Disclaimer – Any characters you recognize belong to JK Rowling and Warner Bros., a few publishers and a bunch of lawyers.  I am not making any money from this story – not a dollar, a pound, a peso, or a knut.

Sorry it has been so long between chapters – I am working with a beta now and hope to get the glitches out of these stories.  There will be a bit of a pause between chapters as I go back to those already posted and correct any grammatical atrocities I have committed.

With that being said, I would like to thank Diana, and her Purple Pen of Death, for her help in not only fleshing out my errors but making this and my other stories better through her questions and insight.

Thanks again to all those who reviewed here and to my e-mail.  Keep them coming.

In The Shadows Of The Mind –

Chapter 15 – With a Bow On Top

The Christmas Feast would be an intimate affair this year.  Only a handful of students and faculty remained.  Severus Snape was planning on staying in his quarters.  He was not sure he was prepared to face her yet.  Half a lifetime spent keeping his emotions in check proved a poor preparation for the overwhelming need he had for her.  In the last few weeks he had found there was more to her than beauty.  He had hoped he would find faults, faults that would dissuade the feelings that were increasing on a daily basis.  No, she was not perfect, but she was more remarkable then he was willing to admit.

He found himself mesmerized by her present.  She took a casual comment, one he mentioned in passing, really, and turned it into the most thoughtful and special gift he had ever received in his life.  She had forced him to relive a past he buried in the one part of his heart that was not totally dead. 

He stopped to look at his renovated accommodations.  The once-barren walls were full of the faces of days gone by.  Relics from his family's rich history, which he felt he did not truly deserve, now decorated his rooms.  For the first time in decades he allowed himself to enjoy the history and legacy of his family.  For the first time in decades he felt comfortable looking at these things at all.

It was time to move on.  Somewhat anyway.

He had made his decision that though he wouldn't mind fostering a friendship with Sophie, anything beyond that would not be helpful to either of them.  He was a marked man and he had to remember that.  No, the most he could hope for would be friendship.  This was the thought that was in his mind as he entered the Great Hall for the Feast.  As much as he wanted to just sit in his rooms and be alone, the idea of seeing her, if only in this setting, was a guilty pleasure he would allow himself.  He would curse that thought once he saw her.

Sophie was standing in the far side of the room animatedly talking to Professor Sprout.  She had apparently decided that this being a special day she would dress up.  He would find a lump in his throat as he saw her, a vision in green velvet.  The low neckline revealing her sculptured collarbone and just a hint of what lay beneath, the bodice affixed tightly to her hourglass frame as the gown draped over her hips and onto the floor.  She had worn her hair up and twisted in the back allowing a few stray tresses to frame her face.  She was laughing.  'Merlin, what a smile,' he thought.   He stared at her for a while when the tittering of young Gryffindors broke his concentration.  He turned to find Potter and Weasley giggling at him.  Giggling!?!  He raised an eyebrow and sneered, "And what, dare I say, is the cause of your current wave of gaiety, boys?"

They looked at him and smiled.  "We were just watching you in your new appreciation of Muggle art, sir," choked Ron, trying to get the words out.

"Ten points, Weasley, for your cheek and your inappropriate references."

"It was worth it, sir." Had Ron not known better, he would have sworn Snape was withholding a smile.

Just then Snape's eyes traveled to the door and a slow grin came over his face.  "I see Dr. Young is not the only one who decided to dress for the occasion."

They turned to see Hermione and Ginny enter the hall.  They were not in robes but opted to dress in regular clothing like Sophie. Hermione wore pale pink and had somehow managed to tame her unruly locks into soft full curls. The square neckline accentuated a lovely necklace that she evidently wanted to draw attention to. Ginny wore the dress Ron gave her.  It was royal blue and hung on to her frame as if it were made for her alone.  Snape gave a wicked smile as he noted Harry was actually blushing more than Ron.  They watched as the girls walked over to Sophie who gave both girls a warm hug.

"Gentleman," Snape stated, "I do believe you are being summoned."

He led the two astonished boys to the Feast table.  As it was such a small gathering, one large table was set to accommodate the entire party.

Sophie was talking to Hermione. "What is this beautiful adornment around your neck?"

"It's a gift from Ron."  She could barely contain her excitement.

"I'm happy for you." Sophie replied softly.

"It was the sweetest thing anyone ever did for me.  I almost burst into tears when I saw it."

Sophie relished the look of wistful teenage innocence in Hermione's eyes.  It suddenly dawned on her: how little of that she saw in this place.

With a beaming smile, Sophie turned to Ginny.  She gave her an inquiring look.  "I see you have some plans yourself this evening."

"I know you said I shouldn't rush things, that Harry is going through a lot and may not be ready to respond to me in the way that I want him to.  I understand that, but I see it this way……If it's true that he's being hunted, then he may not have a long time left. And, I will be damned if I'm going to waste any more time being shy.  One way or the other he will have to tell me if he feels anything at all." There was a fierce determination in her eyes.  It was the same look Harry gave Sophie that morning, unwavering tenacity with the slightest undercurrent of pride.

