Thanx for reviewing! This Chapter is the end of third year, and will skip to sixth, when some other things important happen. Seventh year will be a doozy. Oy!
"Every thing means something… the trick is to find out what." -Randal of Doun
I woke late the next day due to the lack of sleep. Thankful it was Saturday, I slowly made my way to the Great Hall.
"Haven't ya 'erd?" asked Evan, catching up to me. "Last night Filch caught a couple'la kids in McGonagall's office. He said they had an Invisibility Cloak, Filch couldn't recognize 'em, Isn't it just funny? I wonder o'o did it!"
"Yeah," I said gloomily. The horrible fact was that I did know who those to people were…
I wasn't the only one who was nervous. Luna bit the end of her thumb as if in deep thought and then ran her long finger through her hair. I felt guilty, knowing I should have gone alone, but with out Luna, I would have never have found Mum's locket.
The snow was beginning to melt, and the entire grounds all of a sudden was a glistening, shiny mirror. I couldn't tell from the ground to the lake, and I decided not to go out that day.
During potions class the next day, a fifth year entered our room. He was short and brown haired, I think he was a Ravenclaw. He trooped to Clant's desk.
"Sir, may Professor Dumbledore see Severus Snape and Luna Purbach for a second?" Clant heaved and annoyed sigh. He nodded angrily and went on to his work at the desk. Luna and I stood, and walked out of the room. I had a feeling we would get caught. My stomach tightened, it was becoming hard to breathe, and I know Luna felt the same. We found our way to Dumbledore's office, and the Fifth year made his way back to his class. "Tidily Winkins," Luna whispered. The stone gargoyle moved aside.
"How do you know that?" I asked.
"My uncle and I needed to talk about my test scores so of course Professor Dumbledore needed to be present." We walked up the spiral staircase, and came to rest at a door. Luna knocked on the door, and it opened. But no one was behind it. Instead, Professor Dumbledore and Filch were both sitting in chairs, Filch giving a piercing look, Dumbledore, cheerful.
"Come in. Luna, Severus, sit down if you please." We sat, and two cups of Peppermint tea came floating in front of us. We sipped some, and I noticed how thick and heavy the tea was. "Mr Filch is with us today be cause he believes that you two were in Professor McGonnagal's office a few night ago. I have been constantly telling him to night that he must be very mistaken, but we shall see." I mentally gulped. I had a feeling this was coming. Sorry Mum and Dad, I tried to be a good boy…I thought.
Professor Dumbledore smiled and turned to me. " Then let's begin. Severus, do you have an Invisibility Cloak?"
"No sir,"
He asked Luna the same question, and she replied as I had. Filch suddenly stood up, and pointed at the both of us.
"One of them could have borrowed a cloak!" he said. Filch's face was red with anger. Dumbledore looked at the both of us, and said,
"Did any of you happen to borrow a cloak from one of your houses' members?" A few moments passed by. At that moment, I figured out what he was trying to do. He knew what we did, and understood why we did it. He was creating a loophole, trying to prove we didn't do it without lying. I didn't borrow a cloak from Slytherin, and Luna not Gryfinndor, but it was I who borrowed from James.
"No," we both said.
Filch had once again gotten to his feet, an ugly vein in his temple, and said, "Couldn't a Gryfinndor or Slytherin boy or girl borrow one from the other house?"
Dumbledore had now gotten to his feet, with amused look in his bright eyes.
"Now, now Argus. Remember most (he gave Luna and me a bright smile,) Gryfinndor and Slytherin students despise each other, I seriously doubt they would even borrow a scrap of parchment from each other. No, no, we have asked the wrong students, it must be another pair." He dismissed Filch and us, and we made our way back to the spiral stairs, out of the doorway, and to Potions.
"Phew!" said Luna, relieved, as we were walking down a hall. " If he asked a different question, I thought we would have to lie."
"We couldn't lie," I said. "The peppermint tea we had contained Veriteraserum. I know what it tastes like- well, it really doesn't have a taste but it is a heavy liquid, We would have been in big trouble, but Dumbledore created a way to prove Filch wrong without us lying."
"Yeah. That way Filch's suspicions would be put to rest. Well, Severus, lets get to Potions, or we won't know what to study for exams…"
The days went by, and we decided not to do any rule breaking for a while. The exams came and went, and I found out I scraped through. Luna did extremely well, her one hundred and forty percent History of Magic grade made up for Potions.
Days later, we boarded the express, and started on our way home. "Wow, another year already." Said Luna leaning back in her comfortable seat on the train. "The years just fly by, huh? Three years ago I first boarded the express, almost fell on you, and now I just finished third year and in August I'll be fourteen!"
"Yeah, I said. Then my mind traced back to our night in McGonagall's office, and a question hit my mind. "By the way, how come when I looked down in that old book of McGonagall's your birth year was blurred?"
"How do you mean?" replied Luna, taking a bite of a chocolate frog.
"I mean I saw Purbach, Luna. August, 15th, and the rest was all blurred."
"Well I guess the rest got all blurred by water or something."
I considered this theory. But it was strange how a magical book could be so easily damaged by water.
The train coasted to a stop almost half an hour later. I got off with all my belongings, and said good-bye to Luna, who started to travel Northbound, me, taking a muggle cab and riding east.
