A/N: Thanks to my beta Azzie for going over this for me, and to anyone still reading this story! :)

Fighting Fate With Love:

Chapter 25: Falling:

Zoey tilted her head to the side, confused. Dumbledore had made it sound like counseling, or interrogation, one of the two, though to her mind they were extremely similar. But Snape wasn't treating her like that.

Severus saw her confusion and felt hope grow in his heart. She was caught off guard now, and hopefully he could coax her into trusting him, letting him help her. "It suits you." he ventured carefully. Her hair fell along her shoulder, rippling in a mirror image of the flames in his hearth. She blinked, and dipped her head slightly in acknowledgment, but said nothing. He sighed again. For one dangerous instant, he had hoped that she would somehow miraculously open up, but of course she hadn't. He hadn't, back when he'd been in situations similar to hers.

Another idea sparked in his mind, but he set it aside to grow and develop before giving the girl a sideways look. "Have you done your essay yet?" Zoey blinked again, then nodded, pulling the paper from her bag and holding it out. He raised an eyebrow. "You must be confident." he murmured, taking it from her. He read through it quickly, noting as he went that although it was a technically correct essay, it still clearly contained a thoroughly Muggle structure, a reflection of her origin. A refreshing difference from the other dunderheaded essays he had to grade day in and day out. "Why does everything you write read like a story?" he wondered out loud.

"I'm an author." The first words she'd spoken since he stepped through the Floo knocked the air out of his lungs.

"Published?" he asked, shocked. There weren't many people her age who could claim that particular accomplishment. She shook her head.

"No, but I write poetry, stories, and I'm editing my first novel."

"What genre?"

"Fantasy." Well, it wasn't something he'd normally read, but maybe he'd make an exception.

"Is it true that there are writers and then there are editors in the writer's world?"

"For some."

"For you?" She shrugged.

"Yeah, I guess. It's harder for me to fix it because I remember the struggle it was to put those words there."

"Do you want to publish it?" Zoey nodded.

"I have a series planned out, so I'm hoping so." She seemed to have decided that this was a safe topic, and Severus suddenly realized that this was a great opportunity. Especially in the fantasy genre, writers often put their own hearts and souls into their writing.

"Would you like me to look at it?" Zoey stared at him for a few minutes, then shrugged.

"Why not?" Severus' heart felt lighter than it had in years. Success.

"How was it?" Mykayla asked curiously. Zoey shrugged.

"Fine, I guess. He didn't interrogate me at all." She frowned.

"Really? I thought he was supposed to?" Mykayla paused, flashing a mischievous look at her friend out of the corner of her eye. "I bet he's defying orders for you!"

Zoey shoved her and ran, laughing the whole way down the hall. "Maybe he's falling for you the way you're falling for him!" Mykayla teased relentlessly, but she couldn't keep up with her athletic friend for long.

"I seriously doubt it!" Zoey yelled over her shoulder as she disappeared around the corner.

Severus watched silently from the shadows, a little thrill running through him at the light banter between the two girls. Falling for you.