Autumn fell and the days grew colder. The winter nights were darker and longer than they had ever seemed before.
Lucretia decided to try something new: staying at Hogwarts for the Christmas Holiday. She knew she would miss her family, but something inside told her to stay. There was a reason, but she didn't quite understand what it was specifically. The romance with her teacher continued, even growing stronger. She thanked the gods for her dear friend Sicilia and her awful ideas.
She was also grateful that no one had a clue what was really going on. Often they drowned their sorrows in the pleasures of each other. Sometimes Severus would wince and grab his left arm, as if something hurt him. She would always ask what was the matter, but he didn't want to tell her what it was or why. Today she would sneak down to the potions master's chambers, to keep him company.
Severus sat in his favorite chair by the fire, while his young lover lay face-up across his large silk-draped bed, her hair cascading over the side.
"I'm so bored today," she said absently.
"Well, it's not my fault you made the decision to stay here over holiday," Snape replied back, slightly annoyed.
"How are you so sure?" she asked, a wicked smile creeping over her face.
He frowned and returned to reading something about the 1001 uses of toad's warts.
"I want to go out," she said quite matter-of-factly.
He didn't look up.
"Please take me somewhere," she pleaded, turning over onto her front side.
He cast a fleeting glance at her as if to say, "you're kidding, right?"
"We should go to Hogsmeade, it would be so much fun," she reasoned.
He stared.
"Come on..."
He continued.
"You need to learn how to have some fun once in a while, you know..."
She pulled the pouty-sad-face out; it worked almost every time on him, despite how he would deny it did. "Pleeeeeeeeeeeease?"
He smiled faintly and sighed. "Fine."
Hogsmeade was lovely; all the shops dusted with a shimmering blanket of pure white snow. There were many Christmas shoppers milling about, so Lucretia and her companion went mostly unnoticed. Much to Severus' dismay, Lucretia had begged him to go into Honeyduke's to satisfy her urges for sugar. He regretted this immediately; she was as high as a kite, clinging to him and giggling. Her curiosity had led them into a shop in the dodgy section of Hogsmeade that sold what looked suspiciously like dark magic items.
"Wow," Lucretia exclaimed, her eyes wide in amazement, "come look at this!"
She pointed to a small and ancient looking kelpie skull. "It's so beautiful..."
"Perhaps we should leave now, I have all that I need..." Severus grabbed her hand.
"I wonder how old it is..." she said, reaching out to stroke it.
The moment her fingers touched it, Severus felt the familiar pulling sensation of travel by portkey
