A.N.: A bit of a content warning for this one bc it's a continuation of the last chapter and we all know where this is going *eyes*

Over the next week, they didn't bother hiding anything from anyone. Sev was, of course, against a lot of outward displays of affection, but he would often take her hand in the corridors, and even the most inattentive of the Ravenclaws would spot them curled up on the sofa in front of the fire together. For his part, Sev much preferred the Ravenclaw common room to his own. The Ravenclaws said nothing, and they wouldn't whisper about them, at least when they were in the room. The Slytherins, though, would be passing notes or trying to keep their voices low enough where they wouldn't be overheard. After they'd caught Draco Malfoy trying to look up her family history while they were in the Slytherin common room, they'd both decided Ravenclaw Tower was better.

The New Year's Eve feast was one of Dumbledore's favorites, with the ceiling of the Great Hall showing sparkling fireworks. Then again, he liked any special occasion, always the first to want to decorate and make the holidays special for the students. This one, though, was special, because so many people had stayed behind for the Yule Ball and the events leading up to the next Triwizard task.

The sun had long since set when there was a knock on Hazel's door. "Hi," she beamed, pulling the door open and stepping side. "I was starting to wonder where you'd disappeared to."

Sev hung his cloak next to the door, explaining that he'd caught some of the third years trying to set off Filibuster's Fireworks in the dungeons. "I assume the invitation is still open." He stepped inside, dark eyes sweeping over the room. It was just as charming as it had been every full moon, full of warmth and light, all fresh linen and lavender and the faint echoes of a crackling fire. He turned to her, noticing that she'd dressed up for the New Year. "You look… beautiful. You always do, but…" He leaned in to kiss her, glad they could finally be alone. They'd been pestered by a bunch of students over the last few days, after Rita Skeeter had released an article (a short one, as Hagrid being a half-giant was her ticket to the front page) about how the Hogwarts Potions Master had been seen disappearing into the rose bushes with the Ghoul Studies professor, a 'longtime friend, and perhaps more than that, especially after the Yule Ball.

"You're always welcome, Sev." She reached out to hug him, pulling him over to the fire. "Sit, warm yourself up. I assume you're not frozen solid from the dungeons, but… come here." She summoned two glasses of champagne, checking her watch with a, "Happy almost New Year."

"The dungeons do have heat now," he smiled, still grateful for the gesture. "Happy almost New Year to you too."

As much as they talked, they could both tell that they were talking around something. "Sev," she finally asked, "why are you here?"

Taken aback, he raised an eyebrow. "You invited me."

She pursed her lips. He was avoiding the question, and he knew it. "Why did you take me up on it? Well, I guess what I'm trying to ask is… the Yule Ball, was that..."

"I'm sorry. The last time - the last time anything close to that happened, you and I went our separate ways. We had to. It was the end of an era, or so we thought." Hazel reached out for his hand, Sev smiling tenderly. "Frankly it terrified me. What it was, what it could mean. I didn't want to think about it, but it plagued me for ages."

"Are we still talking about our seventh year?"

"Yes and no." That was as straightforward of an answer as he was going to give.

It was her turn to lean in, giving him a gentle kiss and finally cutting through the tension in the air. "Sev, it's fine."

"How long?"

"What?" she frowned, trying to puzzle out what he meant.

"I know I asked you something similar back at the ball, but how long have you... cared for me?"

Hazel reached out for him, her expression softening. "I realized the moment I saw you in that forest. Rosier had stunned me. I think he thought I was dead, there were that many curses flying around. Mad-Eye had already charged past and thrown him to the ground. Someone sent a Killing Curse past us, and it lit up the shadows and I saw you. I realized you'd been with them the whole time. And when I realized I couldn't kill you. And when you saved me. And when I heard they'd captured you. And at the trial, even though... Even when we were sixth years, after Remus and I had decided we were better off as friends and you and I -" She dropped it, pulling him closer and kissing him again. "Your turn."

"Seventh year, before the ball. We went as friends, or so we told everyone, including ourselves. I think both of us weren't going to say anything otherwise, even to each other. When I saw you in the woods - I was the one to unfreeze you. I knew you would let me escape," he explained, fighting the urge to kiss her. Not quite yet. He could wait a few more seconds. "I had turned double agent by then. You were the one thing that reminded me - the one person still living who reminded me of the good in the world by the time they hauled me in front of the Wizengamot. Dumbledore was mercy. You were kindness."

