#snape!reader

“I assure you she’ll be going home.” 

Remus sent Sirius a warning glance, silently begging him not to start something. 

“And if she doesn’t? What if… she wants to stay?” 

Severus scoffed. “No one wants to stay here.” He paused. “Especially with you.” 

Sirius’ chair scraped loudly against the floor as he stood up. He fully intended on crossing the room to tell Severus some of the things you and him did. But then you appeared in the doorway. 

“Dad, you can leave now. And I’ll leave when I feel like it,” you said, calm yet firm.

“You’ll leave when you finish that potion.” 

“No. I’ll leave when I want to. And that’s not something you will choose for me.” You took a few steps into the kitchen as you spoke. “There is no need for you to play the role of protective father. Not now, not ever.” You shook your head and let a bitterness lace your voice. “You barely played the role of father. Go back to Hogwarts and I’ll be wherever I want to be with whomever I want to be with.” And then a softness as you glanced over at Sirius. “Mind you, that’s Sirius. Just to be clear.” 

Severus took a sharp breath. “I did the best I could for you.” 

“You turned away from me.” 

“That was-”

“I’m sure it wasn’t once. Just get out.” Severus didn’t move. “Leave!” 

Severus glared at Sirius and spat, “Look at what you did.”

Then he moved past you to leave out the front door. You scoffed and shook your head before moving to put the kettle on the stove. You could feel Remus and Sirius watching you. Sirius had a look of admiration. Remus was worrying that you were destroying whatever relationship you had with your father for one with Sirius. He had seen how happy you apparently make each other, but he wasn’t sure if it was worth it in the long run. Clearly, Severus was one for holding grudges and he doubted that would be any different for his daughter, even what just happened. 

“Either of you want a cup?” you asked. 

“Might as well,” Sirius said, his smile audible in his voice. 

Remus sighed. “I’m alright.”

As expected, you didn’t go back to your flat after you finished the potion your father brought you. You opted for sleeping in Sirius’ bed and keeping him company. You were pretty sure that the two of you were driving Remus crazy, not that you were going to do anything about it. 

You had written to your friends at some point. You told them you had a mishap with a potion you were tinkering with, something to imply that you were injured but not enough to warrant visits. You read your letters out loud to Sirius and told him about each friend. You recounted your Hogwarts adventures. Sometimes you felt like your time being an unsanctioned potions dealer paled in comparison to Sirius’ time sneaking into Honeydukes and pranking his classmates in ways that outshined the Weasley twins. But Sirius listened with rapt attention to each story, taking in each and every detail of your life. 

The letter that caught you by surprise was one from Fred and George. Yes, you had been discussing logistics and possible partnerships, but the most recent letter said that they left school. Sirius barked a loud laugh. Loud enough that Remus came up to the sitting room from the kitchen to see what that was about. 

“The twins! Set of fireworks all through Hogwarts! And left on brooms!” he recounted to Remus through his laughter. “I knew I liked those two.” 

“They said they stopped by my shop but saw it was closed,” you added. 

“Remember you can’t tell them anything in a letter,” Remus said. “If they come here, fine. But you know the rules. Nothing in writing.”

“Yes, professor.”

Remus rolled his eyes and left you alone again.

“You know he hates-”

“If he’s going act like one, I’m going to call him professor.” 

When you wrote back, you told the boys that your shop was closed for the time being as you recovered from an injury. You didn’t need to say from a “potions incident.” They were at least Order-adjacent and could put two and two together. 

And they did, being that they showed up to headquarters the next day. They got the short and sweet version of what happened to you. Went on a mission with Tonks and ran into unexpected Death Eaters. Got hit with a nasty spell and I’ve had to stay here to heal up. No mention of where you actually went with Tonks, no mention of Marcus Flint – although his presence there might have been just sheer coincidence – no mention of how you weren’t conscious when Tonks brought you back. And the obvious leaving out that at this point you were actively choosing to stay at Grimmauld Place. 

“Sounds like you’ve been having as horrible of a spring as we have,” George muttered before going into a rant about Umbridge. 

Then they talked about how things were going with moving into the flat above the storefront they secured for their joke shop. They had started setting up a layout for the store and ordering products. They even had an estimate for when they’d be able to open. Nothing was set in stone – too many things could set them back. But they were excited and you shared in it. 

Within the week, you did go back to your flat. It was nice to shower in your home shower again. It was nice to have full choice of your wardrobe again; you had Tonks grab you some clothes not long after the mission. You started opening your shop again a few days a week and brewing regularly to keep stock up. You still spent a lot of time at Grimmauld Place with Sirius. It was just now you had to return to the you had before you got hurt.

---

You were in the sitting room, curled up on a chair with a book, when the fireplace crackled. It spurted. You nearly jumped out of your skin. 

“Sirius!” a voice called. 

You scrunched your face with confusion as you closed your book and set it down. You cautiously got out of your chair.

“Sirius?” 

“Hello? Harry?” you asked, now crouching down next to the hearth. “Are you okay?”

“Y/N? Where’s Sirius?” Harry asked, rather than answering your question. His face was a bit jarring to see in the ashes. 

“Upstairs. Harry, he’s just upstairs. With that hippogriff,” you said, feeling his urgency. 

“Are you sure? Are you sure that You-Know-Who doesn’t have him?” 

“You-Know-Who? Harry, what are you talking about?” 

“I saw him torturing Sirius somewhere with prophecies.”

