Harry enjoyed the day with Sirius, as he always did.  When they arrived at the little mountain cave, they discovered that Ron had brought his wizard chess set along, and he and Sirius were locked in a game that, at the moment, seemed to be at an impasse. 

Sirius was pleased with the food that Harry brought, as well as seeing his sister again.  He told them how he had gone to stay with Lupin during his werewolf transformation to keep him company.  He asked for news about school and Harry's classes; then he turned to his sister.

"You were late again, sis.  What kept you?"

She laughed.  "I was busy keeping Snape out of your dear godson's hair, Sirius, and that does not come easy.  He is persistent, that one."

Sirius frowned.  "I hope he's not too much of a problem for you – for either of you," he added, looking at Harry.

Harry just shook his head and laughed.  Rebekah joined him.  "Better him in my hair than in Harry's. I can handle him."

Sirius didn't look convinced, but he said nothing and soon turned his full attention back to the chess game with Ron, who had managed to capture two important pieces while his opponent was distracted.

Harry, as always, felt a pang of nostalgia when it came time to leave; he wished he could stay with Sirius, but he knew it wasn't possible, not as long as Sirius was still a hunted man and Peter Pettigrew still on the loose.  He swallowed his disappointment, and bid Sirius farewell; everyone else did the same, and the four returned to the Hogwarts castle.

When they arrive back at the school, Professor Black put a hand on Harry's arm and held him back.  "Ron, Hermione, I need to speak with Harry alone for a second; I'll send him along in just a few minutes."  Harry's friends nodded with understanding and hurried away to give them some privacy.

Black looked around to make sure they were alone, then bent down to look directly into Harry's eyes.  "Harry, I don't quite know how to say this, but…please don't take Professor Snape's treatment of you and your friends personally.  I was hoping to convince him to change his behavior, but it's just not as simple as asking nicely.  There's a reason for his behavior, and like I told you before, he's not going to change until he lets go of the past.  I just don't want you going through life believing that you somehow brought this treatment on yourself.  You're a wonderful person, Harry, and nobody deserves to be treated the way you've been treated; not Snape, not your Aunt and Uncle, not anybody.  Negativity breeds negativity, and I don't want you to fall victim to this; I don't want to see you turn out like them.  You're have too much potential, and I don't want to see it ruined."  Harry was surprised to see her blink back tears as she spoke.  "Promise me, Harry; promise me you won't let it get to you."

Harry swallowed and nodded.  "I promise," he whispered.  He was surprised by her next action – she wrapped her arms around him and hugged him to her tightly.

"Professor," he said when she released him, "can I ask you something?"

"Certainly, Harry," she replied, wiping a stray tear from her eye.

"You…you said that Professor Snape needs to let go of the past.  You know what it is, don't you, that makes him the way he is?"  Harry really didn't expect an answer, but he figured it wouldn't hurt to try. 

Professor Black looked at him for a long moment before she spoke.  "Yes, I think I do; but it's not a thing for me to reveal.  You'll have to hear it from him."

Harry rolled his eyes.  "That's not likely to happen, Professor, no matter how nice anybody is to him."

"Do you really want to know, Harry?" she asked.  He nodded.  She sighed and then smiled again.  "If you really want to know…I'll see that you do.  See you later."  She waved goodbye, turned, and headed off to her office.  Harry watched her go, then he, too, turned, and went to the Gryffindor tower.

Sleep eluded Harry that night, just like it had on other occasions, when it seemed that his brain was stuck in overdrive and wouldn't go into park.   So many things were spinning in his head: Sirius, Snape, Professor Black's cryptic statement after the Hosgmeade trip.

He finally drifted off around midnight, but he wasn't asleep for long.  In the wee hours of the morning, with no sign of the approaching cold, gray dawn, Harry felt something on his chest.  He opened his eyes – the something was Crookshanks, Hermione's ginger-colored puffball of a cat, and he was right on Harry's chest, peering into his eyes, purring.

Harry sat part-way up and reached for his glasses on the bedside table.  He put them on, and Crookshanks immediately rubbed against Harry's face, purring loudly.  Harry pushed him off gently, smiling; it was then that he saw the note.  A piece of parchment was folded and tucked into the cat's collar.  Harry took the parchment and got out of bed.  He crept to the window and opened the folded paper up.  By the dim starlight filtering in the window, he was able to read:

Harry, get your cloak and follow Crookshanks.  Prof. Black

Harry stuffed the parchment under his pillow and reached into his trunk for his invisibility cloak.  He wondered for a moment how Professor Black knew that he had one, then realized that Sirius had probably told her at some point.  He shrugged and drew the cloak tight around him.  As soon as he was concealed, Crookshanks hopped off the bed and trotted down the stairs to the common room.  Harry followed him down through the portrait hole, past the Fat Lady, down the winding staircases, and through a maze of hallways he had never been down before.  He had to move quickly to keep up with Crookshanks, though he tried to be as quiet as possible.  The halls of the castle were silent; everyone was asleep.  Or so it seemed.

Finally, they turned a corner and Harry saw Professor Black seated on a stone bench by a large bay window that looked out towards the shrouded mountaintops.  She was wearing a dark green robe that shimmered slightly in the moonlight.  She had a cup of tea in her hand, and was staring out the window.  She turned as Crookshanks jumped up next to her on the bench and smiled.  She petted and stroked the cat, murmuring softly.  Crookshanks purred and arched against her.

She did not stop petting the cat, but looked up in Harry's direction.  She smiled, held a finger to her lips, and pointed to a large statue.  She motioned for Harry to go behind it.  She looked like she was going to speak, but footfalls echoed in the dark hall behind her and she just signaled him to be quiet and turned back to the window, the cat in her lap. 

