Note from the author: Hi everyone, since you all wanted me to update a bit sooner, here is the next chapter! I cannot tell you when I'll be able to write the next part, because I work in shifts during this holiday and I'm usually very tired when I come back home. :) So sorry already if the next part comes up much later :) Thanks everybody for the reviews and enjoy!

It was remarkable how Severus could stay away from her. Whenever she caught a glimpse of his black clothes, she tried to hurry towards him, but he was gone before she had even made a move. His kiss… No their kiss had messed up her mind. She had no idea what she wanted or who she was. There had been a time when she had hated the Miranda she had been so many years ago, but now she was jealous of those times. She had been so in love, without doubts. She had just taken the jump without thinking about the height of the fall she could make. But now, after all she had been through, she already knew what awaited her when she would fall.

To make matters worse, Severus took his revenge in the last week of the school year. He told the students that Lupin was a werewolf and before she knew it her old new friend was gone and she was alone once again.

On the last day of the school year, she was filling her trunk with clothes, when a sudden knock disrupted her thoughts.

"Yes?" she asked. Her voice trembled. As always she wondered whether it was Severus standing behind that door. At that same time she felt fear and hope. Fear about what he would say and hope… Hope that he would kiss her again. She could not deny those longing feelings inside her. Her dreams were filled with the memories of the afternoon she had spent with him. The afternoon where Hugh had been made by a deep love between them.

The door opened slowly and Miranda tried to focus on the present. She could not regain what she had lost so long ago. There was no good in lingering in the past, no matter how good it had been.

To her surprise, professor Dumbledore entered.

"Headmaster, I had not expected you," she said, truthfully.

She closed the trunk quite loudly and placed it on the ground.

Dumbledore walked towards her and his face was covered with a serious expression. She had the feeling that he was worried about something, but she already knew that he would never share those things if he didn't want to.

"I'm sorry I'm not the person you wanted me to be, Miss Bloom," Dumbledore answered, with a smile.

Miranda reddened.

"I wasn't really expecting anyone, professor. Most people have already gone home. Now it's my turn," she reasoned.

He nodded and took a seat near her desk. He made a movement with his wand and two cups of tea appeared. He took one and drank a bit.

"Well, it seems I have to search for a new teacher for Defense against the Dark Arts," he started.

Miranda nodded, but didn't say a thing. She took a seat as well and grabbed the cup of tea.

"There are other matters as well for the next school year. You probably haven't heard it yet, but the ministry is planning to house the Triwizard Tournament at Hogwarts," Dumbledore continued, while he looked at her.

"The Triwizard Tournament?" Miranda asked, surprised, while she placed the cup back on her desk, "Isn't this dangerous, professor? I thought they had stopped the tournament because of the many casualties."

"That's correct, Miranda," Dumbledore said. He gazed away from her and seemed to see things that only he could see, "But we will prevent such things from happening. We can still make the tasks hard, but less dangerous."

"Perhaps that is true, professor," Miranda responded, "But accidents happen easy. And with all those young students…"

"There will be an age limit, of course," Dumbledore interrupted.

"Of course," a soft blush appeared upon Miranda's face. She should have realized that Dumbledore would never let anyone to be harmed. She cleared her throat and asked, "Why do they want to restart the tournament, professor? Is there any need for it?"

"Is there any need to reform a bond with our former allies?" Miranda thought, though she did not dare to ask this.

"I believe that in the coming times friendships may be more important than ever, Miranda," Dumbledore answered, while he shifted his gaze back at her. His blue eyes seemed to see straight into her and she wondered whether he meant their friendship with the other schools, or her friendship with Severus.

"Friendships are easily destroyed when trust is broken, professor," she said, harsher than intended. She looked away from his eyes, afraid of the truth she saw in them.

"Trust can be regained, Miranda," he said, tenderly, "Mostly the two people who form a friendship are the two people responsible for breaking it."

She felt her face redden again and chose not to reply to his words. She was afraid of what she might say when she would let her emotions take control of her.

She rose from her seat and walked back to her trunk. While she looked through the room, she could still feel Dumbledore's eyes burn upon her back.

"I would love your help in this Tournament, Miranda," Dumbledore said suddenly, while he rose from his seat, "Severus will help me as well and I want things back to normal between the two of you if you choose to help me. His hate for Sirius Black stands between the two of you…"

"Do you believe he is innocent?" Miranda asked, while she looked up. There was no doubt about who she meant.

Dumbledore stared at her for a while, before he answered her question.

"I believe he is innocent, yes," he finally said.

Miranda let everything fall out of her hands and walked towards him.

"Sirius Black was not responsible for Lily's death?" she asked, her voice a mere whisper.

"No, he was not," he answered her.

"But… Who? Why? … What happened then?" Miranda asked, completely overwhelmed by the enormous of this answer.

"It decorates you that you believe me immediately, Miranda," Dumbledore said, avoiding her answered.

She blushed and shook her head.

"I do not love him, professor. But he was one of my friends and I knew him. He could never been responsible for their deaths."

She paused for a moment and looked at her hands.

"But the evidence…," she whispered.

"The evidence was misinterpreted," Dumbledore interjected, "But we cannot tell this yet to others, Miranda. There is no evidence suggesting that Sirius spoke the truth. We have of course Harry's testimony, but…"

"No one will believe them," Miranda complemented.

She took her seat back and sighed.

"Poor Sirius…."

Dumbledore walked towards her door and then turned around.

"Do not save your pity for Sirius alone, Miranda. There is another man who needs you very badly."

After those mysterious words, he opened the door and left her alone.