“Unless the attic got a drastic makeover…” 

“Y/N, can you go get him? I need to see him. I need to know that he’s not in danger.”

“I’ll be right back. Don’t worry, Harry. He’s okay.” 

You stood up and left the room. You take the steps multiple at a time until you reach the attic where the hippogriff was kept. You didn’t know about it for a while, which you found so odd given how much time you ended up spending in the house. Sirius was standing up from the hippogriff when he saw you standing in the doorway.

“What’s wrong?” 

“Harry’s-”

“Harry?” Sirius practically ran into you at the mention of his godson. “What’s wrong with Harry?”

“He’s in the sitting room, needs to see you.”

“He’s here?” he asked, hurrying down the stairs with you following close behind.

“No. Talking through the floo network.” 

Sirius burst into the sitting room and sprinted to the fireplace. 

“Harry?” he gasped. 

No response. Harry wasn’t there anymore.

“I swear he was there,” you said. 

“What did he say?” 

“He thought You-Know-Who had you. That he was torturing you. Something about prophecies?” 

“We need to tell the Order,” Sirius said firmly. 

You and Sirius talked to Remus, telling him what little information Harry told you. Remus figured out that Harry must’ve snuck into Umbridge’s office to use the floo network, given that all the other fireplaces were being watched. He communicated with other members of the Order that there might be activity at the Ministry of Magic, specifically the Department of Mysteries. Remus went with the other after ordering you and Sirius to stay put. Grimmauld Place was safe. 

It’s a long evening. You and Sirius returned to the sitting room, except rather than sitting with Sirius or with a book, you started brewing. Healing potions and numbing potions and sleeping draughts. Anything you thought might be helpful when the Order members returned. Sirius watched you with careful eyes as you stirred, chopped and mixed. He knew you needed to be doing something. He wished he could be doing something helpful too, rather than just sitting and watching. 

“They should be back by now,” you said with a frown after a while. 

“They’ll get back when they get back,” Sirius said, trying to sound comforting despite his own worry. “Maybe they returned to the Weasleys’ or somewhere else.”

You shook your head. “They’d come here. Headquarters. … What if Remus-”

“Remus will be fine. Everyone will be fine.”

Sirius had to say that. If he didn’t, he’d start to believe otherwise and he refused to lose Remus to some mission. You finished your last batch of healing potions and then you went to sit with Sirius, curling into his side and wrapping your arm around him. 

“At least Harry’s safe,” you mumbled and Sirius hummed in agreement. 

Time took its sweet time passing and it was well into the morning by the time the front door opened and voices carried up the stairs. You had fallen asleep on Sirius. He gently propped you up against a pillow and went downstairs to see what had all happened. 

Remus recounted what happened. Without Harry there, the prophecy couldn’t be moved, but when the Death Eaters realized that the plan failed and that they were facing Order members rather than a mere teenager, all hell broke loose. Someone got pushed into a shelf and they fell like dominoes, causing hundreds of prophecies to be destroyed and never heard again. But that wasn’t the kicker. No. Voldemort actually showed up in what Remus called a desperate attempt to maybe find his prophecy among the wreckage, but Dumbledore made an appearance. Dumbledore was able to hold Voldmort at bay for a while and then Fudge arrived with other members of the ministry. Somewhere in all of the commotion, the Death Eaters and Voldemort disappeared. The point was that Fudge saw. Fudge knew that Harry and Dumbledore weren’t lying. 

You’d be told all of this in the morning, although Sirius made the smart choice to preface the story with “No one was gravely injured and no one died.” 

As the end of the school year approached, Sirius seemed to vibrate with excitement. His name still hadn’t been cleared with the ministry so he was still supposed to be hidden within Grimmauld Place, but his offer to Harry about maybe having the boy move in stood. Dumbledore didn’t seem too pleased with it, but Sirius would not drop it. Not until the old man compromised. If Harry could start the summer at the Dursleys and then spend most of it with the Weasleys, then Harry could start with his aunt and uncle and then move in with his godfather. 

“We’ll tell him after he moves in and gets settled, yeah? Oh, this is going to be brilliant! Then we’ll get my name cleared and I can get a motorbike again and then we can travel or something!” Sirius ranted as he marked off a day on a calendar counting down until Harry’s arrival. 

“The summer is only so long, Sirius. He is going back to school in September,” you said smiling. 

Sirius waved his hand dismissively. “I know that. But there’s Christmas and next summer and the rest of our lives!” 

“Rest of our lives, huh?” 

“Rest of our lives.” 

The day that Harry arrives, you hang back. To your relief, Remus and a few others were around to ensure that the move went smoothly. It wasn’t just you and the two boys. Sirius showed Harry to the room that would be his, a different one than he’d lived in last summer. This one Sirius insisted that Harry decorate and make his. Watching Sirius with his godson brought a joy to you that you couldn’t quite place. Sirius just lit up around him and you knew part of it was making up for lost time. 

Dinner was a big ordeal with everyone around and then slowly, the house emptied out. You had discussed with Sirius that it was probably better if you weren’t spending the night right away when Harry got there. Let him get used to living with Sirius before adding you into the picture. So, you left with the Weasley twins, being that you were both going back to Diagon Alley. 

“Have you always hugged Sirius?” George asked as the three of you walked down the front steps and turned down the street. 

“Hm?” you hummed.