Harry crept behind the statue and peeked out.  Professor Snape was walking down the hallway toward them, apparently lost in thought.   Professor Black looked up at him as he approached.  "Severus," she said quietly. 

"Rebekah," he replied, looking up and seeing her there.  "What are you doing up?"

"I couldn't sleep, so I thought a cup of tea and a view outside might calm my mind.  What about you?"

He sat down on the bench next to her.  "The same.  I cannot sleep, either."

Professor Black waved her wand, and a teapot and cup appeared on the bench next to her.  She poured Snape a cup and handed it to him.  "Here, drink this.  It may help."

He took the cup from her and they sipped in silence for a few minutes.  Crookshanks had curled up on the floor by Black's feet. 

Snape sighed and looked at Black.  "Rebekah, I must…apologize for my behavior yesterday."

"I'm not the one you should apologize to; Harry is the one you hurt."

He gave her a sharp look, but it melted into an anguished sort of expression.  "I cannot help it, Rebekah.  Every time I so much as see him…" his voice trailed off.

Black put her cup down and put a hand on his arm.  "Severus," her tone was gentle, "what is it that bothers you so?  It's eating you alive, whatever it is.  Can you tell me?  Will you tell me?"  She reached up and turned his face toward hers.  "If you want the pain to go away, you have to open up.  Please, tell me.  What is troubling you?"

He turned away from her and buried his face in his hands.  He shook his head.  Finally, he spoke.  "I loved her.  Loved her from afar.  I never told her how I felt, I couldn't tell her.  She would never have had me, or so I thought.  So I suffered in silence, hating myself, hating her friends, hating the fact that I was too scared to tell her how I felt.   And then, she found someone else, and I nearly died whenever I saw them together.  I knew it was hopeless.  I knew I'd never be happy."

He drew a shuddering breath; Harry realized that Snape was close to tears.  His words made Harry realize that the man who had so tormented him was himself tormented by his own past, by his own thoughts.  It made him sound so…human.  Black reached out and took his hand in hers, holding it tightly, encouraging him to continue.  But he did not speak right away.

"Who, Severus?" she asked tenderly.  "Who did you love?"

The name came out like a soft cry.  "Lily."

Harry choked back the sound he almost made.  He wasn't sure if it was an outraged cry of anger or a shocked cry of surprise, but he never expected to hear Snape say that he had loved Harry's mother.  Loved his mother who loved another, he reminded himself.

Snape had his face in his hands again.  Harry thought he might be crying.  Black scooted closer to him and put an arm around his shoulder.  "Lily?" she said.  "Harry's mother?"

Snape nodded.

"And you dislike Harry because…?" she prompted quietly.

Snape took another ragged breath and replied, "Because he looks like James."

"And you are reminded of the man she chose, the man who was not you."

"He looks like James…except the eyes.  His eyes are her eyes, and every time I see them, I think of her, and I think of what I lost, because of my own cowardice.  I don't hate Harry, I never have – but I hate the feelings that come to the surface.  I hate seeing him and in him I see James and Lily, together, happy.  Now they are both dead, and I've never been happy since."  He stopped, and said no more. 

Black continued to hold him close to her.  She leaned her head on his shoulder while he cried.  Harry was near tears himself.  He had never been so moved by anything before in his life.   After a few minutes, Black reached into her robes and pulled out a handkerchief, which she handed wordlessly to Snape.  He took it and wiped his eyes with it. 

He spoke again, but his voice was gentler than before.  "I'm sorry, Rebekah.  I should not have…" but she shook her head and silenced him.

"No," she said, smiling sadly at him, "you have wanted to tell your story for a long time; you just didn't know it.  Do you feel better now that we have talked?"

He nodded and smiled at her.  She smiled back and gave him a quick hug.  "Go back to bed, Severus, and sleep well."  She got up and offered him her hand.  He stood, held her hand for a moment and looked at her with an expression that Harry couldn't quite fathom.  "Good night, Rebekah."  He turned and left.

As soon as his footsteps had died away, Black sat back down on the bench and started to speak in low tones.  "He has been walking these hallways at this hour for many days now, a tortured soul never at rest; he does not know that I was aware of him.  I told you I would make sure you learned, Harry, and this was the only way I could think of.  I don't know if it makes any difference now, but at least you know."  She paused to drink the last of her tea.  "I'll say the same thing to you that I said to Severus: go back to bed, Harry, and sleep well." 

With that she stood up and walked slowly down the hallway to what Harry assumed were her own private quarters in the castle. 

Harry made the long trip back up to the Gryffindor tower slowly, with Crookshanks by his side.  His head was whirling with the things he had seen and heard from Snape.  Had he really loved my mother? Harry wondered.  Can love do that to a person?  Did my mother know?  Did my father?

He had a passing thought to wake Ron and tell him, but decided against it.  He knew that he would tell both him and Hermione – he just wasn't sure when he would tell them.  He wanted some time to think about what he had learned, to piece it together, the come to grips with the bizarre reality that had been shoved in his face that night.

"I asked for it," he said to Crookshanks, who had followed him up to his bed.  "I said I wanted to know, and now I do."   He sighed and crawled into bed and pulled the covers close around him.  He felt Hermione's cat curl up next to him; its warm closeness and gentle purring calmed his mind, and he felt the warm darkness of his dreams overtake him, and he slept.  And throughout his dreams, he kept hearing Snape's voice softly sobbing, "Lily…Lily…Lily."

