Spinner's End

It was a bit odd for Cassie, having to move her belongings through the front door of Snape's house by hand rather than by unnatural means. Snape had to remind her a few times to keep her wand stuffed in her pocket as they worked. Several times, she muttered to herself at risk of looking like a crazed woman, to keep from mindlessly flicking her wrist and make her heavy trunk just float up the front steps. Rather, she and Snape had to hold the sides of the trunk that held her now retired school items, heave it up together, and try not to bang the walls of the entryway as Cassie nearly lost her grip. The neighborhood was not used to such things as magic, Snape had forewarned her, and they didn't want to bring any unnecessary attention to themselves.

But she was not upset that she was moving onto a street that contained only Muggles. On the contrary, Cassie was rather looking forward to it. She had never lived in a place where she was anonymous, where passersby had no idea who she was and would have a blank look on their face when their eyes met, or better yet, a smile. It was so much better than the wary side glances, or the glares, or the attempts at groveling she had been accustomed to. No, living in Cokeworth might be the best thing for her yet, or at least she had high hopes that it could be.

It was not a particularly charming neighborhood, with its rows of identical brick houses that lacked warmth or individuality. There was little else besides the dirty river that bordered the town, the long abandoned mill, and a few pubs that many of the residents spent far too much of their time and money in. Cassie had visited Spinner's End a few times over the years, so she was well aware of these aspects, but she had also learned in her somewhat vagabond upbringing that the appearance of the home did not equate to the love that could reside within. Malfoy Manor, with its noble presentation and extravagant valuables, hardly ever offered Cassie fond memories of belonging and safety, while on the other hand, every moment at the Burrow offered nothing but joy.

Cassie didn't have a lot to move off the sidewalk and into the house, considering she was used to moving what she needed between Hogwarts, the mansion, and the Burrow, so they were done relatively quickly. Even so, in the short time they had spent outside the house, a little boy not more than six or seven years old, had wandered over. He was looking at them with curiosity in his large, brown eyes.

"Hi, Mister Snape," he said in a soft little voice, his hands hanging at his sides. Cassie noticed right away that his clothes were a bit too big on him, his brown shaggy hair looking like it needed a trim and a wash, and his appearance was generally haggard.

"Hello, Todd," Snape greeted him, and Cassie's heart nearly melted at hearing the gentle way he spoke to the child. There was no formality, no referring to the boy by his surname like he did with his Hogwarts students. Clearly, the two were already acquainted with one another.

"Are you home for the summer?" the boy asked.

"Yes, Todd."

"Oh," the child replied, and then his eyes went to Cassie. He was silent for a bit as he timidly looked her over, and Cassie glanced over to Snape, hoping that he would introduce them.

"Is this your niece?" Todd asked Snape then, and Cassie laughed softly.

"No, I'm not his niece," she answered, taking the opportunity to interact with the child, and bent down a bit so she was closer to his level. "I'm Cassie. I'm going to be staying here, with Mister Snape. Do you live close by?"

The boy nodded, turning to point down the street. "I live there, with my mom and dad and little sister."

She learned that his little sister was three, that his favorite food was toast with jam, and then the boy announced that he should really be going, as his mom and dad didn't know he had left his front yard to talk to them. But before he turned to go, Snape, who was wearing Muggle clothing in an effort to blend in, pulled a piece of taffy from his pants pocket and handed it to the boy. Todd ran down the street happily then, and Cassie couldn't help but grin at her new roommate.

"You had that in your pocket just for him, didn't you?" she said, and he gave her an annoyed side glance, before gesturing for her to follow him inside the house. "What? I think it's absolutely adorable!"

"I suppose you're going to tease me relentlessly about it," Snape muttered, and Cassie scoffed.

"I would do no such thing, Mister Snape!" she said, and he sighed, walked through the entryway and into the kitchen, moving away from her. Cassie giggled a bit as she flicked her wrist, her trunk starting to float behind her as she followed him. "Do you know the family well?"