“I saw you hug Sirius before we left,” George said. “Have you always done that?” 

You didn’t answer right away. You were going to tell people about you and Sirius. This could be your first time telling someone, being that Sirius told your father.

“I mean, not always, but I s’pose it’s been a while?” 

The boys exchanged a glance.

“You don’t hug Professor Lupin,” Fred stated. 

There it was. They had a feeling and you knew they had a feeling.

“He prefers it if you call him Remus.”

“Fine, Remus. You don’t hug Remus, but you hug Sirius?” Fred asked with a roll of his eyes. 

“Yes. I’m… closer with with Sirius.”

“Closer how?” Fred pressed. 

“I’m seeing him,” you said quickly, keeping your gaze straight ahead. You didn’t really want to see the twins’ reactions. 

“You’re seeing him?” George repeated. 

“Yes.” You paused as you walked. “Been seeing him since September.” 

“That’s why you spent the night in his room after Christmas!” Fred exclaimed. “I knew there was something bogus with that!” 

“I was trashed, thank you very much. But, erm, he may have been lying when he said he slept on the floor.” 

George laughed. “Damn, Snape, you’re really dating one of the ‘most dangerous’ men according to wizardkind.” 

“You both know he’s innocent!” 

“Not of cradle robbing,” Fred said. 

“It’s… it’s not like that.” 

“Oh? So he’s not the same age as your father? The same age as Remus who also taught you?” 

“No, he is. It’s just… Different.” 

“I’m sure he is,” George said. “Because you’re letting him put his-”

“And we are changing the subject!” you said firmly, feeling yourself turn pink. “But, um, we haven’t told many people. Namely, Harry. So don’t bring it up around him, yeah? Not until we have a chance to talk to him.”

“Yeah, you can deal with that dumpster fire.” 

You’re not over at Grimmauld Place every day. But it does return to the point where you’re there multiple times a week. Days that you have your shop open are the ones you tried to stay fully at home, but sometimes you still stopped by for dinner or to drop off a new book for Sirius. Two weeks pass before you spend the night with Sirius again. You and Sirius talked about Harry and how he didn’t seem to mind you being around. Sirius assured you that the boy would take it in stride when he told him. 

In the morning, you left a sleeping Sirius in bed to make your morning tea. You sipped it slowly as you skimmed the Daily Prophet. You didn’t look up when Harry entered the kitchen; out of habit, you had thought it was Sirius. 

“No offense, but why are you here?” he asked, making you jump. 

You set the paper down. Straight to business and no good morning. So much for him not minding you being around. His green eyes stared at you, waiting for your answer. 

“Can’t you have tea at your own flat? Or with the twins or something?” he continued when you didn’t have an answer right away. 

“I mean, I can have tea at mine, but I like to have it right when I get up. You know, I don’t like going somewhere for it when it’s right here?”

“But you came here?” 

“I came downstairs, yes.” 

“No, you came here. To Grimmauld Place.” 

“Harry, uh, I came here yesterday. You remember that, right?” He nodded. “I never left. So that’s why I’m here, I guess.”

“You spent the night? Why?” Harry was remembering when you were too drunk to leave around Christmas, but last night, you hadn’t been drinking at all. 

“I’m in a relationship with Sirius?” you said, hating how your voice lifted at the end, making it sound more like a question than a statement. 

Harry stared at you wordlessly for what felt like five minutes. You brought your cup to your lips to take a sip. Anything would be better than him staring at you like that, but it also felt wrong to pick up the paper to continue reading.

“What?” he finally asked. 

“I’m dating Sirius. Uh, have been for a few months.” Few. Right, you could correct the timeline later. 

“You’re… but you were in school with me, right? Few years ago?” 

You nodded, knowing exactly where Harry was going. It was the same place the twins went. 

“And you’re aware… Snape and Sirius… they hate each other.”

You laughed. “I’m very aware of that.”

“And they went to school together. With my dad.” 

“Yes.” 

Harry watched you for a second before saying, “Gross.” 

Without taking anything from the kitchen, he walked out and you heard him go back upstairs. You assumed he was going to his room. You sighed and picked up your paper again. It could’ve gone worse. He could’ve spat in your face like Severus did to Sirius. Also like with your dad, it probably would’ve gone better if the other half of the relationship broke the news. 

“I told him,” you said quietly when you looked from the paper to see Sirius entering the kitchen and making a beeline for the kettle. 

He hummed. “And?”

“He said gross.” 

Sirius barked a laugh as he poured himself a cup of tea. Then he took the seat next to you and kissed your forehead. 

“Now the big three know, yeah? And guess what, I still love you.”

You smiled. “I love you too.”

“Remus!” you shouted after him, nearly falling over in your effort to push away from James to follow him. 

“Y/N,” James said gently, trying to calm you down, but you wouldn’t, you couldn’t stop. You had to find Remus and explain. 

You ran into the corridor, looking for him. You could tell which way he went, so you turned right, desperately calling after him. 

“Remus!” 

You searched for 30 minutes. Until finally, Sirius found you. 

“Y/N, why aren’t you in class?” Then he saw the tears still on your face. “What’s wrong?”

“It’s all a misunderstanding. Lestrange set us up.”

“Set who up? Y/N, just tell me what happened.”

“What happened is she and her lover got caught,” a familiar voice chirped from around the corner. 

When you saw Bellatrix, you saw red. You lunged at her, but Sirius held you back, though it wasn’t easy. 