The next morning, Harry slept late after his clandestine trip to see Professor Black, but the minute he awoke he knew he had to go talk to her.  He dressed quickly – Ron and Hermione were already up and gone – and flew down to the Great Hall to eat a hurried breakfast.

He found his two friends there with a few of their fellow Gryffindors, chatting over their own late breakfasts.  Ron looked up as Harry approached.

"We were wondering when you were going to get up, sleepyhead," he said as Harry sat down to a plate of bacon and eggs.

Harry shook his head, his mouth full.  "I couldn't sleep last night."

They watched as he wolfed down the food on his plate.  "Slow down, Harry!" said Ron, "You'll choke!"

"I've got to go see Professor Black," he said when he had finally swallowed.  "I'll meet you in the Common Room later."   He gulped down his orange juice and dashed out of the hall, leaving two very confused students staring after him.

Harry ran down the hallway to Professor Black's office; the door was shut and locked, and knocking produced no answer.  Harry turned and ran back the way he came, toward the Staff Room.  He skidded around a corner and collided with something hard and unyielding.

He stood back and looked up into the stern face of Professor Severus Snape.  Harry's eyes opened wide and he tried to stammer out an apology, but the words caught in his throat.  For a moment, neither of them spoke; Snape had the same unreadable expression on his face as he had last night, when Harry watched his conversation with Professor Black.

Finally, Snape said, "Can I help you, Potter?"

Harry blinked.   "Um, yes, sir, I..uh…was looking for Professor Black.  Have…have you seen her?"

If Snape was startled by his question, he hid it well.  He frowned, then stepped aside and gestured to a door behind him.  "She is in the staff room."  Without another word, he turned on his heel and walked away.

Harry stared after him.  Snape had never been so civil to him before; he wondered if it had anything to do with what he had witnessed the night before.  He put it out of his mind and pushed open the door to the staff room.

Professor Black was curled up in a chair by the fire, reading a small paperback book.  She looked up as the door opened and beamed a smile at Harry.  "Hi, there!" she said.  "Come in, Harry, have a seat.  How are you?"

Harry sank into a chair opposite Black.  "Fine, I guess, Professor," he said.  "I came to ask you a question."

She smiled.  "I can probably guess what it is, but go ahead and ask anyway."

He smiled nervously back.  "About last night.  Professor…did you really know?"

Her smile faded and her look turned inward for a moment.  "No, Harry, I didn't.  Not entirely, anyway.  I suspected something along those lines…but I'll freely admit to you that I didn't expect…the intensity."  She smiled again at him.  "Are you OK, Harry?  That had to be quite a shock for you."

"I'm OK, I guess, but it was a bit of a shock," Harry admitted.  "I had no idea…"

Black reached over and patted his arm.  "The best advice I can give you, Harry, is to put it out of your mind.  I wasn't really sure if you should know, but you wanted to; just don't let it get you down.  OK?"

Harry smiled. "Sure thing, Professor."

"Good," she said.  "Now, you're staying for Christmas, right?"  Harry nodded, and she continued.  "I think I'll give you an early present then – Remus and Snuffles are coming to spend Christmas Eve with me, and I'd be very much surprised if they wouldn't want you there, too."

Harry grinned.  "I can't wait, Professor."  He paused.  "Well, I should be going.  I promised Ron and Hermione I'd meet them upstairs after I saw you."

"Run along then, Harry," she said, smiling, "and have a good day."

Harry, Ron, and Hermione were the only students staying behind for the holidays.  The last few days before the holidays sped by quickly and soon the three friends were alone in their own dormitories, enjoying the solitude and holiday season.

Christmas Eve was especially enjoyable, as Professor Black, Sirius, and Remus Lupin all came up to the Gryffindor Common Room.  They all spent the night toasting marshmallows over the fire, playing wizard chess, singing carols, and generally celebrating the season.  Sirius had decided to risk his human form for the occasion, though he wore a large cowboy hat, and Hermione had charmed a large decorative jingle-bell so that it would ring if anyone approached the Fat Lady's entrance to the Common Room.

The group shared their presents that evening, instead of waiting until morning.  Sirius gave Harry a solid-gold model of a snitch that fluttered and zipped around a little model Firebolt broomstick.  Everyone had risen to the occasion and got new clothes and a large supply of food for Sirius (and Buckbeak, who was at Lupin's house for the holiday).  It was one of the best Christmases Harry could remember, because he felt like he was really part of a big, loving family, with Sirius as his father and Professor Black as his mother. 

The visitors stayed until very late, but the moon would be full the next night, so Remus and Sirius left the school just after everyone else went to bed, to ensure that they got back to Lupin's house in time for his transformation.  The next morning, Harry, Ron, and Hermione opened the gifts from their respective families (Harry, of course, got nothing from his aunt and uncle, but it was more than made up for by the Weasleys and the Grangers). 

When they went down to the Great Hall for Christmas dinner, they found that Dumbledore had put up all the tables except for the teachers' tables at the head of the room.  Professors Flitwick, McGonagall, Snape, Sprout, and Hagrid were seated around the table alongside the headmaster.  They all waved cheerily when the three students arrived, and beckoned them to come up and join them.

"A Happy Christmas to you three!" said Dumbledore merrily.  "Sit down, sit down, the feast is just beginning."

Harry looked around as they pulled up chairs.  "Where's Professor Black?"

Just then the doors to the hall opened up and Professor Black walked in.  Just in front of her floated a large assortment of wrapped packages tied with brightly colored bows and ribbons. 

"Merry Christmas!" she called out.  She drew up to the table grinning widely. "Sorry I'm late."

She plopped down in the empty seat next to Snape and waved her wand around the table.  The presents floating behind her flew to each person at the table.  "I brought a little something for everyone!"

