A/N: No I haven't given up on this yet...thanks to anyone who stuck around to read it : )
Eve pulled away, startled. Severus stepped away as well, looking so pale she feared he might be ill.
"Severus, you can't be serious!" Eve softly exclaimed. "We've only just met."
He reached up and tugged on his long black hair, looking anguished. Eve moved forward to put a hand on his shoulder, but then stopped at the last minute.
"I know." He whispered mournfully. "But you can't tell me that you didn't feel it too. I know it isn't rational, but we need each other..."
"I think you need a visit to Madame Pomfrey!" Eve said, suddenly frightened.
Remembering how the door had slammed behind her, now wondering if it was locked, she began to inch away.
"Believe me, I know it sounds insane." Severus continued, weakly letting his hands fall to his sides again. "But you can't deny that you've felt the same way."
"I've been curious, yes." Eve said, feeling frozen in place. "But surely not in love."
"How can you be sure of that?" Severus asked, moving forward in one huge step so they were once again face to face.
"I'm not." Eve admitted, speaking more from the heart than from the mind. "But I'm going to be married soon, so this all is useless anyway."
"That doesn't matter." Severus insisted, just as calmly as if he was reading aloud from a boring textbook. "You wouldn't really marry someone that you didn't love, would you?"
Eve felt a tingling at the back of her skull, and a bubble of laughter rose up in her throat. This was all so ridiculous!
"Severus, I'm going to leave now." She said. "And you really ought to get some rest, and if you still feel the same way tomorrow..."
"I will." He said, his voice low and smooth. "And so will you."
"Alright then." Eve said, clearly in over her head. "If we both feel the same way a week from now..."
"I promise I will, and so will you."
Eve found herself on the verge of laughter again. The girls were never going to believe this. Was this kid a nutcase or what?
"Fine then, let's wait and find out."
Eve turned and walked quickly towards the door, sighing in relief when she found it wasn't locked. Stepping out into the dim hallway with Snape on her heels, she hastily made her way towards the stairway to the Ravenclaw tower.
"I can make my way back just fine." Eve said over her shoulder, but Severus could not be dissuaded.
They walked for a few minutes in silence, until they both froze at the sound of voices on the other end of the hall.
"Filch?" She asked nervously, but Severus shook his head.
"No, he patrols the halls alone. I think its someone else."
Eve looked around, desperate for somewhere to hide. The last thing she wanted was to have to explain why she was out strolling through the halls at night with Severus, and then get detention on top of it all. A classroom door was left slightly ajar, and without a second thought Eve slipped inside.
"Come on Snape!" She hissed, reaching out for him. "Get in here before they see you."
"It isn't a professor." He said quietly, a visible sense of dread sweeping across his face. "Stay put."
Before Eve had time to ask what he meant, he drew out his wand, and the classroom door shut with a loud bang. She reached for the brass handle, but no matter how hard she tugged the door would not budge. Fumbling in the darkness, she dropped her own wand. Bending down to pick it up, she froze as the voices grew nearer.
"What did we tell you about wandering around at night grease ball!" A familiar voice taunted. "It isn't fair that we want to enjoy a pleasant night time stroll, and you have to come alone and foul up the air with your stench."
Eve pressed her face against the floor, and saw two pairs of feet standing in front of Severus. Definitely Sirius, and if she had to guess...
"Potter!" Snape hissed. "A midnight stroll, really? Or running about with filthy infected vermin perhaps?"
"Don't you dare talk about him that way!" Potter shouted.
There was a flash of light, and Severus cried out in pain. Suddenly his knees came into view. He must have fallen...
Eve reached up, and tried the handle again. It didn't budge. Merlin, why couldn't she remember a single decent spell when she really needed it.
"I'll kill the both of you, I swear it." Snape hissed, weak but as venomous as ever.
"I don't think so, you worthless..."
Eve grabbed her wand, and whispered the first spell that came to mind. It didn't work exactly as she planned. The door blew apart, but the pieces flew in at her. She drew her hands up to protect her face, and staggered through the flying shards of wood out into the hallway.
Jameslooked at her, startled, but Sirius did not take his gaze from Snape. Eve threw herself at Potter, unsure of what she was going to do to him, but angry enough not to care.
