Romeo and Juliet (Book 1) - SS x OC

Chapter 13 - Special Guests

It was only thirty minutes past seven in the morning when Team Hogwarts left their suite, so they still had time to stuff their stomachs full. They went down to the base of the hotel where there was a breakfast buffet and a reserved table waiting for them. In the chairs sat a black, bald man wearing a cap that was sort of similar to Dumbledore's, a warm-looking ginger-haired man in a scruffy suit with an uncanny resemblance to the Weasley siblings, a young lady with pink hair and funny choice of clothing, and to her delight, her godfather-slash-uncle.

"Remus!" Renee exclaimed and ran towards him to give him a huge hug, almost knocking him down. "I missed you! How are you? Did you get my present?"

"I missed you more, my dearest pumpkin! I'm all right, and yes, I definitely did," Remus locked their embrace for a few more seconds before letting go. "In fact, this round stomach right here is all your fault. I finished them all in one sitting," he proudly said, rubbing his tummy. "Did you get mine?"

"Yeah, thanks so much! But unlike you, I'm actually saving some for a rainy day," she stuck my tongue out playfully, then grinned.

"I see we have a family reunion here," Dumbledore and the others caught up;  Severus looked glum and uncomfortable as he avoided looking at the visitors. "Lovely to see you all, Kingsley, Arthur. I'm glad you were able to join us Remus. Oh, and you've brought along Nymphadora too."

"You can just call me Tonks, professor," the young lady impatiently but politely corrected.

"She insisted to tag along," Kingsley whispered loudly enough for everyone to hear. Tonks blushed massively and her pink hair turned into magenta. Renee was quite fascinated by the lady, for it was her first time seeing a metamorphmagus. Kingsley then began to give some sort of reports about the ministry to the professors as the three youngsters began doting on their ex-DADA mentor that they obviously missed.

"Hello, Professor Lupin," Hermione greeted Remus.

"Hello, Hermione, how's Harry and Ron?" Remus asked her. "Hope they're not causing too much trouble anymore," he winked.

"Indeed, Ron can be quite reckless." the ginger man said, then suddenly turned to me. "Hello there, you must be Renee. Fred has told me all about you! I'm Arthur Weasley, their one and only father," he introduced cheerfully.

"Hello, Mr. Weasley! It's nice to meet you. Yeah, Fred and George are my best friends."

"Well, any best friend of our sons is welcome anytime to our home," Mr Weasley beamed. "Though the way he described you to me, it seems that you're more than just a best friend," he whispered, causing Renee to laugh awkwardly. She just smiled and shrugged as he patted her back, avoiding the guilt she felt in her gut.

"Hello, Remus' cousin!" Tonks had her hand outstretched to Renee, grinning. Her hair was now yellow. "Renee, right?"

"Yes, and also Remus' goddaughter," she laughed and shook her hand. "Hi, Tonks, nice to meet you. So you're a--"

"A metamorphmagus, yes. Nice to meet you too! Remus has been telling me stories about you," Tonks said excitedly. "Is it true that you're a Slytherin? It doesn't seem like it. And I heard you're already seventeen, I'm nineteen! How was it in Beauxbatons? Is their food that awful? Your accent is lovely, by the way! Can you do an English one?" she asked without pause.

Renee was about to answer her consecutive questions when they were interrupted. "Nym... phadora. You are supposed to be at Hogwarts with the other Aurors guarding the students. What is the purpose of your presence here?" Severus silkily asked, his demeanour overwhelming.

"D-don't call me Nymphadora, Snape," Tonks nervously said."I was just here to... to support the team," she reasoned so unnervingly that her hair was now green and her ears were beginning to get bigger.

"As if we need 'supporters'," Severus retorted, annoyed. It seemed like he wanted to scold her more, but he held himself back after seeing the confused expression on her face.

"What's with all this tension here, folks?" Kingsley suddenly joined in "Oh, hello, Yule Ball queen. Kingsley Shacklebolt, ministry official and undercover secretary for the muggle Prime Minister," he introduced and shook Renee's hand.

"Hello, Mr. Shacklebolt. I'm Renee Capulet. Nice to meet you," she greeted, giggling at the reference. "Were you there?"

"Call me Kingsley. Yes, I certainly was, and I'm telling you, if they gave out an award for lady of the night, it would definitely be given to you," Kingsley winked. "You're very pretty. You look nothing like Remus," he joked. It became a habit of Renee's to steal glances at Severus' direction, and it didn't surprise her when she saw that he was stiff and stern, not wanting to be a part of the little group or conversation any longer.

"Hey, hey, why do I sense some dissing over there?" Remus jested. Kingsley gave him a fist bump. "Renee, love, I'm not going to be here for long," Remus whispered to her. "The anti-werewolf legislation had not been passed yet, but the other officials have their eye out on my kind, so it's better if I continue to lay low. I just wanted to see you and wish you good luck. I'm sure you'll bring home the bacon. You got your brilliance from me, after all!" he grinned.

"Okay, no worries. Thanks a lot, Remmy! I sure hope so," Renee sighed, and gave him another hug.

"Alrit everyone, I'm positive that we are all starving now. To our guests, since you all made an endearing effort to visit us, you may be the first ones to knacker the buffet table." Dumbledore gleefully invited.

•••

After a considerable amount of time in participating in the little social gathering, Severus and Renee went ahead of the team to do some last minute practice before the dueling proper would begin. Remus had to leave as well; when ministry officials began to show up from all around. Weirdly though, after Tonks pressed that she wanted to 'support' the team, the metamorphmagus said she felt guilty about leaving her post at Hogwarts and abandoning her fellow Aurors, so she left with  Remus. Renee decided that was for the best; at least Tonks could drop him off to wherever, and she wouldn't have to worry about his safety.

Team Snape walked towards the Pierre Bonaccord Building, hoping to find a vacant room where they could do some last minute hex exchange. He remained silent throughout the whole journey, and she was too busy being simultaneously distracted and nervous to gather up the courage to talk to him, so when she got a hold of myself, she held his hand gently.

"Are you okay?" Renee asked, making him stop walking.

Severus squinted as the sun shone on his face, and he looked a lot calmer than moments ago. "Quite. And you?"

"I'm still alive," she shrugged, making the corner of his lips curve slightly up.

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**IMPORTANT NOTE**

Chapters 14 and 15 are currently saved as drafts (Unpublished). They will be back REAL SOON after I change their POVs!