A/N: submitted for the fest "A Very Snuna Summer" on AO3. Hope you enjoy my first ever Snuna!

'Oh, hello, Severus!' Luna Lovegood always had a way of sounding surprised although Severus Snape was rather sure that nothing could ever be further from the truth. She had just walked around a corner from the corridor that led to the clock tower. Severus was heading in the opposite direction, hoping to get a bit of fresh air alone, while he had the time.

'Good afternoon, Miss Lovegood.'

'There's no need to be so formal,' she reminded him gently. 'Just "Luna" will do. We're colleagues now, you know.'

He did know. She had joined the ranks of Hogwarts professors only the year before after doing a mastery with Sybil Trelawney, of all people. He wondered if she had learned anything at all. He accidentally tsked aloud at the thought. No matter, the strange witch before him seemed to ignore it, as she did a great many things, his previous behaviour as Head Master being one of them. 'You did your best,' she had told him not long after she had begun her apprenticeship. 'You did what you had to to save the students. I, for one, have never held it against you.' She might not have, but others did, and rightly so, he thought. McGonagall had been made Headmistress in the aftermath and he couldn't have wished for a more worthy person to run the school.

'Did you need something, Mi— Luna?' he inquired, correcting himself.

'I don't, but I think you might,' she replied.

'Oh?'

'Might I accompany you outdoors? It's a lovely day.'

He thought about asking her how she had guessed correctly, but refrained, not sure he was ready for whatever otherworldly response she was likely to give.

They walked in companionable silence, the noise of their shoes against the paving stones an echoing shuffle as they headed towards the large wooden doors. Already the air smelled sweeter, like flowers in bloom, a promise of what he would find just as soon as he stepped outside. It wasn't that he had taken this sort of thing entirely for granted, but war and nearly dying will certainly change one's perspective on life one way or another.

There was a gentle breeze blowing across the courtyard when they reached it, bearing with it delightful scents and the sound of birdsong. He had made it through another year of teaching. Only fifteen more to go and he could think about retiring. For the moment, there was summer school, a new program for students who needed a bit assistance with regular classes or who were interested in a small, intensive program in a related field of study. Severus, who had continued this time as the Defence Against the Dark Arts professor, found himself offering a special course on medicinal foraging, of all things, something he thought would be better offered by Pomona, but she would hear nothing of it.

'I grow things, Severus, not forage. That's your domain.'

'I'm hardly the potions professor anymore.'

'That doesn't matter. Come now, it will be so useful for students who want to go on in research or work as Healers.'

And so, there he was, enjoying a bit of nice weather on the last day before the students would arrive for a two-week program. Then he could finally take a holiday before term. He had booked a portkey to Italy for a potions conference and he was beginning to worry that it would be unbearably hot.

'Something is troubling you,' the blonde witch beside him remarked. 'Your head is full of nargles.'

Severus had learned not to delve too deeply into her remarks. It was like she lived in a completely different world than he. Perhaps that was what made her suitable to be a seer. At least she was always drunk like her predecessor. It gave him slightly more hope for her students. They seemed to like her enough, anyway. But, as he considered this, who didn't like her? Sure, she was a little off, but she was kind to everyone and quiet, a quality that he treasured above many other things. There was something peaceful about her and even being in her presence seemed to quiet some of the nagging voices in his head.

'I'm afraid,' he began, sitting down on a bench, 'that I've made a mistake in planning to go to a conference in Italy in the summer,' he admitted, though he couldn't fathom why.

Luna perched beside him, her pale face turned towards him. 'Oh? And why is that?'

'The heat,' he replied succinctly.

'Ah. Yes, it will be rather warm this time of year. But the conference should make up for it, I should think.'

'And why is that?'

'I find that when I'm excited about something, I tend to not notice some of the inconveniences that come along with it. Or if I do, they seem worth the trouble.'

The girl was clearly from some other planet. He'd never heard anyone speak so optimistically. He would have taken her to be naïve because of it, but he knew better than that. Only someone like she could have pardoned people for the horrors that they subjected her to, even if indirectly. She had even befriended Narcissa Malfoy, of all people, who had become something like a second mother to her from the way Lucius spoke of the two of them. Even Lucius and Draco were on friendly terms with the odd girl.

'I'm afraid I'm not as adept as you at such things,' he replied. 'I would simply be miserable.'

'Then you only need to change your opinion about it. It's really quite simple.'

Severus snorted. Simple. He couldn't remember the last time he had seen the world in such black and white terms.

'But I don't think you needed to come outside because you're concerned about your holiday, Severus.'

