Once again, I apologize for not responding individually, but I wanted to get this chapter up this morning, rather than later this week! Thank you to everyone who has reviewed, and keep 'em coming!

Chapter 17

The next morning, Severus was lounging at his desk, waiting for Draco to arrive as Sonora hummed some Muggle Christmas song while she stirred her potion.

"I really think this is ready," she said, studying it with an intent look. "What do you think of the consistency, Severus?"

She was giving him the opening he'd been waiting for, and yet he hesitated to pry. But he wanted to know, he was incredibly curious to find out just what the potion was for. He had a few ideas, having heard her discussions with Draco and knowing what she'd used so far. But he hadn't worked it all out yet.

He cleared his throat. It was worth a try, he told himself. "That would depend," he said.

Sonora looked up and wrinkled her forehead at him. "Depend on… Oh!" she exclaimed, rolling her eyes. "I'm SO sorry. I completely forgot I hadn't explained the whole project to you." She began limping over to her desk, and Severus automatically stood and pulled her chair out for her. "I guess I just assumed that since you must have read my notes…"

"I didn't read your notes," he interrupted as she sat.

She looked up at him, startled. "You didn't? But I'd left them out that night we fell asleep in my office…"

He raised an eyebrow at her. "I may be a spy, but I would hope I have more respect for you than to read clearly personal papers," he murmured in a low voice.

She looked at him for a moment and then leaned over and kissed him firmly. Severus was surprised, but not displeased. Sonora's kisses never displeased him. "And you think you're not a good man," Sonora said when she pulled back.

Severus was a little alarmed by the look in her eye. "Sonora," he began hesitantly, afraid that she was building him up to be more than he was.

She rolled her eyes at him and then sat in her chair. "Can it, Severus," she said. "I've heard your little speech before. Frankly, right now I'd have to say I know you better than you know yourself," she said, beginning to shuffle papers.

Severus resisted the urge to huff. Women, he thought, dropping down to sit. They always had to have the last word. He watched her with a glare as she seemed to search for something among her notes. Honestly, what was he letting himself in for? Blasted woman always had to be right. His lips twitched, despite the glare. The worst part was, she usually was right.

"Ah," Sonora said, pulling out a sheet of parchment. "Here," she said, passing it to him. "Tell me what you think."

Severus took the document and studied it.

An Attempt to Deflect the Symptoms of the Cruciatus Curse,

Based on the Nerve-Deadening Potion and Combined with

Elements of the Reenergizing Potion, the Strength-Enhancing Potion

And the plant Heart's Blood

He lowered the paper. "You're trying to find an preventative to cruciatus?" he asked. He'd suspected something along the lines but to actually have it confirmed… it was unbelievable. Unheard of. Something that no one had ever contemplated, using a potion to prevent an Unforgivable.

Sonora nodded, looking serious. "My hypothesis is that this will be a temporary potion, one with a limited length of affectability. But still… imagine the good it could do. Aurors would have an immense advantage if they weren't affected by crucio."

"Indeed," Severus mused, still contemplating the potions she was trying to combine and the ingredients she was using to do so. He only heard her with half his mind and so it took him a minute to lock on to the crucial bit of information. He froze and then slowly looked up at her.

"What?" she asked, looking at him with a raised eyebrow. Gods, she was beautiful to him, he thought in some part of his mind. Smooth pale skin, barely kissed with gold; thick, dark hair; deep, expressive eyes that were his window to her soul. And this was now all suddenly, terrifyingly at risk.

"Voldemort will want this potion," he said in a flat voice, still staring at her. "If he hears one word of its existence, he will stop at nothing to get it."

She smiled at him. "I've been very careful," Sonora said earnestly. "Four years, I've been working on this, Severus. I haven't told anyone, except now you, what precisely I was trying to do." Her smile was warm and soft. "And you're not going to tell anyone."

His fingers were stiff as he laid the parchment down. "Not willingly," he said. And hated himself. "But if he knew… there are ways he could extract the information."

Sonora paled a little and Severus knew a moment of sadness that he had forced her to think of that possibility. Sonora was tough, he knew that, but she… loved… him, and that gave her a gaping weakness. "No one else knows," she said firmly, still pale. "There's no reason he should ever hear of it."

"I hope to the gods you are right," Severus said heavily.

Sonora seemed to shake herself. "Damn straight I am," she said. "I'm not risking four years of work, not to mention you, over some loose lips."

