Samantha and Severus stood outside the gargoyle, having been shooed out. Samantha, stunned, stared blankly at the wall.

Severus didn't have time to think in the Headmaster's office, but now that he was alone again, a startling realization struck him. It was so painfully obvious that he kicked himself mentally. There was one new student, the girl with silver hair who had hidden wings. The student he was supposed to care for had auburn hair, and was new to the school. There was only one new student. Hair color charms were elementary magic. He pulled out his wand quietly and muttered "Finite incantatum" Her hair became silver. "You!" he yelled. The girl jumped and was off like a flash, tearing down the hallway. A well-placed immobility hex halted her mid-stride. As he approached, he noticed she was shivering uncontrollably, and struggled to close her eyes as he approached. He felt a pang of pity for the girl. He hadn't meant to scare her that much. Intimidate, yes. Insult, yes. Scare to the point of hysteria, no. He removed the hex, wand pointed at her in warning. She collapsed onto the floor and squeezed her eyes shut, still shaking.

"You" he said again quietly, as she lay on the ground. "Follow me." He turned and swept down the hall. After three or four steps, he turned again. She lay on the ground still, eyes tightly closed, lips moving silently. Then she fainted, probably from fright. Without a word, Severus walked back and picked her up in his arms. He turned and began the long walk to the dungeons, hoping nobody would see him carrying the girl.

She felt warm and content. Somebody warm with a faint smell of spices on his cloak was carrying her, probably to somewhere she could sleep in peace. Even if the man the Headmaster referred to as "Professor Snape" knew about her wings, that was no reason to fret. What could he possibly do? Besides, even if he told other people, they wouldn't believe him. That thought settled, she relaxed, and allowed herself to be carried away on the tides of sleep…

Severus finally reached his chambers. Where could he put the girl? He decided he felt sorry enough for the girl to let her have the bed, and he would sleep on the couch himself. He put her down, and removed her outer cloak. The bloodstains were still on her back. He studied them thoughtfully, then decided he wanted to study it closer. He went and found an enormous black nightshirt. This would be the tricky part. He lay the shirt on top of her and got his wand. Closing his eyes, he performed a switching charm. Waiting an extra five seconds, just to be sure, he opened his eyes. Perfect. The gown covered her completely, neck to toes, and her shirt was available for inspection. He concluded that the wings had come from her shoulder blades, and that the base of each wing was about one foot wide. They began at her shoulder blades, but also connected at the middle of her back, like a V. Amazing. The girl began to stir, and he walked over to her. She fluttered her eyes, blinked hard a few times, and looked straight at him. Her eyes changed from gray to green to yellow, and settled on a deep shade of purple flecked with red as she opened her mouth to scream. Severus performed a quick silencing charm on instinct, and walked over to her. Trying to be gentle, he sat on the edge of the bed and looked at her silently as she tried her hardest to make a noise. When she stopped her silent screaming, he prepared his wand for the counter-charm. It was unnecessary.

She snapped her fingers and a violent storm of words poured out of her mouth. "How dare you? You invade my privacy and then bring me to your chamber?" She was fuming mad. "And what am I wearing? How did you get this on me? Is this yours? She became even louder. "I DEMAND TO KNOW WHAT IS GOING ON!" Small dust devils sprang up in the corners of the room and lightning flashed overhead, where a swirling gray mist suggested the beginnings of a really nasty storm. Going for broke, Severus pulled out his wand and offered it to her, with the point facing himself.

The room became silent instantly, the mist overhead disappeared, and the wind died. He sat very still, lest she began the storm again, still holding out the wand. She took it and looked him in the eyes. There was fear there, naturally, and anger, but the thing that struck her deeply was the understanding and the need for friendship she found hidden in his eyes. She looked deeper, and she saw a sad and lonely man, who had built a shell to protect himself from the world. He maintained eye contact, and suddenly she just knew that he was not the one who had committed the nameless horrors found in his past. She silently held out his wand, and he accepted it back silently. Her eyes faded back to gray. He broke the silence first. "My name is Severus Snape. I am the potions professor of Hogwarts." He stood and bowed deeply. "I apologize for not waking you to introduce you to your temporary chambers. You are indeed wearing one of my night robes, because I thought you would be more comfortable in nightwear than in your clothing." Here she saw a lie in his eyes. "You wanted to see my shirt." She said suddenly. Snape was unnerved. Could she read minds? "Why?" she asked. He held out her shirt with the bloodstains in plain view. She nodded. She had suspected he knew about her wings, but now she knew he knew. A question burst through. "May I see them?" Severus asked. Samantha thought for a moment before answering. There was nothing to lose. "Okay." She said. "May I have a minute?" He left her, astounded at her generosity. An ironic smile appeared. And he thought he would be having a boring night.

As soon as Severus left, Samantha grabbed her normal shirt and put it on, cleaning the back of it magically as she did so. She made a small tear in the back so she wouldn't have to rip through and take the chance of becoming entangled in it. She pulled her hair out from her ponytail and set it free. Deciding he probably wanted to see how her wings emerged, too, she called him back into the room before she began her transformation. She strained her back and the points tore her skin open. Her back bled freely as her wings emerged and unfurled.

Severus gasped at the magnificence of her wings. He reached out a hand instinctively, but caught himself and pulled it back. She nodded. He reached out again and brushed a finger along the edge of her wing. It felt softer than the softest gossamer. It curled around his finger as he moved it, wrapping it snug. Samantha fought back a rising giggle at the complete wonder in his eyes. She had a flash of inspiration. She could trust him. "Are you afraid of heights?" She asked, a twinkle in her eye and a mischievous grin upon her lips. "No" He replied, puzzled.

"Follow me."

Deciding it would hurt too much to have her wings tear through three times in one day, she cast a quick invisibility charm. She led him out of his chambers and up to the owlery, the only place high enough she could think of. Removing the spell, she hopped onto the window ledge and offered her hand. He stared at it. She gestured for him to come closer, and he acquiesced doubtfully, grasping her hand. She edged herself out onto the edge of the wide window ledge, and stopped. Just in case, she conjured a parachute out of thin air for Severus, and he put it on gratefully. He froze. "Where's your wand?" She too froze. Uh-oh. Well, she had trusted him this far. She looked him in the eye. "I don't need one." Oddly, he accepted this without comment. After he was settled into the parachute, she grabbed him tightly and jumped off the edge!

Severus and Samantha dropped from the tower. She spread her wings, and the air caught them. Gliding quickly towards the lake, she skimmed the surface of the water before beating her wings. Flying with somebody else was more difficult than flying alone, but Samantha held them both up without a problem. She struggled to climb higher into the night sky.

Flying was better than his wildest dreams! He was able to drop the smirk he was forced to wear, day after day, and let out a real grin. This was amazing! He yelled "Higher, higher!" and she responded by rising ever higher in the night air. His laughter of joy burst through, and he was happy, truly genuinely happy, for the first time ever.

She could feel the air becoming thinner under her wings as she gained the highest height she could fly safely in. She sensed happiness radiating off the Man/Snape/Severus - as he hurdled alongside her in flight. She questioned who he was, and what had affected his past so intensely as to force him to keep up a façade of coolness towards the world. She noticed suddenly that it was very cold. She had left her cloak in the owlery, and gave an involuntary shiver as the air around her chilled. Deciding it was a long enough flight for tonight, she turned back towards the school.