"The boy's mother, Andrea, acts as my caretaker during the school year," he explained. "She comes in and cleans every month or so, makes sure nothing is leaking. She charges a small fee."

"Well, by the looks of him, they could use the money," Cassie observed, and Snape glanced up at her from the pile of newspapers on the table he had started to sort through.

"Most people in this neighborhood could," he responded dully. "It's been that way since I was a child."

Cassie watched him quietly for a few moments, his statement reminding her that this wasn't just his home now, but it was also the house he had grown up in. He didn't like to talk about his upbringing in detail with her, but no doubt with her living there, memories would be inevitably brought forth and talked about. "Yes, well," she said after a bit, "We'll just have to make sure we give Todd lots of candy this summer."

Andrea had done a fair job keeping the unoccupied house in order, Cassie was pleased to see. She went to the second floor to find space for her clothing, finding that the queen sized bed looking neat and tidy, although the quilt covering it looked faded and in need of a facelift. Taking out her wand, she spent several minutes changing the colors of a few things, hoping that Snape wouldn't mind a woman's touch now that they would be sharing the bedroom.

"Green and silver," Snape said, sounding amused as he stepped into the room, taking in Cassie's handiwork. She had changed the bedspread, the curtains, and a few pillows so far. "I would have thought you would have wanted to do away with Slytherin colors."

"Just slowly easing my way out of Hogwarts and into the real world," she said as he came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her. She leaned back into his embrace, contentment flowing through her as soon as he touched her. "I'll be changing it to bubblegum pink next week."

"That's the day I'll be moving to the basement," he quipped, and she laughed, ducking down and out of his arms. She backed slowly towards the newly spruced up bed, an impish expression on her porcelain features as she appealed to his appetite for her. Pursuing her without pause, Cassie squealed in delight as he pushed her down suddenly, moving over her, taking the reins as they started to kiss, to touch, to probe one another like they'd done so many times before. But this time seemed different, because they were liberated, in a sense, having left the school year; no longer were they under the pressures of having to keep their affair a secret, like it was some dirty, corrupt thing.

They had discussed when, and how they would let their relationship be known. Neither one of them were keen on making some big announcement or making a show of it, especially since Cassie had just graduated from Hogwarts, and anyone learning about them might suspect that their involvement might have begun while she was a student. But Cassie's birthday was in a few days, and she would be going to the Burrow to celebrate. At first, Snape had been rather apprehensive about attending the little party with her, saying it was too soon to the let the cat out of the bag, but Cassie had put her foot down. There was no use in putting it off, she had argued; she had graduated and was an adult, and they were to be living together. She'd really rather not keep hiding something from the Weasleys any longer than necessary. So reluctantly, and after lots of arguing, he had agreed to attend.

As the days passed and Cassie's birthday drew closer, she could tell that the party was weighing on her lover's mind. He seemed be lost in thought a bit more often, but she would never point out that he appeared to be nervous about it. That would likely cause trouble. So they spent their time slowly organizing the house, making their meals together, reading by candlelight in the small living area, and Cassie did her best not to talk about it, in case bringing it up would make him declare that he was no longer going. And she couldn't bear the thought of going alone, of not having the most important person in the world with her when she went to see her favorite family.

Finally, it was the day of, and Cassie was feeling quite excited, especially since he still hadn't announced that he wasn't going to go. "Should we bring wine?" he asked while Cassie was pulling on a pair of jeans. He had put on his usual set of black robes, the same that he usually wore at Hogwarts. Apparently, wearing casual Muggle clothing around students, even while outside of school, would be too informal to him.

"That sounds like a fabulous idea," Cassie told him. She was thrilled that he was putting thought and effort into it. That, or he was looking to get drunk to get through the day, but either way, she'd take it. She finished getting ready while he went to the storeroom to fetch a bottle, and then there was nothing to do, but head to Devon.

