I woke to the sound of an owl. Particularly, (Y/N)'s owl. Slowly, my eyes opened and focused on the feathered creature perched on the wardrobe. It's dark eyes held contact with mine for a couple seconds before flying out of the room. Rubbing the bridge of my nose, I collected my thoughts. Peering down at my chest I notice (Y/N) occupied the space, sleeping soundly. Goosebumps formed on my skin as I noticed the lack of clothing on either of our bodies. There were a handful of garments strewn across the room. Memories of the previous night flooded my mind instantly, causing my face to redden. In my moment of realization, I pulled the duvet closer to the both of us, as the room was rather cold. The memories brought a flurry of emotions to surface inside of me and caused a small smile to form. My thoughts were interrupted at the sound of another's voice.

"Severus.." Looking back down at my chest, I saw (Y/N) lift her head sleepily and attempt to open her eyes to look at me.

"Good morning, love." I replied with a smile.

"Love? I like that.." (Y/N) replied with a weak chuckle.

She lowered her head and closed her eyes once more, though not for long, as she then had the same realization as I did to our current state. Her eyes raised to meet mine and I noticed as her cheeks reddened,

"That actually happened..."

"That it did." I replied in a calm manner.

After seconds of a deafening silence,

(Y/N) emits a quiet chuckle and tucked an arm behind my neck in a tight embrace.

"I never thought this would happen so soon." She stated as she smiled into my shoulder.

I held (Y/N) close and responded,

"Neither did I."

Realizing how late in the day we had woken up, (Y/N) and I decided it would be sensible to get dressed and prepare our luggage. These tasks took a mere half hour, leaving us another hour to prepare a late breakfast.

After eating, I draped my cloak over my shoulders and pinned the ends together with the decorative clasp

(Y/N) gifted me the previous night. I was having quite a bit of trouble adjusting the clasp so it did not hang loosely.

(Y/N) had noticed my action and walked up to adjust it for me. It felt secure after she futzed around with it. She gave me a smile and then left to retrieve her remaining luggage.

Once everything was set, the two of us apparated to King's Cross Station.

Severus and I had arrived at the Station just in time, as the train was scheduled to leave shortly. With a sigh, I let myself fall into the cushioned seats of the train and set Benny's cage down near my feet. Severus sat across from me and peered out the window as soon as the train began moving.

For the beginning of the train ride, I decided to make some memory sketches of things I saw passing by outside the train. My hand began to ache after a good half hour of non-stop sketching, so I decided to set the sketchbook to the side. Severus was still looking out the window in deep thought when I peered up at him,

"What are you thinking about?"

Severus inhaled deeply through his nose and turned to face me with a hum as his response. One leg was crossed over the other while his right arm rested against the window, his hand forming a loose fist under his chin for support.

"I was wondering.."

I cut my sentence short in order to get up and sit beside Severus,

"..what you were thinking about."

Severus processed the question and responded,

"Would you believe me if I said you?"

"Obviously. I mean, what else would there be for you to think about 30 minutes straight?" I replied with a sense of pride.

Severus chuckled at my response and pulled me closer with his left arm. He then placed a gentle kiss on my forehead before relaxing into the cushioned seats.

"It's snowing again." I pointed out.

Severus hummed in response, seeming as though he were about to fall asleep. I decided it would probably be beneficial to me if I rested my eyes as well, so that's exactly what I did.

°••°°••°°••°

I was awoken to the sound of the train's whistle, letting me know that we were arriving at Hogsmeade Station. Severus seemed to have already been awake and looked at me once he noticed my movement.

I smiled up at him and said,

"Hey."

"Good evening." Severus replied before standing from his seat.

I peered out the window and noticed how dark it had become. It was probably around 7pm by now.

Severus and I left the compartment and walked over to where a majority of the students were grouped up.

Since Severus and I were some of the few faculty members that were at the station, we walked at the back end of the group to make sure no one fell behind. Halfway through our trek, I began noticing how cold it actually was outside and rubbed my hands over my arms to gain some warmth back.

I was relieved from the freezing temperatures as soon as Severus had draped part of his cloak around me,

"Thank you, Severus."

"You're welcome, (Y/N)." Severus responded, making sure the cloak didn't fall off my shoulders.

As we neared Hogwarts, the environment became warmer due to the sconces that lined the bridge. Once inside the castle, everyone headed straight for the Great Hall, where dinner would soon be served. Severus and I took our seats at the Professor's table and were quickly greet by Callaghan,

"Good evening you two! How was your holiday?"

"It was great, thanks for asking, Callaghan. How was yours?" I replied.

"I ended up staying here this holiday. Decided to use my time organizing and preparing things for future DADA lesson's." Callaghan explained to me.

I nodded in response as the food appeared on each and every table in the Great Hall.

Finally. I was starving.

°