Bera – My apologies on confusing countries. I have to admit, my choice of setting for the first chapter was totally random. I just wanted some place remote and exotic enough to seem impressive to those fuddy-duddy's back at Hogwarts. J Thanks for enlightening me.

Shahrezad1 – Cookies? Me? *promptly stuffing face before someone can steal them* Many many many thanks, from my cookie-loving belly.

Jade & Kurtfan – I'm so glad to hear you think the characters are staying true to form, I worried a bit about that. Hopefully you'll like this chapter just as much.

Thanks to all who reviewed!

Chapter 12

Severus could not recall a time he had been so content. Two weeks, he had gone without a summons to the Dark Lord's side. Two weeks, he had been able to wallow in the wealth of warmth and affection coming from Sonora and pretend it was safe.

His favorite moments always came when they were alone in the dungeons together. One night he had been marking papers, Sonora similarly employed at her desk next to him. He had gotten distracted from his task as he'd looked at her, caught up in the simple beauty of her. She had finally sensed his stare and had lifted her own eyes with a smile he knew was just for him.

"How long is your hair?" he'd found himself blurting out. The softly gleaming masses had fascinated him for far too long. She wore it up constantly, the rich color that of the walnut wood in his bedchamber.

She'd looked surprised at his question, and then smiled. Reaching up, she'd begun to pull pins from her head, just a few, before tapping with her wand and giving a quiet, "finite incantatem." Severus had watched in fascination as the thick mass had come tumbling down until it hung to her waist in a burnished dark curtain.

He had been unable to keep from reaching over and lifting a handful of the silky stuff in his hands. "Why do you always wear it up?" he had asked, eyes soaking in how it shimmered and caught the light as it slipped through his fingers.

Sonora had been watching him with soft, warm eyes and gave a chuckle. "Because it can be hazardous not to," she said. Severus had glanced at her in question. She had grinned. "When I was in my second year here, I made the mistake of leaving it down in Potions class," she'd said. "When I bent over my cauldron to stir, it fell forward over my shoulders."

Severus had caught on and had laughed out loud at the image. He did that a great deal, around her. "What were you making?" he asked.

Her lips had twitched. "Rapid-Grow Potion," she'd said, and he'd laughed again.

And then there had been all the dark, hot moments when he'd held her in his arms and ravaged her mouth beneath his. Each time he did, he tried desperately to find some gentleness inside him to give her, but her mouth was always as hot and hungry as his own, and he would struggle with the beast of his desires. So far, he had managed not to drag her off to his bedchamber by her glorious hair, but it was getting closer each time they touched. Sometimes he wasn't sure what he was waiting for, he could see his desires in her eyes as well.

He suspected it was that comment she'd made back at the beginning, about how no one had needed her, either. Severus had a feeling that meant more than what she had said. Her hands had always been eager, but they had been uncertain. Her lips had been hungry, but they'd been unschooled. As much as he wanted to take that final step of intimacy, he found himself holding back, easing her into it as gently and slowly as he could.