“What’s wrong, angry I shed some light on the truth?”

“Enough Bellatrix!” Sirius interjected. “Slither back into your hole. I don’t know how much longer I can hold her back.”

“Well, the truth was bound to catch up to you sometime.” She laughed and walked away. You pushed away from Sirius. 

“I need to find Remus and clear this whole thing up.”

“What exactly happened?”

You explained everything, and Sirius nodded along, fully understanding the gravity of the situation. 

“I just don’t know what to do. Nothing happened with me and James. Nothing! I swear. You have to believe me-”

“I believe you. I do.” Sirius looked around. “Let me get you back to your room.”

“But-”

“I will find Remus and talk to him. Let me calm him down first, then you can see him. Deal?”

You took a deep breath and relented, letting Sirius lead you back to the dorms. 

-

You waited for hours for some news. You didn’t go to dinner. You didn’t go anywhere. You just waited. Pacing, lying in bed, anything to pass the time. You couldn’t get your mind off of it. 

How could you have fallen for that? 

You laid down on your bed again, tears starting to flow. 

The door open and Lily came in. 

“Hey, Y/N.”

“The whole school knows don’t they?” 

Lily couldn’t form words. 

“This is all wrong,” you said, rolling onto your side and curling up into a ball. “I don’t know how to fix it.” 

Lily sat down next to you and rubbed your back as the tears continued to flow. 

-

Finally, after another hour you fell asleep. Not twenty minutes later, Lily heard a shuffle outside. Then some whispers. Then a knock at the door. She opened it to see all four marauders on the other side. 

Sirius gently nudged Remus forward as Lily stepped out of the way. When he saw you, eyes still puffy from crying, his heart broke even more. He looked at Lily, silently asking her to leave the room. She hesitated for a moment before whispering, “I’ll be just outside.”

The others left and shut the door behind him. He walked over to you and sat down, gently nudging you awake. You woke slowly, blinking until you finally realized it was Remus sitting next to you. You quickly sat up.

“Remus I’m so sorry. It was all a lie and a trick you have to believe-”

“I do love. I do.” He sighed. “I’m the one who should be sorry. I shouldn’t have run. I should’ve let you or James explain. I just... I don’t know I was hurt and guess I had enough self doubt that it spilled over to doubting the two of you.”

You pulled your knees to your chest. “So where have you been all day?”

“Thinking.”

“About?”

“Us.” 

There was a long pause. 

“And what did you decide?”

“I...I decided that I didn’t care if it was true. If it was a trick I would apologize for buying into it and we could move forward. If you made a mistake, I could forgive you and we could move forward. If that’s what you wanted.”

You didn’t know what to say. You just let him gather his thoughts, because yours were scrambling too fast to say anything.

“If you want to be with me, I want to be with you. And that’s that.” A tear fell from his eye. You reached out and wiped it away. 

“Of course that’s what I want.” You both smiled then kissed. 

Well, you would’ve kissed, if the eaves droppers in the hallway hadn’t barged in cheering and ruining the moment. He looked up and gave an exasperated sigh. You laughed and grabbed his hand, making him look back at you. 

“I love you Remus.” 

“I love you, Y/N.”

Then you kissed him, to the cheers and protests of your friends. You didn’t care. 

You loved Remus, and he loved you. You would be together, to whatever end. 

-

“My bed will still be here after the meeting,” he said before leaning in to briefly kiss you and whisper, “Unless you want to skip the meeting and let everyone know that we’re together in one go.” 

You practically jumped off his bed. “Right! Dad’s coming to this one and while I haven’t figured out how to tell him, that is not it.”

Sirius smirked and led you out of his room.

“Just an idea, love.” 

You closed the door to Sirius’ room before following him down to the kitchen. Remus barely spared you two a glance. 

“Tea?” he asked as he reached to grab a mug for himself.

“I’d love some,” you said, sitting down at the table next to Sirius. 

Remus nodded and pulled down a second mug. You’d been over enough that Remus knew which tea you liked and how you took it. He placed the mug in front of you and sat on the other side of Sirius. You figured that was because he still felt weird seeing you and Sirius sit close together. 

Slowly, members of the Order arrived at the house and filed into the kitchen. Tonks took her usual spot on your other side. You barely made eye contact with your father when he came into the room. You could feel his eyes watching you even after the meeting started, and it turned out to be more than his eyes. Once again he was trying to get into your brain. You took a deep breath and steadied yourself, emptying your brain. You focused on keeping Severus out of your thoughts and memories. 

You nearly broke when Sirius looked at you. It was only a subtle side glance, but it told you that he noticed you tensed for no apparent reason. You took another breath and glared at your father, meeting his gaze. There was no emotion in his intense stare. You decided to up the game. 

Then you weren’t sitting in the kitchen of Grimmauld Place, listening to Mad-Eye Moody talk about missions you weren’t involved in and the vague information gathered from them. No, you were looking at a younger version of your father. You recognized where you were. You, and younger Severus, were standing outside of the house where you spent a decent amount of time growing up: the house of the couple that watched you while Severus taught at Hogwarts. Severus stood just beyond the front lawn. He bounced on the balls of his feets, watching the house. You glanced between him and the house. Surely, you were inside with the people you called Auntie and Uncle. 

You watched as Severus shook his head and turned away. He walked away. You pressed your lips together and felt something break inside of your chest. Your father had been debating coming to see you and he just didn’t. He walked away from you. 

