The End is the Beginning is the End

A/N If you recognize it, it's not mine. BOOOOO!

Ariadne awoke before Severus. She walked to the door and saw that the sun was just rising into the sky. She was going to miss their days in the tent together. She was able to forget the world when she was there with him. It was as if only the two of them existed. But, she was very excited at the prospect of meeting her uncle. Before that, Severus had some errands that he needed to run in London. London had always been Ariadne's favorite city. She loved the way that it was a true international city, but still managed to maintain its quintessential Englishness.

She returned to the tent and put the kettle on, knowing that Severus would arise in a few minutes, she crawled back into bed beside him. Laying on her side, propped up on her elbow, she leaned forward to awaken him with a kiss.

"I cannot imagine a better way to wake up in the morning." He drawled. "You are so beautiful. I've no idea what possesses you to keep time with an ugly, bitter old man like myself. Your uncle and his cohorts will think that I've made you drink a love potion."

"Is there a such thing?" She asked.

"Technically, no. It is impossible to replicate true love with a potion or spell, though thousands have tried and failed. But there are potions that create a very strong obsession, even ones that compel their subjects to forgo food or drink in favor of the object of their affection."

"That's a terrifying thought. I can imagine that could be extremely dangerous in the wrong hands."

"Oh, absolutely. Thankfully, they are wretchedly difficult to brew or cast. Though I hate the thought of leaving this bed, we are going to have to begin our travels shortly."

"And Severus. You are not old, or bitter, or ugly. While I can't deny that I am quite a bit younger than you, you are far from old. And just in case you haven't guessed, I find you extremely attractive. And you are not bitter. You are kind, and giving, and supportive. I don't even like to think about the life that you have had to lead. You have no idea the strength of character required to do the things that you do willingly, and how rare it is to find those qualities in a person. And no, you won't ever win Miss Congeniality, but underneath it all, you are a passionate, amazing man, and I am so lucky that my uncle chose you to come and 'fetch me' as you say." She kissed him with a such ardor that he thought that it was only his vaunted restraint that led him to not forget everything else in the world, his best laid plans, and spend the entire day shagging the woman senseless.

She pulled back from him, holding his face in her soft hands. "I am learning, far more quickly than I'd like, that people flit in and out of our lives like snowflakes in the wind, but I am truly blessed that you flitted into mine. I don't expect you to promise me that you will be by my side forever, the last month have taught me that, or even to be with me next year, or next month, or tomorrow even, but right now, even if it is all we have right now, I am carpe-ing the diem."

He pulled her to him tightly and his lips claimed hers with all the passion of which she had just spoken. It was all hers, and it would be. Always.

She excused herself to go through the motions of what he called her "ritual." Washing her face, brushing her teeth, putting on makeup that he found absolutely needless. He took the opportunity to open the package that arrived yesterday from Lena Washington. He had written her about a week earlier asking for a favor as he put the finishing touches on his plans. She had sent an absolutely exquisite set of robes that were such a dark burgundy, they appeared almost black in all but sunlight. She had chosen most wisely. Inside of the package there was a note on stationary embossed with the words "Lena Aphrodite Washington." He wondered if the middle name had been one given to her by her parents and had become a self-fulfilling prophecy or if she had added it herself as a chuckle to her reputation.

Severus, my darling,

It seems you are bound and determined to continue this despite my warnings to the contrary and all I can say is 'bravo!' You are a better man than even I had thought you were, which does give rise to significant regret, but alas, it appears that another has captured your heart. I hope these robes do justice to a young woman so beautiful, kind and brave. She is worthy of your esteem. She earned Tinky's undying admiration and that is no small accomplishment, so please let her know that she also has mine. However, should your liaison not proceed as you would like, you know where to find me, you handsome devil. If you have a spare moment, please let me know your plans come to fruition.

Best of Luck,

L.A.W.

Hearing the click as Ariadne opened the bathroom door, he quickly shrunk the robes, and hid the note in his pocket and the robes in his backpack. He thought Ariadne would get a kick out of it. He had explained a bit about Lena Washington and her sense of humor and reputation as a bit of a self-proclaimed courtesan, making sure to let her know that 90% of what the woman said was meant in good humor.

"What is the plan, anyway?"

"First, we will apparate to Greenland. Trans-Atlantic apparition is extremely dangerous, and while I am more than competent enough to achieve it, I do not think it is wise to attempt to take you via side-along-apparition over such a vast distance. We will break it down into two shorter trips. From here to Greenland and then from Greenland to London. "

"I don't mean to inconvenience you." She said, regretting that he had to alter his plans for her.

