The minute his eyes read 'Asphodel makes people fall in love with you,' his head hit his desk with a loud thump.

"Why, oh why, did I decide to come back this year?" he asked aloud with a loud groan.

"Um . . ." a soft familiar voice interrupted soon after. "Do you want me to come back?"

Severus sighed heavily before he slowly lifted his head and glanced at his son. "Help restore my faith, will you, brat, and define asphodel?" He caught Harry's smirk instantly. "Please?"

"Asphodel is a member of the lily family and found all over Europe," the young man began, sounding strangely enough like his father. "It's known for being used in the Draught of Living Death."

"Thank you," Severus replied in relief, lifting his head up all the way now.

Harry shrugged. "Anytime." He headed over to his father's desk and glanced down at the small pile of essays Severus still had to mark. "Are they really that bad?"

"Worse." He pushed them aside happily and gave his son his full attention. "What brings you down here today? I thought you were going to be studying with Miss Granger in the library again."

"Yeah, well, Malfoy beat me to her today."

"Ah." Draco was clearly taking after his father already, it seemed. He'd have to remember to speak with Lucius later and make sure young Draco knew all the consequences before things got too far.

"They're going for a walk around the lake. Course, Ron was his usual self when he saw them together, but Hermione took care of that."

"Oh?" Severus sat a bit straighter.

"Yeah, she punched him."

Severus's brow raised, but he said nothing. Secretly, he decided he'd award her points later.

"But it was when she drew her wand, that he really got the message. I've never seen him run that fast before."

Biting the inside of his cheek to keep from chuckling, Severus nodded silently. Granger would get at least 500 points now.

"Is that what my life is going to be like now? Watching Ron and Malfoy fight over her all the time?" Harry asked suddenly. "I mean, was that what it was like with you and James?"

Severus paused and thought for a minute. Instinctively, he wanted to tell the boy it wasn't, as it was much worse, but . . .

"It was more complicated than that, but yes. Once that phase starts, it brings about very turbulent years. Decades even." Or longer, he added in his head.

"Great," Harry said sarcastically. "Everyone's going to go bonkers around me."

"As will you, brat," Severus quietly declared. "Adolescents, by their very nature, are hormonal monsters. It's not something you can truly control, as your body is trying to figure itself out. At times you'll find yourself at an extreme for no apparent reason other than the day of the week is Tuesday."

"So you're saying that someday I'll get upset just because it's Tuesday?"

"Yes." Severus shrugged slightly. "It's my experience, though, that young ladies tend to have it worse, though. Males only get possessive and angry, whereas females tend to sob, laugh hysterically, punch things randomly, you name it. Every emotion known to man has the chance to be exhibited by a young lady during these years. Sometimes you won't even know why they're mad at you. They just are. And then you spend the next two days trying to figure out what you did, when it wasn't anything you actually did."

"Then the reason Ron is acting like such a git is because he's upset with Malfoy being so close to Hermione now?"

"Ah, well, I couldn't tell you for certain if that's the case, but I'm certain it's part of it." Or it was just Weasley was a git.

"So, if you know we're all hormonal monsters, why do you teach?"

"A question I've been asking myself for the better half of the past hour, I assure you," Severus drawled, rubbing the back of his neck. He supposed he could tell Harry a little bit about himself. Aurora certainly had revealed quite a bit about herself to the boy a few weeks ago. "The Dark Lord required someone to keep him updated on all of Albus's movements. So, I offered my services, as I had already at this point decided to change my allegiance from the Dark Lord to the Headmaster." Harry nodded as he listened. "I was given the available Potions position and made Head of Slytherin. I . . ." He sighed quietly. "I suppose you could say that as time passed, I became more comfortable here than I had been anywhere else. I had access to a fully stocked Potions lab whenever I wanted with the understanding that I could use all of the resources available to procure numerous ingredients that otherwise would have been unavailable to me. I was not in Azkaban. Always a plus. And I had power over others, something I rarely ever felt."

"And now?"

"And now I, well, I suppose I can't see myself being anywhere else. Hogwarts is my home."

"Yeah."

"I'm glad I've stayed here as long as I have, though. I'd have missed meeting you and Aurora."