He glanced across the room to where she was now busy with Draco. The boy still resisted her, and yet she hadn't given up yet. He tried to hide his smile by looking down at the uninspiring stack of essays. It was one thing he'd learned about Sonora very early. She never seemed to give up.

~~~~~~~

Sonora was relearning the meaning of patience as she struggled to reach Draco Malfoy. Every night he had been assigned to her, the Slytherin had shown up promptly, performed admirably, and had been positively dumb with silence. Sonora was starting to get frustrated.

Tonight was no different. Severus was sitting at his desk, marking papers, and she had set Draco to the task of powdering rhino horn for tomorrow's fourth-years. Draco had silently set about working, and her casual comments to him had been responded to with monosyllables or not at all.

Sonora was contemplating hexing the boy, if only to get a reaction out of him when there was a knock on the classroom door. She glanced at Severus in quick reflex, and his eyes were reassuring in his stern face as he called out a curt, "Come!"

The door swung open to allow a pink-cheeked Madam Pomphrey. Sonora gave her a smile in welcome. "Madam Pomphrey," she said, "what on earth brings you all the way down here?"

The hospital matron seemed a bit winded. "Heavens, I'd forgotten what a long walk it was from the hospital wing!" she said with a smile. "I was checking my stores tonight and realized I was nearly out of Dreamless Sleep Potion. What with a Quiddich match tomorrow between Slytherin and Ravenclaw, I suspect I'll have a few patients who'll need it and so…"

Sonora laughed. "So you came to beg, borrow and steal, did you?" she teased.

Madam Pomphrey rolled her eyes. "More or less," she said. Her eyes moved to where Severus was sitting and Sonora watched her face soften. "I don't suppose you have any on hand at the moment, Professor Snape?" she asked.

Sonora turned to look at Severus as he shook his head. "Unfortunately not," he said. Sonora wondered idly at how his deep voice could send a thrill through her even when speaking the most mundane words. "I shall get you a fresh supply by tomorrow's match, however."

Madam Pomphrey beamed at him. "That's very kind of you, thank you, Professor," she said. She turned back to Sonora and leaned in close to whisper, "I don't know exactly what you've done to him, dear, but he's ever so much more pleasant now that you're around."

Sonora fought back the blush. "Ahh, thank you," she managed to murmur. The twinkle in the matron's eyes told her that Madam Pomphrey had her suspicions on just what Sonora was doing with her fellow Potions teacher.

Severus had risen and begun to collect ingredients for making a batch Dreamless Sleep by the time Sonora had bid Madam Pomphrey good night. Sonora turned back into the classroom, and her eyes fell on Draco, still sitting powdering rhino horn. She was struck by an idea.

"Mr. Malfoy," she said to him, and the boy looked up at her, that faint hint of resentment still lingering in the back of his eyes. "It looks like we have sufficient supplies for tomorrow's class. Would you be so kind as to take care of Madam Pomphrey's request?"

Across the room, Severus stilled his actions and turned to study her, but she didn't take her eyes from the boy. A startled look crossed his face, and he blurted out, "Me?"

Sonora allowed herself to give him a warmer smile than normal. "I believe you can handle this potion," she said. "You certainly performed it well in class. Double the recipe and make a sufficient quantity to last a while," she said and gave him an encouraging nod.

The boy's mouth was open, his pale eyes wide with astonishment, and then they lit with pleasure. Sonora felt a spurt of triumph at the sight. "Yes, Professor," Draco said, voice more confident than she'd heard him in a long while.

Severus had returned to his desk, and seated himself during the exchange and now he watched with brooding eyes as Draco set about cleaning his workspace of the rhino horn, and then beginning to collect the ingredients for the Dreamless Sleep Potion. Sonora limped to her own chair and settled into it.

Severus leaned over and murmured in her ear, "Do you think this is a wise idea?"

Sonora looked up at him and flashed a smile, after checking to be sure Draco was looking elsewhere. "I think it might be," she whispered back, and resisted the urge to kiss him.

~~~~~~~

Severus had kept a close eye on Draco, even as he graded essays. Despite Sonora's confidence in the boy, he had a hard time trusting that Draco wouldn't purposefully ruin the potion. Sonora may have forgiven Malfoy for his vicious actions, but he was having a harder time doing so.

And so he was somewhat surprised to note that Draco seemed to be taking extra care as he prepared the potion, measuring twice and double-checking the instructions in his text. Perhaps Sonora was right, and there was still hope for the boy, he thought.

He bent back to the mundane task of student essays and tried to concentrate on them rather than the woman seated next to him. It was difficult, with that glossy hair bound up and catching the light. He was the only one who knew how long and thick it was, he thought with great satisfaction. The only one who'd seen it tumble over her shoulders and fall to her waist.

Blindly, he continued to mark essays, mind still wandering as he imagined her with her hair down, that soft, silky nightdress slipping across her body…

It was with a jerk he came back to himself, at the sound of Draco's voice. "Professor?" the boy was saying, "I'm done."

Sonora rose from her chair, and Severus watched carefully to see that she didn't injure herself doing so. He was, admittedly, a little overprotective of her and her injury. But she didn't seem to mind.

Sonora limped over and tested Malfoy's potion as Draco stood back. Severus noted the faintly anxious look in the boy's eyes. This had been the proper way to reach him, he thought in mild surprise. Trust Sonora to hit on it.

Sonora gave Malfoy a warm smile, the kind Severus knew from experience the boy would be hard-pressed not to return. "Excellent work, Mr. Malfoy," she said. "Five points to Slytherin for a job well done." The boy's face lit up for a brief moment before he regained control of his emotions. Severus had to imagine it was a great relief to Draco to actually gain points for Slytherin.