"Nonsense. I would do it in three hundred hops from iceberg to iceberg wearing nothing but swim trunks if it meant being able to travel with you." If Ariadne didn't know better, she would swear that a blush had formed on his cheeks.

"And you said you had some errands in London first. What's on the agenda?"

"That, my Ariadne, is a surprise."

"I hate surprises!" She stomped her foot like a child. "All that anticipation! And I always build it up so much in my head that it never delivers what my expectations were." Instantly, she regretted her words

"I trust that this will be up to your expectations."

They packed and were off in short order. Tinky insisted that both Ariadne and Severus eat a hearty breakfast, despite Severus's protestations that Ariadne would be better off with tea and toast given that he didn't want to lose an entire day to a potion to east the discomfort of apparition. She had fared better than he had expected with their travels thus far, but he didn't want to further test the theory while they apparated over such a long distance. However, Tinky won out in the end. Severus was beginning to suspect that there would be a lot of that in his relationship to the tiny elf.

Severus took Ariadne in his arms, holding her tightly. "It is going to be very cold when we get there, but we will need to be there for only about five minutes. Ready?" She nodded. He kissed her gently on the forehead and pulled her head protectively into his chest.

The increasingly familiar feeling of her entire body being slipped through a garden hose coupled with a slight wave of nausea rolled over her, but she concentrated on holding on Severus. After what seemed like an hour, but what she knew was really only a minute, they landed. Upon reaching their destination, Severus instantly cast a warming charm on both of them. At the very same moment the charm hit her, Ariadne fell into the snow, pulling Severus with her, surprised that she did not feel cold at all.

"Why aren't I cold?" She asked him.

"I cast a warming charm on both of us to keep us warm while you put these on over your clothes." He removed the robes from his pocket.

His nose was touching her face. She gently kissed his lips, when a look of utter mischief came over her pretty visage. She rolled over so that he was no beneath her, quickly got up and ran across the snow. At first glance, it seemed they were literally in the middle of nowhere, but as she scanned the horizon, she noticed that there were several tiny cottages that were all but invisible in the dense snow cover. She picked up a snowball and threw it at him, hitting him squarely in the chest. Her action was so unexpected that he didn't have time to put up any sort of defense. He bent down to retaliate. She feinted left before running right, leaving him to miss her by inches. Both her grace and athleticism were readily apparent and she bent to reload and hit him squarely again. If she is able to fly, she would be a welcome addition to any quiddich team with her ability to avoid projectiles and hit targets. If Severus Snape's students were able to see him frolicking in the snow, engaged in a snowball fight, they would have sworn he was confounded. He smiled as a plot formed in his head.

"Alright, let's call a truce. Tinky will be here in a moment and I don't want her to get hit in the crossfire. He reached out his hand and walked toward her, with one hand behind his back, fingers crossed. He grabbed her hand and raised it to his lips, waiting for the characteristic "crack" that marked a house elf's apparition. He always found it strange that some house elves were able to apparate silently, while others were not. Even those that could only did so when specifically asked. It probably had to do with wanted to alert their masters of their presences.

Just as he heard the crack, and pulled Ariadne down unto the snow covered ground and used his wand to send a jet of snow unto her head.

"Oh YOU-"

"Let that be your first introduction into Slytherin cunning, and let me inform you that it will certainly not be your last." He threw his head back and laughed at his tricking her. "He pointed his wand at Tinky and cast a modified warming charm on the tiny elf. Because, if a full strength warming charm hit her, it would cause burns to her skin.

"Now as I was saying, please put these on."

"What are they?"

"They are the traditional clothing for witches. Because we are going to be in wizarding London, and I think it best for your own safety if you are to blend. I am also going to cast a charm to change your eye color. Your eyes would give your identity away in a second to anyone who knew Albus Dumbledore and took a careful look at you."

She frowned. "I had no idea you were embarrassed of being see with a flunky-witch."

