Severus was walking in the Forbidden Forest, and it was snowing. The snow seemed to cover everything like a blanket, softening edges and brightening the darkness of the night. It was quite late, but Severus always felt at peace in the forest, and peace was something which he desperately needed right now. Between Death Eater meetings, Draco's task, and the usual problems which accompanied the school year, Severus was quickly being overwhelmed.

Severus paused in a quiet clearing, looking upward at the starry sky. The nearly-full moon illuminated the clearing so brightly that it almost seemed to be day. The snow fell softly. He sat down on a rock after clearing the snow off of it with his wand. The dark man sat quiet, contemplative; a black pool of ink in a sea of snow. And then —

"Hello there, Professor Snape."

Severus looked up, startled. A young woman was standing at the edge of his clearing, watching him with interest. His eyes trailed over her long dirty-blond hair, her butterbeer cork necklace, and radish earrings. He noticed that she was barefoot.

"Miss Lovegood. What are you doing in the forest? And so far past curfew?"

She smiled dreamily. "Oh, I always come out at this time. Threstrals are more agreeable at night, you know..." Luna trailed off vaguely.

He blinked. "Ah. I see."

Luna smiled again, and asked, "Oh, do you? Most people can't, you know. I can. That's why everyone says I'm loony." She looked up at the sky. "Did you come out to see the snowfall? It's rather pretty, isn't it? Nargles hate this weather. I suspect that's why they hide in the mistletoe."

Severus blinked again. Twice, this time.

He felt like screaming in frustration. Luna Lovegood always made him feel as though he was missing a crucial bit of information, and for a man whose life depends on the information he has gathered, it was supremely infuriating.

Luna grinned as though she knew exactly how her 'looniness' was affecting him. Then she spoke again. "Don't you like the snow, sir?"

Severus sighed. "Yes, it is rather beautiful. Now, would you mind telling me where your shoes are?"

For the first time, a slight frown appeared between her eyes.

"I don't know." She admitted. But before her professor could inquire further, she said wistfully, "I have always loved winter. It taught me how to hope."

He stared at the extraordinary Ravenclaw in bemusement. "'It taught you to hope?' How on earth does a season which symbolizes darkness and death teach you to hope?"

Luna's smile grew. "Winter taught me that it is always coldest and darkest just before spring arrives. Didn't you know that?"

Severus could only stare at the moonlit girl with the luminous silver eyes, beaming at him, and then drifting out of the clearing and into the forest, heading vaguely in the direction of the castle. Silence fell over the clearing again. Severus gazed up at the still-falling snow, and then the direction Luna had gone. "I did indeed know that, Miss Lovegood." He said into the air. "I had forgotten."

Severus then whispered into the silent, snowy forest, "I thank you for reminding me. . . Luna."