Just as suddenly as you appeared in front of the house in Hogsmeade, you were back in the kitchen of Grimmauld Place, between Tonks and Sirius. However, both you and your father had abruptly stood up with loud scraping noises as your chairs slid backwards. 

“Y/N, Severus? Everything alright?” Shacklebolt asked. 

The eyes of the room shifted between the two of you. You and Severus were having a new stare down and he looked furious at you. 

“Am I, ahem, needed at this meeting? Or can I be excused?” you asked, breaking eye contact and looking toward Shacklebolt and Moody. 

“You are needed,” Moody said. “You’re being assigned another mission.” 

You sent another glare toward your father before sitting down and crossing your arms across your chest. Under the table, Sirius nudged your foot with his. You knew he was asking if you were okay, and you hated that you couldn’t reassure him right now, not with Moody’s eye in the room. Moody described the missions you were to be going on; you were to pair with Bill Weasley and Tonks. You’d be trying to get information out of people whose stances were unknown. You three were young enough to not have participated in the first war and you were lesser known among known Death Eaters. 

Once the meeting was over, you disapparated. You felt horrible for leaving Sirius without saying bye, but you needed to get out of there. That memory you visited filled you with rage and hurt. Even if just to say hi, why hadn’t he gone inside? It could’ve been a short visit, but it would’ve been a visit. He rarely did that. If he had gone all that way, why did he turn around? Were you just not good enough for him? No, you knew you never were. 

You paced around your flat until you felt like your legs were turning into jelly. But even with as exhausted as you were, sleep didn’t come easy and when it did, it wasn’t restful. 

You started canvassing Diagon Alley with Bill. Whenever he had a break from Gringotts, he’d let you know so you could close up shop and help. Sometimes it was just watching as he talked to various people, or vice versa. You occasionally ventured down Knockturn Alley and a few of the other adjourning streets. The most that happened was you pointing out a man who you believed to be Mr. Nott; you told Bill that he had a son at Hogwarts that looked very similar. Bill turned you in a different direction so you didn’t run into him. 

“Not someone to be taken on with just the two of us,” Bill whispered. 

You frowned, but went along easily. Once again, you felt your dueling skills were being underestimated, but you knew it wasn’t a good idea to be starting duels in a shopping district, even if it was Knockturn Alley. 

Your expedition with Tonks was more exciting. She had heard whispers about an underground animal auction happening and after running it by Moody, you were told to go. She’d be in disguise but you were good to go as is. You weren’t an employee of the ministry. 

It wasn’t too difficult to find the auction grounds. You walked a bit through a dense forest, following seemingly meaningless ribbons tied to branches until you came across a clearing. There was a cloaking shield at the edge of it, but you and Tonks walked right in. It was bustling with people and cages; animal cries immediately filled the air. You and Tonks scanned the crowd. Nothing stood out to you. Tonk told you to find a seat and she’d catch up to you in a little bit. You watched her casually stroll up to a porky man with a clipboard in hand and a quill behind his ear. You gave the crowd another scan, unsure of where to go.

“Merlin’s bloody beard, is that Snape?” a family male voice called. 

You turned and laughed. “Flint, what are the odds?” 

Marcus walked toward you and pulled you into an uncomfortable hug. You hadn’t seen Marcus since school, and even then, you weren’t exceptionally close. That didn’t stop him from smiling at you and unabashedly checking you out.  

“Haven’t seen you at one of these before. Looking for something?” he asked. 

You shrugged. “You know how things are…” You glanced at the ground, smiled and picked something up. “If sellers are going to let perfectly good potion ingredients fall on the group, why shouldn’t I collect them?” 

“Still doing potions then?” 

“Got a shop in Diagon Alley. What about you?”

“Metal charmer by trade, little league quidditch official by hobby.”

You laughed and shook your head. “Some things never change, eh?”

“You here with anyone?”

“Yeah. Friend from a neighboring shop,” you said, pointing at Tonks. 

However, instead of looking at Tonks, Marcus looked at your hand, grabbing it in awe. You were wearing the new gloves that Sirius got you; if you were to get into a duel, it would be on one of these missions you went on with Bill and Tonks. 

He let out a low whistle. “No way you’re affording these by yourself.”

You snatched your hand back and gave Marcus a rather insulted look.

“Not that it matters, but they were a gift.” 

“Someone must really like you.”

“Yeah. They do.” 

You looked back at Tonks, seeing if you could make an excuse to leave Marcus. She was already making her way toward you. She had a sour look on her face. 

“We’re leaving,” she said as soon as she reached you.

“Why? Bidding hasn’t started?” Marcus asked, looking between the two of you. 

“We weren’t the only ones who heard about this,” Tonks said firmly, keeping her eyes on you. 

You nodded, knowing what she meant. Death Eaters were coming and she somehow got that information out of the man with the clipboard. 

“Course you're not,” Marcus said as he placed a hand on your shoulder. You tensed as his fingers curled around it. “That’s how auctions work. There needs to be more than one bidder.”

“Flint, it sounds like I’m leaving. It was good seeing you,” you said politely, but he held onto you with expected force.

“Stay. Come on. We should catch up.”

“Snape, we need to go.” There was more urgency in Tonks’ voice and you really didn’t like it.

“Marcus,” you warned.

