the three grab their items, Aurora remained silent as they each began talking to each other about their classes and what they would do later that evening. Laughing as her class began to fill up, she suddenly wished she was with Severus. Fiddling with the fake ring on her right hand, she knew it was only a matter of hours before they would be reunited once more.

"Good afternoon Professor Warrington!"

Smiling, she acknowledged the students entering her classroom, waiting to begin her neck lesson.

~ oOo ~

Finally, Thursday night was upon Hogwarts, the awaited choosing of the champions who would compete in the tournament. Severus and Aurora filed upward from the dungeons, students nearly running into them as they were excited for the evening. Making their way towards the entrance to the Great Hall, they ran into Minerva who guided them towards the back of the hall. Following her, Aurora was stopped several times by students to wish them luck. She merely smiled and said they had all the luck they needed to make it into the tournament.

Scrambling through the remaining students, Aurora made it towards where the staffing table used to be placed and curled against Severus. Knowing they were hidden behind the spectators in front of them, she grasped his hand, remembering their conversation from several nights ago about Severus wanting to be more public with their relationship.

"Sit down, please," Albus called from the front of the Great Hall. "Now the moment you've all be waiting for! The Champion selection!"

Whisking around, Albus held up his hand, waving it around towards the hanging braziers, calming the flames till their was naught left to brighten the room. Once it was dark enough for his liking, Albus moved towards the Goblet of Fire, touching the etched runes at the top of its mouth when the fire suddenly turned red. It spit out a piece of paper, to which Albus grasped as he read the name.

"The Durmstrang Champion is…Viktor Krum!"

Everyone clapped as the young man made his way towards Albus. Instructing him where to go, the young man followed the Headmaster's hand towards the Trophy room where he was to wait. It took a few more minutes for the goblet to glow red, and when it did, Albus caught the next champion's name.

The Champion for Beauxbaton's…is Fleur Delacour!"

Clapping once more, the young female Champion copied the male from Durmstrang and shook Albus's hand. Finally, it was time for the Hogwarts Champion.

"Cedric Diggory!"

Aurora clapped loudly as he was in her N.E.W.T.S. Medicinal Potions course.

"Excellent! We now have our three Champions! But in the end, only one will go down in history. Only one will hoist this chalice of Champions, this vessel of victory - the Triwizard Cup!"

Clapping, Aurora paid no heed as Severus stepped forward. His movement caught her attention as she then noticed it too. The Goblet of Fire was twisting and turning its flames, only burning bright red as Albus neared itself. Finally, after burning for several moments, the flames ignited another Champion, Albus catching the newest Champions name.

"…Harry Potter?" He mumbled softly. Dancing around to see where the boy was, he called again, "Harry Potter!" When Harry did nothing, Albus screamed his name, "Harry Potter!"

Aurora's hands were in mid clap as she and Severus stared at one another. Behind them, Hagrid kept repeating "No" over and over again. Hermione pushed Harry to his feet and as the boy neared Albus, Aurora could hear angry mumbles from across the room. Taking his name from Albus, Harry began the walk towards the Trophy room.

"He's a cheat!"

"He's not even seventeen yet!"

Severus stared at the boy as he past, but when he walked by his wife, Harry called out to her quietly. "Aurora…!"

She clasped his shoulder and squeezed tightly. "It's ok Harry, we'll be there soon." And then he was gone. Since dinner had already been concluded, Albus instructed the remainder of the student body to head towards their Dormitories. Once the entire room was empty off all students, nearly all the staff followed Albus down towards the Trophy room. As they entered the room, the adults immediately started bickering against one another, mainly the Headmaster's from all three schools.

"Quiet, quiet!" As they neared Harry, who backed himself into a table of trophies, Albus cornered him. "Harry, Harry! Did you put your name in the Goblet of Fire?!"

"No sir!"

"Did you ask one of the older students to do it for you?!"

"No sir!"

"You're absolutely sure?!"

"Yes - yes sir!"

"But of course he is lying!" Madam Maxime roared.

Alastor Moody stepped forth towards Albus, watching Harry the entire time. "The Goblet of Fire is an exceptionally magical object, only an exceptionally powerful conjures charm could have hoodwinked it. Way beyond the talents of a Fourth Year!"

"You seemed to have given this a fair bit of thought, Mad Eye!" Igor claimed.

Standing by the fire next to Severus, Aurora and the others all watched and waited.

"It was once my job to think as Dark Wizards do, Karkaroff, perhaps you remember," Alastor mumbled.

"That doesn't help, Alastor!" Albus screeched. "I leave this to you, Barty."

"The rules are absolute," the Ministry's personnel stated. "The Goblet of Fire constitutes a binding magical contract." Turning around, he faced everyone. "Mr. Potter has no choice. He is, as of tonight…a Triwizard Champion!"

~ oOo ~

"This can't go on, Albus." Alastor, Minerva, Severus and Aurora were now standing inside Albus' office, waiting to speak on the matter. Minerva was the first to speak on the matter. "First the Dark Mark, now this?"

"What do you suggest, Minerva?" Albus argued back, staring deeply into his pensieve.

"Ugh, put an end to it!" Minerva turned to stare at Severus and Aurora. "Don't let Potter compete!"

"You heard Barty, the rules are clear."

"Well the devil with Barty," Minerva said as a matter-of-fact. "And if it's rules, since when did you accommodate the Ministry?"

"Headmaster, I too, find it difficult to believe this mere coincidence, however, if we are to truly discover the meaning of these events, perhaps we should…let them unfold," Severus said as he stepped forward. Aurora's mouth dropped to hear this coming from her husband.

"What? Do nothing?! Offer him up as bait? Potter is a boy! Not a piece of meat!" Minerva cried.

"Aurora." Albus ignored the two to gain the attention of the other female in the room.

"Yes, sir?"

"What about you? You've been exceptionally quiet this entire time."

Aurora then felt eyes on her as Severus and Minerva turned. "What're you wanting me to say, Albus? I think this is wrong on so many levels, Harry does not need to be competing in this competition!" Standing to her feet, she made her way forward, landing herself between Severus and Minerva. "There's a lot on my mind I'd like to say, but for now I'll just go with this. I think the same as Minerva and my husband. Harry has been through enough these last three years and doesn't deserve to go through the tournament like the other three."

"Huh, see Albus? I'm not the only one who thinks so."

" - but!" This caught Minerva's attention. "If what Barty says is true about the goblet having a binding contract on him, then there's nothing we can do."

"Of course you'd side with Severus!" Minerva huffed.

Aurora gasped. "I'm not siding with anyone here! But magical contracts are one of those that cannot be destroyed until the contract is fulfilled. Which means, as much as I hate to say it, Harry must compete. Only then will the contract be nulled. You know this Minerva."

"But he's just a boy!"

"I know, he's only fourteen!" Rubbing her eyes, Aurora could tell she was on the verge of crying. Feeling a hand placed against the small of her back, she noticed Severus offer a small smile towards her decision. "I hate to say this…but Harry must compete."

Minerva was about to speak when Albus cut her off. "I agree…with Severus and Aurora. Alastor, keep an eye on Harry would you?"

"I can do that," the ex-Auror finally spoke up.

"Don't let him know though, he must be anxious enough as is…knowing what lies ahead." Albus touched the side of his head with his wand, pulling out the memory of the evening and casting it away into the pensieve. "Then again, we all are."

~ oOo ~

Does anyone have any ideas for what they would like to see next? I'm running out of ideas…

DragonGoddess629