They Apparated onto the dirt road that lead to the Burrow, and Cassie gave him a glowing smile as they approached the tall, crooked house. A sense of serenity came over Cassie as she drew nearer to the familiar home, with its fat chickens pecking in the yard and multiple chimneys sprung from the uneven roof, and she knew before she crossed the threshold that her soul was long overdue for a visit.

"Cassie, happy birthday!" Molly cried as soon as she entered, and the voices in the house echoed her, arms pulling her into hugs and passing her around. In an instant, she felt warmhearted and so grateful to be there, that she had to blink back the tears that were threatening to fall from her eyes. But she still had her companion to think about, and when she was scooped into Arthur's tight hug, she turned her head to see what Snape was doing. He was still standing by the door, the bottle of wine in his hands, sticking out like a sore thumb in the room full of red-heads.

"Oi, what's he doing here?" came Fred's voice a little too loud for her liking, and then all eyes in the room turned towards the Hogwarts teacher. Apparently, in the commotion of the guest of honor arriving, not everyone had noticed his presence until just then, and now the residents of the Burrow had grown quite still. Arthur put Cassie back on her feet then, releasing her from his arms.

"He's here as my guest," Cassie said, walking back over to him, trying to make sure he felt supported.

Snape cleared his throat, not looking uncomfortable yet, but not looking particularly amused either. "Mrs. Weasley, we've brought wine," he said, going to hand Molly the bottle, and she took it with a pleasant smile on her face.

"Oh, that's very kind of you, Professor Snape," Molly told him, examining the bottle. "I'll open it straight away!" She waved her wand, and wine glasses started to make their way down from the cupboards.

"Is that an elf-made wine?" Arthur asked, politely trying to make conversation, and Cassie was so grateful for the man's civility right then.

"Yes, from my own stores," Snape replied. Cassie noticed that Ron's mouth was hanging open as he stared at the Potions Master standing in his kitchen, and she had half a mind to cross the room to smack him.

"Ah yes, very good. Well, the more the merrier, I always say! Ted and Andromeda should be arriving soon, I expect," Arthur said then. Slowly, the room returned to a normal level of chatter as the shock of having Professor Snape there started to wear off. But Molly ended up shooing Fred, George, and Ron outside, firmly insisting that they go and spend some time tending to the chickens, because their rude remarks were not very subtle in the confined house.

Andromeda and Ted arrived while Cassie, Ginny, and Molly were in the kitchen preparing lunch, and another round of enthusiastic greetings ensued. Snape was in the sitting room with Percy and Arthur, and soon Ted joined them. Cassie just hoped that whatever they were discussing, everyone was remaining cordial.

When the feast of roast chicken and potatoes was ready, everyone started to gather around the large table. Cassie tried sneak around to sit by Snape, but Ginny plopped herself on one side of her, and Molly on the other, leaving her with nowhere else to go. Snape ended up sitting between Andromeda and George at the other end; there was nothing she could do about it now. At least he had a full glass of wine in front of him, she noticed.

"Oh, my dear," Molly was muttering into Cassie's ear as everyone started to reach for food, "Is that really what you're wearing today?"

Cassie looked around for a bit, not sure that the mother Weasley was talking to her, because the question seemed so out of the blue. When it seemed that Molly was in fact, suddenly questioning Cassie's choice of wardrobe, Cassie looked down at herself. What was wrong with her purple cardigan and jeans? Cassie was about to ask her that, but Molly was now engrossed in conversation with Andromeda. So she started to eat, talking to Ginny about her summer plans, and about her upcoming first year at Hogwarts.

"Professor Snape will be teaching Potions when you go to Hogwarts, you know," Cassie told the girl, giving Snape a small smile across the table. Ginny looked over at him nervously, and politely nodded once.

"Yeah, you just get the unfortunate luck of meeting him early," George quipped, and Cassie shot him a look.

