The Aurors finally left when the winter sun was high on the horizon, cold like Narcissa Malfoy's high society smile, bringing the dead body of Zacharias Smith and freshly unswathed Trelawney with them. She alternated between wailing about slander and promising years of doom on the Aurors; it was apparently extremely bad luck to arrest a Seer. The carpet was confiscated as well, since they were still illegal in Britain. In fact, her owning it seemed to outrage the Aurors more than the wall of defaced photos, which they had studied upon arrival with vaguely bored expressions.

Harry watched them pass through the Hogwarts gates from the Matron's office window before making a detour to the bathroom to splash his face with ice-cold water and get rid of the morning stubble. Some years ago he had attempted a fashionable three-day stubble look but given up on the idea after Hermione had taken one look at him and asked if he had been having war flashbacks again.

He was glad he had never experimented with razors when the water in the sink bubbled and overflowed, and Moaning Myrtle surged out, hovering between him and the mirror. Thankfully, he was still using the spell Ron taught him in their fifth year, or Nearly-Headless Nick might have gotten himself a companion.

"The portraits are all going crazy," she said, her voice wobbling with excitement. "They say it was the Divination Professor; she killed two other people and there was a giant bird involved."

"What?" Harry asked, dumbfounded at the castle rumour mill at work.

"There are only tapestries in the Divination Corridor, and it's a wonder we could get even that from them. You try to decipher the pantomime by stick figures!"

"Nobody was killed, no giant birds," said Harry. When Myrtle did not move, he added, "And yes, it was Trelawney."

Still she did not budge, looking at him expectantly.

"Myrtle. Go away and let me finish."

"Fine," she whined and dove back into the sink with a mighty splash, leaving Harry to curse and dry his drenched clothes that were turning ice-cold very fast.

In the Hospital Wing, the Shaw siblings were joined by their parents, who had learned about Judith from David's letter just before the storm cut Hogwarts off. Harry could not even imagine how sick with worry they must have been these past few days. Mrs. Shaw was hugging her children again and again, her face tear-stained; the details of the attack on her daughter coupled with the news of her brother's death had hit her hard.

She wanted to take the children home for the rest of the holidays at once, but Harry insisted on keeping Judith in Hogwarts for another night for observation. As a Healer, he would have suggested this in any case, but he was glad for the chance to stay in the castle for one more day himself.

Emily and Calliope were still awake as well, having just finished explaining Emily's kidnapping to the Aurors. They both had sung praises to Severus, oblivious to the Aurors' souring faces, and the latest recounting already sounded more honed and colourful than the first one, told in halting whispers to David and Judith despite Harry's strict instructions to sleep. Beneath the white hospital sheets, they looked especially small and fragile, and Harry could not help but think of the young Ron, barely older than the girls, getting smashed in the head by the giant chess set, or, hell, himself facing Voldemort for the first time. They had felt so clever, so ready to tackle those dangers headfirst, heedless of their mortality. So sure of themselves. Merlin, they must have been sillier than these children here.

Voldemort was gone, but students kept getting hurt in Hogwarts. As a Headmistress, McGonagall seemed to be an improvement over Dumbledore with his laissez-faire attitude, but she was not interested in any radical changes. In fact, she had awarded back the additional hundred points Severus had deducted in an attempt to stop the girls from thanking him any more, 'for exceptional bravery', as she put it, and added another ten 'in the spirit of Christmas.' Were Harry a student, he would cheer along with Emily and Callie, but as a Healer who had been dealing the results of children's recklessness for years, he related to Severus and his discontented frown much more. They did not need that encouragement.

Someone had to look out for them, Harry thought, and he was more ready than ever to take Madam Pomfrey on her offer whenever she decided to retire. Not to mention that working under Healer Smith would become exponentially harder once she learned that he was the true target of the poison that killed her son.

Stepping out of the Hospital Wing after administering a mild sleeping drought to the exhausted but overexcited girls, Harry came face to face with a whole crowd: almost every other resident of the castle was here, eagerly awaiting answers. Trelawney's name was already being passed around.

"I'd never have thought her capable of something like that," said Oliver. He was wearing his cloak, and his broom was carefully propped against the nearest wall. His curiosity seemed to have won, however, and he was staying to learn the news. "Although if you spend your time listening to voices from teacups, who knows what they'll end up telling you. That's why I love Quidditch so much. No philosophising, just my broom and balls."

"That's not what Divination—" Alicia beside him started, only to cut herself off and shake her head. "I can't believe it either."