"Sectumsempra!" Sirius cried triumphantly, and Severus went flying backwards.
Eve threw a shocked Potter against the wall, and then dove at Sirius. Severus was lying flat on his back, two giant slashes on his chest, forming an X right in the middle. Blood was gushing from them at an alarming rate, soaking his robes. Still, he managed to lift his head and shout weakly at her.
"Use your wand!"
"Right!" She shouted back, grabbing her wand and jabbing Sirius in the eye with it.
He screamed in pain, grabbing at his face and sinking down to the floor. She dove down next to Severus, frantically searching for a way to stop the blood from flowing.
"No exactly what I meant." He whispered hoarsely. "But still good."
At that he lay his head back down, and shut his eyes. Eve looked over her shoulder, and saw that Potter had gone. Hopefully he was searching for help. As Sirius continued to moan in pain Eve watched in alarm as Snape's face drained of all color, until he was death's pallor. She panicked for a moment, because she could not tell if he was breathing.
She could have cried out for joy when she sawJames running down the hallway, Madam Pomfrey and Professor McGonagall on his heels.
"What have you done now Sirius?" McGonagall whispered in disbelief.
Pomfrey dropped down next to Severus, and got to work at once. She ripped his shirt away, revealing the deep gashes crossing his pale chest.
"Dittany is the only thing. We have got to get some in him now or he's not going to make it." Pomfrey looked incredibly alarmed, and Potter's jaw gaped at her words. Sirius continued to moan, though he had quieted himself somewhat from before.
"I can get it!" Eve said, jumping to her feet. "I'm a fast runner, just tell me where it is."
Pomfrey looked like she was going to protest, but them quickly rattled off directions.
"Its in the storage room, on the bottom shelf, in the right hand corner next to the door. Hurry!"
Eve took off in a run as soon as Pomfrey finished speaking. Thankfully they were close. It took her a moment before she realized thatJames was behind her, struggling to keep up. Skidding in through the door, she pushed past Pomfrey's desk and dove into the storage room.
"Bottom shelf...right hand corner..." She whispered desperately to herself as the scanned the hundreds of small bottles. "Right hand corner...bottom shelf..."
Merlin they all looked alike, how was she supposed to know?
"Accio Dittany!" Potter cried, frantically grabbing the bottle that flew into his hands.
They both took off back into the hall, Eve now the one struggling to keep up.
"Do you even know magic?" He called breathlessly over his shoulder, in a jeering tone.
"How can you joke at a time like this?" She hissed back.
If he had not been holding the bottle in his hands, she definitely would have slapped him. They turned the corner, and Eve let out a small cry to see that the Severus was now lying in a pool of blood, and both McGonagall and Pomfrey were hovering over him wearing heavy looks of concern.James broke out into a sprint, and shoved the bottle into Pomfrey's hand.
"It isn't too late?" Eve shouted, gasping for breath.
"Thankfully, no." McGonagall said, "But he is very lucky. Go wait in my office, the both of you."
"What about Sirius?" Potter asked.
"I sent him there directly. Now go!"
Sirius was indeed waiting in her office for them, holding an wet cloth to his eye. He jumped up out of his seat when Eve walked in, and jabbed an accusing finger at her.
"You could have blinded me!" He cried.
"And you nearly killed Severus!" Eve shouted back.
"Seriously." Potter said, rubbing the back of his neck nervously. "That wasn't a good idea..."
Sirius ignored his friend, and turned all his attention to Eve. He shoved her once, though half-heartedly. AsJames cried out for him to knock it off, Eve shoved him back.
"What are you?" Sirius spat. "The greasy git's girlfriend."
"What a brilliant deduction." Eve tried to kick him in the shin but missed. "Did you figure that out all on your own or did you have help?"
"You're not really his girlfriend, are you?" Potter asked, hanging back at a safe distance.
"Not that its any of your business." Eve said, suddenly very unsure of what she was saying. "But perhaps I am."
Sirius fell back into his chair hysterical, and even Potter cracked a smile.
She was not sure why she had said, but she knew she would not take it back. Not until she saw Severus at least, not until she knew that he was alright.