One week had passed and still she had heard nothing of Severus. She tried to calm herself by cleaning up the house and garden, but after a week, she found herself staring outside the windows in the hope that someone would visit her.

She threw her wand away, angry and frustrated and fell onto her bed. Her body was lingering over him; she could not fight it any longer. Her desire was winning control and that was the last thing she really wanted. She had to think rational. She had to forget those beautiful dark eyes and the tenderness and love she had seen in them. She to forget his touch, his lips… everything he was. She closed her eyes and felt tears burn behind her eyelids .Why was it so hard to forget him? Why had she fallen so hard for him, so many years ago? Why was he so special?

Because he was the only one who really understood her. He was the only one who had known how much she had suffered when her father had been killed. He was the only one who had known how much pain she had felt when the aurors had told her that her uncle was found, dead, in the streets. And although Severus had been partially responsible for his death, she also knew that he had felt bad about it. Perhaps not at that time, but she was certain that now he wished he could turn back time.

If Voldemort had never existed, than everything would have been completely different. Now, she was without a best friend who could give her advice and without her son, who she could have raised with his father.

The door bell rang and Miranda froze. Could it be…? No, he would not have come. She hurried downstairs and flung the door open. Her blue eyes met dark ones and she went pale.

"Severus…," she whispered.

He looked at her, pale and thin and his eyes were filled with longing, she could tell. It was raining outside and he was soaking wet.

"I'm sorry," she said and she stepped away from the door, "Please, come in. Go to the fire in the living room. I'll find some new clothes."

Before he could say anything, she turned around and left him. His eyes followed her movements and he felt his desire burn inside him. With a sigh, he hurried towards the living room and removed his cloak. He left traces of water behind him and quickly he used his wand to clean them up. He moved his wand to his clothes, but then hesitated. He was tired and wet. His concentration was low and the last thing he wanted was a spell that failed.

Slowly he removed his clothes, until he only wore a shirt and his underwear. He looked down at himself and cursed. Why could he not look manlier? He then shook his head. Why was he thinking like this? He was better than Potter, better than Black. She had wanted him and not Sirius. She had made love to him and to him alone. Furious he turned around and hit a vase. With a loud bang, it fell on the floor and broke into thousands of pieces.

"Oh no," he mumbled.

He wanted to move his wand, but was stopped when someone laid her hand upon his.

"Leave it," Miranda whispered, while she smiled, "It hated that thing, but mum loved it, so I couldn't throw it away. Now you have done it for me."

She moved her wand and the pieces disappeared.

Severus looked away from her. He wanted to hold her, kiss her like he had done weeks ago, but he was afraid that his desire was now too obvious. Without his clothes and cloak, he could not hide the things his body felt.

"Here are some old clothes from my father, Severus," Miranda said. She did not seem to notice his struggle, "You can wear them. I'll leave those others to dry."

Before he could refuse, Miranda had grabbed his clothes and disappeared through the door. With a soft smile, he removed his shirt and grabbed her father's clothes.

After he was dressed he took a seat and looked through the room. Why had he come here? He did not know. He only knew that when he had woken up this morning, he had to see Miranda. His dreams were haunting him and he just had to stop to them. Only by seeing her, he could free himself. At least, he had thought that. But now, when he had seen her again, he was sure that such thing would never happen. His dreams only haunted him more and he had to stop himself from touching her. If she would make one movement towards him, he was sure that he would not be able to stop himself. He wanted her too badly.

When Miranda came back, she saw Severus staring in the fire, caught up in his own thoughts. When she cleared her throat, he jumped and rose from the seat. Her father's clothes fitted him perfectly and she moved her gaze over him. He was much more handsome than in his usual clothing and his new appearance made her heart pound. This was not a good idea.

"So…," she started, while she nervously took a seat on the opposite of him, "Is there any specific reason for visiting me?"

He looked at her and his black eyes made her heart stop beating for a second. She swallowed and looked away.

"I…felt the need to see you," he answered truthfully.

There was a moment of silence when suddenly he rose and walked towards her.

"Miranda. I should never have kissed you. It has been haunting my dreams since then and every moment without you I suffer," Miranda, taken away by his words, could just stare at him, "I want you… more than anything in this world."

She rose from her seat as well and stared at those black eyes. Was she a fool in believing his words? What is wrong to believe that she could have a better future? She did not care. This jump she would take without looking down.

She grabbed his hand and pulled him towards him.

"I suffer too, Severus. I might be mistaken, you might hurt me again, but right now, I don't care," she whispered.

She kissed him. First softly and tender, but he answered her kiss with such passion, that she threw all caution away. Before they both realized they moved towards her bedroom and pulled off each other's clothes. He kissed her lips, her neck, and her nose and made a heat rise inside her. He laid her upon her bed and covered her body with soft kisses. He caressed her breasts and she could hear his breathing getting harder. His hands moved over her body and Miranda let out a cry. Her heart had made her choice and her body was answering to it.

When he entered her, she did not feel pain. Her joy only grew and he took her too heights where she had been never before. Together their feelings reached a climax and both of them were caught in waves of pleasure that never seemed to stop.

Slowly, they fell back down to earth and laid, tired but happy in each other arms. Miranda had the feeling that she could never be happier.

When she awoke the next morning, she quickly turned around and froze when she noticed that her bed was empty. A piece of paper lay on top of the pillow and she quickly grabbed it.

My dear Miranda,

I should never have made love to you, last night. I cannot give you what you want. Please believe me when I tell you that I would only hurt you more…

Forget me, my love. Forget me.

Severus.

While tears rolled down her eyes, she threw the pillow away and cried out… Had she once again lost her happiness?