There was something about the way she said his name that moved him. It warmed him like eating freshly baked bread or basking in the sun on a winter's day. It shamed him to admit it, so he tucked this thought deep into the recesses of his mind where no one would ever find it.

'So for what purpose did I come outside?' he asked cheekily, partially out of curiosity of what she might say.

'Because there's something you and I should probably discuss. Don't you think?'

If he could have shrank into his robes, he would have. Yes, it was true that they had become something of casual companions over the course of the school year. Even Minerva had commented, which he did not appreciate in the slightest and he made sure that she was aware of this. But if he were honest with himself, which he rather thought he was, they were merely friendly. He appreciated her whimsy and she seemed to find his grumpy demeanour rather entertaining. It was as if she didn't believe it in the slightest, that deep within could be found a very large heart, and, once more, she was spot on. He hated the idea of losing any of this, which was why he reacted in fear.

'I don't see that there is anything we need to talk about,' he groused.

She smiled softly and patted his arm. She was not afraid to touch him. Yet another thing that he feared losing.

'I just worry that you might be misinterpreting my intentions,' she explained. 'But if you're alright with things, then that's ok, too.' She rose and brushed some of the dust from her robes. 'I need to finish arranging my classroom for tomorrow. I'll see you at dinner.' She gave him another smile before she rose and went back inside, skipping now and again instead of walking. She reminded him of a small bird hopping about.

He buried his hands in his hair, now slightly shorter than he used to wear it. Just one more thing that she had complimented him on. A heavy sigh burst past his lips. No, he was most certainly not alright with things, but obviously she was. She would never see him as anything other than a friend and he was a fool for ever even hoping. Of course, that had felt wrong of him to hope for, so he stuffed that down, never to be shared. It was a fool's desire.

In any case, I ought to be used to disappointment by now, he thought to himself. Just one more thing he could bear. It was fine. Several minutes later, he, too, rose to his feet, only instead of heading towards the castle, he followed the path to the Forbidden Forest. He might as well rework the route that he would be taking his students on the next day.

Dinner passed in its usual way as did his evening routine. Luna had been friendly, not showing the least bit of concern over their earlier…whatever it was. He went back to his chambers and went over his lesson plans one last time, though he hardly needed to. Anything to keep his mind occupied.

The first week of his class flew by. The students, motivated and excited, provided a stark contrast to some of his previous experiences in teaching. It was, in a word, marvellous. It buoyed his spirits so much that he feared for his reputation as dark, glum, and something to be feared. Not that him surviving the war had done him any favours, especially not with being awarded an Order of Merlin First Class and appearing in all the papers alongside an article that vindicated his previously suspect behaviour. The class, however, was far worse. Aside from needing to shout at a dunderhead who nearly picked a plant that would released dozens of sharp, poisonous needles when the stem was gripped (or bitten into), the student might have potentially witnessed him smiling or, Merlin's beard, saying something encouraging. He blamed Miss Lov— Luna's poor influence on him for any and all of it. But he was, if he were honest with himself, rather pleased with the work of his students.

They had just finished their Friday lesson and were making the long walk back to the school when he, by chance, glanced at the Divination tower and wondered how his colleague had fared. He had the time, so he thought perhaps he would go and inquire himself. She had rarely made any appearances that week, which while common with Sybil, was rare with Luna, who seemed to love spending time with others.

It had been ages since he had made the trek up to the tower and had nearly forgotten that he would be required to climb a ruddy ladder and go through a trap door as well. Let it never be said that working at Hogwarts was not in and of itself some sort of sports programme. By the time he even made it to the ladder, he despaired of ever arriving. How did she do this everyday? It was little wonder that her predecessor preferred drinking sherry to making such a trek.

'Hello, Severus,' came a familiar wispy voice just as he opened the trap door. How did she know? 'Apologies for not coming down much this week. I had so much fun with my students that we decided it better to just stay overnight.' It would have been rude to ask how they'd taken care of any necessary daily functions, so he didn't. Some mysteries were best left unknown.

He heaved himself up into the room and stared around. It had been ages since he had been up there. Gone were the chairs and tables with doilies, replaced by thick cushions in earth tone colours strewn on the floor and low tables. The heavy red curtains had been changed out for ones of dark blue, dotted with constellations.

'How did your class go?' he began politely as he glanced about, looking for the witch who he at last spotted putting away some objects in one of the cupboards.

'We had such a delightful time that I could hardly believe the day was over! And yours?'

And that was when she turned to face him. Bits of her long, blonde hair had been plaited, though the whole of it was tied back with a small bit of pale blue fabric the same shade as her eyes. He knew their colour well. The slate grey dress she was wearing seemed to practically float on a non-existent breeze, daring his fingers to touch, to discover the mystery of why and how, but he squeezed them into fists instead.

