Chapter 19

As they stood in front of the looming school doors, a shuffling was heard from behind it as it was being unbolted and creaked open. There stood Argus Filch with his cat settled on his shoulders. As his eyes met those of Snape, he bowed his head slightly as he greeted him in his gravelly voice.

"Welcome back headmaster"

For a split -second Rose imagined him greeting Professor Dumbledore but just as quickly, with a deep pang in her heart, she remembered that that was never to be.

Snape nodded back "Thank you Filch. Have there been any developments whilst I have been gone?"

"With that Severus stepped over the threshold and with a flick of his hand behind his back, he signalled Rose toward the staircase.

Rose shuffled in quietly, careful not to draw any attention to herself. For a second she halted, holding her breath as she saw Mrs Norris twitch her ears and turn her head in Rose's direction. When the cat drew her eyes back to Snape, Rose slinked off quickly to the grand staircase and was up the first three steps when she heard two mechanical voices say in tandem.

"Good morning, headmaster"

Rose stopped her ascent and turned toward the direction of the voices. There stood two figures she had last seen in the astronomy tower, when Dumbledore had died. The woman was stocky, had sloping shoulders and hair pulled tightly back from her pale face. Next to her stood a rather squat, hunched man with a lopsided leer plastered on his doughy face. Rose assumed them to be the Carrows, Alecto and Amycus, the new deputy heads of Hogwarts. She couldn't help shudder as they let out a wheezy giggle approaching Snape who had his back to her.

She longed to stand by Severus' side but she knew that this was not possible lest she get caught or get him into trouble. So reluctantly, she continued to climb the stairs as the voices in the hall faded with every step.

She continued to climb in silence, passing empty hallways devoid of any students, any laughter and life. The portraits too seemed unusually subdued. Finally, she reached the seventh floor. At the top of the staircase, she took the left corridor and walked on until she reached the tapestry depicting the attempt of Barnabas the Barmy to teach trolls ballet. Here she proceeded to walk past the empty wall three times thinking about her need of a room within which to hide, complete with all necessities and which only Severus Snape could locate her in.

A door started to materialise in front of her eyes. When the door seemed fully formed, Rose reached out her hand and turned the knob. Within she found a spacious brightly lit room which hosted an oak kitchenette with a round dining table surrounded by four chairs, a cozy sofa close to a bookshelf containing dozens of books, a large arched window looking out onto the lake and letting plenty of light enter the room and at the far end a large four poster bed, two bedside tables and an armoir. At the foot of the bed she was pleased to find her trunk and Hedwig's cage, with the owl sleeping soundly within.

Looking around the room she noticed a door close to the kitchenette, which she was relieved to find led to a bathroom with a spacious tub, sink, loo and a full-length mirror.

She had all the necessities, except for food, which Snape had promised he would bring her every day since according to Gamp's Law of Elemental Transfiguration, the room of requirement could not procure food out of nothing. As she shed the invisibility cloak, Rose went round the kitchen opening cupboards to see what was stored within. Most were empty whilst the rest held cups, saucers, plates, eating utensils and pots. She also checked out the bookcase and noted that all the books Snape had used in her training as well as all school text books were there. She also found a few books and scrolls which she had never come across before, but looked to prove quite useful in preparing her for her future endeavours. She noticed two tomes which were solely dedicated to the theory of horcrux creation and elimination.

This is how Severus Snape found Rose, sitting at the kitchen table going through books and scrolls stacked all around her. As she heard the click of the closing door, she looked up to find Snape standing there with a small box in hand. He approached her and set the box on one of the kitchen work tops. There he tapped it with his wand and it grew in size. When it stopped enlarging, he lifted the lid off and proceeded to take out a rather large quantity of food.

Rose stood and walked to his side, helping him take out the food and store it in the cupboards and refrigerator as necessary.

"Is everything to your liking? Is there anything else you think you might need?"

She looked up at him and gently smiled.

"I have everything necessary here."

He nodded and turned toward her taking her hand in his. As he gently caressed her fingers he looked into her eyes pleadingly.

"It is imperative that you do not leave this room unless instructed by me. The Carrows are vile creatures, they take pleasure in torturing others, and would not hesitate to turn you in after they have their fun with you."

Rose stepped closer to him and raised her hand to graze his cheek.

"I promise to do as you say. But what can I do whilst I am here? How will I be able to communicate with you? When will we destroy the remaining horcruxes?"

Severus let go of Rose's hand and stepped back, as he plunged his hand inside a deep pocket within his overcoat. He proceeded to extract a diary which he handed to Rose. The tiny booked seemed unremarkable with tattered edges, a navy blue leather exterior and thick yellowed pages within.

"This is how you can communicate with me. Anything you write in here will appear on an identical diary I will have on my person. Should the diary fall into someone's hands you will be protected as it is charmed in a way which only allows me to read anything written within. All anyone else will be able to see is a list of potions ingredients and tedious instructions on their proper use."

Rose smirked, "just like Tom Riddle's diary"

"His diary gave me the idea, but let me assure you this is no horcrux. Using this you and I can communicate with each other during the day and every night I will come in order for us to continue training as well as preparing for the missions ahead."

"Will it be safe for you, coming and going daily?" asked Rose deathly afraid that he might be caught by one of the Carrows.

"Yes, it will. The Carrows have each been assigned an area of the castle to monitor as far away from this corridor as possible. I will use a shielding spell in order to come here undetected every night as an extra precaution."

Rose reached for his hand again and grasped it tightly.

"I look forward to our nights together"

At her words Snape's face reddened as he was visibly flustered. Rose was amused as she had never seen Severus flushed. It then dawned on her that the words had a double entendre and she felt her cheeks redden as she too suddenly felt as flustered as the potions master.

Severus stepped closer to Rose and with a single finger under her chin, lifted her face to look at him. "I too look forward to our time together, but I admit that I am not looking forward to the impending horcrux missions and battle."

"When the time comes, Severus, we will face it together."

And with that Rose rose on her toes and planted a feather light kiss on Snape's lips. He lowered his head in order to deepen the kiss letting go of her hand to cup her face in both his own. Rose placed one hand against his chest, over the region where she supposed his heart to be and the other she raised to entangle in the hair at his nape.

She moved closer to him, pressing her body tightly against his own, relishing at the feel of the heat emanating from his body, warming her to her core. She marvelled at how well their bodies, their faces fit, as though they were moulded, intended for one another,a perfect matching pair.

At that moment all thought of the danger that loomed, thoughts of Voldemort, worries for her friends and future missions evaporated as her mind was occupied by the sheer delight she felt at his touch, at his kiss. What transpired between them felt so good, right, as though it was always meant to be. She felt complete in that moment as though Snape was a missing piece in a puzzle. At these thoughts she deepened the kiss further, eliciting a moan from Snape as a result. His hands left her face as they occupied a new position around her waist, grasping her tightly and pressing her even more against him. It was as though he was afraid that if he were to let go, she would disappear.

Eventually, to Rose's dismay, his grip loosened as he lifted his head breaking the kiss. When Rose opened her eyes she found Severus' own looking deeply into hers.

"Though I would rather stay I have to go as I have a staff meeting to attend to in half an hour's time. I suggest you rest, eat and I'll try to come at around 11pm to continue where we left off..."

At this Rose smiled widely.

"… in our defensive training techniques" Snape continued at which Rose's smile vanished as she nodded solemnly.

Before turning to exit the room of requirement, Snape caressed her cheek one last time and grazed her lips with his own for one final kiss. As he disappeared through the door, Rose breathed "Stay safe".