There was a rap at the classroom door at that moment, and Severus was spared having to say more. As Draco pushed the door open and Sonora greeted him with a cheerful smile, he sat and brooded. He was still afraid of the possibilities, but knew no way to prevent them.

~~~~~~~

Sonora stirred the black mixture thoughtfully. "Yes, I think we're ready," she said. Draco was looking eager. He was dropping his teenaged mask of arrogance and superiority more and more, she thought with pride. She had a great deal of hope for the boy.

Severus was still lounging darkly at his desk. He was scowling a bit still, probably from their earlier conversation. Truth be told, Sonora had struggled to push his ominous words out of her own mind. She had finally resolutely banished them by reminding herself sternly that there was no way anyone could have heard about her work, simply because she'd never told anyone the truth.

She raised an eyebrow at him. "Are you going to observe today, Professor Snape?" she asked sweetly. He was the most fun to tease when he was sulking.

He scowled at her. "Why the devil else would I be sitting here?" he demanded tersely.

Sonora grinned. "You enjoy our company?" she suggested. She heard Draco clear his throat behind her and knew her riposte had been well placed. Severus had a reputation for enjoying no one's company.

He glared at her. "Get on with it," he grumbled.

She resisted the urge to giggle at his manner, and instead turned to Draco. "Ready?" she asked him. The boy nodded. "All right then. Nox," she said, and the dungeon went dark.

"And the point of this is?" Severus's voice drawled in the pitch blackness. "I assume it's to see if you can keep from upsetting a cauldron in the dark?"

Sonora smirked, even though he couldn't see her, and instead stretched out her hand to where she knew the box with the Heart's Blood lay. Without a word, she flipped the lid back.

Draco caught himself in a gasp behind her, and Sonora couldn't blame him. It had impressed her, as well, the first time she'd seen it. A pale rosy light wavered from the teardrop-shaped leaves, as the plants silently glowed in the dark.

"Astonishing," Severus murmured. Sonora looked at him to see an intent look on his face.

"They grow in complete darkness," she said softly. "Deep in caves, deep enough that people rarely descend that far. I had to go so deep, it took me a day to get in, and another to get out." She sighed a bit, remembering. "I was going along in the dark, with my wand lit, and then there was this pink glow up ahead. I doused the wand and stepped into the chamber and it was…" she smiled a bit. "It was magic. Beautiful beyond anything."

"Light kills it?" Draco asked.

"Any light," Sonora said. "A pinprick will burn a hole through the leaf." Draco reached out to touch one leaf and she watched. Would he experience the same thing she did, she wondered.

Her question was answered when Draco jerked his hand back after brushing over one slender leaf. "What…" he stammered before turning to her, face confused in the pale pink light.

She smiled at him. "Heart's Blood shows you things," she said softly. "Matters of the heart. Remember I told you the Siberian nomads pick it to reveal their true love?"

Draco was looking a bit panicked and he swallowed. "Did… did it happen to you?" he asked. That must have been some image he'd received.

Sonora shook her head. "I had a reaction when I first touched the plant," she said absently, remembering. "But it wasn't a vision… not exactly." Without thought, her eyes slipped to linger on Severus, who was watching Draco with narrowed eyes. She probably wouldn't have believed if she'd seen a vision, she thought silently. But what she had seen… it had been hope. A welling of then-unnamed emotion for a blurred figure. The knowledge that somewhere, that emotion existed in her future.

She shook herself and turned back to Draco, who was frowning now. His face wiped clear when he noticed her look. "So how do we harvest it?" he asked.

Sonora smiled and reached down to pick up the slender knife. "Like this," she said.

~~~~~~~

Severus had to admit, the Heart's Blood was impressive. He hadn't missed Draco's reaction to touching it, and was immensely curious to know what the boy had seen. And then Sonora had revealed she'd seen something as well…

He had finally resorted to idly picking up a harvested leaf while Sonora instructed Draco in the correct harvesting technique. He resisted the urge to crush the leaf in his fingers as a mist swirled in front of his vision.

He saw dark hair… felt a rush of love so deep and terrifying… heard a low laugh. And then he blinked, and the mist cleared.