"That's quite enough," Molly said swiftly. He and Fred exchanged glances, and Cassie continued to glare at them, knowing that their mother's scolding likely wouldn't deter them for too long.

"You know, I never did properly thank you for looking after Cassie," Ted said to Snape then, "After everything that happened that day in Hogsmeade."

"I don't know that any of us did," Andromeda added. "But we really do owe you our gratitude, Professor Snape."

"I don't think her birthday meal is an appropriate time to discuss it," Snape replied hastily, his eyes flitting over to her. She could tell he was getting uncomfortable, but if it was because they were talking about her nearly dying or because they were trying to thank him, she couldn't tell.

"Why not? All the kids here know that not everything is sunshine and daisies, just because it's a birthday meal," Arthur said soberly. "But let's raise a toast to Professor Snape, for what he's done for our Cassie, shall we?"

Cassie beamed as the adults lifted their wine glasses, and the Weasley children followed suit with their cups, muttering along with them about Snape's good deeds. He looked absolutely miserable, having that attention on him then, but she knew he deserved some credit whether he enjoyed it or not.

The conversation went to other topics for a time then, because the adults seemed to sense the Head of Slytherin's embarrassment at the whole gesture. Everything was going splendidly for a good chunk of time, Cassie being able to catch up with Ginny, Ron telling her about his plans to practice Quidditch over the summer, and Percy even ventured to discuss the next term's classes with Snape. After the food was gone and bellies were full, everyone went outside for a couple of hours, the kids taking turns getting on broomsticks and having small tag team races and throwing a Quaffle around the yard. For a short time, the twins had one Bludger and their bats out, but the second they purposely hit it at an unsuspecting Snape, who was minding his own business and standing against the chicken coop while chatting with Molly, Cassie had whipped out her wand and forced it back into its crate.

From then on, Fred and George seemed to be adamant to ruin the nice afternoon, no matter how many warnings Cassie gave them. They were whispering between the two of them, exchanging mischievous glances that left little to the imagination, and Cassie had thought it might be a good idea to leave soon just based on those behaviors. She knew they had been working on a vomiting solution over the past year, and they must have worked together to slip one of the concoctions into Snape's afternoon tea. Out of the entire group that was there, he was the only one that went from sitting and sipping calmly, to having to leave the house and puke profusely all over the front yard. The worst part was, when Cassie went to angrily accuse them of intentionally spiking his drink with it, they didn't even try to deny it in front of an appalled Molly and Arthur.

"Seriously, Cassie - " Fred started.

"Why would you bring him - " George continued,

"Of all the Hogwarts professors - "

"Here?"

Cassie scowled at them, the sound of Snape's puking a wonderful background noise as she took in the twins' satisfied faces, restraining herself from hexing them. "It's my birthday, you assholes! Can't you just leave it alone for a day?" Molly was fussing now, trying to find an emesis antidote in her medicine cupboard, telling Ginny to get the vomiting professor a cool cloth while she searched.

"And we've had enough of him for one year!" Fred declared.

"You know how many detentions he's given us?" George asked.

"Like you didn't earn every single one of them!" Cassie retorted angrily. She was storming away from them now and walking out into the yard, going to approach Ginny, who was standing with the cold washcloth in hand, but looking far too intimidated to actually give it to the ill man. Cassie took it out of her hands, and went to press it to Snape's clammy forehead. He looked like he was about to say something to her, but continued retching.

"Well, it's not like he can give us detention now!" Fred called from the doorway.

"No, but I can ground you for a month!" Arthur's angry voice followed as he neared the unfolding scene.

"I am so sorry, Sev," Cassie was saying to Snape quietly as he remained doubled over, his breathing heavy as he continued to dry heave.

George, who had wandered partially into the yard now, asked dumbfounded, "Why are you calling him that?"