Cries of delight erupted around the table as the recipients opened their gifts.  Dumbledore had a pair of thick woolen socks – he winked at Harry as he held them up – and a bag of lemon drops.  McGonagall had a small statue of a cat that looked just like her when she transformed.  Harry, Ron, and Hermione each had a lion statue decorated in red and gold for their house colors.  Flitwick had a music box.  Hagrid laughed as he held up his pewter dragon with a sparkling ruby eyes.  Professor Sprout's box contained a glass rose.

Snape looked puzzled at the item he pulled from his box.  He set it down on his plate.  "What is this?" he asked the woman next to him, gesturing to the small boxy item.

"It's a stove." She poked it with her wand, and the little pot on top of the miniature stove began to rattle and smoke.  Everyone laughed.  But Snape only looked more confused.

"It's what Muggles use instead of cauldrons," Black said.  "I thought it quite appropriate for the Potions Master."   She poked the stove again and the noise and steam switched off.

Dumbledore laughed heartily.  "Charming!  Thank you so much, Rebekah.  Ah, and here is our dinner!"  Platters and bowls of food appeared on the table, and the assembled eagerly dug into the waiting feast.

Afterwards, stomachs full of food and arms full of presents, Harry, Ron, and Hermione stumbled back up into the Gryffindor Common Room.  One look out the window at the pristine expanse of snow in the courtyard decided their next course of action; they pulled on winter cloaks, hats, and gloves and raced outside to build a snowman. 

An hour or so later, with their snowman project half-finished, Ron changed the course of the afternoon by pelting Hermione with a huge snowball.  Hermione was quick to retaliate and soon the three were embroiled in a full-blown snowball war.  The sound of someone clearing their throat brought them to a halt and they looked around to find Snape standing about five feet away, looking quite irritable.

Before he could say anything, an enormous snowball smashed right into the back of his head, nearly knocking him over.  He regained his footing and glared at the three who were staring at him, wide-eyed and horrified.

"Which one of you did that?" he snarled.

They shook their heads, still staring in disbelief, and as one they raised their hands and pointed behind Snape.  He whipped around and stared with them.  Coming across the courtyard towards them was Professor Black, dressed in a dark blue velvet winter cloak, her eyes twinkling mischievously.

Snape looked back at the three children standing behind him, then back at Black.  "Did you throw a snowball at me?" he asked.

Black didn't reply until she had reached the spot where he was standing, and tilted her head back to look up at him.  Her hands were clasped loosely behind her back.  "Me?" she said innocently, smiling sweetly.  "You think I threw a snowball at you?"

Snape was at a loss for words.  His irritation had melted away to be replaced by puzzlement.  The small audience watched the confrontation with a mixture of amusement and trepidation.

Snape opened his mouth to say something, but words failed him and he just stood there and stared at the woman, who laughed lightly.  "Well, I'll give you this, Severus; if you think that I did it…you'd be right."  And with that she whipped her hands out from behind her back and smacked the snowball she had been hiding there right into Snape's startled face.

Harry, Ron, and Hermione were too shocked to do anything; but Black was doubled over, whooping with glee.  Snape wiped the snow out of his face incredulously.  Before he could do anything, however, Black had raised her wand and pointed it behind him. 

"Harry!  Watch your back!"  she called.  Harry turned around in time to see a cloud of snowballs rise up out of the ground and pelt themselves right at them. The three were knocked flat by the oncoming storm of snow.  The tension was broken and they all burst into shouts of laughter.

Black was wiping tears from her eyes when Snape found his voice.  "Stop!" he shouted.  They all stopped laughing and stared at him; his expression was again impossible to read.  He stalked over to Professor Black who stood up straight, pushed her hair back, and again smiled innocently up at him.

"Professor Black, if you ever do that again, I'll…" he trailed off.

She grinned wickedly.  "You'll what?"

Snape's eyes narrowed.  "This."  Snape bent down, scooped up a handful of snow, and blasted it into Professor Black's face.  She shrieked and flung her own snowball, but Snape was ready for it and ducked.  As the three stunned students watched, Professor Black and Professor Snape were hurling snowballs at each other and ducking the ones aimed at them, laughing and taunting each other.  Harry looked back at his friends, shrugged, and decided to take advantage of the situation.  He hurriedly made a snowball, took aim, and flung it straight at Black.

It exploded on the side of her head and distracted her; Snape's next snowball caught her full in the face. She turned and hurled her next missile toward Harry, but he dodged and it caught Hermione's shoulder instead. 

Ron sprang to Hermione's defense but his next shot was off and instead of hitting Black it hit Snape.  Ron's eyes flew open and his face turned beet red; everyone else stopped, except for Snape.  He flung a snowball at Ron, and in his shock, Ron lost his balance and fell over backwards.  Harry and Hermione roared with surprise and laughter.

Professor Black had one last trick up her sleeve.  She ran toward Snape with a snowball, but instead of throwing it, she dodged behind him, grabbed the back of his cloak, and stuffed the icy cold snow down his back. 

He bellowed in mock outrage and turned quickly, making a wild grab for the offender's robes, but she had dashed out of reach and was stooping to form yet another snowball.  Snape didn't wait for her to make her move.  He shot toward her, grabbing her around her middle, pulling her down into the snow, and tried to stuff his own handful of snow down her robes.

The two tussled on the ground for a moment, but Black was smaller and quicker than her attacker and managed to free herself.  She didn't get far, though, because Ron and Harry tackled her and pinned her to the ground laughing.  She struggled against them, but by that time Snape had pulled himself to his feet and crossed the distance between them.  Laughing, the two boys held Black to the ground while Snape finally managed to repay her with a huge wad of snow down her robes. 