"Bottle it, and don't forget the Unbreakable Charm, and then if you would be so kind as to deliver it to Madam Pomphrey, you may be done for tonight." Sonora was smiling still, looking very pleased.

Draco ducked his head. "Yes, Professor," he said.

Sonora turned and took a step back toward her desk. "Oh, and Mr. Malfoy, I understand you will be staying here at Hogwarts over the holiday break," she said, turning back toward Draco.

A shadow crossed the boy's face, and Severus could easily guess at the cause. Lucius had been livid when he had found out his son had nearly gotten himself expelled. Severus knew that the elder Malfoy had coldly decreed his son would stay at Hogwarts until the year was out. Lucius Malfoy had said a number of other vicious things, he would imagine. Severus had been watching Draco when the letter from his father had arrived. The boy had been sitting alone, as had become his custom, and any remaining color had leached from his face as he had read the missive.

Sonora seemed to blithely ignore Draco's changed expression. "I'll be taking the opportunity to do a little work myself over break, and would like you to assist me."

Severus watched as Draco blinked in surprise. "With your research? Ma'am?" he asked, a trace of eagerness creeping back into his voice. Malfoy truly enjoyed potions, then, Severus mused, surprised again.

Sonora smiled at Malfoy again. She was being very liberal with her smiles tonight, Severus thought a touch sourly, particularly on a boy who didn't deserve them. But then, he himself never deserved them, either. "Precisely. I'll need you to have done a little reading in preparation, but I feel you could be a great help, Mr. Malfoy."

Draco seemed to stand a little taller as he went about his task of bottling the Dreamless Sleep Potion. Severus lowered his eyes to his essays again, contemplating. It would seem Sonora had finally hit upon the way to win the boy back over to the light.

He was nearly through with his stack of essays when a burning in his left arm assaulted him. Severus' heart sank. It seemed his reprieve was over, and the real world about to intrude once more.

As Draco was stacking bottles in a box to carry away, Severus carefully laid his quill and essays down and without looking at Sonora strode into his office. He collected his cloak from where it hung in the corner and took a stoppered bottle from a locked drawer and slipped it into a hidden pocket of his robes. Carefully, he listened as he swung his cloak around his shoulders. He heard Sonora bid Draco a good evening, and then the classroom door shut.

He waited another few seconds more, before stepping back out into the classroom. As he expected, Sonora was alone as she began to douse the torches. He watched her for one bleak moment, committing that slim form topped by shining hair to memory. Just in case.

He cast a glance at his cauldron in the corner. His attempt was taking far longer than he'd thought, and now he made a firm resolve to find an answer. Soon. His time of pretending was over, and he had to find a way to keep Sonora safe.

She turned then, and saw him standing in his office doorway. The smile faded from her lips as she took in his dark cloak. "You've been summoned," she said quietly.

He stayed where he was. "Yes," he said, watching her. Would this reminder of who and what he was cause her to pull away from him? It would be the smart thing to do.

She seemed to take a quick breath at his words, and then began to limp toward him. He couldn't simply wait and watch her come to him, he strode forward to meet her, wrapping his arms around her and holding that slender little body against his own as tightly as he could, her arms clinging in return. His cloak swirled about the two of them, as if to cover them both in darkness.

He felt it as she took a deep breath, and looked down to meet her eyes. They were frightened and trying not to show it. "Be careful," she said quietly, and stretched up to kiss him.