'It went…well,' he decided on. It had been quite a positive day and with her there was no use in hiding the fact. She would know somehow. Did she also know how he'd looked at her just then? He could only hope that she'd missed it.

'That's a lovely change for you, I'm sure,' she replied in earnest. 'My students have been lovely. A few of them might actually have the Sight.'

'And for those who don't?'

'I've discovered that a fair amount of observation will tell you a lot about a person or circumstances if you know where to look, so I teach them that as well.'

'What good will that do?'

'Gaining perspective often has a way of reshaping how you see. Don't you think?'

Severus cleared his throat. Such notions brought up some rather uncomfortable feelings about how he had gone from villain to hero in the eyes of so many the moment the truth about him was revealed. He also knew it was how Luna had survived her school years without becoming embittered. Without becoming like him.

Well, what did he know in the end about divination? Prophesy had only brought him trouble.

They chatted several minutes longer, seated side-by-side on the floor cushions, sharing a cup of tea (because tea was always on hand in the tower). He did his best to not look at her directly for more than a second at a time, afraid that his thoughts might drift to other places where they were not welcome to go. He was considering making an exit when a laugh escaped her lips. He would have taken it poorly had she not been gazing into the bottom of her cup.

'What amuses you so?'

'You, of course.'

Severus was taken aback. 'Me?'

'You needn't be so uncomfortable around me. After all, the answer is yes.'

Puzzled, he sat up straight, his brow furrowed at he looked at her directly now. 'The answer? What was the question?'

She sat the cup down on the table before them. 'The question you carry in your heart.'

'What would you know of my heart, anyway?' he groused, covering for the panic that was clutching at his insides. He desperately wanted to look into her cup, to know what had prompted this, but that, too, would cause some sort of problem.

'I wonder if you're ready to face the truth. Am I allowed to be so honest with you?'

This did nothing to lessen the alarm bells going off in his mind. Absolutely nothing. Instead, they rung all the harder.

'Out with it, Lovegood.' His voice was clipped, a bit crueller than he intended.

'You like me, don't you?'

He was about to answer, but she kept going.

'Oh, it's alright. I feel the same way about you. I thought you'd realised it by now. But I see that you're in denial about the whole thing. I don't want to ruin our friendship, Severus, but it's getting to be a little silly, don't you think?'

He looked at her as if she'd grown a second head. Maybe a fourth. This was most assuredly not what he expected her to say. Was it better or worse than his suspicions? He couldn't really answer that, either.

'Silly?' he repeated lamely. Severus Tobias Snape was without witty repartee. In fact, his entire brain felt like it had been wrapped in pygmypuffs.

'Even Minerva already knows.'

Even Minerva already knows. This, too, simply echoed in his mind, a new alarm. He had betrayed himself and he didn't even know how! In all his years he had never…well, there had been Lily. Some knew about that, too, and used it against him. He swallowed nervously.

But she was smiling, overflowing with kindness, and Severus felt a crack appear in the casing he'd built around his heart.

'And what of it?' was the only thing he could think to say.

'We both think it very sweet.'

He fidgeted then, fingers running along the hem of his summer-weight cloak. 'Sweet?'

'Severus?'

'Hmm?'

'I already told you that my answer is yes.'

'Oh.'

'Shouldn't we kiss then? I think that's generally the custom.'

Generally the custom? He supposed that it might be the case. Did he want to kiss her? Most definitely.

He quickly licked his lips to wet them and leaned towards her, heart in his throat. Her lips were soft, smooth as rose petals, tasting of tea and that honeysuckle lip balm she was forever applying. The protection around his heart cracked open further as her warmth washed over him like a healing balm. He kissed her like she was an oasis in the desert and he, a man dying of thirst — slowly at first, testing, tasting and finding it real, then building in ardour and delight. Her small fists clutched at the collar of his robes as she met him as an equal, seeking and finding her own delight in their embrace. Time was irrelevant to them both until the clock tower rang out the hour, reminding them of the staff meeting that was to be held just before dinner.

They parted slowly and as he looked into her eyes he saw that they were nearly black, so large were her pupils. It made him even less interested in going to the meeting.

One of her hands slipped down and rested on one of his.

'Would you like to go with me after dinner to feed the thestrals?'

He had accompanied her on such a walk many times by now.

'Of course.'

'Let's go, then, before Minerva worries.'

Severus nodded, much as he was loath to leave the tower, to leave this moment. Out of curiosity, he glanced down into the cup as he pulled away from her. There, in the tea leaves, was a ring, next to the letter "s". His eyes widened. His unasked question suddenly seemed a lot more serious than he had anticipated.