Still laughing, nobody noticed when Hermione snuck up behind Harry and Ron and smacked them both in the face with snowballs.  The final shot in the unusual snowball fight was thrown by Snape, who caught Hermione full in the face, sending her backwards onto the ground.

All five sat there, covered in snow, laughing; Black had tears coming out of her eyes.  When they all finally caught their breath, Snape scrambled to his feet and held a hand out to Black and pulled her upright.  He then offered his hands to Ron and Harry, who grasped them rather hesitantly, while Black helped Hermione.   When they were all standing again, dusting the snow off their robes and out of their hair, Black laughed again.

"I haven't had so much fun since I was a kid!"  she said, a little breathlessly.  "I should do that more often!"  She gave Snape a playful punch in the arm. 

Suddenly Snape's eyes flew open and comprehension dawned on his face as he realized what he had been doing…and with whom.  Ron and Hermione were startled to see his normally pale and sallow face flush red with embarrassment.   But Harry wasn't surprised at all any more – not after that night one week earlier when he had overheard the ordinarily temperamental professor spill his innermost secrets. 

But Harry even surprised himself when he stepped forward and held out his hand to Snape, who looked slightly startled, but took his hand and shook it anyway. 

"Happy Christmas, Professor Snape.  Thanks for the great snowball fight."  He gave both adults a grin, turned, and grabbed Ron and Hermione by the arms and pulled them in the direction of the castle.  After one last incredulous look over their shoulders, they willingly followed Harry back to their dormitory.

Before they were quite out of earshot, Black grabbed Snape's arm and tugged him in the opposite direction.  "Come on, Severus, back to my office and I'll make us some hot chocolate.  Oh, come on!" She said, exasperated, when he hesitated.  Finally, with a shrug, he allowed himself to be led away.

Back up in the Common Room, Harry told Ron and Hermione about how Professor Black had summoned him late one night and how Snape had turned up and admitted how he had loved Harry's mother, and everything else that came out in that early-morning meeting.  Ron and Hermione listened with ever-widening eyes. 

"Unbelievable," said Ron.  "Just unbelievable.  Who would have thought a man like that could actually fall in love?"

"Well, I wouldn't have ever believed I'd see him in a snowball fight, but he did today.  And you said he was actually NICE to you?" Hermoine asked.  She shook her head in disbelief.  "Harry, this year could well turn out to be the year that we start to like Potions."

Ron made a face, and Harry laughed at him.  "Ugh!  Like Potions!  Who would have thought!  Now if only we could have it with someone other than the Slytherins…."

Later that afternoon, they went down to the Great Hall for Christmas tea, but they ate alone and in silence, as there were no teachers to be found.  Afterwards, they retired to the Common Room once again and amused themselves with several games of Exploding Snap and a few rounds of Wizard's Chess. 

They were rapidly running out of things to do, and when Hermione suggested that they do some of their holiday assignments, they realized they must be bored indeed because both Ron and Harry agreed that perhaps they should do a bit of work.  They worked for a few hours, until they could see the stars twinkling in the blue-black sky when they looked out the window.

Harry yawned and rubbed his eyes, and watched as Ron and Hermione put away their books and parchment rolls and opted for one more chess match before bed.

"I'm going to bed," he said to them, "I'll see you in the morning."

"'Night, Harry," they both said as they set up their pieces.  "Sleep tight!" said Hermione, as Harry turned and started up the spiral staircase.

Harry stretched and yawned again when he got to his bed, and pulled on his pajamas and a warm robe.  He was just about to crawl in between the sheets when movement down below in the field outside the castle caught his eye.  Intrigued, he peered out the window and saw two figures walking across the snowy ground, arm in arm.  He tore his gaze away from the window and thundered down the stairs to the Common Room.

"Ron!  Hermione!"  he shouted.  "Come up here and see this!  Hermione, grab your omnoculars first!"  Then he turned, ran back up the steps, threw open his trunk, and rummaged around.

Ron was up the steps in a flash, and ran to the window Harry was pointing to.  Harry appeared beside him, omnoculars in hand.  He pushed open the window and looked through the omnoculars at the couple below.

"It's – it's Professor Black and Snape!" he hissed.  He heard Hermione coming up the steps, panting and out of breath.  "Hermione, quick!"

Soon all three of them were crowded around the open window, peering down through their omnoculars, whispering back and forth about what they were seeing.

"What are they doing?" exclaimed Ron.

Hermione shushed him.  "Quiet!  The window's open, remember?  And they're going for a walk, it looks like."

"I wish we could hear what they were saying," said Harry.

"Easy," said Hermione, smiling in a self-satisfied way.  She pulled her wand out of her robes, aimed it at the two people below, and whispered, "Audienta elevio!"

In a rush, the voices of the two Professors far below in the field came to them as clearly as if they were right in front of them. 

Harry and Ron looked at each other, then at Hermione.  "Standard Book of Spells?" Harry asked her with a faint smile.  She simply nodded and pointed toward the ground again.

They looked down through their omnoculars again at the pair, listening to their words that were coming out of the air around them. 

"…decide to come back to Britain?" Snape was saying.

"I missed it here, I really did," Black said, "I had looked forward to attending Hogwarts almost my whole life, and then we moved little more than a year before I would have started.  The United States is a great place to live, but home is where the heart is…and my heart has always been here."

"How did you hear about the position opening up?" he asked next.