"Because he's my boyfriend, you dumbass!" Cassie yelled then, absolutely fed up with the twins at that point. She was at the point of wanting to strangle those teenage hooligans, and that wasn't the way she had wanted to tell everyone about her and Snape, but there it was. They must have made quite the spectacle now, her and the puking professor and the twins, because now everyone seemed to be out in the yard. Molly was standing and staring at them, a vial of what must have been the antidote in her hand, but she wasn't moving towards them any more, having frozen in place. Ron right was behind her, his mouth hanging wide open once again.

"Sick!" he announced when he heard Cassie's statement, and she rolled her eyes, holding out her hand now. Molly started walking towards them once again, the motion having pulled her out of her stunned thoughts.

She got close enough to Cassie to hand her the bottle of medicine, and suddenly, she cried, "Charlie!"

Cassie looked up, seeing that Charlie was indeed, walking up the driveway now, a bouquet of tulips in hand, and she said, "Fuck!" a bit louder than she would have liked. At her use of profanity, Snape followed her gaze, and she heard him groan.

"Oh, this is lovely," he muttered lowly, starting to puke again as her ex-boyfriend walked to them.

It was a chaotic afternoon, but very much what could expected out of being at the Weasley household. After Cassie had gotten the medicine in Snape and he had stopped projectile vomiting, she got him cleaned up with her wand and back inside. Molly and Arthur banished all of their children, including a rather confused Charlie, to the upstairs portions of the house. Now Cassie and Snape were seated in the living room with the Weasley couple, along with Andromeda and Ted, and all six of them were silent for a few seconds, looking anywhere in the room but at each other.

"So," Arthur started then, sniffing a bit, "You two are," and he waved a finger between the two of them, "Are, uh - ?"

"Dating, yes," Cassie confirmed. She forced herself to look at Arthur then, and he looked like it was at a bit of a loss, but not upset.

"I see," he said, nodding, like it was the most interesting thing in the world. Molly, who was seated next to her husband, was just staring at them silently, her eyes wide, her lips pressed together tightly.

"That's not exactly how we wanted to tell you," Cassie said, "But we did want to tell you today."

"Well," Andromeda said, a smirk adorning her lovely face, "that's one way to do it, isn't it?"

"Fred and George have a knack for making things theatrical," Cassie said dryly. She looked over at Snape, trying to get a read on his mood. He looked drained, probably from the mass amounts of puking more than anything.

"I don't know if it's the best idea," Ted started to say slowly, his arms crossed over his chest as he quickly started to undertake a protective role, but his wife cut him off.

"Ted, dear, she isn't asking our permission," she said, looking at him deliberately, "And Lord knows we didn't ask for my family's opinion when we got together, either."

"Yes, we know Cassie is capable of making rational decisions," Arthur added, and he smiled at her and Snape warmly. "As far as Molly and I are concerned, Severus is welcome here at any time, our children's opinions be damned."

"Thank you," Cassie said, beaming at him. She had always admired the man's ability to make his children feel valued and accepted no matter the circumstances, herself included. "That means a lot."

"That's gracious of you, Mr. Weasley," Snape muttered quietly. Cassie reached over to grab his hand tightly. She knew this entire ordeal was completely awkward for him, especially being in the home of so many of his students. Ted was eyeing their physical interaction a bit concernedly, and Snape must have noticed, because his grip on Cassie's hand suddenly loosened, his arm going back to his side.

"Oh, dear," Molly said then, speaking for the first time since they'd all reentered the living room, "I'm so sorry, Cassie, If I'd known, I would never have encouraged Charlie to come! I'm afraid it was all my idea."

"Nonsense," Cassie said, and she got up, walking over to Molly's chair and giving her a hug. "This is his home - "

"But I told him to come back to win you over, dear," Molly said sheepishly, looking over Cassie's shoulder to Snape as if she had wronged him. "He's home for the next two days, had to beg his instructor to get a Portkey from Romania and everything. Oh, I should have listened to Percy, told me not to meddle!"