You tried to take a step away from him, but it was too late. Figures in dark cloaks and masks started shoving their way through the crowd. They weren’t there to bid, but they were definitely leaving with the magical creatures. Marcus let go of your shoulder with shock on his face. He immediately ran toward where you assumed his friends were. You and Tonks exchanged a quick look before you both drew your wands and sent spells flying at the dark cloaks. 

Those attending the auction to bid quickly disappeared into the forest. That made hitting your targets easier, but that also meant that the Death Eaters were getting a clearer view of who was hitting them. You saw a few Death Eaters stumble, fall over and cry out as spell after spell hit your targets. You haven’t had a good duel like this since school. It was exhilarating. 

Then a red-orange burst hit you in the back and you fell forward. You couldn’t breathe. Your face hit the dirt and you couldn’t bring your arms up to break your fall nor push yourself up. From the heat you felt, you assumed it was some kind of altered fire curse. You could feel your body spasm. It hurt. It hurt so bad. You tried to scream out, but when you opened your mouth, there was no sound. Then it hit you that there was no sound. No light – you couldn’t see. And you couldn’t feel anything. 

Was that it? Should you have tried to pull out of Marcus’ grip harder when Tonks told you that you needed to leave? Was this how you went out? Without a goodbye to Sirius? 

---

“Remus!” Tonks shrieked as she apparated into Grimmauld Place with your more-or-less limp body. It spasmed periodically. 

She thought you were doing exceptionally well being how out-numbered you were and that you didn’t have auror training. She hadn’t seen the spell that hit you, but she heard you fall. And when you stayed on the ground, she knew you had to get out of there. 

Remus, Fleur and Bill came running out of the kitchen, and Sirius descended the stairs as fast as he could. Sirius had to grip the handrail to prevent himself from falling down the rest of the stairs when he saw your body. His breath hitched when he saw that you were wearing the glove. 

Those were supposed to help. 

“Bill, we’ll need Severus,” Remus said firmly to the ginger. “Let’s get her upstairs.”

Bill rushed to the nearest fireplace to contact Severus and then Dumbledore to explain why Severus needed to leave Hogwarts immediately. Remus and Fleur helped Tonks bring you upstairs. Tonks was sobbing as she recounted what happened. Remus assured her that she did the right thing. 

“She’s alive?” Sirius croaked, standing in the door of one of the guest rooms, watching them lay you on the bed. 

“I-I have no clue what spell hit her. She has a pulse,” Tonks managed to say weakly. 

“It’s something. We’ll be able to do more once Snape gets here,” Remus said. “Watch her, will you?” 

Sirius nodded, moving a chair in the room to be right next to the bed. Fleur took Tonks’ arm and helped her out of the room. It was very jarring for all of them to see Tonks like this; she was a bold and bright personality, an excellent auror and trained to keep her cool. Remus lingered in the guest room with Sirius for a minute. He watched his best friend’s sullen face. Remus turned away when he saw a tear run down the side of his face. He didn’t need to see Sirius like this. He didn’t want to see Sirius like this. Even if it was so bizarre for Remus to acknowledge, Sirius was happier when you were around. He acted more like a human rather than a shell of one. 

And now you were laying in the closest thing to a hospital bed, unconscious and barely alive. But that was the important part: you were alive. 

“He’s coming,” Bill told Remus when he came down the stairs. “Fleur’s getting Tonks a cup of tea, but she’ll need a calming draught. Albus… he didn’t want Snape to leave Hogwarts. Something about Umbridge.” 

Remus closed his eyes and rubbed his temples. 

“Yeah, yeah, she’s a nightmare, but it’s his goddamn daughter for Merlin’s sake. We need him here. She needs him here.”

“I told Albus that Snape already left. He left before I even told him everything.” Bill glanced at the door. “I expect he’ll be here any minute.” 

The two men went to sit with Tonks and Fleur in the kitchen while they waited. Sirius, in order to convince himself that you were just sleeping, brushed your hair off of your face and took your gloves off. He held your hand and gently rubbed his thumbs over your knuckles. You’d be okay. You’d be okay. You’d be okay. You’d be okay. You’d be-

The front door opened. Remus stood up from the table in the kitchen. He had been sitting in a spot where he could see the front door. Severus and Remus didn’t exchange any words. They made eye contact and Remus pointed up. Severus didn’t nod. He showed no emotion as he silently turned and made his way to you. 

Severus stood in the doorway when he found you. He wasn’t sure what was more shocking, disturbing even: you, laying motionless and eerily pale, or how Sirius was sitting with you, hunched over and rubbing your hand. After what felt like a few minutes, he entered the room.

“Make yourself useful and set up the potion station, Black,” he said coldly. 

Not looking up from you, Sirius said, “It’s in the sitting room. There was never a point to put it away.” 

Severus stepped toward the bed and glared at Sirius. “Get out. I need to examine her so I know what she needs.”

Sirius didn’t move. He wasn’t sure if he wanted to leave you alone with him. Yes, Severus was your father, but… No, Sirius didn’t want to leave you alone but it wasn’t because of Severus. It was all him. Sirius didn’t want to leave you alone. Period. Full stop. He looked at your face, somehow both peaceful and pained at the same time. Sirius knew he had to leave.

He stood up slowly and walked out of the room, not looking at Severus once. He debated going to his room. He could wait in there with the door open and listen for when Severus left your side so he could return. But then the front door opened again. Sirius let the sound direct him downstairs – he’d sit in the kitchen and hear what everyone else thought about the situation. He was met with Arthur and Molly in the entryway. 