"Believe it or not, it was Remus Lupin who told me."  She looked over at Snape and saw that he was scowling.  "Now, cut that out," she said, but she was smiling when she said it.  "I know what went on between you two, and if you had made any effort to know the real Remus, you'd know that he NEVER would have played a joke like that on you; he would never wish a werewolf bite on anybody else, not even his worst enemy."

Snape was still glowering.  "Whether or not he was in on it, it was that…that Sirius Black who is really to blame…" Harry hissed at those words, and was nudged into silence again by Hermione.

But now Black's voice was stern.  "And it's high time you put that behind you as well." She sighed, exasperated.  "Haven't you listened to anything I've said before?  Here's a little American expression for you, and it's quite appropriate: CHILL OUT.  Drop it.  Let it go.  It was years ago, it's all said and done, there's no point in dwelling on it anymore."

"But he-"

"Drop it." said Black in a warning tone.  Then, gentler, "Severus, for heavens' sake, let it go.  Look.  It's a beautiful night, the moon is full, it's Christmas…and you're standing here making your blood pressure go sky-high over something that happened what, over twenty years ago?" 

He frowned at her and she gave a little laugh and shook her head.  "You're hopeless, you know that, don't you?"

She got him to laugh, but it was a sarcastic one.  "Hopeless, am I?  Well, you shouldn't have wasted a Christmas gift on me, then…"

She turned to him, appalled.  "What do you mean, wasted?  I gave everyone presents because it's Christmas and because I like them.  I gave you one for the same reasons."  She stopped and turned to face him.  "Severus, what is the matter with you?  Your mood has changed today more times than I can count, and I'm never quite sure what you're going to be next.  What is the problem?"

He sighed and hung his head.  "I'm sorry.  It's just…I feel guilty, because…you gave me a present and I didn't give you anything."

She heaved a sigh, put her hands on his shoulders and shook him gently, forcing him to look at her.  "Severus, for crying out loud…so get me something and quit feeling guilty."  She looped her arm back into his again and started walking again, around the snow-covered frozen lake.  "If you don't cheer up soon, I'll stuff snow down your robes again, see if that doesn't loosen you up a bit."

It must have worked; he laughed, and it wasn't sarcastic.  "Rebekah, put snow down my robes again, and you'll regret it."

Now it was her turn to laugh.  "Well, it worked, didn't it?  Got you to loosen up and enjoy life for a change.  You should do that more often, you know.  It's good for your health, and good for your spirit."

"Good for my spirit, eh?" Snape replied.  "Well, I don't know about that.  I'm not one to act so…freely.  But you, you're different.  Rebekah, you must be the most uninhibited professor Hogwarts has ever seen."

She giggled.  "Uninhibited?  Not really.  I have inhibitions, you know.  I just choose to ignore them sometimes.  Like today.  I wouldn't have smacked just anybody in the face with a snowball, you know."  She grinned up at him.  "You really should do that more often – ignore your inhibitions, just do what's fun and feels good, instead of worrying about is it right or proper or who's going to complain.  Life's too short to waste."

He stopped walking and turned to face her.  "Ignore my inhibitions?"

She stepped back from him, spread her arms wide, and turned in a circle.  "Look at this, Severus!  Look at this night!  I'm enjoying it because it's peaceful, it's beautiful, there's snow on the ground" – with this she flopped over backwards and made a snow angel – "I don't let my inhibitions stop me from doing what I want to do."  Gingerly, she got to her feet and surveyed the impression she had made on the ground.  "A snow angel," she said in response to the unasked question on his face.

"A snow angel?" he said tentatively.

"A snow angel," she repeated.  "Just because I felt like it.  Now my bum is wet, but who cares?  I don't.  And you shouldn't, either."

She walked back to where he was standing with the most baffled look on his face.   "Really, Severus.  You should do what you want to, and to hell with anybody who thinks otherwise.  You see how happy I am – why deny yourself that same joy?"

He stared at her for a long while.  "You really think I should?" he finally said.

"I do indeed."

"You're telling me I should do what I want to, not what everyone else expects me to."

"Exactly."

He didn't reply.  She cocked her head to one side.  "Don't tell me that's so hard."

"Well…what if what I want and what everyone expects are the same thing?"

She laughed.  "Then it's that much easier." She bent down and scooped up a handful of snow, patting it carefully into a ball.  "Would you like another example of how it's done?"

"Oh no you don't," he said, wagging his finger at her.  "Not another snowball fight, not now."

She tossed the ball up in the air, catching it in her hand, and looked at him searchingly.  "And why not?  You obviously haven't learned your lesson yet."

"Maybe I have, and maybe I haven't.  But if you throw that snowball at me, or stuff it down my robes, or whatever equally insidious thing you have in mind…you'll never learn what it is that I'm thinking I should do right now."

She tossed the snowball over her shoulder and shook her head.  "You really are impossible."  She smiled at him.  "Simply impossible."

He drew nearer to her.  "So curse me."

She laughed.  "I just might, if it will get you to lighten up a bit."

"I don't think you really want me to lighten up, Rebekah."  He had stopped teasing now, and was deadly serious.

"Why?  What are you going to do, strip off your robes and pirouette around the courtyard in your shorts?"  She was grinning at him again.  "I think I'd enjoy seeing that one."

He shook his head.  "No."  He put his hands on her shoulders.  "I'm telling you, you won't like it."

She sighed.  "And just how do you know?"

"Well…I don't."

"Then…?" she prompted.

His hands were still on her shoulders.  He stared at her for a moment.  Then, he slowly moved his hands up to cup her chin.

Ron, Harry, and Hermione practically dropped their omnoculars.  They stared in disbelief.  She moved closer to him; and with the full moon shining its silver light down on them and the quiet of a peaceful winter's night surrounding them, they watched as the man and woman below shared a long, tender kiss.

