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If you asked Teddy Lupin, Head Boy, what his absolute favorite thing to do was, he’d say: snogging Aurora Snape, daughter of Headmaster Severus Snape and Transfiguration Professor Hermione Snape.
If you asked Teddy Lupin, Head Boy, what the most terrifying thing to do was, he’d say: snogging Aurora Snape, daughter of Headmaster Severus Snape and Transfiguration Professor Hermione Snape.
Thankfully for Teddy, Headmaster and Professor Snape were unaware that he had such experiences with their daughter. Don’t get him wrong - he wanted to shout his love for Aurora from the rooftops, but he also would like to live long enough to at least finish his Hogwarts schooling.
He hadn’t planned on falling in love with the eldest daughter of the scariest man he’d ever met. It just…well…happened. Teddy was almost three years old when Aurora was born. He didn’t understand much, just that his godfather, who he lived with, was pretty shocked that his best friend would procreate with the “Bat of the Dungeons.”
Teddy and Aurora ended up seeing a lot of each other growing up. He guessed that sort of thing happened when his godfather and her mother were best friends.
He wouldn’t admit it to anybody at the time, but when Teddy left for his first year at Hogwarts, he was glad that he would still see Aurora since she lived at Hogwarts with her parents and younger siblings. Of course, he tried to play it cool, but any glimpse of Aurora throughout the day vastly improved his mood.
Their affection didn’t become an actual relationship until the beginning of this school year. Fifth year Aurora ended up congratulating seventh year Teddy for becoming Head Boy with a peck on the lips, that turned into a real kiss, that turned into a full on snogging session in a hidden alcove by the Great Hall.
So of course, as teenagers are wont to do, snogging was what Teddy and Aurora were currently doing. The Room of Requirement had quickly become their usual meeting spot. There, they could guarantee that the headmaster would remain unaware of their current activities. A couch would always appear and that meant their cloaks usually fell to the floor in a pile.
“Oh no!” Aurora yelled, as she pushed Teddy off of her, scrambling to get up. “I’m late for tea!”
Severus Snape and his eldest always had tea together every Thursday afternoon after classes. It was his way of ensuring that while she may be living in the Slytherin dorms, she would still get quality one-on-one time with her father.
Aurora quickly grabbed her cloak, gave Teddy one last kiss on the mouth, and darted out of the Room of Requirement. She ran quickly through the halls of Hogwarts towards the headmaster’s office.
When she arrived at the gargoyle, she quickly said the password while she tried to catch her breath and fasten her cloak. The gargoyle moved aside, and Aurora ascended the staircase to her father’s office.
“I’m so sorry I’m late, Dad! I was studying and completely lost track of time,” she said as she walked to where her father was sitting behind his desk.
Severus looked up from the paperwork he was reading and carefully regarded his daughter. He squinted his eyes as he looked at her cloak.
“I was not aware you were promoted…” he cocked his head to the side, “to Head Boy?” he said with a question.
“What?” Aurora said as she looked down at her robes. There, where her Slytherin house symbol should’ve been, was the Head Boy badge. “Oh, uh…I guess I grabbed the wrong robe. Teddy and I…were, uh, studying in the library. I must’ve grabbed his instead of mine.”
Her father looked at her closely. Aurora was the spitting image of him with the exception of her mother’s nose. Now, however, her cheeks were more flushed than usual. ”Indeed? And do you often…study…with Mister Lupin?”
“Oh, you know, occasionally. He helps me if I’m struggling with a new concept,” she said, as she fumbled with the clasp on her cloak. “So, tea?”
Severus knew his daughter was trying to change the subject, and he let her, making the mental note to talk with Hermione that evening.
“Of course,” he said, guiding his daughter to the sitting area in his office, “how are your studies going?”
Later that evening, Severus sat in bed with his back against the headboard as he watched Hermione get ready for bed.
“You were always studying at Aurora’s age,” Severus said, “was there ever a time you studied so much that you switched cloaks?”
Hermione raised her eyebrow in confusion at her husband. “I can’t say that I did, but I was usually by myself so there would be no one to switch cloaks with. Why do you ask?”
“Your daughter arrived late to tea wearing that blasted Lupin boy’s cloak.” Severus muttered.
It’s not that he didn’t like Teddy, but he still struggled with separating the boy from his father.
“Wearing Teddy’s cloak? Why on earth was she wearing his cloak?”
“She said they were ‘studying’ and she accidentally grabbed his instead of hers.” Severus moved the blankets back on Hermione’s side so she could get in the bed. He laid down and pulled Hermione to him, putting an arm around her.