“Dumbledore called,” Arthur said, seeing Sirius.

“Is she upstairs?” Molly asked, looking up the stairs, and Sirius nodded. 

Sirius and Arthur continued to the kitchen. 

“Molly said something about a mother’s touch. Something no one in the house has,” Arthur said. 

Sirius tried to chuckle, but he couldn’t bring himself to. He needed you to wake up and then he could smile and laugh again. Until then, he didn’t have that option. Remus watched Sirius reach for a whiskey glass. 

“Padfoot, I’ll take a tea if you’re putting the kettle back on.” 

Sirius stilled midmotion. He knew that Remus knew he wasn’t going for the kettle. At least, he wasn’t. Now that Remus said something, Sirius knew he had to. He nodded silently, put the kettle on and grabbed two mugs. 

“Anyone else?” 

“Might as well. Bill too,” Arthur said. 

Two more mugs. They would all drink tea. While waiting for the kettle to be ready, Sirius moved cups to the table along with sugar and cream so everyone could make their cups as they liked. He needed to keep moving, keep himself distracted or he’d really want to reach for the whiskey again. 

Molly stepped into the room where Severus was looking over you. He was tracing his wand along your limbs.

“What can I do to help?” she asked. Her voice was steady but kind. The way she asked the question said that it wasn’t really a question; she was going to help and things would be a lot better if he just told her what she could do. 

Severus stood up straight, tucking his wand away. He wasn’t finished with his examination; he couldn’t tell for certain what spell was used on you. He rummaged through his brewing kit. He pulled out a small jar containing a rather basic soothing salve. He held it out for Molly. 

“Apply this to all her burns. I need to start brewing.” 

He hesitated in the doorway, giving you one last glance before heading to the sitting where Sirius said the potion station was. He silently got to work. As soon as he was out of the room, Molly did the same, taking the lip of the jar. The moment the salve touched your skin, it started to glow and seep into the burns. Molly was vaguely familiar with this salve. She had similar ones at the Burrow, ones specified for scrapes and cuts. She needed to adjust how you were laying so she could apply the salve to your back. She gently rolled you over and pulled your shirt up. The burns were horrible. 

“I see where you got hit…” she muttered to herself. 

She kept applying the salve until every burn was properly coated. Then she sat down in the chair. There was nothing more she could do until Severus came back. 

Sirius kept glancing toward where they kept the whiskey. His cup had been sitting empty for a while now. Everyone else in the kitchen was more relaxed than him, engaging in conversation and offering to refill his cup. He shook his head each time. You were upstairs and only Remus truly knew how much it was killing him. 

Everyone looked up when Molly entered the kitchen. She didn’t have to say anything to the room’s attention and her soft smile was a comfort to all of them before she even spoke.

“She’s awake. Severus is reassessing her.” 

Tonks jumped up and left the kitchen immediately. They could hear her footsteps all the way until she reached your room. Remus gave Sirius a warning look; he didn’t need Sirius barging into the room while Tonks was talking to you and possibly with Severus still in there too. 

“How are you feeling?” she asked, not caring that Severus was looking over your arm. 

You gave her a weak smile. “Like a dragon roasted me.” 

“That seems about right,” Tonks said with a weak chuckle.

She sat down in the chair and let Severus continue to look you over. 

“You know, Y/N, you’re kind of wasted in your apothecary,” she said. 

“Am I?” 

“Wicked duelist. If only there had been less of them… more of us… something.” Tonks choked up briefly. “You wouldn’t be like… this.” 

“Oh, shut up,” you said with a slight laugh slipping through your lips, which had you suddenly gripping your side as pain radiated from that spot. 

“Sit still,” your father snapped. 

You rolled your eyes and Tonks smiled at you slyly. You were still yourself. That’s what mattered. But you listened to Severus; you tried your best to sit still. 

“So what happened?” you asked.

“I was talking to that guy, Watson, getting a feel for the auction. Sketchy. Unregulated. Undocumented. I could see you talking to some guy.”

“Marcus Flint. I went to school with him.”

Severus humphed. You didn’t know what he thought of Marcus and you didn’t really care. You didn’t like Marcus all that much so why would it matter? 

“Then I heard someone say the Carrows were arriving soon. And Rowle, Yaxley, Macnair were all thrown around. It was too many. We couldn’t take them on.”

You nodded. 

“But that boy wouldn’t let go of you until it was too late and we couldn’t just leave. I think we created enough of a diversion that some people were able to escape, but then you got hit. I didn’t see by what or who. Not with their bloody masks. I… I couldn’t let you just lie there. I got us out of there, and well, now we’re here.” 

Severus walked out of the room without saying anything. You had no idea if it was because of his ties to Death Eaters or if he had to go brew something else for you. You winced as you tried to sit up.

“No, stay laying down,” Tonks said firmly. “You’ve been through a lot.”

“I’ll be fine-” you started to say, wanting to say more but she cut you off again.

“Yes. You will be fine. If you stay lying down and let us take care of you.” 

You groaned as you adjusted the blanket around yourself. 

“Thank you. For getting me here.”

Tonks nodded and reached out to squeeze your hand. She sat there for a few more minutes with you before getting up. Shortly after she left, Remus and Sirius came in. Sirius immediately took his spot in the chair and Remus leaned against the wall just off to the side. 

“You’re alive,” Sirius said softly. 

