Disclaimer: I do not own or ever would claim to own the fabulous Harry Potter characters. I merely like to toy with their pasts on occasion and throw in my own elements. Enjoy.

Sharing a Moment

Rain makes the most beautiful tinkling sound when it strikes metal, was the thought that drifted through Davyn Brodie's mind as she sat atop one of the many towers of Hogwarts Castle. The rain weighed her curly auburn hair down, turning the usual bouncy strands into dripping waves and gluing them to her cheeks. Scattered around her were several overturned buckets, all set upside down or on their sides so that she might hear the music they made when the rain struck them.

"Davyn?"

Water sprayed from her hair as she jerked her head around, startled by the sound of her name being called. Her hazel eyes quickly found who was calling her and she let out a frustrated sigh.

"You know Sirius, I come up here to avoid you…"

Sirius Black smirked as he strode confidently across the rain slick stones and knelt beside the beautiful, rain soaked fifth year. "Now why on earth would you want to avoid me? And why here, in the rain? You'll catch your death."

Davyn didn't answer either of his questions as he wouldn't like the answers and simply allowed him to sweep her up and back into the castle.

"So, why were you avoiding me," Sirius asked, never one to allow his questions to go unanswered.

Davyn sighed. "Isn't it obvious? I needed some time alone. Not that I don't adore your company but sometimes I just need a little time away from you."

"Time away from me? Nonsense. That's like taking time away from oxygen. You could possibly die."

Davyn snorted. "Hardly. You know, you smother me sometimes with all of your 'love'."

"Do I? I don't mean to. It's merely that I'd rather not allow someone else to turn your head."

"Oh dear. And who on earth could turn my silly little head from you, Sirius?"

Sirius shrugged. They had reached the Gryffindor common room. As they entered they were greeted by Sirius' friends.

"Look what the cat dragged in," said James Potter. Peter who was right behind him snickered.

Remus wrinkled his nose in distaste at the pair's waterlogged appearance.

"Where have you two been," he asked.

"I found this one up on the tower. She claims to be avoiding me," Sirius announced as he threw an arm around Davyn's shoulders.

She made a face at the way he made the statement, as though she weren't serious about being away from him.

"I was avoiding you. You're a pain." She shrugged him off and went to snatch a Licorice Wand from the pile of sweets that sat beside James.

"Hey!"

She smiled as she stuck her tongue out at the older boy and tore off a piece of the candy with her teeth.

She was just about to plop down in front of the fire when Sirius came up behind her, slipping his arms around her waist as he leaned around her to nip a bit off of her stolen treat. She glared at him and gave him a soft swat on the wrist before turning to the others.

"Do you see how annoying he is?"

James and Peter gave her silly smirks but Remus seemed absorbed in some book that he had taken up after her arrival.

"I'm not annoying. You love the attention."

"I could do without it."

"I doubt it."

Davyn slipped from his grip and then stood on her tiptoes, taking the ends of her long hair in her hands and twisting it so that the water rung from it dripped down Sirius' shoulders and back. Despite being six months her senior, the squeal that Sirius made sounded far more like that of a six year old girl. Davyn giggled and shook her hair out before heading up the stairs to the girls' dormitories.

"Where are you going," called Sirius.

"To change of course. You don't expect me to stay in these wet clothes?"

"But you're so cute in them."

Davyn stuck her tongue out and continued on her way.

When she returned fifteen minutes later she found Remus and James at a game of chess while Peter sat on the sidelines cheering every time one of James' pieces smashed one belonging to Remus. Sirius was sprawled in one of the armchairs in front of the fireplace, one leg thrown over the arm of the chair as he waved his wand as though conducting an orchestra only he could hear. As Davyn passed on her way to engage the boys at chess in something more group oriented Sirius caught hold of her and pulled her onto his lap.

"You're really a thickhead," she said as she made an attempt to pull away from him.

"Not really. I just know what I want. And I'm persistent."

"Perhaps you shouldn't persist so much." And with that she slipped his grip and settled beside the boys at chess. As she sat down Remus gave coordinates for a knight to move. As the chess piece moved into place Remus announced, "Checkmate!"

Peter stared at the chessboard, stupefied. It had seemed to him that James would win but James didn't seem in the least surprised to have lost.

"That's pretty amazing, Remus," he said as he stood up from the game and stretched.

"Thank you, but really there's nothing amazing about it. It's simple strategy." Remus began to clear away the chessboard as Peter continued to stare in bewilderment at the place where the board had been.

"So, what are you boys planning to do with the rest of the afternoon?" Davyn asked.

"I was thinking we should get to work on that paper for Potions," Remus said, always the most studious of the boys.

Sirius began to complain but Davyn was quick to shut him up in siding with Remus. Her opinion on the subject thus established, Sirius also was now in favor of beginning the assignment -which was only requiring a few finishing touches where Davyn and Remus were concerned and half completed by James. The other two had a lot of work ahead of them and it was determined that they should all make a trip to the library for a bit of research.

Sitting at one of the long tables that filled a portion of the library each member of the group was at some enterprise or other. Remus sat reading a book as he had completed his assignment in a matter of minutes. Davyn was dashing off a thorough conclusion to her paper. James had no time for writing as his favorite flavor of eye candy, that is the flavor of Lily Evans, sat two tables away from theirs. As he was not paying much attention to his paper, Sirius deemed it appropriate to "borrow" that bit of parchment. Peter sat staring at the pages of some large volume, his face screwed into a grimace as if he were trying to decipher some ancient script.

