I added a short section to the beginning of this chapter to help explain Severus' point of view from the last chapter. Hope it helps!

Severus sighed and rolled onto his side, reaching out for his wand, which he kept on the bedside table. Moonlight illuminated the room, enough for him to locate his wand and light the candle beside it. He couldn't sleep. Every time he closed his eyes, he saw Anne's great blue ones, like sapphires, gazing up at him with that teasing look again. "You have my love," she had said, and he had scoffed to hide his shock, and his fear. He had pushed her away- better for them both- safer for them both-that she should hate him than harbor these unwanted romantic feelings towards him.

He sat up, his bare chest cold in the dank dungeons, and leaned back against the headboard. He ran his hand through his black hair, trying to clear his head as he cleared his vision. It didn't work. Why did Anne have to make things so complicated? They had been friends since childhood- children playing together on the riverbank at the far western boundary of Spinner's End with Lily Evans and that awful sister of hers- what was her name? A flower name as well. Violet, maybe. Severus found that he didn't care. When they were children, he was annoyed by her presence, but now found himself grateful for her existence. It was a way for the boy- Severus forced himself to think of the little brat's name, Harry- to be safe, but to be far away. Every time he looked at the boy- Harry- he saw Lily again in his mind's eye. Her smile, her laughter, her blazing red hair in the sunlight at the side of the Hogwarts lake. Why did she have to die? Severus found himself fighting the urge to curl up and give in to his grief yet again. And Anne-

Anne was only a reminder of what he had lost. She could never replace Lily in his heart- even after her marriage to the Potter dolt, Severus had loved her. He had held on to his love for her for so many years- did Anne understand what she was asking him to do, by begging him to forget that perfect, tinkling laughter, those bright green eyes, and fall instead for another childhood playmate?

He could not, he would not. If He was back- as surely, He was- his Mark burned him often now, a low, aching burn that signaled the Dark Lord's presence, but not the searing pain that meant his summoning- if the Dark Lord was indeed back, then Anne might become a target just as Lily had. Severus would not allow that to happen.

And what if the Dark Lord was back? What if he, Severus, was called back into service as a Death Eater once more? He had managed to play the part once- no one had known that he had in fact been a spy for Dumbledore. It was part of the deal he had made to try and save Lily's life. But it hadn't worked. Lily had died, He had fallen, and Severus had found himself under the protection of Dumbledore during the trials held for His followers. But now that He was back- there was no way that He would look kindly on Severus' defection. Anne would get caught up in it. If he had to die for his treason, then he would not place her in danger- nor would he allow her to feel the pain of losing the one she loved. He knew that pain all too well.

He closed his eyes, remembering the delicate scent of lavender and rosewater that drifted from Anne's skin as he stood so close to her that he could practically count every time her pulse fluttered at her neck. He had almost kissed her. If he thought that he could have taken her into his arms and into his bed without all of that nonsense about love, he would have done so. He was a man, after all. And she had that damned Veela blood in her veins. But she had insisted on spilling all of her silly emotions to him, and now he found himself facing a dilemma.

Severus sighed again. He didn't want to deal with this rather frustrating situation now. If He was back… Severus rumpled his dark hair again and slid back down on the bed, pulling the covers up to his chin and blowing out the candle. He squeezed his eyes shut and breathed deeply, trying to hasten the onset of sleep.

Sleep, however, was long in coming.

November 1991

Severus frowned and nibbled on the end of his quill. "Does this work?" he asked, shifting in his armchair and holding the parchment he was writing on up to the light. "Danger lies before you, while safety lies behind; Two of us will help you, whichever you would find; One among us seven will let you move ahead; Another will transport the drinker back instead; Two among our number hold only nettle wine; Three of us are poison…"

Anne bit her lip and considered her next move on the wizard's chess board they were playing on to pass the cold winter evening. One finger lightly resting on top of one of her bishops, she said idly, "'Poison'? Seems too obvious. I'd go with 'danger' or something more vague."

Severus grimaced. "I don't like 'danger', I've already used that. What about 'killers'?"

Anne nodded approvingly and smoothly slid her bishop forward four diagonal spaces. "That works. How long are you planning on making it? Quirrell's not too bright; I'd add lots of extra filler lines if I were you."

"Ah, poetry advice from a Ravenclaw. Of course."

Anne shrugged. "Fine then, do as you will."

Suddenly, a knock sounded at the door. Severus called loudly, "Enter," and the door swung open to reveal Argus Filch, the caretaker of the castle. "Professor, you asked me to come and fetch you if anyone was wandering around the corridors at night, and someone has. They were in the Restricted Section of the library."

Snape looked away from Filch, who was wringing his hands in greedy anticipation of catching a student out of bed. Anne simply raised a perfect eyebrow. "You think-?"

"Show me, Argus," Snape commanded, putting down his knight on the table beside the parchment and his inky quill and rising to his feet. Anne stood, too. "I'll join you."

"No," Severus said brusquely. "Stay here."

Sighing in disappointment, she sank back down into her chair, absent-mindedly pondering the book titles on the shelf behind her as Severus and Filch left the room.

She didn't have long to wait; before the candles had burnt down much further along their wicks, Severus returned, his face flushed. He beckoned to her from the doorway. "Anne, come quickly."

She obeyed, following him through a maze of corridors, the hallways of her old school just as familiar to her as they had been all those years ago. Severus paused before a doorway and glanced quickly around before pulling her inside what appeared to be an unused classroom. Desks and chairs were piled high in stacks along the outer edges of the room, and a thin layer of dust coated everything within. "I thought I heard a noise in here when I was returning from my...rather fruitless search with Filch," he explained in a whisper. "Look what I've found."

A rather large and ornate mirror was leaning against the back wall, looking extremely out of place. Anne frowned at it. "Erised stra ehru oyt ube cafru oyt on wohsi," she read aloud from the carving around the top. She frowned. "Is that Welsh?"

Severus shook his head. "I don't care," he said bluntly. "Look."

Anne obediently stood in front of the mirror and gasped at her reflection. She was standing before the mirror, her robes revealing one naked shoulder, her alabaster skin exposed by the sapphire cloth that had slipped to one side. Severus was standing behind her, one arm wrapped possessively around her waist, the other knotted in her golden hair, looking at her hungrily. Her heart pounding, she backed away. "I don't see anything," she said, swallowing hard.

"You don't see her?" Severus demanded impatiently, pushing her aside and resuming his place in front of the ornate gold frame. "Lily! She's right there!" He exclaimed, pointing. "Look."

Anne, desperate to forget what she had seen and to ignore the feelings that the sight had stirred within her, had focused again on the writing above the reflective surface. Her attention captured, she stood gaping, her ruby lips parted as she silently mouthed the words. Suddenly, she gasped. "I've got it!"

Severus, gazing into the mirror with a mixture of grief and desire on his face, didn't look away from Lily's reflection beside his own as he asked, "What?"

"'I show not your face but your heart's desire'," Anne said triumphantly. "It's just backwards."

"What?" Severus asked again.

"It's not real," Anne pointed out.

Severus huffed impatiently. "Of course it's not. It's just-"

"She's gone, Sev," Anne sighed. "You'll waste away staring at this image of what's not real. Come on, let's go back to your office."

It took her several minutes, but she finally managed to pull him away. As they wound their way back to Snape's dungeon room, Anne slipped her small hand into his. To her surprise, Severus didn't pull away.