I opened the door to my house. "I'm home, Somnus." There was no answer from his study. That was completely usual, and I made my way to my room upstairs. I live in the country, in a large, stone manor. There were secret passageways, dark attics, and small chambers in the house and I was always fond of playing in them.
Every day during the summer Somnus would teach me something new about the Dark Arts. And I must admit I became fascinated. And that fascination was something that would take a dangerous and important part in my life.
A little more than two years later, in Severus' sixth year…
"Quidditch is sooo exciting!" said Luna. It was a warm autumn day. We were up in the stands, watching Gryfinndor and Slytherin play. James, who was a chaser, made a low dive in order to guard the Quaffle, but one of Slytherin's Chasers came behind to grab it. He missed, to my disappointment, and James took that moment to send it flying to the goal. Luna stood up to cheer, waving a large Gryfinndor flag, and I booed along with my house.
"It's not that exciting when your team is losing." I replied after we sat back down.
"Ooh, don't be a sore loser, Severus!" said Luna, laughing softly. "The Slytherin team can't help it if they don't have enough brains to fill a tea cup, poor little things…"
"Hey!" I said laughing back. "It's a good thing Gryfinndor's new brooms cover up their bad coordination."
"Don't have James hear that!" Luna replied, now fully in to our game.
By the time we finished insulting each other's teams, James had already scored twice, and the Slytherin team were trying their hardest not to let it happen again. It ended, as I expected, Gryfinndor winning, and I made my way slowly back to the castle.
It was almost the middle of November, and my birthday was drawing near. Perhaps I would just go for a walk with Luna on that day, instead of studying, or sneak in to the kitchens for cake. My eyes misted at the thought. It's what Luna and I have been doing the last two years, since I found out when my birthday was.
Now thoroughly exited, The classes became more bearable. Homework was not a problem, neither were the tests.
Now November the sixteenth was here, and I left my dormitory with a silent excitement. I was nearing the Great Hall, when Luna came into my view, a happy and as hyper as ever. She carried a long parcel, which was wrapped in red paper with Golden Snitches. She put it into my hand, with a little more force than necessary.
"Here you go! My present to you!"
I tore the parcel open, and what I saw was so unbelievable, so outstanding, That my eyesight was blurred. It was a high standard racing broom, one of the best in the world. "Gosh" I said, choking. I couldn't afford my own broom. (for Somnus paid for what was necessary only.)
"I've got my own, maybe we could fly on the field sometime, you know." She said, beaming.
"Yeah," I said, still choking slightly. "This afternoon let's give it a go."
The school day came by quickly, and soon, after dinner, Luna and I made it out to the field. I climbed up on my new broom, and felt the whoosh of air in my hair, and my thoughts vanish. I dove and looped around until I was dizzy. Luna did a few loops, and came to rest beside my new broom and me.
"Wow." I gasped. That was great." The sun had now settled beneath our view, and the silver blue moon rose and stars glittered. "Yeah", she said, sitting down apon the cool grass. "Isn't the moon pretty?" she said again, now lying down, her arms folded beneath her head. I said "yeah", but I wasn't looking at the moon.
It was much cooler now. The full moon was now in view, and shining above everything. I heard a faint rustling of leaves, and looked in to the forests ahead.
"Did you hear something?" I said. Luna looked up as well. "No, what do you think it is?"
"Nothing, maybe some animals…"
We soon lay back in the grass, the soft breeze blowing against us. "So, Severus, how does it feel to be sixteen?" Luna said after a while.
"Weird," I said. "I need to get used to it." It was true. Fifth teen seemed like the age of a little boy. Sixth teen seemed like a ten-year jump.
"Hmmm." Luna said in an understanding tone. "Severus, What will you do after Hogwarts?"
"I dunno. Maybe be a potion seller, or a professor here. Maybe Defense Against the Dark Arts, or Potions. You?"
"I don't know. Maybe go around the world, teaching at schools, or become an Auror."
I sat back up. "Wow, that's a lot. Are you gonna have time?"
"Oh, yeah." Luna sat up too. "Burr," she said as a cold wind came from the south.
"Hey, are you cold?" I worried, and before I realized it, I put my arm around her. She and I started to blush, but I blushed even more when she laid her head on my shoulder.
"Severus, you know we've been friends for a while, and-"
"Aaand?" I said excitedly.
"-And well, (She started to fumble with a handful of golden hair.) Happy birthday I guess. Yes, Happy Birthday!"
"Oh," I said a little disappointedly,
It's a strange thing, but when you really have that crazy urge to do something, but don't have the courage, you some times find yourself doing the task anyway.
"Luna, I…" I said, looking straight in to her soft, blue eyes.
"Yes?" She said, which was in a hopeful tone. She returned my gaze, looking in to my black eyes, blinking innocently, in wonder. We got a little closer to each other, to where I could only see Luna, no one else. I never got to answer before our lips connected what it seemed like a magnet, Her eyes were closed softly, mine were suprised at my own daring. And then I was too swept away to by the spell of the kiss, my eyes to closing blissfully. Soon it was over, (Too soon in my opinion…) and we looked at each other again, astonished and smiled.
"We should be going back," I said breathlessly.
"Umm, Yeah, Let's go."
Tehehehe! NOW we see something! Well, that's a major turning point, They'll start to be much more than friends, and well… Please, Please review!!! Luv to all,
-Bunny