Severus Snape stood beside Kayla's bed, his arms crossed over his chest. Madam Pomfrey watched from afar for a moment before she began tending to another student.

Lightning flashed outside and Snape looked out the window, watching the rain fall against the glass. Thunder rumbled throughout the castle and lightning continued to flash violently. He looked down at the small sixth year student, who lay completely unconscious. She had not moved since he and Madam Pomfrey had placed her limp body, unconscious from sleeping draught, onto the bed.

Suddenly, there was another flash of lightning and Kayla's features suddenly changed. For but a moment, Kayla's dark hair had turned a fiery red, her face light. Snape flinched and stepped back away from the bed.

Madam Pomfrey paced over to the bedside and pulled down Kayla's sheets. "Professor, if you wouldn't mind, would you help me in turning her over?"

Snape stood motionless, staring down at Kayla.

Madam Pomfrey sighed, "Professor please... I need your help in turning her over on her other side."

Just now registering her words, Snape stared at Madam Pomfrey blankly. Madam Pomfrey put one hand on Kayla's hips and the other on her leg.

"Just place a hand on her shoulder and back," she instructed. Snape silently obeyed and helped move Kayla to her other side. Kayla did not stir while they moved her. Snape grabbed at the lump of blankets and placed them back over Kayla.

Madam Pomfrey pursed her lips. "I've never seen you like this, Professor." There was perhaps a hint of teasing in her tone. But Snape did not react. Instead, he sat down in the chair beside the bed.

"Well, if you're going to sit here again tonight, you might as well drink this," she handed him a bottle of Pumpkin Juice.

Snape stared down at the bottle in his hand for a moment, then set it down on the small table beside the bed.

"Alert me if she wakes up," he said sternly. Snape then crossed room and exited the infirmary. Madam Pomfrey brushed some hair away from Kayla's face, "You've a lot of fans at this school. I hope you know that." She said softly.

Snape paced down the hallway before coming to a sudden stop. He thought of what he had just seen and then to a few nights before when his student had collapsed.

When Kayla had touched the diary her eyes had rolled into the back of her head. She lurched forward and fell out of her chair. She moved violently and as she spoke, her voice changed.

"'Thought we we were supposed to be friends? Best friends?'" She croaked, her eyes a terrifying milky white. She moved violently again, "'We are, Sev...'"

Snape moved back in shock, his back colliding with a table behind him.

Kayla fell violently against the floor of the dungeon writhing. "'Please no... take me instead!'"

Kayla had gripped the diary so hard, her knuckles had turned white as she convulsed. Snapping out of his shock, Snape lurched forward and tore the diary out of her grip. The convulsions began to slowly ease. He threw the diary into his desk and locked the cabinet. When he turned, Kayla was upright, floating a few inches above the ground, her hands at her throat, her eyes wide and still milky white.

"I knew you were coming for me," she said hoarsely, "But I possess no magic, no measurable talent for..."

Her body shook back and forth as if someone were strangling her.

Snape crossed the room, his wand extended, but completely at a loss for what to do. Suddenly, Kayla dropped to the floor, her body limp.

He walked slowly over to her. As he knelt down, she jerked toward him so she was staring right at him.

"Sophia..." She cried. Another wave of convulsions took her and she screamed.

It wasn't but a moment later that Madam Pomfrey and Professor Dumbledore had entered the room.

The ringing of bells brought Snape back to the corridor as rain pelted the windows and thunder rumbled.

Dane and Catherine had spent the evening after classes in the library. Dane was flipping through pages of the Confronting the Faceless, the book he had purchased in Hogsmeade. They sat quietly together, only every so often, pointing out something that might be relevant to helping their friend.

Catherine sighed deeply and ran a hand through her hair. Dane watched her for a moment. He bit his lower lip and sighed, "You don't like me, do you?"

Catherine rolled her eyes, "I hardly think we need to be talking about that right now," she whispered.

Dane continued to stare at her, squinting slightly. "I just wanted to know-"

"I don't like anyone who likes Kayla, okay?"

Dane blinked as Catherine flipped a page of her book violently and continued to read.

"When I said I liked her, I meant..."

"I know what you meant!" She snapped. "I'm not stupid." She lowered her voice and leaned her chin onto her fist, never looking away from her book.

"I see the way you look at her."

Dane felt his cheeks grow hot and he stared down at the book in front of him, not reading a word of it. He cleared his throat.

"You know, when Kayla gets better we should go out. All three of us. Halloween is around the corner and-"

"If she gets better," Catherine corrected.

Dane placed a hand on top of Catherine's. She tried to move it away, but Dane held it steadfast. "She will. I promise you she will."

Kayla sat up in bed very suddenly and out of breath. Madam Pomfrey almost came out of her skin and quickly ran to Kayla's bedside.

"Sit still, dear."

Sweat poured down Kayla's face and her pajamas were soaked with sweat. Her throat stung and all of her muscles ached. A student aide came to Madam Pomfrey's side.

"Please fetch Professor Snape for me."

Kayla looked around, startled by her surroundings. Madam Pomfrey tried to calm her and poured her a tonic for her to drink.

