Anything recognizable is the property of J.K. Rowling. I do not make any claim to ownership, nor do I make any money from this.

Please do not read if you are not of legal age in your country. This is nowhere near being a happy go lucky romantic story.

The Dancer

Severus Snape wasn't sure what made him decide to go to the traveling show. Just a niggle at the back of his mind that wouldn't leave him alone until he followed the crowd in the gathering darkness and purchased entrance. Muggles surrounded him on all sides, their population having skyrocketed while the wizarding numbers dwindled. The last time he had been inside one of the gypsy camps he had been 13 and had snuck out of his parent's house. That camp had been set up outside of town for just a single weekend and the woman who had wandered through the work camps advertising the show had looked so wild and enticing. Severus had never before snuck out after dark before and everything had taken on an otherworldly sheen.

Now, as a jaded adult, the torches and tents that had seemed so intangible, looked filthy and archaic. Yet a feeling like a gentle tug drew him to the larger tent along with the mass of muggles. Seating was boards nailed on top of stumps that wobbled whenever someone moved. Reluctantly, Severus sat gingerly on the end of a board and tried not to touch the filthy drunk sitting next to him. The tent finally filled and the flaps closed. Another gypsy doused the lamps around the outside of the tent, throwing the interior into darkness. Before the audience had finished hooting and hollering, a dark form could be seen in the depression in the center of the tent that served as a stage.

Instantly, Severus' attention was captured by the slight motion. Everyone fell silent, watching the dark undulation in the center of the room. He thought he saw a pale arm reach up before he was blinded by a bright blue flame shooting toward the top of the tent. Around him, muggles gasped and exclaimed, stomping their feet in excitement. From the voices, Severus realized there were only men in the audience.

Flames sprouted up around the edge of the stage, illuminating the form in the center. The gender wasn't clear as they were wrapped in a long black cloak that hid their face and body. But the moment a drum started pounding somewhere, they began to move. Just stomping their foot on the dirt floor in time with the beat. A silver charm bounced on the delicate pale foot.

The drum beat strongly in time with his heart and the form suddenly moved, the pale arm whipping the cloak off and throwing it into the air. Severus was helpless to watch the garment rise and another blast of blue flame hit the cloak. As the light faded the cloak appeared to break apart into several ravens that flew out the opening in the top of the tent.

Long wavy brown hair hid her face and spilled over her shoulders as she continued stomping her foot. She appeared to be clothed in strips of leather that matched the color of her hair. The drum intensified until his very heart pounded with the beat. Severus felt like nothing else mattered, just that he kept watching the woman dance. She was as wild as a wood nymph and as feral as a mermaid. More blue flame appeared in her cupped hands as she danced, throwing the ethereal flame and bending it around her body as if to her will. Nothing else in the tent mattered to the dark man until he felt something tugging on his jacket.

"Blast this one don't have a penny on 'im."

"Just leave 'em alone then and we can get the rest. She doesn't like to take all day."

"Yeah, yeah. Whatever."

The two men moved off and rifled through the next man's pockets, relieving him of his money and any valuables. Snape was drawn back to the woman creating shapes with the blue flames, drawing a bird. A great phoenix took form as the flames turned deep red. The bird moved on its own, the woman standing in the center of the space again, head down and foot stomping to the drum. The phoenix swept its great wings back and flew around the tent dropping sparks on the audience.

The moment a spark touched a muggle, they slumped forward appearing to be asleep, their chin resting on their chest. Sparks rained down on Severus but he brushed them away as merely an annoyance. When the phoenix had completed its circuit, it curled up in a ball and went out along with the flames around the edge of the pit. Yellow flames came on in the torches around the tent and the woman was gone. A thick man covered in dark hair barked at the men in the audience from where the dancer had been.

"All right you lot of useless sods. Clear outta here and go back to your homes. You'll wake up the moment you step foot outside of our camp. Go on!"

Severus followed the crowd until he exited the tent then he slipped around next to an old wooden wagon. Hidden in shadow, Severus slid out his wand and tapped himself hard on the head. The slick feeling of egg running down his back told him the disillusionment spell had worked. Not trusting completely to the spell, he slid among the shadows.

At every tent and wagon, Severus looked inside for the dancer. But it wasn't until he checked the lone wagon set away from the others that he found her. The woman had her back to the single window cut in the door and she methodically unwound each leather strap that covered her form.

He couldn't help his eyes wandering down from the glimpse of breast to the curve of her hip and back and across her taut buttocks. The appraisal continued down her shapely legs to the charm around one ankle and the thick iron cuff around the other. Someone whooped behind him in the dark and the woman jumped, snatching up a robe and tying it around herself quickly. She then turned toward the door as if she expected someone.

While she waited, Severus studied her face framed by thick brown hair. Something about her eyes seemed familiar but he couldn't place it. Again someone whooped but it was further off. She smiled as if she knew something he didn't and reached one hand up. As she moved he suddenly realized where he recognized the dancer. It was Hermione Granger. She reached up with her other hand and pulled herself into a hammock suspended from the ceiling. Curling up, she appeared to go to sleep. Just the chain dangling below her showed that she was not willingly there.

Severus stepped away from the wagon and apparated away. He appeared in front of the gates to Hogwarts and rushed up to the castle. His feet carried him to the headmistress office and he knocked mindless of the late hour.

"Enter." The waverly voice of the transfiguration mistress trickled through the thick door.

"Please pardon the intrusion so late at night, Minerva, but I had a question."

"It is never too late to entertain a visit from you Severus. What's troubling you?" She held out a tin of lemon drops.

He shook his head at the proffered sweets. "I was simply wondering if you had heard from Hermione Granger recently."

"It's funny that you should ask about her. She mentioned being interested in an apprenticeship. I have owled her several times, but they always return unopened."

"Have you not wondered where she is?" He was shocked.

"I have been very busy recently and just assumed she changed her mind."

"But she isn't returning your post."

"Why the interest in the girl, Severus? I was under the impression that you did not care about any of my students."

"I appreciate her intelligence regardless of her house. I had just realized I had not heard of anything since the war. I figured she would have made many discoveries by now."

"For all intensive purposes she has fallen off the face of the Earth Severus. And I suggest you allow her to remain that way. Do have a good night."

Severus was clearly dismissed and he studied the woman for a moment. She had gone back to reading a letter and did not look up. Only after he had left did Minerva remove her glasses and rub the bridge of her nose.

"I hope you're safe, wherever you are, Hermione."