Cassie turned to Snape then, knowing that she didn't necessarily need his permission, but she still coveted his approval, needed him to be okay with it. If he had been a more loquacious person, more willing to articulate his feelings, he might have said that it was alright, that Cassie hadn't seen Charlie in almost a year, and that of course it was fine if she wanted to speak with him. But Snape's personality was in stark contrast to that, so he merely looked at her, his expression hard and nearly discernible as the the silence ticked by.

"Go," he said, and Cassie smiled a him, taking his hand in hers and giving it a quick kiss.

Soon, she was crossing the yard alone with Charlie, everyone else remaining back in the house to give them a bit of privacy. She hoped the twins would give up trying torture Snape for the evening, knowing now that he was important to her. The man was likely already at his emotional limit being stuffed in the cozy home with that many bodies, having to make conversation. She'd have to thank him properly for everything he'd put up with during his time at the Burrow.

"My brothers and sister told me a bit of interesting gossip while you were downstairs," Charlie started, glancing at Cassie questioningly. "Ron in particular seemed rather horrified."

"Is that your way of asking me if I'm with Severus?" Cassie replied, raising an eyebrow at him.

"Are you really dating him, Green Pea?" Charlie asked sounding perplexed. They were nearing the edge of the yard, heading towards the swampy area where the kids liked to hunt for toads, make bets on who could catch the biggest one.

"Yes, I am, Charlie," she said firmly. "And we're very happy."

"But, what - how - " he sputtered, and then he must have known that he sounded impolite, because he shook his head, looking down at his feet for a moment. "But he's so old, Cass!" he exclaimed then, clearly unable to help himself.

She scoffed, shaking her head a bit. "He's thirty-two, Charlie, not your grandfather."

"But he's so unpleasant! Does he ever even smile? Joke with you?"

"Charlie," Cassie said, sighing wearily, "I didn't come out here so you could be interrogate me about my relationship. How have you been?"

"I'm fine," Charlie replied quickly, and Cassie barked out a laugh. She had noticed within seconds that he had scars from what must be old burns, and newer, red burns adorned his arms and chest. He looked like he had lost a significant amount of weight since going to Romania, although his limbs had gained some muscle mass. Overall, with his shaggier hair and unkempt stubble on his face, he seemed much more rugged, compared to when she had last seen him.

"You're fine?" she countered. "You work with dragons every day, probably almost getting scorched to a crisp and eaten, and that's what you have to tell me, that you're fine?"

Her snarky question seemed to get his mindset in the direction she was hoping for, and eventually she had him talking about his experiences in Romania, about the initial training he received before working with the beasts, about the numerous near misses he had. She got to hear about his favorite dragons and their sparkling personalities, although Cassie was sure all of them would probably still eat him of given the proper chance. It was wonderful, getting to talk with her old friend again, especially since they had sporadic and bumbling letters as their only form of communication for the last year.

"Tonks told me in her last letter, that Fudge is blocking your chances to do Auror training," Charlie said then, after a comfortable silence fell between them for a time. They had slowly walked around the yard, and were now seated on the ground near the garden, watching gnomes bustle about. The little creatures occasionally shot them wary looks, in case they made any indication that they were going to throw them out of the garden.

"Yes, and he made quite the spectacle of it," Cassie replied.

"So what's your plan, then? Are you going to fight it?"

"What's there to fight?" Cassie said. "He's got final say. There's nothing that can be done."

"But Cass, you've got so much potential. You're just going to let that go to waste?"

Cassie was silent as she watched a pair of gnomes start to grapple over a pebble, one winding up and punching the other square in the face. It was comical, although she had no idea why that particular rock, in a garden full of them of them, was so valuable. She giggled softly, before deciding that she should probably respond to Charlie's heavy question.

"Dumbledore's got a plan for me. He's working out the details, but he plans to send me off to Brazil to train for a couple years."

"Brazil?" Charlie asked. "What's there? What training?"