“And you don’t believe that’s what happened?”
“I don’t trust that boy.”
“Of course you do. You wouldn’t have made him Head Boy if you didn’t.”
“Let me rephrase, I don’t trust that boy with our daughter,” he said as he wandlessly extinguished the lights.
“Well, word in the corridors is that your daughter likes him, and I’m pretty sure he likes her back if my eyes haven’t been deceiving me.”
“Absolutely not. He will not be allowed near her.”
“Severus, you can’t stop how they feel,” Hermione said as she lifted her head to look into her husband’s eyes.
“I absolutely can. He is far too old for her.”
“If that’s not the pot calling the kettle black, I don’t know what is,” Hermione chuckled.
“You and I were different.”
“We were different. You’re nineteen years older than me instead of just two and a half.”
“This is not happening.”
“Whatever you say, love.” Hermione kissed him and then settled into his side to fall asleep.
When Teddy Lupin received summons from the headmaster at breakfast the following morning, he was pretty sure that he was a dead man walking. Aurora had told him what had happened after tea with her father as they switched back cloaks.
He had known Severus Snape all his life, and he scared the daylights out of him every time he was near. When he started to realize he was falling for Aurora, he kept thinking how he was going to face the former Death Eater turned spy. He had hoped to put that off until after Aurora had finished Hogwarts, but he realized the time was now. He knew the headmaster wasn’t stupid enough to fall for the “studying” excuse.
Teddy squared his shoulders as he said the password to the gargoyle and went up to the headmaster’s office.
“Mister Lupin,” Severus said from his desk, “take a seat.” He motioned to the chair opposite his desk.
“Good morning, Headmaster,” Teddy said, making it a point to look directly into the eyes of the man in front of him.
“I am sure you might have surmised why I called you here this morning.”
“Yes, sir. Aurora told me about the cloak mix up.” Teddy said cooly.
“My daughter may feel like she does not have to be one hundred percent truthful with me as her father. You, however, are Head Boy, so I know what comes out of your mouth next will be the entire truth. Please explain to me how my daughter came to be wearing your cloak, Mister Lupin.” Severus crossed his fingers on his desk as he stared at Teddy.
“Aurora and I were…kissing, Headmaster. We had taken off…our cloaks.” Severus raised his eyebrow, “Just our cloaks, sir! I swear!” His eyebrow came back down with the other one. “We lost track of time, and since our cloaks were in the same pile, Aurora accidentally grabbed mine in her rush to get to your weekly tea.”
“And you feel like you can take such liberties with my daughter, Mister Lupin?”
“I wasn’t taking liberties, sir. Aurora and I like each other very much. I… I’m going to be honest, sir. I love your daughter.”
“You love my daughter? The same daughter that is almost three years younger than you? You are taking advantage of her.”
“With all due respect sir, I am not taking advantage of her. We have never done anything more than kissing, and I wouldn’t expect Aurora to be ready for anything more than that. I know she is younger than me, but sir, she means everything to me. I’m not telling you the truth because I am Head Boy and you’re the headmaster. I am telling you the truth because you deserve to know the truth as her father and I am tired of hiding how we feel about each other. I want to be able to hold her hand in the hallways as we walk. I want to be able to hug her and kiss her without wondering if you or Hermione…I mean, Professor Snape…are around the corner. I want to be able to write her letters and visit her after I’ve left Hogwarts and I want to be able to cheer her on and support her as she finishes her schooling here in the next two years.”
Severus stared at the young man in front of him. There wasn’t a single thing he said that he could fault him on. He had fully expected Teddy to cower in fear and agree to never seeing his daughter again. He certainly hadn’t expected the speech he had just gotten.
Severus stood up. Teddy followed suit.
“If you hurt her…”
“I would never!” Teddy interrupted.
“If you do, they will never find your body.”
“Understood.” Teddy held out his hand. Severus looked down at the offering and shook his hand.
They both left the office and headed into the central hall. Aurora, who had been talking to a few friends, stopped mid sentence when she saw Teddy walking with her father. She watched as Teddy nodded his head at her father and walked towards her. He grabbed her hand, interlaced their fingers, and said, “let me walk you to your next class.”
Aurora looked down at their intertwined hands and then up at her father. She raised an eyebrow just like he always did. He slightly nodded then watched as Aurora and Teddy walked away, with the biggest smiles on their faces.
“Well, I certainly wasn’t expecting to see that,” Hermione said as she walked up to Severus. He looked down at his wife, offered her a rare smile, and interlaced their own hands as they walked away in the opposite direction of their daughter and Teddy.