"I do admire your resolve but trust in your instincts Ginny.  Listen to your head as well as your heart."

"Thank you and I will.  By the way……Wow.  Did you make that dress yourself?"

"Actually no, I bought it in Hogsmeade the other day.  I was trying to take my mind off things and shopping has always been a happy distraction for me.  This dress called to me from the window at Lynnea's Dress Shop."

"Are you planning an ambush of your own?" Ginny said with a sly grin.

Sophie gave the girls a crooked smile. "Now, now that will be enough of that.  You two should go and find your friends."

Ginny and Hermione found their way to Ron and Harry who had not said one word since the girls entered the room.  Ron pulled out a chair for Hermione and then sat next to her. "You look amazing."  The expression on his face and the unsaid words in his eyes were enough to make Hermione want to sing. Meanwhile, across from them Harry had taken Ron's cue and pulled out a chair for Ginny as he sat next to her. "You look….nice…..Ah….very nice."  She could see the confusion in his eyes.  'He is so afraid of hurting you.'  The words Dr. Young spoke rang in her ears. 

At the head of the table Sophie was watching the four closely.  She was worried about Ginny.  Harry was not ready to be honest about his feeling towards her, and Sophie feared that crossing the line, as Ginny planned to do, would do more harm than good.  Suddenly, she had the feeling that she was being watched and turned to find Severus Snape taking the empty seat next to her.

"I find it interesting that there is always an empty seat next to you. Must be an occupational hazard," he said silkily. "Are people always afraid every conversation will turn into a psychiatric evaluation?"

"Come now, sit and make merry," Sophie responded, countering his silk with a bit of her own.  "Perhaps that is asking too much. How about simply trying not to annoy every living thing around you." She smiled warmly at him.  He did his best to look annoyed at being forced to sit next to her.  Across from them Professor McGonagall and Madame Hooch gave each other knowing glances.  They were going to get these two together if it killed them.  And at this rate it might.

The evening was full of exuberance and levity.  Before they know it was midnight. Professor McGonagall and Madame Hooch offered to escort the students back to their dormitories.  They had wanted to continue their conversation.  Minerva whispered something into Maura's ear and the two burst out laughing as they looked over shoulders at Snape who spent the entire evening watching Sophie.

She was aware of his attentions and found herself a little reluctant to tease him about it.  'You are getting soft,' she admonished to herself.

When most of the room had finally emptied, Severus was left casually rubbing this forefinger and thumb in a slow circular motion.  Sophie eyed him appraisingly.  He was preparing to say something to her, that much was obvious.  It was difficult for him to say, of that she was sure. With the faintest of hesitations, he spoke to her.

"I wanted to….thank you for your gift." 

She was visibly relieved.  "I was afraid you would find it out of line," she said simply. "Your story touched me and I wanted to thank you for sharing it and being open with me.  I know that must have been very hard for you." 

"I have been trying to think of some sort of appropriate thank you."

"There is no need," she assured him.

"I disagree."

She smiled. "All right then.  What did you have in mind?"

He smiled back, "How about lunch tomorrow?"

In the Gryffindor common room Ginny and Harry found themselves alone.  Ron and Hermione had disappeared and neither wanted to interrupt them.

"I'm so glad they finally got together," Ginny said.  The awkward silence was making her mad.

"Yeah, so am I.  It does feel weird though," Harry admitted.

"How do you mean?"

He shrugged, "Well, it changes everything, doesn't it?"

Her shoulders tensed.  "Change can be good Harry.  People evolve, relationships evolve.  It's what makes life worth living, the idea that tomorrow can be different from today.  That it can be infinitely better if we allow it."

"You sound like Dr. Young."

"I should be so lucky.  She is a marvelous person.  I would do well to follow her lead."

"You're fine just the way you are."  Talking more to the wall than to Ginny.

"And how am I?" she said looking at him with beseeching eyes.  She wanted so very badly for him to take the first step.

"You are a good person, smart and funny.  You are braver than people give you credit for," Harry responded, still staring at the wall.

"Thank you.  I think the world of you as well."  She meant to say it in a more enticing manner, but it came out like she was complimenting a puppy for performing a trick.  She was not ready for this.  Looking at him now she realized he wasn't either.

She sighed and gave him a smile, "Hey, would you like to play Wizard's Chess or something while we wait for the love birds to come out of hiding?"  

With a look on his face she could not read, he answered, "All right." 

As they were setting up the board he looked at her as if for the first time.  'Was she always this pretty?' he thought.  'Were her eyes always so blue?'  He mentally shook himself back to reality. 'Ron would kill me if he knew what I was thinking.' He turned and re-focused his attention to the game and not his opponent.