Moments later, Professor Snape had entered the infirmary. He stood at the end of Kayla's bed, his mouth slightly agape.

"Please dear, sit back and drink this. You need to rest."

Kayla moved, following Madam Pomfrey's instructions, but her muscles felt heavy and sore and she winced in pain.

"Can you please leave Miss Roth and I alone for a moment?"

Madam Pomfrey's expression was filled with exasperation, "Most certainly not! She's just woken up, she needs-"

"-She needs to speak with me." Snape said, sternly.

Madam Pomfrey scoffed at him. "I'm speaking to Professor Dumbledore about this. This is out of line!"

When she had gone, Snape crossed his arms over his chest and stared at Kayla.

Kayla grabbed at the sheets and instinctively pulled them closer to her chest.

"How much do you know?" He asked.

"I don't-"

"How much do you know?" He asked again.

Kayla's face had been filled with confusion and fear, but seconds later, she was still and completely composed.

She stared straight at Professor Snape, taking in his image. The observations she had made the other night in his office; the tight fitting, buttoned up cloak. The long sleeves. Dressed always in black. His hair hanging over his face. Everything made sense now.

"I saw her." She said, simply.

Snape said nothing, but his mouth fell slightly open and his eyes drifted to the floor, his hands falling to his sides.

"I will say nothing of this. I swear to it." Kayla promised. Snape winced, "And what do you want in return?"

"Nothing."

"Nothing," he returned plainly. Kayla stared back without saying a word.

Professor Snape blinked and uncrossed his arms. He tilted his head up slightly while never breaking eye contact from her. Normally, his student seemed apprehensive, quiet and unassuming. Now, however, she seemed as if her entire being were filled with some sort of knowledge that she could not unlearn. Thoughts began racing through his head as he thought of the repercussions this could cause. This one student, this small, unassuming teenager could send ripples through everything. She could create a wake that could destroy all that he had been working for.

How much does she know?

Did she know just what he'd written in his diary? Or did she know more? Who was Sophia?

He'd been careful not to detail too much in his diary, just in case he had been found out. Severus Snape knew that he couldn't afford risks. He felt a chill crawl down his spine as he thought of risks he had taken in his past. The consequences had been severe and something he could never take back. They had become his penance. His atonement.

But this young woman was much more than she appeared. She was a powerful Seer, that much was certain. Snape wondered if Kayla knew how powerful she was. Certainly, Professor Dumbledore would need to know more. She would need protection from the Dark Lord and his followers who were seeking her out. Snape crossed his arms over his chest again as they glared at each other in silence. He was turning her over and over in his head. She could be a threat to him, to Dumbledore and the overall plan, depending on how much she knew. However, she also was vulnerable and needed protection.

"I need to ask you something..." He started, moving closer to her. But before he could say another word, Kayla grabbed him by the wrist. He felt a wave of warmth wash over him, as if he'd been doused with warm water. He flinched in response and gasped.

Kayla stared at him, her grip tight on his wrist. He was immobilized.

"You're afraid..." She said, clenching her jaw.

She gripped his wrist even more tightly, pulling him closer to her. "You're afraid I'll betray you and your secret. But your secret with who?"

Snape could feel her flitting through him like pages of a book. He could feel her fingers sifting through his thoughts.

"Your secrets with Dumbledore, with Draco Malfoy? With the Dark Lord?"

"Stop!" Snape muttered, his eyes closed.

Suddenly, the sifting and and flitting stopped. A sense of warmth and comfort came over him and he opened his eyes.

"You'll do no harm," Kayla said simply.

Was it a question?

Snape tried again to pull away, but Kayla pulled his wrist back toward her.

"I will not betray you, Professor Snape. And you will not betray those whom you trust most ardently."

Snape's expression softened.

"You will not betray Dumbledore, you will not break your Vow..." She pulled him closer, "And you will not betray Lily."

Snape jerked his wrist away from her. He felt something break between them. The warmth that he felt dissipated immediately. His throat stung and his eyes had become glassy with tears. He quickly cleared his throat and blinked them away.

Snape walked out of the room as quickly as possible, his black cloak billowing behind him. He brushed past Professor Dumbledore and Madam Pomfrey just as they walked through the doors to the infirmary. Madam Pomfrey gasped at his sudden exit as Dumbledore turned to look at the sixth year student who was sitting up in bed. She stared at him without expression, until a wave of exhaustion passed over her and she slumped in bed, unconscious.

Professor Snape slammed the door to his office, paced over to his desk and knocked several papers and bottles onto the floor. He collapsed into his chair and put his face in his hands.

You will not betray Dumbledore, you will not break your Vow... -And you will not betray Lily."

Snape leaned back in his chair, and stared at the drawer of his desk that contained his diary. He unbuttoned his sleeve and pulled it down slightly. The white scar that had formed over his hand when he had made the Unbreakable Vow with Narcissa Malfoy, appeared even more pronounced than it had in recent days. It burned slightly and he winced as he pulled his sleeve back down.

Snape pulled out his wand, unlocked his drawer and set his diary on the desk in front of him.

"Incendio," he mumbled softly, as he watched his diary burn and crinkle, until it was nothing but a pile of ash before him.