The peaceful occupation of the group was interrupted when a thin, sallow young man with a large nose and long, greasy, black hair took up a position at the table between Lily's and the gang's there by blocking James' view.

"Hey! Slimeball," James called. "You're blocking my view!"

Davyn looked up from her work to see who James addressed. When she saw the hunched figure of the frequently harassed Severus Snape she was quick to smite her companion. But already the damage had been done. James' taunt had alerted Sirius to the presence of his favorite prey and he began his own ridicule of the much abused chap.

Sirius stood, stalked casually over to Snape's table and sat down.

"Hey ugly, why don't you get out of here? You're making us all sick."

Snape looked up from his work but said nothing.

"What's that you're working on?" Sirius asked, snatching the parchment from under Snape's spidery fingers.

Again Snape did not respond. It was like that sometimes. He would alternately participate in name calling or sit silently and allow others to pester him until he could take no more, in which case his tormenter tended to end up in the infirmary. Today he seemed prepared to take the ridicule and merely watched as Sirius continued with his taunts and barbs, waiting to get a rise out of him.

As Sirius moved into harsher derision of a silent Snape, Davyn watched, her own sense of the injustice pouring an angry flame into her cheeks. She could see from her seat that the same flame was coloring Snape's cheeks and that the lad was not likely to allow the verbal abuse to continue for many moments longer. Already his fingers were twitching for his wand.

Though she did not have any true fondness for Sirius she did not want to see him maimed which seemed be his imminent fate if he did not desist. Covertly she aimed her wand at Sirius and muttered a quick spell.

Sirius shrieked and leapt up, staring in horror at his hand which had recently developed hideous large boils, which also occupied all other areas of skin that could be seen and –as Davyn knew- those unseen.

On Snape's face there was a mixture of shock, satisfaction and more than a bit of irritation –surely at the fact that he hadn't been the one to hex Sirius. Glancing at Sirius' friends he was surprised to find that Davyn shared his looked of satisfaction. Confused and humiliated, he gathered his things and quit the library.

  

I know I saw him come this way…

Davyn glanced around the hall trying to determine which way Snape had gone.

After she had hexed Sirius she took only momentary pleasure in the deed before realizing that Snape had left.

Quickly she left her friends to see where he'd gone to. Though he had a head start she had caught a fluttering edge of his robes as he rounded each corner and had been following these small signs. She was on the verge of catching up with him as he rounded another corner and was sure she would catch him halfway down the hall only when she got to that point the hall was empty.

As she stood silently trying to determine which of the empty classrooms Snape had gone into she heard the sound of a door being slammed echo through a stairwell that she had previously been oblivious to.

The door seemed firmly settled in its frame and it took Davyn a good deal of heaving to force it open. Presently she discovered that it had merely been the wind holding her in. A blast of icy rain struck her face, instantly soaking her robes and plastering them to her skin.

Sitting against the ramparts, his legs hugged to his chest, head resting on his knees, was Severus Snape.

At the sound of the door slamming shut, ripped from Davyn's hands by a particularly powerful gale, Severus looked up.

Davyn stood there, her robes fluttering around her, rain-soaked hair battering her cheeks.

"What do you want?" Snape demanded. The question was barely audible over the rain and wind.

Davyn didn't reply but crossed the distance between them and sat down, leaning against the ramparts as Snape did. After settling herself comfortably she lifted her face to the sky, a small smile shaping her lips as the rain pelted her face.

"Why are you here?" interrogated Snape.

Davyn's head tilted inconceivably slowly toward Snape as she opened her eyes.

"Hmmm," she murmured.

"I asked what you were doing here."

Davyn raised an eyebrow at this before assuming her former pose, sans smile.

"I have just as much right to be here as you do," was her gentle reply. It was neither angry nor spiteful. Just the simple stating of a fact.

Snape stared at her profile as the smile that she wore when she first sat beside him stole back onto her lips. Slowly, those lips parted as Davyn spoke.

"Don't you love the rain?"

Her eyes opened a fraction as she look at him from the corner of her eye. As she watched him, Snape compressed his lips and after a seemingly protracted stillness he nodded.

Davyn's smiled widened. It was a moment outside of time. Two people couldn't have been greater opposites yet they sat in companionable silence, both enjoying the inclement weather and receiving if not pleasure as small bit of contentedness from the presence of the other.

Neither of them moved despite the increasing cold as the silvery sky dimmed to smoky gray. Then the rain stopped and the clouds drifted apart just long enough for a crescent moon to smile down on the pair.

Davyn climbed to her feet, the movement disturbing Snape from his silent reverie. This seemed to signal that it was time to go in. Severus stretched out his legs and brought himself to his full height –which was a foot greater than Davyn's 5 feet, two inches.

At the foot of the stairs they paused awkwardly, not knowing how exactly the parting of ways should be conducted. As Snape stared down at her, Davyn felt a grin break across her face.

"Well, I'll see you next time," said she, casually. And with that she stood on tiptoe, planted a gossamer kiss on his cheek before darting down the hall and out of site.

A/N: Ha! The first chapter of my first fanfic completed. I feel so proud. I only want a bit of encouragement to continue. So please don't be shy. Critique and complement me and let me know whether or not to continue.