Those were the last words spoken between them for a long time. They echoed in Hazel's ears as they embraced again, only to be replaced by the rustle of fabric, the careful, deliberate undoing of buttons, the delicate touch that danced over her skin as the courtyard clocktower rang in the new year. The shallow, steady breaths turned into ragged sighs, the gentleness turned into cautious force as he swept her up from the sofa, laying her down in bed. The dull ache of longing only got worse as they shed another layer. "Sev," she groaned as his mouth strayed down to her chest.

"Hmm?"

"Your turn."

"My - oh, right." He helped her undo the last set of buttons, paying no mind to the fact that she could now see the Dark Mark that had been growing steadily darker on his arm.

They continued on in near silence until there was only one layer left between them. "Sev," she whispered, forcing him to stop kissing her for a moment. "Are you sure you want to do this?"

"Yes." He vanished the last layer of clothing between them (Thank Merlin for wordless, wandless magic, he thought), but the confident look in his eye suddenly started to falter. "You're beautiful," he breathed, dark eyes widening as he looked over her.

"And you are incredibly handsome," she whispered, watching as he nervously reached for her chest. His touch was light, but his dark eyes found hers, never wavering. She could tell he was worried about something, even now. "It's alright, Sev."

He took a deep breath, glancing down and then swiftly back up again. It was time. He had to tell her. He'd been putting this off for so long, but there was no way she wasn't going to find out. The moment he opened his mouth he couldn't stop talking. It was like he'd swallowed Veritaserum and decided to tell her everything he'd been hiding, everything he'd been afraid to admit. "Er, Hazel, I… I've never done this before, and I don't want to hurt you and I want it to be good for you and I've heard sometimes it might not be... so, er…"

Hazel smiled, gently pulling him in for another kiss before briefly reaching for her wand. "First, while I'm thinking of it, protective charm. You can do it after, but I may as well do it now," she told him, placing her wand back on the bedside table as if he hadn't just confessed that he was fairly lost. "Then you kiss me again because you're so good at it." She wound her hand into his hair, Sev kissing her gently as she spread her legs. "And now give me your hand," she said, guiding his hand with her own. "We've done this before, a long time ago. You still remember how to do it?"

How could I forget? The image of her flushed face, whispering his name over and over, would forever be seared into his memory. "Yes." He moved slowly, a bit unsure of himself at first, but as soon as she gasped, it all started to feel natural. What surprised him was her hand reaching down, softly stroking him as he kept rubbing, just enough to remind him of how it felt. "Hazel…"

"Sev," she gasped, stopping what she was doing so she could focus on his hand, on how surprisingly well he was doing. He let out a little moan as she let go of him, but he was soon distracted by her moaning his name, a little louder now. "Severus… oh, Sev…" She took a breath to steady herself, wrapping one of her legs around him. "You're still sure you want to do this?" He nodded, the fear rising in his stomach again. "Okay, when you're ready, oh!" He had just barely grazed her, the light touch enough to bring back a small ripple of the pleasure she had just felt.

"Have I -"

"No, no, that was good. I'm just… You feel so good, Sev," she smiled, reaching down to line him up properly. "Right there... When you're ready, just push in slowly, okay?"

This was the part he was the most scared of. He'd dreamt about it, but nearly everything they'd just done, they'd done before. Ages ago, but they'd done it before. This was completely new. "I don't want to hurt you."

"You're not going to hurt me, Sev," she promised, brushing some of the dark hair out of his eyes. "I'll let you know if it hurts."

"C-Can I kiss you first?"

"Of course. I'm always happy to kiss you," Hazel smiled, Sev leaning in for a reassuring kiss before pushing inside of her. He nearly moaned just at that, Hazel putting a steadying hand on his back.

"That feels so… so good already," he breathed.

She hummed a bit, nodding as he tried to steady himself. "And now… go slowly at first so we can both get used to it, but pull out a little, and then go back in again. You can speed up when you're ready. There, in and out, just like that." Her breath caught in her throat as he moved, making his heart beat a little faster.

"Are you okay?" he whispered, immediately worried that he'd done something wrong.