"She stepped on Dolores's tail again this month," Filch said in a tone of finality. "Remember that stuttering professor, Quirrell? He was fond of the bottle too, poor chap, bless his turban, so much that he would talk to the walls all the time in his last year. But he never, not once, did something like that!"

McGonagall made her way through the crowd, dark circles under her eyes more pronounced than ever. "Please proceed to the staffroom; I'm going to explain everything." She nodded to Harry who hurried over to her. "Yes, Harry, I know. I'll be on my best patient behaviour once I've made this announcement. Although I suppose I first need to notify the Board of Governors..."

"I'll make sure she finally complies with your orders, Healer Potter," Grubbly said at her side. He had just been leaving the Headmistress's office in search for McGonagall when she had invited the Aurors there for questioning at night. Apparently, McGonagall had had second thoughts about Trelawney's drunk ramblings from the day before after Severus's Legilimency had made her relive her memories of them. Grubbly had dismissed her concerns as ludicrous. Waking up in an empty bed—the detail that had made the Aurors, all of whom must have graduated Hogwarts with McGonagall as a Professor, sputter—he had correctly guessed where she had been. To Headmistress's increasing irritation, he could not stop apologising for doubting her suspicions and catastrophising the dangers she would have faced in her current weak state without Severus and Harry there. McGonagall indulged him, patiently enduring his protectiveness. Harry tried his best to hide his smile. Grubbly had grown on him over the night, and he privately thought they were a rather sweet couple.

Headmistress's speech was short and to the point, recounting the events of the night without diving into Trelawney's motivations. Harry could not be more thankful for that. Maybe it was selfish, but he wanted to delay once again being the centre of attention for just a little bit longer.

When the group dispersed from the staffroom, he spotted Madam Pomfrey coming from the Entrance Hall. Happy to see her usual busy gait, he nevertheless felt a pang of disappointment: his presence in the castle might not be needed any longer, after all.

"Oh my goodness, what happened here while I was away?" she asked. "I just popped up to see how you're faring, only to meet the Aurors escorting Sybil!"

Relieved that she did not apparently intend to stay just yet, Harry motioned to the Hospital Wing. "Let's go to your office, and I'll explain everything."

The conversation took a better part of an hour, and by the end of it, as always after talking with Madam Pomfrey, Harry was reassured that he had made the right choice with Paediatrics. He could easily talk to her for longer, but she sensed his impatience and sent him away, to see the one person who had been absent from Harry's sight the entire morning.

As the dungeons approached, he felt more and more jittery. Of course, Severus might have simply been catching up with his sleep, but somehow Harry doubted that. It was entirely possible that he had spent all morning convincing himself that having a romantic relationship with Harry—a known dunderhead and magnet for trouble—was just not worth it. The possibility of rejection cut deeper than it had any reason to after only a few days, but then these were the few days that came on top of a lifetime of having their destinies intertwined.

Harry shook his head; the destiny business staged a comeback the last night, and it was entirely unwelcome. This, however, was a path that led somewhere new. And Harry resolved to make sure that he had a chance to explore it.

Severus took his time to answer the door, although the half-drank cup Harry spotted steaming on the coffee table suggested that he had been a few feet away all the while. He let Harry in with a reserved expression that seemed to confirm Harry's worst fears.

"Potter—"

Without waiting for any undoubtedly well-crafted reasons to come from Severus's mouth, Harry lunged at him, cutting them off. He would always have an advantage when it came to words, but Harry could put all his half-formed hopes and feelings into one desperate kiss. For a moment, Severus's lips were unmoving, but then he responded just as frantically, grabbing a fistful of Harry's jumper to push him against the door.

This was everything Harry expected it to be and more, and he wrapped his arms around Severus's middle to make sure he was not going anywhere. "It's Harry, remember?" he corrected as they slowed down, leaning into the hand that came up to cup his face.

With a last, almost furtive, stroke to his cheekbone, the hand disappeared, but Harry held fast.

"Harry," Severus repeated almost musingly. "You know all the reasons to stop here just as well as I do."

"And none of them are good enough."

"Still as reckless as always. You've seen what happens to Gryffindors who don't heed warnings."

"You fly after them and catch them?"

"Brat," Severus harrumphed. "And those girls will still face consequences of their actions, believe me." He took a step back, and Harry let him, already feeling his absence. After a moment of studying Harry's face, Severus said, "You're going back to your London life, and I'm having my demanding duties here." His voice was measured. "I'm a possessive man. I would not take lightly to having you for one night and then going back to watching you gallivant with other men in the papers."