"Oh, God," said Harry softly.  "What am I going to say to Sirius?"

The three stood by the open window, staring at each other with wide eyes, and a mixture of shock and amusement on their faces.   Hermione glanced back down, and nudged Harry and Ron.  They all turned to look at the courtyard again.   The moment was over; Black and Snape were facing each other.  He was holding her arms.

"Now, was that so hard?" Black said softly.

Snape smiled nervously.  "No," he admitted.

The smiled back.  "Good.  Because it's about damn time that you got around to doing that.  I've been waiting for ages."

His eyes flew open.  "What?  How…how did you know?"

She shrugged.  "It wasn't hard.  You act differently around me than everybody else; I would see you staring at me with a distant look in your eyes; you'd get flustered if I caught you off guard."  She grinned.  "If you hadn't done it, I was just going to do it and get it over with for you."

He stared at her.  "I can't believe it."

She laughed again.  "Well, believe it, because it's true.  I'll admit, I wasn't sure at first.  You're rather…stern.  And unapproachable.  I had to stop and examine my own feelings to decide if I really did like you or not.  And you're in luck, because I do.  I am very fond of you, Severus, which is why I've been campaigning so hard for you to loosen up.  You're a whole lot more fun to be around when you're not so darn rigid."

He pulled her even closer.  "I can't believe it," he whispered.  "I never thought it could happen."

She wrapped her arms around him.  "Never thought what could happen?"

"You.  Me.  Us.  This.  I…I never thought I'd feel this way again."  He bent down and kissed her again.   When he finally released her, he put an arm around her waist, a little hesitantly, as if he still couldn't believe what was happening, and looked down at her.  "Shall we go back, then?  Perhaps share a cup of tea?"

She leaned into him and sighed.  "Sounds lovely.  Lead on, I'm cold."  They turned and started walking slowly back toward the school, their arms around each other.

Hermione muttered something that Harry couldn't quite make out, but assumed it was the counter-spell to the little eavesdropping one she had done earlier, because the voices immediately died away.  She reached out and closed the window, then looked at the two boys standing next to her, dumbfounded.

"What am I going to say to Sirius?" Harry said again, slightly panicked. 

"You're not going to say anything to him," said Hermione.  "We're going to keep our mouths shut and keep this to ourselves.  It's not anybody's business but theirs; we really shouldn't have been listening in…but I was dying to know what they were saying."  She looked slightly embarrassed.  "Who would have thought that the two of them…."

"I can't believe that ANYBODY, much less her, would fall in love with Snape," said Ron.  "But Harry's right, Hermione.  Sirius is going to find out eventually.  He'd probably rather find out from Harry than by seeing the two of them kissing.  Ugh."

Harry nodded.  "Sirius knows something's up with her – he asked me to keep an eye on her, he thought she was hiding something.  We'll, I'd hide it, too, knowing how Snape and Sirius feel about each other.  But I don't think Snape knows that she's his sister – she made us promise to keep it quiet, and you heard what he said tonight, he wouldn't have talked about Sirius like that if he knew."

Hermione shook her head.  "No.  As much as I agree that it's going to be the shock of a lifetime for Sirius, it's Professor Black's right to tell him – or not.  We're just going to have to forget we even saw this."

Ron buried his face in his hands.  "I'm never going to forget the sight of the two of them kissing.  I'm probably going to have nightmares now."

The other two laughed.  "Well," said Harry, "I'm going to try to go to bed again – I'm so tired, I don't think I'll think much on this until tomorrow."  Hermione waved goodbye and descended the stairs to go to her own dorm.  Harry and Ron crawled into bed, pulled the curtains around themselves, and were soon both fast asleep.

The school was strangely quiet in the few days after Christmas.  On Boxing Day, in order to keep their minds off the romantic scene they had witnessed the night before, Ron and Hermione borrowed two school brooms, Harry shouldered his Firebolt, and they all trooped down to the Quidditch field to play a three-person version of Harry's favorite sport.  It was Hermione's first attempt at playing the game, but she did well enough for a first-timer (and a Muggle, as she pointed out) to impress Ron. 

That night, Harry got an owl from Remus Lupin.

Harry, Snuffles and I are coming to the school the day after tomorrow to visit Rebekah.  If you can spare an hour or so, I'd like to get together with you to talk.

Remus

"Cool," said Ron.  "Only watch what you say and don't spill the beans, Harry."

Harry groaned.  "This is one time that I'm not looking forward to seeing Sirius."

The morning of Lupin's arrival, Harry woke up early, left a note from Ron and Hermione, and went down to breakfast alone.  While he was eating his breakfast, an owl swooped down and dropped a single piece of parchment on his plate.  In Lupin's scrawled writing he read, "Harry, come down to the side hallway where the teacher's private quarters are; I am waiting for you there.  Remus."  Harry finished his toast, crumpled up the parchment, and headed out the doors.

Harry knew the way – it was the same place he had gone when following Crookshanks the week before the holidays.  He found Professor Lupin sitting on the same bench where Professors Black and Snape had their conversation; he looked like he always did shortly after one of his transformations – dark circles under his eyes, sunken cheeks.  He had a cloak wrapped around him, a familiar teapot was next to him, and he held a steaming mug cupped in his hands.

He looked up as Harry approached and managed a wan smile.  "Harry, so good to see you."  He sounded tired.  "Sit down, care for a cup of tea?"

"Thanks, Professor," said Harry, accepting the cup.  "How are you?"

"About as well as I could expect to be.  And there's no need to call me 'Professor' anymore, I'm not a teacher here.  You can call me Remus."