"Apparently, it's an extension of Castelobruxo, some advanced program that specializes in dueling. He's got an old friend that heads the program. He's been insisting that I consider going for some time, now."

"So you're considering it?"

"I'm not considering it. I'm going," she said softly. Charlie looked at her, surprised.

"And Professor Snape, he's okay with it?"

"He's been encouraging my attendance as well," Cassie told him, "Although I'm pretty sure it's mainly because Dumbledore says it's a good idea."

"You don't sound very convinced," Charlie observed, and Cassie shot him a small smile.

"It's just a lot to take in," she admitted, sighing. "They both seem to want me trained up because, well...do you remember that day in the Forbidden Forest? When the centaurs were talking about my undecided future?"

Charlie seemed surprised that she was bringing the topic up, but then he told her that he could never forget that day, because of the impact it had made on both of them. He looked absolutely astounded as she recounted seeking out Firenze a second time and what he had told her, and how she had eventually learned of the similar prophecy made by Trelawney.

"So...Dumbledore wants you to have this training, so when another war comes, you'll be ready?" he asked quietly.

"Yeah," she said. "No escaping the reality of it now, is there?"

They went back inside the house a bit later, as it was it now evening, and Cassie knew that Snape had probably reached his maximum capacity of social interaction long ago. When she entered the living room, she saw that he was quietly observing Ron and Percy's chess match, while Arthur and Molly were chatting merrily of Bill's adventures of working in Egypt. Cassie had to suppress a laugh when she noticed Ron slowly turn to look over his shoulder, his eyes narrowing as he glanced at Snape, as if he were making sure he wasn't doing anything that would warrant suspicion.

Cassie announced then that she and Snape would be leaving, and the room started to bustle again, this time with hugs and well wishes for a safe journey home. Cassie was happy to see that Charlie settled onto the couch between Fred and George before she left; even if he had returned to the Burrow for her, he now had a night to spend with his family that missed him dearly.

Her aunt and uncle decided to leave at the same time she and Snape did, and the four of them walked down the dirt drive together. Andromeda was warm in her final goodbyes, but her husband still seemed wary as he gave Snape a gruff handshake and a stern look, before they Apparated away.

"Your uncle seemed to like me, until he learned that we are together," Snape mused after they had Apparated back to Spinner's End, and were slowly walking up the sidewalk towards the front door.

"He's just being protective," Cassie reassured him.

"He asked me what kind of salary I make as a Hogwarts professor, while you were outside," he told her as they entered the house, "And then he asked what my intentions were with you."

Cassie snorted out a laugh. "He did not!"

"He most certainly did," he replied, sounding rather unimpressed.

"What did you tell him?"

"Arthur cut in, told him to back off."

"Well, at least one of my paternal figures kept a level head about us," Cassie said.

"Regardless, I don't appreciate being made to feel like a damn teenager about the whole thing," he growled. They were in the sitting room now, and he sat down on the threadbare couch, stretching out his legs. He looked drained, and Cassie felt rather appreciative of his willingness to come with her, to be around the people she loved, even though those types of situations were usually the last place he liked to be.

"And here you thought you'd get to avoid awkward family dynamics in dating me," she teased lightly.

"Please," he huffed, lying his head back with his eyes closed. "You bring nothing but awkward family dynamics."

She laughed at his caustic response, settling herself onto the couch with him, going to rest her head on his chest. Earlier in the day, she had intended to jump his bones as soon as they got back to show her appreciation for his efforts, but now in the calmness of being back in the house, they were both content to just be with each other, find peace in their seclusion. As he wrapped a lazy arm around her and pulled her closer to him, she felt warm and sleepy, and she reminded herself that they had plenty of time, all summer to christen the rooms of the house with their love making. For now, they could just hold each other.

Cassie had almost drifted off, when she heard an equally tired sounding Snape mumble, "Happy Birthday, Cass. I love you."

"Love you, too."