"You've got to be kidding." Sirius said, in between howls of laugher. "This is a joke, right?"
"Oh, shut up!" She hissed, crossing her arms and throwing herself into a chair across the room.
Sirius andJames continued to snicker, and Eve ignored them. She didn't care what they thought, as long as Severus was okay. Twenty minutes later McGonagall returned, her night robe spotted with blotches of drying blood.
"Is he alright?" Eve demanded, jumping out of her seat.
"Sit!" McGonagall demanded. "He's been taken to St. Mungo's, and I expect that he'll make a full recovery."
"You three, however." McGonagall snapped. "Are going to be wishing for St. Mungo's when I am through with you. Do you have any idea how serious this is? Black almost lost an eye, and Snape was nearly killed. Will it take a tragedy to stop all of this foolishness?"
"Is isn't foolishness!" Sirius cried, leaping to his feet. "The stupid git is a death eater, everyone knows it. Anyway, he attacked us first."
"Sit down!" McGonagall shouted, though she was clearly taken aback. "What would lead you to believe that Mr. Snape is a death eater?"
"Why don't you ask her?" Sirius hissed, waving his finger at Eve. "She's his girlfriend."
"Well I..." McGonagall's jaw quivered for a moment. "Really?"
Sirius began laughing all over again, and would not stop until Potter hit him hard in the stomach.
"Yes really." Eve responded. "And he isn't a death eater."
"They all are."Sirius shouted, though he remained calmly seated. "Every last one of them."
"Well Severus isn't." Eve insisted.
She couldn't know of course, whether he really was or not. She imagined that he couldn't be. She had never been face to face with a death eater, though she had read about them in the paper. They were frightening men in hoods and black cloaks who went about the countryside killing muggles. They certainly weren't Hogwarts students, or people that Eve actually knew.
"I'll look into it, but you can't go around making serious accusations like that Potter." McGonagall said sternly. "You either Black. At least not without solid proof, do you understand me?"
Both boys nodded, though they exchanged a darkly significant look. While McGonagall wasn't looking Eve made a point to scowl and them and wave her fist threateningly. This only caused Sirius to begin laughing again.
"Really Sirius, this isn't a laughing matter!" McGonagall cried. "Perhaps it hasn't sunk it yet, but you nearly killed someone today, and may I remind you that it was not the first time either. You'll be in detention with me every Saturday, from now until June."
Before Sirius had time to protest McGonagall turned to James.
"Your attempts at saving Severus would have been very admirable Potter, if you had not contributed to the cause of his injury. Two Saturday detentions with me, separate from Black. And don't bother bringing the mirrors this time boys, I'll just take them away."
Sirius scowled, but Potter looked relieved. Eve felt very limp and tired as McGonagall turned towards her. Whatever punishment she might dish out couldn't be as bad as watching Severus nearly die.
"Now, there is the question of whether you acted in defense of a...friend, or whether you were there when the fight started. In addition, we have the question of why you were out of bed roaming the halls...
"Doing things we don't want to think about!" Sirius whispered under his breath.
"Enough!" McGonagall shouted, startling Sirius into momentary silence.
"That being said, I will present the information to Professor Flitwick, and let him decide what your punishment should be, as he is your head of house. However, I will recommend for him to be lenient..."
"Because dating Snape is punishment enough."James snickered.
"Oh, now really!" McGonagall cried, though it was clear she was trying very hard to keep her composure.
"Thank you Professor." Eve said, making a point to ignore them. "Can I go now?"
"Yes." McGonagall said. "Straight up to bed though."
When Eve got back upstairs Kate and Francine were already sleeping. She crawled into bed quietly, and hugged her pillow for comfort. She found it both strange and troubling that she felt very little like the girl who had left this room such a short time before.
Could she really love him?
She didn't know, and though he had frightened her, he had also implanted a seed of doubt in her mind. Why should she not love him? If it didn't work out they would merely go their separate ways, and admit that it had been a mistake. Besides her grandmother and her father so long ago, no one had ever said that they loved her, at least not in a serious way.
Pondering this, Eve did not fall asleep until the first ray's of light were visible on the horizon, a small semblance of peace washing over her at the thought that the darkness of night was being washed away by something brighter and much more promising.