“Yeah, I am,” you breathed.

The two of you just stared at each other for a little bit. Sirius had such a soft expression; you had that effect on him. You were glad that you were alive and you were glad that Sirius was here for you. If you weren’t bedridden, you’d be hugging him. 

“Y/N, do you need anything?” Remus asked.

Like everyone else, he was glad you were going to be okay. He felt that he didn’t need to be in the room with you and Sirius if you were trying to have a moment. You were adults. You didn’t need him acting as a chaperone. 

“I’m alright, Remus. Thank you,” you said with a weak smile. 

He nodded and left the room, heading back to the kitchen. Sirius moved some of your hair out of your face again, letting his fingers gently trace down your cheek before coming to rest on top of your hand. 

“I haven’t been scared like that in years,” Sirius said.

“There weren’t supposed to be Death Eaters there.”

“I know.”

“Some idiot I went to school stopped us from leaving.”

“You might’ve saved some lives.”

“Felt good to be in the action… Until…”

Sirius chuckled softly, rubbing his thumbs over the back of your hand. 

“That tends to be how it goes, Icarus.”

“There weren’t supposed to be Death Eaters there,” you repeated. “If they hadn’t appeared, we would’ve been-”

“You would’ve been okay. And you saw Tonks already. She’s okay.” Sirius leaned forward so he could press a kiss to your hand without moving you too much. “And you will be okay. Just don’t expect to be going back to your flat until you are.”

“Remus going to make me sleep in here?”

“There’s a possibility.”

You sighed. “But it’s not as comfortable as yours.”

“Really? I could’ve sworn my parents got better beds for guests than me and Regulus.”

“The mattress is fine, I suppose,” you said, wiggling your body slightly. “But it’s missing you.”

Sirius leaned forward again and kissed your forehead before whispering, “We’ll see who’s all staying here tonight, hmm? Maybe Padfoot can keep you company.” 

You grinned. That would suffice. 

However your happiness was short-lived as someone cleared their throat from the doorway. Severus. 

“Black, don’t make me tell you to leave this room again.” 

Once again, Sirius was slow to move at your father’s request. And once again, he didn’t want to leave you. You’re awake. He didn’t want to leave your side until you’re feeling better. He looked at you and you gave him a tight-lipped smile. 

“You’ll be okay?” he whispered and you nodded. 

At that, he stood up and left the room. Severus closed the door to the room and then handed you a tall glass of a thick purple liquid that smelled like bubotuber pus. 

“Drink.”

“Obviously,” you said dryly. You tipped the cup up and the liquid slid down the glass like sludge. It tasted like bubotuber pus. You gagged, setting the empty cup on the bedside table.

“You need to rest. I’ll make more. You’ll need to drink it every evening for a week.”

You didn’t say anything. Severus left you alone in the room, closing the door behind him again. This time, Sirius had gone to his room rather than the kitchen. He fully intended on sitting with you again once Severus left the room so when he heard the door open and close, he left his room. He wasn’t expecting Severus to be waiting for him.

“Black. Stay away from my daughter. She doesn’t need to be corrupted by scum like you,” Severus hissed. The words burned as they left his mouth. They were words he never imagined having to say to a former classmate. 

“‘Fraid I can’t do that, Snivvy,” Sirius said. 

“Once she is healed, she goes back to her flat and you’ll keep your goddamn distance.”

“And what if she comes back here?” Sirius crossed his arms over his chest. He knew full well that you wouldn’t stay away from him if your father asked. 

“It’ll be for meetings and meetings alone.”

Sirius smirked. “She comes ‘round here more often than we have meetings.”

“Whatever friendship you think you have with her, it’s over.”

“Dearest Snivellus, it’s not a friendship. It’s a relationship.” He took a step closer to Severus. “A courtship.” Another step. “A partnership.” Another step. “And I love her, so no, I won’t be staying away from her.”

Severus spat in Sirius’ face. “If you lay a hand on her, I will personally tell the dementors where you are.”

Sirius wiped the spit from his face, preparing a retort, but Severus had already turned and disappeared into the sitting room with a slammed door. He pressed his lips together. While that could’ve gone much worse, it probably would’ve been a hell of a lot better if it had been you telling Severus about the relationship. Two out of three people you were worried about knowing of the relationship, Sirius had told and both hadn’t gone great. 

Sirius rubbed at his face again, trying to dry it off a bit more. Then he went back to your room and closed the door behind him. 

“I heard,” you said, scooting over on the bed just enough so that Sirius could sit next to you. “I’ll try to talk him down… eventually.”

“Dumbledore won’t let him turn me into the dementors. Especially as long as I stay here, glorious, glorious headquarters.” 

Still laying down, you wrapped your arms around Sirius’ waist and rested your cheek on his thigh. He absentmindedly started playing with your hair. 

“And that leaves Harry…”

“My godson will want me to be happy. You make me happy.”

“I’m the daughter of his least favorite professor.” 

“And the lovely girlfriend of his godfather. Whatever he thinks, just like Remus, won’t change how I feel about you. And on the bright side, I think Remus is coming around. Told you it takes time.” 

You hummed. Your eyelids fluttered shut and it didn’t take long until you were asleep. Sirius waved his hand to dim the lights to help you rest. He hoped no one would come in and bother you, especially Severus given his threat and Sirius immediately ignoring it. No one did come in and you got your wish of Sirius staying the night with you.