"Sometimes I think people lie about not holding on to old grudges"
~
After the events of that night, Hecate woke up the next morning in his bed alone. She had gotten up, tossed her clothes on from the previous night, her core still sore. She went downstairs, found him sitting in the kitchen once again with a mug of coffee. He had once again made her another cup sat her down and waiting for her to finish. He told her that what had happened the previous night was a mistake, never to be repeated. Hecate had many emotions follow through with his statement, used, torn, confused. She was very good at masking and had plenty of practice, so naturally, she smiled at him and agreed. She left her cup sitting on the table and left.
She went straight back to The Burrow, no one had questioned her whereabouts, assuming she spent the night with the twins. She went upstairs and collapsed on her bed. That was how she spent the rest of the days at the house, sleeping, or interacting with the kids. They were excited when she had broken the news that Dumbledore offered her a teaching assistant position last year. She was going to follow the sixth years around to their classes, she didn't tell them that she knew the real reason behind Dumbledore offering her the job. He wanted her to follow Harry around, assuming her loyalty to him was as thick as her and Harry's fathers were to each other, he had assumed correctly.
Harry's birthday had come around quickly, Hecate was finally excited to spend time with him on his birthday. She hadn't gotten to ever really. Everyone celebrating with cake, and of course Remus brought bad news to the table. Igor Karkaroff was dead, Ollivander and Fortescue taken from their shops. This was felt like the last one with everyone disappearing.
Hecate remained curled up on her spot on the couch. Everyone sat around eating, chattering, the owls arrived with school lists and Molly spoke of planning a trip to get the supplies. An extra owl arrived for her and landed on the arm of the couch next to her. It wasn't one of the school owls, she took the letter off the owl's leg, patted it on the head a bit before it shot off through the window again. Remus gave her a curious look, the only one noticing the owl was not from the school. She shot a look back that signaled to him to mind his business. She opened the letter and began reading it.
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Hecate folded the paper up, stood up, and moved to the fireplace. She tossed in the parchment, now really conflicted in her feelings. She avoided these types of situations; she never did do well with her emotions. She closed her eyes and inhaled deeply. Something touched her shoulder, which caused her to jump. "Don't do that!" She spun around, only to see Remus standing behind her. "Pop, you shouldn't sneak up on people like that". She crossed her arms, trying to give him her best-annoyed look.
"Who was the letter from?" Remus' eyes glanced around her and into the fire behind her. Hecate shook her head, "Snape. He wanted my help with something". Remus blinked a few times, before proceeding with his line of questioning.
"Help with what?"
"Getting ready for school."
"He can't do that alone?"
"Maybe he just wants to prepare me for my duties in September."
"Maybe he wants to prepare you for something else."
Hecate huffed at this, no longer teasing Remus with an annoyed look. "What's that supposed to mean?" she snarled at him. Remus shrugged and put his hands out innocently as if he meant nothing by it. "Just want you to be careful is all." Hecate shook her head, Remus turning around and walking away from her. She watched as he said something to Harry, before walking away from him too. Sometimes Hecate believed that parents really did know everything, even if they didn't say anything.
Harry walked over to her next, it was his birthday, but of course moody as ever. She smiled at him and pulled him into a hug. For the two of them, no words were needed. He hugged her back and pulled away. "You okay?" she questioned him. He smiled at her and nodded. "Evil wizard has been trying to kill me since I was only a year old, people are dying, and being taken. It's fantastic, Happy Birthday to me." Hecate smiled and shook her head at him. He may look like James, but Lily came out when he talked all sass and sarcasm. "Want me to sneak you some Firewhiskey?" She spoke a little bit louder this time, Molly turning to shoot her a look. Hecate smiled at her, just kidding, she mouthed. This made the corners of Harry's mouth turn into a small smile. Mission accomplished.
Harry glanced at the remains of the letter in the fireplace, and then met her eyes. "So, Snape sent you a letter? What did he want?" Of course, Remus sent him over. "Trying to get information, Potter?" She rolled her eyes and turned back to face the fireplace once more. "Yeah, Remus thinks Snape wants more than help with paperwork", he quietly said, not wanting anyone else around to hear them. "Sometimes I think people lie about not holding on to old grudges", she sighed.
"I'm sure that's all he wants Harry, don't worry about it too much."
