It was easier for the two lovers to be close to each other that year.

It wasn't a surprise that Cedrella and Septimus had passed their exams with amazing results and were now taking N.E.W.T classified classes. The days and nights they had spent studying together, amongst other things, was enough for the both of them to be in as many classes together as possible. Cedrella couldn't be any happier as she sat next to her boyfriend while listening to Professor Slughorn explain the expectations for such a high class. They held hands under the desks, and arms wrapped each other as they talked to their friend. No fear in sight, not even the threats of the Malfoy boy.
Cedrella looked at him in the common rooms, but only shared a smile as she walked to the girl's dormitories. It was a dream come to life for the both of them. Neither family was getting any news from them, bad or good, and neither Septimus or Cedrella wanted to ruin the moments with a letter from their parents.

During Care of Magical Creatures, Septimus loved to stand back and stare at her as she grinned carefully feeding the creatures and helping the professor. It was the moment that oddly, Septimus had fallen for her once again. It was the delicate fingers flipping the pages and her toothy grin as she got something right. It was the scars that surrounded her wrists from the last session Cedrella had gone through with her sisters, but it didn't matter to him. It was the woman he knew he couldn't let go. And that was the plan that he had in mind. The first quarter of the year had passed by in a flash. Septimus and Cedrella sat close, reading their own material and jotting down notes to share with each other after their study session.
"Are you going home?" She asked him, as they walked hand in hand to their common rooms.
"I don't think so. Mum and Dad wanted to go somewhere fancy. And while I do love a good travel, I like being home the most. Yourself?" Cedrella laughed, shaking her head.
"Over my dead, body. Can you imagine what my mother will tell me if Malfoy really did tell them what he saw? I would be locked up in the attic if anything until I get married with someone they accept."
"You shouldn't be afraid about it."
"And I'm not, Timmy." They had stopped walking and looked at each other. "There is no way in this world that I'm going to be afraid of my parents. Especially my mother."
"Your mother scares me the most." Septimus admitted making Cedrella laugh, and grab his face with her hands. "What? She's so silent and a killer smile on her face."
"And what's wrong with the killer smile and the silence?"
"Nothing. It's just different from your mother and you."
"You're scared of my mother. What type of Lion are you?" Septimus laughed and kissed both of her hands before grabbing them into his.
"One of a kind."

*

Christmas was quiet that year at the Black's household. Callidora and Cheris knew that their younger sister had stayed at school just to spent her holidays with the Weasley boy. Her father also started to have his suspicions, but trusted his daughter that she was staying to only study for the Exams. After all, Cedrella truly enjoyed the idea of becoming a Healer, a career that only accepted the best. It gave him a peace of mind but not completely. What the girls did not know was that someone already knew.

Lysandra Black knew.

She knew that her daughter had stayed at school for a reason. She was not slow and knew that her husband was covering for the girl. After all, it was his youngest daughter and wanted nothing but not let her own anger unleash on the girl. It was the day after work where Lysandra had argued with Anwen Weasley about the same thing as always. The purity and the rights. She knew that the Weasley's were struggling financially, and she took pride of that. An opportunity to make her family seem higher, but her daughter didn't want it to be that way. She kept quiet. It was cute from her perspective that Cedrella kept hiding sensitive matters from her.
"Darling, are you okay?" Lysandra smiled at her husband and nodded. "Happy Christmas, my love."
"Happy Christmas, darling."