Disclaimer: Okay, I'm obviously not J. K. Rowling, because if I were, this story would be so much better. So, yeah, I don't own it. She does. All I own is the character of Sage. Happy?

A/N: I had posted this before, but I removed it because I wasn't very happy with it, and seeing as how I'm an insane person, I felt the need to tweak it a bit. And the title of the story is borrowed from a song by Keb' Mo'. All bow to Keb' Mo'.

Severus Snape stared longingly out the large window high up on the Astronomy tower, his inky black eyes searching the horizon. He pulled his arms inside of his black cloak, cursing the cold.

"I thought I'd find you up here." A feminine voice called from behind him. Severus flinched minutely, absent-mindedly pulling his arms in tighter. He debated on turning around, but decided to stare up at the stars instead, idly finding his favorite constellation. It was one of the few constants of his ever-changing life. "Are you alright, Severus? You're missing the Yule Feast."

"I'm fine, Sage. Leave me be, please." Severus returned, his voice icy. He felt more than heard the woman approaching him, knowing full well that his attitude rarely worked on this particular female.

"No, you're not fine. It's obvious, Severus. You never come here except for class. And when you're agitated, depressed, fill in the blank…" Sage said, wrapping her arms around Severus, resting her head on the back of his shoulder, her face nuzzling his lengthy black hair. She smiled inwardly at the familiar scent of his shampoo. "What happened?"

Severus stood there stiffly, silent save for ragged breaths. After several moments, he sighed and spoke, his voice abnormally quiet and composed.

"Dumbledore summoned me to his office this afternoon, before Transfiguration. M-my parents… They were killed last night. Killed by the Ministries' Aurors." Severus finally turned towards Sage; his eyes glistened with unshed tears. "There…there was a raid at our manor. They were visiting with friends, the Malfoy's, having a tea. The Aurors stormed in, hexing everything in sight. My father was killed trying to defend my mother…my mother died of grief.

"They were the only two fatalities. They were killed because they were believed to be Death Eaters, simply because of our family's friendship with the Malfoy's and the LeStranges. They were friends with the followers of Voldemort, and they were killed for it."

Sage took him in her arms, letting his tears fall, holding him silently. She said nothing, simply letting him grieve in peace.

"Gods… Mum… Dad…" Severus mumbled between raspy breaths.

"I'm so sorry, Severus. Is…is there anything I can do?"

Severus shook his head slightly, taking a deep breath.

"Please… just hold me."

Okay, yes, he's out of character a bit. But I figure he didn't always start out as being cold. Something had to drive him to it. Or maybe I'm just saying this so I don't get flamed… Review if you want the next chapter. :)