Chapter 1

The winter wind was in full force that night. As she took another bite of stale biscuit, Persephone leaned further over the railing, and thought about what she was about to do. There wasn't any going back now, she knew; the letter containing her suicide note had been sent off on one of the school's older, slower owls about an hour ago. He would be flying over Surrey about now, she suspected, unintentionally reminded of the summers she had spent at her friend's family home, full of simple yet precious memories. It gave her pause, if only for a moment.

She polished off the last of the biscuit and began to climb the railing clumsily. Resting a hand on the wall for balance, she stood tall and with clear eyes took in her last view of the grounds. Professor Kettleburn would be curled up with his nightly brandy in his cottage, most likely pouring over the book she'd got him for Christmas, Crup Breeding in the Middle Ages. She hoped he wouldn't take it too hard.

Then, she made the mistake of looking directly down. Vertigo washed over her, making her heart beat frantically as though it realized its time was short. A sharp gust of wind nearly made her lose her balance, and she clutched the wall, shutting her eyes until it died down. When she opened her eyes, she realized she was crying. It surprised her, and she wondered passively whether many people cried when they were about to off themselves. She supposed she would never know, now.

It was time. She said goodbye to no one in particular, then took the leap.

Severus Snape was walking back to the dungeons after a long stroll around the Black Lake when he heard the scream. Startled, he looked up and saw a figure plummeting from the Astronomy Tower and instantly drew his wand, casting a cushioning charm on the patch of grass she was heading for before breaking into a run. Drawing closer, he saw the figure hit the charm at an odd angle, bouncing off and hitting the nearby wall with a spine chilling crunch. He heard himself calling for help as he stumbled to the figure's side, rolling it over and gagging at the caustic scent of blood hanging in the air.

Her face was small and pale in the moonlight, hair matted and sticky. He checked her pulse before casting periculum to alert any professors that happened to be awake. She was alive, if only just. Not trusting himself to heal wounds this serious, he tried to staunch the flow of blood by pressing his cloak to the back of her head praying that help would arrive sooner rather than later.

Just his luck to end up killing someone while trying to save them, he thought as he pushed a dark lock of hair out of her eyes. The face was somewhat familiar. Though it was dark, he could make out the Slytherin crest on her robes. She was in his year...Nott? Selwyn?

"Mr. Snape, what is the meaning of thi- oh Merlin, is that Miss Ward?" came the panicked voice of Professor Slughorn.

That was the one. Ward. He recalled her having the sort of posh first name, but couldn't quite put his finger on that either.

"I'll go awaken Madame Pomfrey and the rest of the staff, you stay here boy," Slughorn said tersely as he scuttled back into the castle, robe fluttering in his wake.

Snape watched him go, brow furrowed, then turned to see Professor Kettleburn limping fast over the hill. He waved him over, taking care not to disturb Ward's head.

"I head screams, so I put on my leg and came as fast as I could," he called, approaching.

"She fell off the Astronomy Tower," Severus said, noting the sharp intake of breath when his old Care of Magical Creatures professor saw the small figure beside him.

Kettleburn fell to his knees, slowly taking Ward's limp hand. He was in shock.

"Miss Ward, can you hear me?" he asked. Ward's pale face remained still.

"I cast a cushioning charm, but I'm afraid I've done more harm than good," Severus said quietly, "I'm sorry, sir."

"No. No lad," Kettleburn said distractedly, patting him on the shoulder, "She's breathing. Poppy will have her right as rain in no time. You've done well. You've done very well."

A stretcher and the rest of the staff arrived in various states of haphazard dress arrived a minute later to escort her to the Hospital Wing. He watched as they carried her away, clutching his soiled cloak absentmindedly. Dumbledore surprised him when he spoke.

"You've done a good deed today, Severus Snape."

Severus looked at the headmaster, taken aback for a moment.

"It doesn't quite feel like it, sir," he admitted, made strangely uncomfortable by the old man's sharp, twinkling gaze, "I should have used a suspension charm or something of the sort. That impact could have killed her."

"And yet, she is still with us, and it seems as though you are the hero of the hour," Dumbledore said, still twinkling at him, "100 points to Slytherin for extraordinary bravery and presence of mind."

Stunned, Severus could only watch as the professor walked back inside. He realized he was still clutching at his bunched up cloak, and went inside to grab a new one before going to visit the Hospital Wing to check on the girl he had evidently saved.

It was only much later that he realized not one professor had mentioned his presence outside the common room after hours.