Dear Bob, everything got here fine. Again, thanks so much ! Merry Christmas !

"Ten points from Ravenclaw !" Alex glanced up from the email she was composing. Excitement was running high; school would let out for the winter break in just a few hours. Professor Snape was having to use his entire formidable repertoire of sarcasm, taunts, and glares to keep the sixth-years in order. She gave him a sympathetic smile before returning her attention to the computer.

"Woo-hoo ! Ten days off, Severus," she crowed as the last class jostled their way out of the laboratory, chattering excitedly.

He rolled his eyes, hiding a grin. "You do realize I have to be back here Thursday evening ? Mistletoe must be harvested on Christmas eve, and since I normally shun the holiday festivities, I took over the task from Professor Sprout years ago," he explained.

"No problem. I'll help; I love harvesting mistletoe."

Snape raised an eyebrow. "Somehow, I find that difficult to believe."

"No, really, I do. Back at Roswell, we used to make a party out of it. It was fun." The American witch smiled nostalgically. "This'll be great, now I won't be homesick at all. Just the two of us, Christmas eve, under the moonlight. It'll be... romantic."

-----

The two mages tramped through the snowy woods to a clearing. Snape stopped, setting down the rucksack he'd been carrying. Alex looked around with interest. There were a few bushes of indeterminate species, but no mistletoe. "Um, Severus ?" She felt a growing feeling of trepidation. "Is this the place ? I don't see any mistletoe."

"In those oaks over there," he gestured towards the far end of the clearing where majestic trees towered. Alex stared up at the grove of oak trees. The smallest ones were easily fifty feet tall. Severus, standing behind her in the snowy woods, wrapped his arms around her. "The grove is hundreds of years old. Magnificent, aren't they ?" he whispered in her ear.

"Um, yeah. Great. The mistletoe is...up there ?"

"Mm-hm. That's what makes the harvesting so much...fun." The potions master's voice shook with suppressed laughter.

Alex glared at the oaks, bitterly regretting her offer to help with the mistletoe harvest. "Back home, the stuff grows on creosote bushes," she explained. "Nice little bushes, close to the ground."

"Well as you can see, Alex, these trees are just a bit taller," he chuckled. "Accio brooms." Snape's eyes gleamed in the moonlight as they waited for the brooms to arrive. "You're long overdue for another flying lesson, anyway."

"You could have warned me," Alex chided.

"You said you enjoyed harvesting mistletoe," he replied innocently.

She frowned at him. You're not fooling anyone. "Um, I think I'll just wait for you. Down here. On the ground." He merely shook his head, deftly catching his broom out of the air as it flew into the clearing. Alex caught her own little broom out of a simple desire not to get hit as it whizzed toward her.

Severus took off, rising nearly straight up into the night sky. "Well, come along," he called back from fifty feet above her. "I can wait all night," he reminded her.

"Ungh, you know I hate this." Her breath steamed in the freezing air. And he will keep me out here all night, she thought. Stubborn bastard.

Snape watched her hesitate, stamping her feet to keep warm. "Stubborn witch," he muttered to himself. "Lovely view of the moon from up here," he called out loud, "quite romantic, really."

"Argh ! Stop it !" As though he has any appreciation for romance. Ha. Sadism, definitely. Romance, no. Reluctantly, she mounted the child-sized broom and allowed it to rise slowly.

The potions master rummaged in his rucksack, taking out a golden sickle. He handed her a shopping bag. The witch managed to loosen her grip long enough to hang it by its handles from the broomstick. She followed Severus through the canopy as he flew slowly, taking cuttings from the parasitic plants and putting them carefully into the bag. The waxing moon, half-full, lit up the grove. The forest was peaceful and quiet. This isn't so bad, she thought to herself. I couldn't have imagined doing this six months ago.

"Not so bad, is it ?" Severus asked, echoing her thoughts. "You seem to be overcoming your fear...gradually."

"Mm," she grunted noncomitally.

He held out the cutting implement, handle first. "Your turn," he suggested.

"Not such a good idea," Alex told him, worried. "The mistletoe can't touch the ground."

"Then don't drop any," Severus told her implacably. She accepted the golden sickle gingerly and maneuvered her broom close to the trunk of one of the massive trees. The magically sharpened blade cut through the stems of the plants easily. She stuffed the cuttings into the bag. He grinned at her, bringing his broom close to hers; their legs were touching. "Eh, look at that." Alex glanced up, stifling a feeling of vertigo. Yet another clump of mistletoe clung to a branch over their heads. He reached across the narrow space between them, taking her in his arms and kissing her passionately.

When they broke apart at last, Alex backed away from him with a smile, deftly steering her broom out of the oak grove and over the clearing.

"Hey," Severus exclaimed, surprised.

"The sooner we get this stuff put away, the sooner we can get back to Knockturn Alley," she called back. "Where it's warm, among other things."

"You are improving," he said triumphantly, catching up to her easily. She smirked at him. "Next lesson, barrel rolls," Severus suggested. He executed several as they passed over the castle grounds.

Alex felt her stomach clench. She gripped the handle of her broom a little harder. "Not on your life," she muttered.

-----

"I have a question," Snape murmured. They were curled up together in bed in the suite at Knockturn Alley.

Alex opened one eye and glanced sleepily at the clock. "No, Severus, it's too early to go see what Santa's left for you," she teased.

He snorted. "Your Dark Mark," he persisted after a while. "It's been activated, but it doesn't show. You're not disguising it...so where is it ?"

She giggled. "I'm not telling. You've had plenty of opportunities to find it."

"True." He leaned to kiss her shoulder, trailing his fingers down her spine.

Alex shivered. "Cold," she informed him.

"You feel quite... warm, to me."

"No, it's a game. You're not even close - cold." He caressed her leg. "Cold," she told him reluctantly. Severus slid his hand down her calf, grasped her ankle. "Argh, ice cold," she squealed.

He was tickling the sole of her foot. "Are you sure ? Maybe between your toes..."

"Cut it out," Alex cried, laughing helplessly. She squirmed, trying to kick him. He caught hold of her other foot and tickled until she gasped for breath.

"So, where is it ?"

"Ungh ! You're relentless. Sheesh." She sat up in bed, suddenly serious. "Does it really make a difference to you ? That I have, um, a Dark Mark ?"

He took her in his arms. "No, of course not." Severus kissed the top of her head.

Alex sighed. "Hot," she murmured. She bent her head. Running her fingers through her hair, she formed a part at the nape of her neck. "There, see it ?"

Snape peered at the inverted pentagram marked at the base of her skull, still mostly hidden by thick, wavy tresses. "Clever," he remarked. "Terrible thing to do to a child, though."

She shrugged, pushing her hair back over her shoulders. "Children aren't summoned," she told him. "Even the Corwins aren't that cruel." She chuckled. "Although it is a hell of a way to keep a wild teenager from breaking curfew..." Snape was scowling. "Aw, come on, it's Christmas. Let's go open presents."

He took her in his arms. "Later."