It had been dark for a while now. Alice had just gotten back in the clothes she had arrived in, and Severus performed a glamour charm to look exactly the way she did before she left that bedroom. She had gone over the plan with Severus. He giving had given her tips of what to say or how to act depending on how Voldemort reacted, but she still felt very under prepared. No amount of time or training could help that. She waited in the front hall for Severus to help her apparate back to the mansion. She stood their with her wand in her hands practicing some of the movements Severus had shown her earlier that day. As he finally arrived to meet her in the front hall she held out her wand to him, and he took it and put in the pocket of his robe next to his own wand.

"Please keep it safe," she said with her eyes gently barring into his own. He couldn't help but get lost in the green that once consumed him before.

"Always," he uttered, referring to her more than her wand. This made her smile, and blush as she looked up at him with a smirk.

"Alright, I guess it's time, isn't it," she said, as her smile faded.

"I'm afraid so," he replied.

"This is for the best," she said, as if trying to reassure herself looking at the ground.

"With that courage you will surely to be sorted into Gryffindor when you get to Hogwarts," Snape said trying to cheer her up, as he put a hand on her shoulder. The heat of her skin under her thin dress gave him the warmest feeling in his stomach. He detested the way she made him feel. She scoffed quietly,

"I'm not being brave, I just have to do what's best for everybody else," she said her sentence trailing off in the end.

"You were the one that told them to rescue me, weren't you Severus? She asked nervously, but not afraid of meeting his dark eyes with hers. All he could do was nod his head slowly, as he saw the tears forming in her eyes. Before he knew it she slammed into him, wrapping her arms around him. By instinct, he held her back, very conscious of his right hand on her upper back bringing her slowly closer to him and the other trailing down her back. She relaxed her head in the crook of his neck as he brought her nearer. They stayed like that, silent, in each others arms for a few precious moments, until a pop rang in their ears and the wood floors of Grimmauld Place that was once underneath them was replaced by dewy grass. She still clung to him, and he to her, both knowing full well the reality that faced them after they part.

"You better go," he said, pulling himself away from the sweet scent of her hair that he had let consume him.

"Just one more minute," she said, holding him even tighter, likewise taking in breathfulls of him, each more entrancing than the one before it. He smiled, appreciating the single most happiest experience he had ever remembered feeling. Something inside him sparked, it was a combination of emotions, but the one that he could identify best was rage. He would not let Voldemort take his happiness away from him again. However he knew that this was bound to be the reality, and he couldn't handle that kind of loss again in his life, he couldn't. He released his embrace of her and nodded.

"You should go," he said in a colder tone than she was used to hearing from him. She looked up at him, and brought her face closer to his. He couldn't take his eyes off hers, until her soft lips kissed his cheek. He became frustrated at how his heart skipped when she did. He hated that he lost control of his emotions when he was around her. It made him angry and he pulled away from her.

"That was inappropriate." he scolded, taking her aback. Her face turned a beet red in embarrassment. He saw the hurt and shame in her eyes and though it pained him, he knew he had accomplished what he intended to. She released her hold on him and stalked off anxiously backwards.

"I'm so sorry," she began nervously.

"I shouldn't have done that, I thought that we, or well I thought that you... well, I'm sorry, I really shouldn't have..." she rambled incoherently as tears were brewing the corners of her eyes. She fought them back magnificently he thought admirably.

"You are just a child, and I am your professor, please don't get that confused," he said coldly, he had many years of practice hiding his feelings, and this wasn't any different. It was at that moment something changed in her eyes.

"Severus I'm sure you can understand why I find it very difficult to believe you actually mean that, but I understand why you are doing this, it's hard to lose the things we care about, don't you think?" she turned her statement to him. He was stunned. Could she actual see through him like this? Had he let on for too long his true feelings for her? For once he didn't know what to say back to her. The truth the only thing stopping them from being together was his own selfishness, for his own protection of his emotions, and his heart.

" You can say I'm naive, or that I'm just a child..." she said in a mocking tone.

"which is complete rubbish, but from that first time we met, and from the first time my hand touched yours, I knew I would fall in love with you Severus." she said, him absolutely astounded by how her soft voice uttered those very words, about him. He couldn't even fathom it.

"and I did."she finished.

"Sev can you even tell me you don't feel the same things I do?" she asked him. He could hardly bring himself to look her in the eyes.

"I do not, you silly child." He spat. She swallowed hard.

"I'll see you in class Professor," and she walked calmly towards the front doors of the mansion.