"Most of my supposed gallivanting usually takes place only in the imagination of the reporters," Harry said. "As for my London work, well. I've just had a talk with Madam Pomfrey; she returned this morning. She plans to retire after this year, and the job is mine if I want it."

"Just because—"

"No, no," Harry interrupted, realising how clingy his announcement could be interpreted. "I'd been seriously thinking about it even before I came here, but these past days settled it. It's time for me to return to Hogwarts. Not that we couldn't make it work without sharing a castle," he added. "We're wizards, after all, and Scotland is just one apparition away."

"And what would the Wizarding World think once it learns that their hero is involved with a man such as I? What would your friends think?"

"My friends just want me to be happy, and the Wizarding World wants me to be its dancing monkey. I don't care about the rot the Prophet prints, I told you already. Come to think of it, they'll probably come up with an affair between us anyway once I'm working here, just as they did with me and half of my ward. With Smith dead, the only other option is Flitwick."

"You won't be easy to dissuade, then?" Severus asked, and something told Harry that he wanted his dissuasion to work just as little as Harry himself wanted to be dissuaded.

"No."

"Very well, then. I could never prevent you from going forward with your foolhardy plans, but don't complain when it all goes horribly wrong. I did try."

Buoyant feeling rising in his chest, Harry stole another kiss.

"Ravenclaw!"

With a proud smile, Harry watched his godson join the eagles. One of the perks of Harry's new job was the opportunity to be there for him, instead of missing the milestone after milestone with his busy St. Mungo's schedule. Sitting down among the cheers and applause, Teddy caught his eyes, excitement watered by just a dash of uncertainty, even though Harry had made sure Teddy knew that he would be equally happy with any decision of the Sorting Hat. He gave his godson a thumbs up. Between Andromeda and Severus, introduced to him some months ago, Harry almost expected Teddy to be convinced to choose Slytherin, but it seemed his inquisitive nature won.

The next firstie, a tiny girl with an angelic face and pigtails, was sent to Gryffindor the moment the hat touched her head, and Harry resolved to keep an eye on her. Especially as she sat next to Emily, who drew her into some lively conversation right away. Callie waved at him from her other side, and Harry smiled. Something told him that they would not let him get complacent here at Hogwarts.

"The newest addition to the troublemakers is already conspiring with the worst reprobates, Merlin help us." Apparently, Severus was having similar thoughts.

"Admit it, you grew fond of the girls by the end of those detentions," Harry said. Severus was vague on what exactly they did there, but by the end of April, Callie was no longer afraid to approach a boiling cauldron, and by the end of May, she was one of the best Potions students in her year. "You even seriously considered cutting them short." Of course, Severus's efforts somewhat backfired, as the cauldron became another tool in their arsenal of trouble.

"Perhaps. But that was before the Grand Gerbil Debacle."

"You didn't like the Defence temp anyway." The man managed to hit on Harry every time he visited the castle, and Harry suspected that Severus played a much more active part in driving the overly-friendly Professor Orbison away than he let on.

The Headmistress delivered a short speech and motioned for the feast to begin. Between Trelawney's case and Grubbly's scandalous divorce from the Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot, Harry's relationship with Severus went relatively unnoticed by the headlines. By contrast, the reporters pestered McGonagall relentlessly on both. Faint guilt gnawed at Harry at how grateful he was to her for avoiding the front pages this once.

Digging into a generous piece of steak and kidney pie, Harry sighed contentedly. He thought about his new office and the quarters he now shared with Severus. They had argued about the logistics of the move for the better part of the summer, ready for this next step but realising their duties called for them to be within the students' reach at any time. In the end, they had not needed to worry: when Harry had arrived att the Hospital Wing a week before the start of the school year, the door to his personal rooms led from his office straight to Severus's quarters, freshly expanded. He still had a couple of boxes to unpack, but his lime-green Healer robes already hung alongside Severus's black ones in the wardrobe. Not that Harry intended to wear them now he was not with St. Mungo's anymore, but it was fun to convince Severus that he was.

Even though Severus had warned him that the next few weeks would be hectic, Harry privately hoped they would have a chance for a small private celebration after the feast was over. Maybe they could—

"Coleman!"

The Slytherin part of the Great Hall was in a commotion around an upper-year girl collapsing over the table. With another, much different, sigh, Harry stood up, just as Severus did the same. Celebrations would have to wait.

The End.

Thank you for reading!

A/N: This fic was conceived in December last year, and I hoped to have it written by March, but here I am, finishing my Christmas story during some of the worst July heatwaves. Hope you enjoyed it!