"You're going to get all lovesick again, aren't you?" Harry asked with a grimace. "Because, really, I see enough of that with Malfoy that I don't need to see you doing it too."

"I do not get 'lovesick,' brat."

"Yeah, you sort of do, Dad. Like, take last night for example. It was sort of obvious that you were hanging off Mum's every word when she was telling us about her wanting a dog."

"I just happened to enjoy—"

"Face it, Dad. You love her. Like, really, really love her. To the point where you should, you know, ask her something."

Severus raised a brow. "If I'm lovesick, then what are you, brat? Desperate to be a brother?"

Harry shrugged. "Yeah, but I don't lie to myself and say I'm not."

"There are a great many reasons why I cannot ask Aurora to marry me right now."

"Yeah? Name one." Harry crossed his arms defiantly.

"We've only had one date, and that was promptly ruined by men trying to kidnap her last year," Severus drawled, kicking himself internally for answering the brat.

"So? Ask her out on another one then."

"It's not that simple."

"Dad, if you're worried about me, it's okay. I don't need a babysitter. I can handle having a night alone while you two are out together. I am thirteen now."

"Where would I even take her?"

"I don't know. A walk under the stars?"

Severus glanced out one of the windows and noticed the little beads of rain droplets streaking down the glass. No doubt, the Dementors were out there as well. Date was out. Unless they did it inside.

"Reason two, weddings do not prove love," he said a moment later.

"No, you acting like an idiot proves that."

"Excuse me?"

"I guess it's time. I should've told you this awhile back, but, well, sometimes when you think no one's paying attention, I see you running into things when you're staring at Mum. Or all the times you brush a bit of her hair back. Or, well, let's not forget the infamous towel incident."

Severus stared at his son blankly. Had he truly done all those things?

"You love her, Dad. I get it."

His head fell once more against his desk. Since when had he become one of those smitten lovesick boyfriends? He used to be the bastard of the dungeons!

"Ask her out on another date. Focus on you . . . as a couple."

He glanced sideways at Harry and caught the cheeky grin.

"You know you want to." Oh, Merlin did he ever want to. "So, go ask her already. Unless you're scared?" Harry's grin widened.

"Your attempts to goad me into acting like a foolish Gryffindor—"

"Yep, I knew it. You're scared." Harry then shrugged and turned to head for the door.

"Where do you think you're going, brat?"

"The library. Because that appears to be where all the smart people who aren't love-struck go," Harry quipped before he walked out of the room. "Ask her," he called over his shoulder before he disappeared completely.

Severus slowly picked up his head and glanced at the remaining pile of essays on his desk. Marking abysmal essays or ask Aurora out on a date? He grimaced as he stared at the pile. Essays or Aurora? Essays—full of utter crap—or Aurora—whom he'd look like an idiot in front of? Essays or . . .

"Ah, fuck it," he declared, pushing the essays far from him. He'd choose to look like an idiot in front of Aurora every time.

Now, if he only knew where she was. She had left earlier to go for a walk, but that had been hours ago. He sighed as he walked out of his office and into the corridor. Normally, he'd check his rooms first, but the empty portrait told him she wasn't there. So, he started towards McGonagall's office. She'd likely speak with her mentor, or had spoken with her at some point on this ungodly long walk. Not that he was worried. He trusted her.

"Baron!" he called out a few steps later. He waited for the Slytherin ghost to reappear. "Where is Aurora currently?" he asked as soon as the silvery apparition appeared.

"With Professor Lupin in the Defense classroom, sir," the Baron calmly replied.

"She's where?" His heart started pounding furiously in his chest.

"With Professor Lupin, sir, in the Defense classroom," the ghost repeated.

"Damn it, Aurora," Severus growled before he took off running. Didn't she know what Lupin was? On second thought, she likely didn't. As he sprinted towards the classroom, in the back of his mind he counted the days until the last full moon. His heart sank as he realized that it'd be tomorrow night. From one near death to another . . . it had to stop at some point, right?

Barreling full speed against the Defense classroom door several minutes later, he burst in, wand drawn and at the ready. "Get away from my witch, Wolf!"