"I am not embarrassed in the least, and I you are not a flunky. Your powers were bound. You cannot control that. Trust me, it is for your own safety. I am not ashamed to say that there are certain persons who would seek to harm you as means to get to me, especially if they were led to believe that you were a muggle." He was thinking primarily of Bellatrix, but with his standing in the Dark Lord's ranks rising quite rapidly, to the point that he was essentially the right hand of the evil wizard, at least in Tom Riddle's mind. They would certainly use the fact that Severus was involved with a muggle against him. Perhaps even leading the dark lord to seek our Ariadne and either force her into joining the ranks of the "comfort women," squibs who existed solely for the pleasures of Death Eaters, or even more frightening still, murder her as a means to eliminate any distraction from the brilliant mind of Severus Snape. Severus could bear neither of those things.

The look of hurt on her face was not abated. "Ariadne, please know that I care very deeply for you, and, would it cause immense danger both of us, I would sing it from the mountain tops. But as of right now, we must keep your identity a secret." He pulled her to his chest.

She could feel his heart beating rapidly. "I am sorry for overreacting. You were only trying to protect me."

"I apologize for getting you involved in all of this."

"I would have been involved sooner or later, at least if they find out who I am, and you are worth it, Mr. Snape."

"I only wish that I was worthy of your esteem. If you really do not wish to put these on, we will find another way." He resized the robes and handed them to Ariadne.

"I'll wear them. They are actually quite beautiful."

"Lena Washington picked them out for me and had her own personal dressmaker fashion them for you. They are part of the first part of your surprise." He helped her into the robes. For once, enjoying putting her clothing on as much as he usually enjoyed taking them off. When he was finished, she stood awkwardly, wishing she had a mirror while he stood back to admire her. Then he took her face into his hands, his bottomless obsidian pools drinking in her eyes, wanting to remember their beautiful blue shade before he changed them to brown. It was only for a matter of hours, but it was almost a crime to change something so utterly breathtaking. "You look more beautiful than ever. I promise you that." He pointed his wand at her and silently cast the appropriate charm. Her eyes tickled for just a moment, and with that, her eyes turned a lovely topaz. "We should be on our way. Tinky, if you will please go first to the location about which we spoke?"

"Yes, sir. Tinky is looking forwards to the surprise." Tinky gushed.

"Very well then. We will follow within a few minutes."

Five minutes after Tinky left, they were in the lobby of a beautiful old hotel where everything was lit by candles and two giant fireplaces where people were exiting and entering the lobby itself. Those that were leaving seemed to throw some green powder in the grate and walk straight into the fire before disappearing.

"Where are we?" She asked.

"We are at a hotel called Claridge's in the Mayfair section of London."

"I've eaten here before, but I would have remembered if there was no electricity."

"There is a muggle side to it as well, but this is exclusively for magical people, although many witches and wizards have grown comfortable with muggle hotels and inns, there are still several places that cater to us solely. This is the finest of them all. I hope you enjoy it and everything else I have planned."

When they reached the desk, the clerk seemed to recognize Severus. "Welcome back to Claridge's, Professor. We have your suite ready for you and have accommodated all of your requests."

"I think you very much, Byron. Would you be so kind as to have our luggage transported to the our quarter we've some errands that are pressing, as our journey has take slightly longer than originally planned."

"Of course, Professor. I will send someone up straight away. Here is your key. Please let me know if you require anything further upon your return. I will be here for the remainder of the evening until tomorrow morning."

"Thank you." Severus bowed slightly. He turned to Ariadne"Unless you'd like to freshen up, we should be on our way."

"I'm just fine. This is beautiful, Severus. You didn't need to do any of this for me."

"I am aware of that. I wanted to do something special for you." I've booked the suite here for three days so that you could spend some time in London, as your uncle is away seeing to an important matter, and he will not return for at least that long."

"Where to next?"

"A pub called the Leaky Caldron is our immediate destination. We can travel there by floo. That is what the witches and wizards using the fireplaces are doing. It will add to experience, trust me. We can eat an early supper while we are there, as I am famished."

He guided her to what Ariadne assumed was the "outgoing" fireplace. "Please pay attention to what I am about to do, and make sure you announce the words 'Leaky Caldron, Diagon Alley' quite clearly." Grabbing a small handful of the green powder, he threw it into the grate, stepped in and announced the words. Ariadne saw him shoot forward like a package going through a pneumatic tube, grabbed the green powder and followed his instructions. She felt herself being squeezed, but in an altogether different way than when she had apparated with him." She landed, blessedly on her feet, in a pub inhabited by some of the strangest people she had ever seen. Severus helped her out of the grate. Ariadne Clohessy had finally arrived where she had belonged her entire life, little did she know that her life was about to begin all over again.