The Potion Master's Best Friend

Chapter 13- A Sneaky Beetle

The days passed and it was finally time for Julia and Severus to return to Hogwarts. They slept beside each other every single night and Severus didn't have a single nightmare.

On the seventh of January, they flooed back to Hogwarts into Severus', which was now also Julia's quarters. They looked around to see that all of Julia's stuff had been moved into this room and fitted well with Severus' black furnishings.

"So, we have no marking and no lesson plans to write, what do you want to do today?" Julia asked excitedly.

"I think we should go down to Hogsmeade for a drink. When was the last time we did that?"

"Good point! Let's go down there then. Three Broomsticks?"

"Yes, I don't like the Hog's Head. Too many bad memories." Severus' face darkened at the mention of the place where he heard the information that killed Lily.

The two walked down to the carriages hand in hand, trying to keep warm as snow was falling thick and fast. Julia stopped to stroke the Thestral that was pulling theirs. Severus looked on, smiling. They had both seen death, so they could both see the Thestral.
Severus helped Julia into the carriage like a perfect gentleman, then clambered in himself. As soon as he sat down, Julia slid onto his lap. She curled up like a cat and fell asleep, stroking his hair. It was a habit of hers, and Severus didn't mind it.

He gently woke Julia up when they arrived in Hogsmeade soon after, and he stepped down from the carriage. Severus extended his hand, which Julia didn't take. Instead, she hoisted up her robes and jumped down, falling in the fresh snow.

Severus laughed, but held out his hand to pull her up. With a sneaky smile on her face, she grabbed it and pulled him down next to her. Severus playfully glared at her, but Julia only laughed. Soon, he was laughing with her, both lying flat in the snow. The laughter died away when Julia caressed his cheek and leant in for a kiss, which he gladly returned.

They decided to go quickly to the Three Broomsticks so they didn't catch hypothermia or something equally as problematic.

Once inside, they sat down in an enclosed booth and Madam Rosmerta brought the drinks they had ordered. Severus decided not to buy his usual Firewhiskey, he was technically on a date with Julia so be would try to remain sober. He ordered a Butterbeer like she did. When Julia took a sip of her Butterbeer, it left a foamy moustache, at which Severus stifled a smirk.

Julia picked up on this and gave him a strange look, but she was smiling as well.
He picked up a serviette and gently wiped her upper lip, still sniggering. Then, with the same napkin, she wiped his lip. He hadn't noticed the addition to his cleanly-shaven face, he had been too busy mentally laughing at Julia.

After they had finished their drinks accompanied by lots of small talk, they left the pub. Around the corner, residents were creating an ice rink on the lake. Severus began to pull away as Julia expressed interest in it, but finally gave into her wheedling and soon they were skating.

Well, Julia was anyway.
Severus spent most of the time sitting on the ice after falling over many times. His cheeks were coloured, but Julia couldn't tell whether it was from the cold or embarrassment.

When they left the rink to head back up to the castle, they were stopped by a man in Ministry robes.

"Due to the bad weather, the Thestrals can't take you back up to the castle. You will have to stay the night in the Three Broomsticks or the Hog's Head. I'm sorry, Professors." The short man looked apologetic.

"Thanks for telling us, we'll be off now." Julia said before Severus could complain.

She pulled him towards the Three Broomsticks where they were shown to a room by one of Rosmerta's employees.

They stopped short at the door. There was only a double bed in the room.

"I'll leave the pair of you to it."

The young boy said and bowed out.

"Fate seems to insist we share a bed." Severus scoffed.

"That's not such a bad thing, is it?" Julia asked, sneakily raising an eyebrow.

"Never said it was."

There was silence for a few moments. That was until Julia suddenly jumped onto and rolled across the bed shouting "I bagsy this side!"

"You are such a child!" Severus dropped onto the bed and closed his eyes.

It was the sound of the howling wind that woke him up in the middle of the night. He groaned in frustration, running his hands up and down his face. Then, he looked over to Julia's sleeping form. She was curled up in the foetal position facing him, a peaceful expression on her normally tired looking face. He smiled fondly as she rolled over and draped her arm across his torso rather ungracefully. Severus expected no less, she was just as clumsy asleep as she was awake. He fell asleep soon after, comforted by Julia's peace.

When Severus awoke again in the morning, it wasn't just her arm that was on him. Julia had moved so much that her head was nearly dangling off the bed, and her torso was crossed on his. She didn't look particularly comfortable, so he gently stirred her.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to-" she murmured sleepily.

"It's fine, you were asleep."

"What time is it anyway?"

"Eight o'clock. Enough time for breakfast, before we go back up to the castle."

He rolled out of the bed and used a charm to remove the creases from his robes. Julia did the same, and tied up her hair. However, they still looked quite disheveled.

When they went down into the main bar to eat, they saw Albus and Minerva sitting at one of the booths drinking coffee together. They were smiling and laughing, much like Julia and Severus (now) did. Severus looked on, bewildered, but Julia was smiling at the pair.

"Do you think-" Severus began.

"Yep. I bet five Galleons they'll be together by the time we get back to Hogwarts!"

"Deal." The couple shook hands.

They watched in amusement as Minerva leaned in and kissed Albus' cheek.

Julia ran down to say hello, grinning like a Cheshire Cat, whilst Severus pulled out five Galleons.

"I bestow your winnings, my lady." He bowed, holding the money in the palm of his hand.

"Thanks, darling." Julia said before kissing his cheek.

"You were betting on us?" Minerva asked, frowning in mock disapproval.

"Oh, like you weren't betting on us, Minnie!" Julia teased. She had been wanting to try out that nickname for ages but never had the opportunity. She ducked her head as Minerva tried to swat her with the newspaper laying in front of them.

They were too busy laughing to notice the beetle sitting on the neighbouring table, looking very smug indeed (if a beetle can even look smug). There would be a very interesting story in tomorrow's Daily Prophet...

A/N Hello you lovely, patient people! I feel awful for making you wait so long for another chapter, I've had so much going on at the moment, it's just one concert after another! Anyway, I won't be able to write much (if at all) over Christmas as I have to revise for my mock exams but I will try to get a chapter in before I break up for the holidays. Christmas is a time for celebration, not holing yourself up in your room practicing equations (yes, I'm looking at you Maths!) and poring over Latin grammar notes! Anyway, rant over, thanks so much for reading and for being so tolerant! God, I could never be a journalist, I wouldn't be able to cope with all the deadlines! Hope you all liked the chapter at least a little bit!

~Hannah~