"I'm fine," she smiled at the look of concern on his face. "Now just keep going and if you want, take your fingers and gently - up a little bit, there. Just like that, yeah. Just like you were doing before. There you go." Her nails dug into his shoulder blades as he steadily kept moving, small noises of pleasure coming from both of them. "Oh Merlin, Sev."

He shifted slightly, his lips grazing her ear, the movement of his body against hers bringing her close to moaning. "Did I -"

"No, you just… hit something very good. If you could… try to do that again," she sighed. Sev was more than happy to oblige. "Severus... again, please… again..."

He was far less vocal, but the noises he made in her ear told her everything she needed to know. "Hazel," he finally groaned in a gravelly voice, "I, I think I'm going to - oh Merlin."

"Don't stop, please, just a little more… oh Sev… Severus…" She gave him a sloppy kiss, begging for him to, "please just… I'm nearly…" The rest was replaced by a whimper, which turned into a low moan of his name that he'd never forget.

When he finally lay down beside her, trying to catch his breath, he was slightly surprised that he'd managed to even remember the word "Evanesco." She curled into his side, intertwining her legs with his as they lay there, both of them basking in how lucky they were. You did that. You actually did that. And she likes me, she actually likes me. I'm so glad it was her. Well, it wouldn't have been anyone else. I've only ever wanted it to be her. Merlin, you're blushing. Stop that. But she's mine. She's a saint, she's an angel, and she's mine. How did I manage that?

"Sev?" Hazel finally managed, reaching out for his hand. I just slept with Severus Snape. And he's pretty good. Merlin, I just slept with him. And he likes me. And he wants to stay.

"Hmm?" He kissed the top of her head, Hazel looking up at him.

"How do you feel? Good first time?"

"That was… incredible," he breathed. "And I'm glad it was you. I went from our seventh year right into being a Death Eater, and then I ended up here, and I never wanted to… I never found anyone else I wanted to sleep with, and I knew I had no chance with you, so I never… but you, it feels right. It feels good. It feels really damn good," he smiled, finally meeting her eye. "Thank you. Erm… am I… any good?"

"Wonderful," she assured him with a kiss.

He turned a shade more pink in the darkness. If he was completely honest, he felt like he might cry. She likes you. She wants you. She wanted to do this with you and didn't laugh at you for not knowing what you were doing. Oh Merlin, I really like her. I… no, not yet. You can't love her yet, can you? It was a fleeting thought, but one that would stick with him forever. "You're not just saying that, are you?"

"No. You really are, Sev. You're an incredibly fast learner. If there's anything you ever want to try, just let me know and we'll figure it out together."

Sev thought for a moment, turning something over in his mind. He would never trust anyone else with it. But he trusted her completely. "Not… next time, but sometime, we could, I've heard… Legilimency, if you both know how to do it… I've heard it makes it even better, because you can feel what the other person's feeling."

"That sounds like fun," Hazel smiled.

"Or, umm… on my desk? I've wondered for a bit… what it would be like." He conveniently left out the fact that he'd had a dream like that, fueled by a day of inhaling Amortentia fumes from his N.E.W.T. class. And that she'd definitely been involved. And that he imagined she'd look rather nice on his desk. "If you want."

She started tracing lazy circles on his chest with her fingertip. "That sounds like fun too."

"There is something else I should tell you. I know you said it's normal, but I don't… I don't feel like doing this very often, but if you do and, erm -"

"It's okay, Sev. Whatever you're comfortable with. I'm more than happy to just fall asleep next to you. You make an excellent pillow. You always have."

"I was going to suggest that if you ever wanted to, if you ever really needed that, er, release and I didn't, well... you've always admired my hands," he smiled, blushing at the ceiling. Why did it still make his face burn to talk about things like this? Because you're with her. And you care about her. And she cares about you. And she actually wanted to sleep with you, and she actually wants to do it again.

She sat up a bit so she could look at him properly. "Thank you, Sev. But really, whatever you're comfortable with, that's what's important." He nodded, but there was a look on his face, something in the particular way his mouth moved, that made her raise an eyebrow. "What's wrong?"

