Chapter 8 The Note

Once they managed to weave their way through the crowd and out the door Cat asked "So has anything changed since I was last here?"

"As a matter of fact. No." timidly he added "But I would like to speak to you privately, Catri. Do you mind walking."

Nodding MacLeod smiled and took his arm. "I sill don't believe how long ago it was. Nothing seems to have changed, including most of the people." Turning towards him, her eyes were sparkling with excitement now. They walked for almost an hour, chatting with old acquaintances, reminiscing about past trips and all the fun they had. The only dark spot was when Cat had asked Severus about some of their old schoolmates. She had heard about Lilly and James of course, and Remus was at the school with them, he easily brushed off the question about Peter Pettigrew, but when she asked about Sirius Black he stopped cold.

"Still bearing a grudge against him are you?" Cat asked playfully.

Snape responded coolly and evenly "He and I never saw eye to eye and we never will. To be honest I've barely even thought about him since we finished school."

As they walked further, Cat began to see less and less people, even the houses were more spread out. "Severus, exactly where are you taking me?"

"You mean the great seeress Catri MacLeod does not know" Severus responded silkily. "You disappoint me, I thought you would have remembered."

Looking around her, Cat tried to remember but just couldn't. "Severus, are you going to give me a hint? I don't remember any of this. ....Please,..... just a little hint." she pleaded playfully.

Severus sighed heavily "It has been neglected over the years, but I am sure you will remember soon."

"It's a good thing I'm a trusting soul Severus, or I may think you were up to no good, leading me so far off the straight and narrow path." Cat said as she walked with him through the brush. Suddenly they came to a small clearing and Cat MacLeod felt as if time had stopped.

In front of her, in the midst of all the tangled, neglected growth, was her sanctuary. How many times had he found her here. Amongst the wild flowers that surrounded the small well. Severus had called it "their secret wishing well" it had been a private joke between them. Even in the dead of winter she would come here when she needed to think, or to cry. This is where she came to know the real Severus Snape. The boy with the kind eyes and sad smile. She couldn't even begin to count all of the conversations they had here, it was where they found peace.

Severus gently took Cat by the hand, asking her softly "Now do you remember, Catri?" she answered by squeezing his hand, as a single tear fell down her cheek. Pulling her closer to himself he whispered "May I take that as a yes."

Cat felt his words more than she actually heard them. Like a lion purring, that had been the phrase she and Lily always used about his voice. She let her head rest against his shoulder and closed her eyes. She opened herself up to this moment, she felt the breeze around them lifting the fallen leaves up to dance with the wind. She heard the rustling of the spent flowers, singing the promise of their return in Spring. The half light of the sun, straining to get through the almost bear limbs of the surrounding forest. As she stood there she became extremely aware of Severus, the sound of his breathing, the heat from his body. If she tried hard enough, she knew she would be able to hear his heart.

"Catri" his arms were around her, "Catri!" her eyes opened with a start. "You were doing it again" Severus said harshly, "you know better." He continued softly "Please. Please. Remember what happened last time. We almost lost you." she could see the pleading in his eyes.

"I'm sorry," she gasped. "I don't know what I was thinking" MacLeod said apologetically. She walked a few steps away and quickly changed the subject. "I never did get to thank you for the lovely gift you sent me." she said softly "Strange thing though, I seem to remember getting one almost identical to it several years ago." she finally turned and looked at Severus again. She could tell he was searching her, making sure it had passed. Slowly a smile came to his face, Cat smiled back. "In fact, even the note was almost identical." she finished, grinning now.

"Really, almost identical, you say" Severus replied nonchalantly as he walked towards the well.

Cat smiled to herself remembering that day, eating breakfast with the gang. She always sat between Lily and Sirius. She and Lilly had decided if they wanted any peace and quiet in the morning it was better to keep Sirius and James separated. Remus was usually across from her and Sirius, and James of course next to Lily. They had been discussing the upcoming Quidditch match and explaining the game to her when the mail had arrived. She saw the owl arriving with the roses and had naturally thought James had sent Lily another gift, he was always doing something sweet like that. Even when the owl had landed in front of her hooting crazily, she thought it had mistaken her for Lily as so many other people did. It wasn't until Sirius had noticed that the note on the roses had her name written on them. He had been so upset, wondering who was sending "his" girl flowers. And such beautiful flowers; a dozen yellow roses, she remembered picking them up and deeply breathing their fragrance, she loved roses. It wasn't until Lily pinched her that she opened the note. They were from Severus, but his note made no sense

"Yes, all but the last line. This time there was an additional line to the note." she started to bite her lower lip.

Severus looked over at her, and his heart just about stopped. He adored it when she was like this. Standing there biting her lower lip just a little, always on the left side, he knew she wanted to say something. Her eyes were staring into his, even from this far away the colour was vivid, it was that mixture of the vulnerability and softness of her features, and the strength he knew was inside her. He found it completely intoxicating.

Looking back at the wishing well Severus was at a complete loss for words. He started dropping what was left of the wild flowers into the well and waiting for her to continue.

"Severus" she began timidly, waiting for him to look at her again. "Why roses? Yellow last time and now pink and white."

"Do you really want to know?" Severus asked hesitantly.

"Of course, I've always wondered. I know all women like roses" she walked towards him "but I've never known you to do anything without a reason."

"Do you remember the first time I saw you here?" he asked beginning to blush "Do you remember what you were doing?"

Cat stopped and tried to remember, it had been the beginning of Autumn, but it was still warm, she had found the well overgrown, and started clearing away the brush. She had been amazed by the amount of beautiful flowers hidden under the dying plants. "I was trying to clear away the brush," she began "I knew there was something here. I felt it" her voice began to fade.

"And do you remember what you were doing when you found the well?" Severus asked as he stood next to Cat. She shook her head no. "You were singing," he continued very softly "a very old song, 'the Briar and the Rose', I remember, you broke my heart when you sang it." he finished tenderly.

Cat's eyes were filling with tears "You always were sentimental" she whispered as she touched his cheek.

"And the note,.... I never understood it" Cat continued, her voice shaking, as she pulled the note out of her cloak.

Severus wrapped his arms around her waist. "The first line was to protect me from your friends and their rather nasty tempers. They certainly couldn't hold it against me if they had forgotten."

"And the second line" she whispered breathlessly, still holding the note in her trembling hands.

Severus looked deeply into her eyes and pulled her close. "Because I felt I should ask first" tightening his embrace, he pressed his lips gently against hers. She returned his embraced, a sigh escaping her lips as she dropped the note. As it fluttered to the ground, pixie dust spilled out of it casting the two in a magical glow. As it finally landed in the last few wild flowers of the season it opened completely, casting a sparkling message:

Happy Belated Birthday

May I kiss you