"OK, Prof – er, Remus." Harry grinned sheepishly.  "Where's Snuffles?"

Lupin gestured out the window in front of them.  Outside, Harry could see Professor Black running around with Sirius in dog form and Fang, Hagrid's gigantic pet.  "They're spending a little quality time together, and I'm recuperating.  I'm glad that Snuffles has been staying with me during my transformations – it makes them so much more bearable.  Makes me feel young again, like I was back in school again."

Harry and Lupin talked of many things that morning – of Harry's patronus, of what had happened the prior year during the Triwizard Tournament and when Voldemort returned, of Ron and Hermione and what was going on at school that year, of Rebekah, and of Sirius.  Lupin told Harry a lot about his father: how James had been such a good and loyal friend, how proud he had been when Harry was born…and how much he missed the both of them.  Both Harry and Lupin blinked back tears on several occasions.  After a time, they sat in silence and watched the frolicking figures through the window.

A voice behind them startled them out of their reverie.  "Good day, Lupin, Potter."  They turned to see Professor Snape standing behind them.  Harry was scared for a brief moment, but, remembering what he had seen a few nights before, he looked up at the man and smiled. 

"Hello, Professor," he said.

"Hello, Severus," said Lupin pleasantly.  "How are you today?"

"Well enough," he said rather stiffly.  "What brings you out to Hogwarts?"

Lupin gestured to the boy next to him.  "I just came out to visit with Harry and catch up on news," he said. 

Snape frowned slightly and looked pointedly out the window.  "I see you brought your dog with you as well," he said.

Lupin smiled.  "Yes, Rebekah is quite fond of animals, as I'm sure you are aware; she enjoys spending time with Snuffles."

"Indeed," said Snape.  "You'll forgive me for asking, but what exactly do you and Mr. Potter have to speak about?" 

Lupin smiled again.  "Harry and I worked together on a few things when I was teaching here, and I like to keep up with him.  Harry," he turned to him, "why don't you show Professor Snape some of what we've worked on?"

Harry grinned delightedly.  "Sure thing."  He pulled his wand out of his robes, raised it and said, "Expecto patronum!"

A silver stag erupted from the end of Harry's wand and galloped for a few paces before dissolving into smoky wisps and fading away.

Snape's eyebrows shot up almost to his hairline.  "That was an…admirable Patronus, Mr. Potter.  I am impressed that a student of your age could produce one of such quality."

Harry flashed a wicked grin at Lupin, who was smiling also.  "That's nothing.  I've been able to summon a Patronus for two years now – I was the one that drove away the dementors from the school grounds that one night."

Snape's eyes widened, but he didn't say anything for a moment.  "It seems I may have underestimated you, Potter."  He turned to Lupin and nodded.  "Have a good day, Lupin.  You too, Potter." 

Lupin nodded, and Harry said, "Thanks, Professor.  You, too."  They watched as Snape turned and walked away.

Lupin grinned at Harry.  "Nicely done, Harry.  I think it's good to put him in his place every now and then."

Harry laughed, but then his smile faded.  He looked outside to where Black, Sirius, and Fang were still all running around together.  He lowered his voice and leaned close to Lupin.  "Remus, I have to tell you – if I don't tell someone, I think I'll explode.  We saw something the other night, Ron, Hermione, and I.  You won't believe it – Snape and Professor Black are…they're in love!"

Whatever Lupin was expecting to hear, it certainly wasn't that.  His eyes flew open and his jaw dropped.  "What?! He said.  "In love?  Rebekah and…and Severus?"

Harry nodded and looked around to make sure Snape wasn't hanging out in the shadows.  "Yeah.  We saw them kissing.   We all agreed not to tell Sirius, because we're not supposed to know, and it's her business anyway.  But there's more.  I know that Snape was in love with my mother, but he never told her, and that's why he hated my dad so much.  Snape was crying when he told Professor Black about it.  And then on Christmas Day, Professor Black dragged Snape into a snowball fight with us and he was throwing snowballs at all of us, and Ron even hit him with one, and he didn't even care!  That night was when we saw them walking together, and Snape kissed her."

Lupin had listened to Harry with ever-increasing amazement.  "Severus Snape, in love.  And not only that, but it's being reciprocated.  Unbelievable.  But, if you say you saw it, I'm not inclined to disbelieve you.  As unlikely as I would have thought it…but maybe it is for the best.  I didn't know that he loved Lily – so I can't say whether either she or James knew, either.  But, Harry…does Snape know that Sirius is her brother?"

"I don't think so," replied Harry.  "She made us promise not to say anything, she said that she wanted to be the one to tell, when the time was right, or something like that.  I think Dumbledore's the only other one besides us who know.  And the other night, when we watched them, Snape said something about Sirius, and she changed the subject quick.  I don't think he would have said it to her if he knew."

Lupin sighed and shook his head.  "Amazing.  But Harry, you're right – you can't tell Sirius.  That's for Rebekah to disclose when she's good and ready."

Harry sighed, too.  "Yeah, but it's going to be hard.  He knows that she's hiding something from him – he asked me to keep an eye on her."

"Yes, well, he knows her best – it's hard to hide things from those you love," said Lupin.

"Prof – I mean, Remus, are you feeling up to a walk?  I'd like to go out and see Sirius."

"Sure thing, Harry," said Lupin, putting down his tea cup and slowly standing up.  "A little walk might do me some good.  Oh, Harry, one other thing – I would suggest that you not mention to ANYBODY else about, er, what you know.  They might want to keep it quiet, at least for now.  People are bound to figure it out sometime, but it's best if you let it run its own course."