He cut any further questions off, instead pulling her into his arms. Everything had been weighing on him. He'd fallen into a cult of Purebloods and become the dirtiest thing of all, a traitor, a spy, something either side could easily hate. He'd tried to redeem himself, but he still couldn't see what she saw in him. He was nothing, still alive because of the grace of a man who knew he would be useful. It would have been a mercy for Dumbledore or Voldemort to have killed him. And yet here he was, lying in bed next to someone who had only ever been good. She had only killed to save lives. Compared to him, she was a saint. She had chosen him. She had chosen to ask him to stay. She had chosen to welcome him into her life again and again, even after knowing everything he'd done. "I'm sorry."

"For what? You've been nothing but sweet -"

"Everything."

"Oh Sev, you're not thinking about… I know you made horrible, horrible choices. I know Dumbledore still asks you to do horrible things. I know some of why you went that way is because I should've done something more about James and Sirius and your dad. I don't know, I should have gone to Dumbledore or something. But I didn't, and I'm sorry." He felt her breath catch in her chest, but not like it had before. More like she was trying not to cry. He immediately felt bad for springing this on her, especially now. "A bullied, hurt child can turn into a hurt, vindictive adult. It doesn't excuse anything, but you're trying. You've done enough. You don't need redemption, not on a grand scale like you think you do. You've atoned enough. Dumbledore - this war isn't the only way to make up for everything you've done, and he shouldn't be using that against you. All the self-sacrifice and... you're allowed to be happy sometimes, Sev. Your whole life shouldn't be this war."

"What else am I supposed to do?"

"Stay with me. You deserve a holiday, a real holiday. As real as we can make it, anyway. No thinking about Dumbledore or Harry Potter or Voldemort or the Death Eaters. You deserve to rest and watch the snow and have someone care about you," she insisted. "You can stay with me or I can stay with you, and we can have a nice little holiday. And we'll make sure you have a nice birthday. You don't have to apologize for anything."

Sev couldn't help but to smile. "Alright. Hazel?"

"Hmm?"

"About James and Sirius... you did what you could. I don't blame you for anything. You... I'm thankful you never joined them. Lily did. I should have realized it then. Our friendship was over well before I called her a... The first time she joined Potter, I should have seen it then." He pulled part of the blanket over the two of them, Hazel contentedly holding him close.

"We were young. She could do no wrong in your eyes."

"Still... thank you."

Sunlight streaming into the room woke them up, Hazel lacing her fingers with his as he held onto her. Neither of them wanted to get up, much less move. They were perfectly warm, and perfectly content to stay there. "Happy New Year," Sev mumbled in a gravelly voice, still halfway asleep.

"Happy New Year to you too," she smiled, rolling over in bed so she could look at him and give him a proper kiss good morning. Her smile faded as she noticed the pattern of scars criss-crossing his back. She reached out and traced one that ran down his shoulder, markings that she hadn't noticed in the darkness the night before. "Sev, what happened to you?"

Looking up at her, he was hesitant to explain. It brought back too many bitter memories, things he tried to forget, tried in vain to run from. "Dad. It was hardly a happy childhood. But that one you have your hand on is from the explosion in sixth year, when we sent brass shrapnel all over the Room of Requirement and had to explain it to Madam Pomfrey. Some of the others are from my time as a Death Eater. And James Potter and his gang. Nothing pleasant."

"Ah." It was a lie and she knew it. That wasn't a shrapnel scar. It looked far more like a pattern of claw marks, but she wasn't going to press the subject. She drew the blankets up around herself, glancing at the black tattoo on his arm, another scar she knew he detested. She would never be able to bring herself to like it either. "I'm sorry, Sev. I'm sorry I couldn't stop all of that."

"You made it better," he assured her, sitting up and giving her a tender kiss. "And you're making the present better too."

Elsewhere in the castle, a bitter man sat poring over the Marauder's Map. He'd studied the tiny dots and where they moved for ages, but today something was different. Snape was in Ravenclaw Tower, and he'd been there all night, practically on top of another name, a name he recognized. Curious. The Dark Lord would want to know about this. After all, the reason Snape was in Ravenclaw Tower was the reason why Barty Crouch Jr. and so many of his friends were in Azkaban. The man took a swig of the disgusting potion he'd been brewing, pocketing the map and putting on a stolen overcoat as he got ready for breakfast.