Severus looked down at the leaf between his fingers. Astonishing, indeed.

~~~~~~~

Sonora stirred the black mixture once more in the cauldron before reaching for the carefully harvested leaves of Heart's Blood. "All right then," she murmured. "Let's give this a try, shall we?"

"Uh, Professor?" Draco asked, sounding a bit tentative. "Do you know who the potion's going to be intended for?" he asked.

Sonora couldn't keep from glancing at Severus. Ultimately? Oh yes, she knew. Then she turned her attention back to Draco. "An excellent point, Mr. Malfoy," she said. Setting the leaves down, she carefully proceeded to dip out a portion of the mixture into another, smaller cauldron. Severus adjusted the flame beneath it for her until it was a match for the other.

"We'll start with intending it for myself," she said. "That way I can test it without risking someone else." Severus' face tensed, she saw out of the corner of her eye. He didn't like the idea of her testing this potion. Not at all. She picked up the leaves before he could mount an argument, not that he would be able to say much in front of Draco.

"Let's see," she murmured, slowly dipping one leaf in and then out, then immersing it into the slowly bubbling liquid and letting it go. "Sonora Stone," she said as she repeated the action with a second leaf. On the third leaf, the mixture suddenly turned red, then pink, then gave a flash of light before fading to dark. Quickly Sonora tucked the Heart's Blood away and then gave a muttered lumos.

She gazed down at the cauldron. The contents were a clear, brilliant liquid that seemed to sparkle in the light. "Thicker than water," she said aloud, studying it, "with a certain sparkle to it that sets it apart. Beautiful, really."

Draco was scribbling it all down. "Are you going to test it?" he asked eagerly.

Sonora wished she could simply say yes, of course, let's give it a try. "No," she said gently. "Do you recall why?"

Draco's face cleared and then went blank. "You don't want to risk someone finding out," he said. Which they could only know if I told them, hung unspoken in the air.

Sonora watched the boy, hating that she could not fully trust him. "Quite right," she said softly. "You have been an excellent assistant, Draco, but some things must stay with myself for now." Draco gave a sharp nod, face blank as a slab still.

"So are we finished for today, Professor?" he asked, stacking the notes in a neat pile and rising to his feet.

Sonora looked at him sadly, the handsome blonde boy, with the sharp good looks and eyes that hid the normal teenage insecurities. It wasn't fair, she thought, that this boy couldn't be like the others his age. Thanks to his heritage, his parents, the state of the wizarding world as it was right now. Much like that other boy who's eyes hid his thoughts, only behind green rather than grey.

"Yes," she said a little sadly, and watched him leave the classroom.

Severus' hands came down on her shoulders and he bent his head to press a kiss against the side of her neck as the classroom door shut. "You cannot change the entire world, Sonora," he said quietly.

She looked up at him with troubled eyes, hurting for that boy and for herself. "Maybe, but I wanted to tell him, Severus, I really did. He's worked so hard on this potion, come so far from two months ago."

Severus smoothed a strand of hair from her cheek. "I'll admit Draco has surprised me," he said, face dark and eyes thoughtful. "I did not have very high expectations for him. The boy has always been a power-hungry, greedy little thing." He shook his head. "I suppose I wasn't even terribly surprised when he attacked you."

The reminder made Sonora's leg ache in memory. Severus went on, drawing Sonora into his arms and resting his chin on her head. "But true to form, my dear, you seem to have found a way into him. Frankly, I wouldn't be surprised if the boy is halfway to a crush on you, and that's without your allowing him to work on your research."

Sonora sighed, feeling the warmth and heat of his body against hears, smelling the faintly male scent of him that rose off his skin. "He doesn't have a crush on me," she mumbled into his robes. "I'm not hot enough."

Severus chuckled. "Yes, you are," he said.

She began to smile. "Am not," she said.

"Are too," he countered.

She smirked. "Prove it," she said.

His smile was slow and sensual and sent a wonderfully familiar thrill through her. "With pleasure," he murmured before bending his head.

Neither of them heard the door close that last inch.

~~~~~~~

Severus paced angrily across the classroom and back. "I won't do it!" he thundered at Sonora.

Who was remarkably unimpressed by his terrifying attitude. "Yes, you will," she countered, the only sign of their recent tumble through his bed showing in the color that lingered in her cheeks. "You'll do it because you know I'm right." She sat forward and told him again. "Severus, I don't want to take this to Dumbledore until I know it works. There's less chance of a leak if I can present it already tested."

He whirled and glared at her furiously. "I'm not casting an Unforgivable on you!" he nearly shouted. He couldn't. He couldn't turn his wand on her as he had done in his youth, not on Sonora. It might truly kill him.

Sonora looked like she was going to argue some more, before a look of comprehension dawned on her face. "It's not just you don't want me testing it, is it?" she asked. "You really don't want to be the one casting the curse. That's it, isn't it?"

Severus swung away again, biting back curses. There were drawbacks as well as advantages to being involved with an intelligent woman. Sure, you'd never be bored, and there would always be someone capable of understanding you. But then again, there's be someone who would understand you, even when you least wanted it.

He faced the wall and refused to answer. Childishly, he admitted to himself. He heard the shuffle of Sonora limping toward him, and then felt her arms slide around his waist. "I'm sorry," she said meekly. "I didn't think. I never should have asked you."

He couldn't keep from wrapping his fingers around hers at his waist. Gods, how he craved her touch. Just the simple contact of her body steadied his world on it's axis. "I just don't believe I could do it," he said finally.

She hugged him a little tighter, her front to his back. "We'll go to Dumbledore after dinner," she told him quietly. "He can test it on me. You can have a supply of my other potion, just in case."

His fingers tightened convulsively as the image of her writing under the spell shot through his mind, and then he forced himself to relax. "Yes. All right," he forced himself to say. And then he had to let her go as she hugged him once more before moving off. To bottle the potion, he guessed.

Severus turned and watched that slim figure moving about as she prepared the small flask. He loved her. Loved her so deeply and yet was so afraid to let the words out… Why? He wondered. Because he was afraid, he answered himself yet again. Afraid someone would realize and try to use it against him. Against her. And that was the one thing he couldn't bear to contemplate.

She looked up at him and smiled, tucking the flask into a pocket of her robes. "Well?" she asked. "Shall we go up to dinner?"

He took two steps over to her, and caught her hand in his, grateful beyond measure that she was here, loving him. In no way did he deserve her, but he'd be damned before he'd let her go.

He raised her hand to his lips, pressing a nearly worshipful kiss into her palm. "Yes," he said a trifle hoarsely. He cleared his throat. "Let's go."