He savored the feel of her lips beneath his, and felt such a welling in his heart, he wondered that the whole world couldn't see it. "Always," he whispered against her mouth, before setting her away from him and striding off. If he looked back, he thought grimly, pressing open the secret passage, he might never leave.

~~~~~~~

Sonora didn't know what to do with herself after Severus had departed. She'd wandered idly for a few long moments, tidying the classroom. That had soon been done, and so she'd turned to the stack of student papers remaining to be marked. She had been unable to concentrate, however, and so had finally thrown down her marking quill and made her way to her bedchamber.

Now she tossed and turned in her bed, unable to sleep. Her imagination worked overtime as she pictured various horrible scenarios where Severus was inevitably tortured. Her mind would not let her picture him being killed, fortunately. Sonora was not sure how she would have coped with those images.

Finally she gave up on sleep and slipped out of bed. She did not want to lie here, constantly straining her ears to see if he had returned yet. She would go and wait for him where she couldn't miss him, she decided in a rush.

Cane in hand, she limped through the dark classroom and into Severus' office. She paused with her hand on the doorknob and shivered a little in the cold room. She had never been in his chambers. She was half afraid of what she might find, she thought in nervous amusement.

Taking a quick breath, Sonora pushed open the door and stepped into the dark bedchamber. "Lumos," she said in a hoarse whisper, and looked around as a branch of candles lit with a flare.

His bedroom was dark, paneled with wood. A simple dresser stood in one corner and she could glimpse his robes hanging in his closet. A cold fireplace sat empty along one wall. Another open door showed a dark bathroom. Her eyes were drawn to a door nearly hidden in the woodwork on the far side of the room. That must be where he left the castle, she thought. And then her eyes fell to the bed.

Everything else in the room was Spartan, plain. But the bed was a massive work of carved wood, and the hangings and covers a rich, dark green. Sonora shivered again in the cold room as she looked at the bed, and came to a decision.

She limped over to fireplace, and with a murmured word, set small flames dancing about, warming the room with heat and dim light. Then she turned and resting her cane against a wall, pulled back the covers. They were thick and soft and she settled herself into the bed, closing her eyes with a breath of relief as she did. The pillows carried the faint smell of Severus, a masculine hint of musk that soothed her. She relaxed and felt her eyes slide shut. She would wait.

~~~~~~~

Severus apparated outside the gates of Hogwarts as snow began to swirl through the air. He pulled his cloak tighter about him as the cold bit through his clothes, and began the walk to the castle.

He was tired and felt dirty. Voldemort had been pleased with him tonight. He had finally prepared and brought the Dark Lord what he'd asked for, a poison strong enough to kill with a touch. Severus had been forced to stand, implacable, as Lucius Malfoy had dragged some poor Muggle in so his master could test his new potion. Severus shivered in the cold, feeling it deep inside him as he remembered the screams cut short.

He'd had not choice but to comply with his master's orders, he reminded himself wearily, as the late November wind bit against his face. Dumbledore himself had told him so, eyes full of sympathy and understanding. It did not make his task any easier.

Severus finally reached the cold stone wall of the castle, and began to trail his fingers, looking for the hidden latch. The worst of it was, he thought bleakly, was he did not know how he could look at Sonora again. How he could let himself taint her with even his presence. He found the latch and pulled, stepping into the dark stone corridor. It seemed the cold followed him, though, as he felt ice forming in the pit of his stomach.

Severus slowly traversed the long, hidden corridor that led between the outside and his bedchamber. With a few muttered words, he set aside the wards on the door at the end, and slipped through.

He had no sooner closed the door, sealing the wards again, when he realized something was different. There was a small fire dancing in the fireplace, sending warmth and light through his usually cold, bare room. The wood on the walls seemed to warm and glow in response.

And then his eyes fell on the bed, and he felt something in him seize. Sonora lay on her side, facing away from him. The bedclothes had slipped down enough to bare one shoulder, the strap of that silky nightdress having slid down, her skin gleaming gold in the firelight. Her hair, all that glorious hair, was loose and spread across the pillows in a dark silken curtain.

Severus' heart was pounding in his chest, and his throat was tight. His blood was surging in his veins and he was terrified he would not be able to walk away tonight. Not with the way she looked in the firelight. Not with the way she'd lain in his bed to wait for him. In his bed, he thought fiercely.

And then Sonora gave a soft sigh, and rolled over, eyes opening and blinking seriously at him. "Severus?" she said, voice sleepy and warm. "You're back."

In that moment, it hit him with a blinding flash. He loved her. He loved her. She dared to look past everything thing he was, everything the rest of the world knew, and believed him to be something more. She was here, waiting for him. In his bed.

Severus was afraid to move, afraid if he did it might be to do something he'd regret. "Why are you here?" he managed.

She lifted herself onto one elbow, hair tumbling down about her, that damn nightgown strap slipping a little lower. Severus was helpless to keep from following it with his eyes. "I was waiting for you," she said.

He swallowed, his blood pounding. "You… should go back to bed," he said hoarsely.

She was quiet for a moment, and he could feel her eyes on him. And then she held out one hand. "You come, too," she whispered.

His eyes whipped up to hers. Without thought, his fingers rose to fumble with the fastening of his cloak. His body shuddered with the need to cleanse itself with hers. "Are you sure?" he forced out.

He watched her smile spread in the warm light of the fire. "Oh, yes," she said softly. And he was lost.