Warning

This story is not suitable for readers under the age of sixteen. It contains sexual content, including some non-consensual, and may offend some readers. If this subject is offensive to you, please do not read this story.

Chapter 24 – Drifting Minds

It was a clear night as Hermione and Snape stepped out of the castle hand in hand. Hermione had read about invisibility spells, and knew them to be tricky – more so, even than apparition.

"I will teach you," he told her, "but it will take time and concentration."

This sounded perfect to her – the more complex and difficult the spell, the more she wanted to learn it. "I like a challenge," she laughed. "In the meantime, I think I can live with having to hold your hand!" This was the only way for the spell cast around Severus to include her too. As long as they touched, they could walk unseen.

They had never been out of the castle together, and Hermione liked the feeling. The air was cold and fresh, but their thick cloaks protected them, and his hand seemed to transfer warmth from his own body to hers.

She found herself opening up her thoughts to him, wanting to tell him everything she was feeling. "I don't know what it is about you, Severus," she told him, softly. "When I'm with you I feel so warm and somehow – safe – as though nothing could possibly harm me when we're together."

He smiled. "Nothing can harm you. It would have to come through me, first!" He squeezed her hand.

Pausing, hesitantly, she wondered whether or not to bring up the subject, but plundered on, feeling that nothing could be taboo between them. "Severus," she began, "I know that we don't talk about this, but – do you think Voldemort will come back?"

It was something they had never discussed. Until last year, and the battle that had left Harry barely alive, it was only the name that went unspoken, but now the very subject of Voldemort was seldom raised in the wizarding world.

He was silent for a moment, and when he spoke, his voice was barely more than a whisper. "Yes. He will come back," there was no doubt in the voice. For him it was a certainty. "It may be in a year – it may be in fifty – but he will come back."

"And the Death-Eaters?" Hermione didn't want to have to think about it, but it was better for her to know.

Again the pause. "There is evil in the world that will continue whether Voldemort returns in our lifetimes or not, Hermione." He turned to her, and took both her hands in his. "The Death-Eaters have lost their strength and their protector, but they have lost none of their hate, or their passion for blood and death. If you are worried that I may become involved in their dealings again, then the answer is – yes – I may have no option."

The pain in Hermione's face must have been clear, even in the darkness, as he drew her to him, cradling her in his arms. "Don't worry, Hermione," he whispered. "I don't believe that they have the courage to surface without Voldemort's power. I think we're free of them for a long time." He drew back, and placed a hand on her cheek. "Besides – you have changed everything for me. For the first time since I made the terrible mistake of joining them – I have something to live for!"

Tears threatened Hermione's eyes as she gazed up into his dark face, but she held them back. "I love you," she said, simply, feeling that somehow the words couldn't possibly express the way she felt.

In the shadows, she could not see his eyes, but she felt them on her face. "You don't know what that means to me, Hermione," he whispered hoarsely. "I love you too – so much. So much!"

They held each other for a long time, then once again he took her hand and continued leading her through the Hogwarts grounds.

"Did you find out who sent the rose?" Severus' tone was casual as he changed the subject, but she suspected that the off-handedness was taking some effort on his part. It had been a week since she had found the rose on her pillow, and she still had no clue as to the sender, other than the house colours on the stem.

"No idea," she replied. "It must be a Slytherin, from the colours of the ribbons, but it doesn't matter anyway. Why would I care who sent it?"

He squeezed her hand. "Just watch out for those Slytherins," he warned. "They're sneaky and treacherous. Definitely not to be trusted."

She laughed. "I think most of them would see that as a compliment!" His only comment was a soft, indecipherable grunt. "Where are we going, anyway?" she asked him. The walk had been his idea – he had said he wanted to show her something. They walked for a long time, away from the castle, and it was only once Severus slowed and drew them both to a halt that she realized how deceptive the gentle slope they had climbed had been.

They were standing at the highest point in the Hogwarts grounds – not particularly high, in actuality, but enough to give a wonderful view of the castle and the forbidden forest in the moonlight. Hermione stood still, looking out across the view. She had never seen the castle from this angle, and it looked huge and mysterious, even though she knew it as well as any student there. The towers soared high above the main castle, lights in some windows giving a gentle glow to the night outside. The many courtyards were shrouded in dark shadow, and the grounds were wide and open. To the right, the lake glinted in the moonlight, while the forbidden forest stretched out darkly – a blackness that seemed to envelop the surrounding area, mysterious and sinister.

Snape laid his cloak down on the ground, and sat, pulling her with him. It was soft and warm, and the cold of the night air did not seem to touch them. "Stay on the cloak," he whispered, "and we'll be warm. I put a charm on it."

"Foolish wand waving?" Hermione quipped.

He shrugged. "It has its uses!"

She sat with her back to him, between his legs, and resting back into his arms. They gazed out across the scene, watching every movement – owls soaring overhead, a brief splash in the lake, sending ripples outwards until they gradually died away, the breeze stirring the branches in the forest. Everything was bathed in a soft moonlight, and Hermione felt that she could stay like this all night.

Severus began to speak very softly, almost breathing the words into her ear.

"Let your mind relax, Hermione," he murmured slowly. "Let me teach you magic that needs no wands or potions. It's not magic at all, it's simply – life." His voice was measured and hypnotic, and she let herself be led by it. She felt as though her mind were drifting from her body, and floating with the wind.

"Let your mind drift. Feel the breeze on your face, and let it carry you away. Imagine your mind is a leaf on that breeze and see where it will take you. You have no weight – no substance – you have become the breeze. It is taking you away from here – across the lake. You can feel the cool contact of the water as you touch it briefly as you pass over it. You make tiny ripples that head outwards and disappear. Now you're drifting onwards. The water is behind you, and you are moving over the trees. The leaves brush against you as you move, and you hear their soft rustle as you stir them. You are one with the trees and the darkness. The night surrounds and envelops you, and you are at perfect peace with the world. You can feel the life in the forests – the trees, the creatures, the wind – and you are one with that life. You are the life of the forest, and it is you.

"You are coming back to me now. You are leaving the forest, and your mind is once again over the lake. The water is like silk under your touch, and you feel it's life. The grass is beneath you now, and it sways and bends under the breeze that is your mind. You have become the grass – you understand its existence – you know its thoughts and feelings – you sway in the breeze and reach up to the sky. You reach down into the cool earth and feel its power and life. You move on, and you are the breeze. You pick up aleaf in your drifting mind, and carry it along. You have become the leaf, and the wind is carrying you back to me. You are here with me now, and the breeze is on your face."

Hermione stirred as she felt the warmth of Severus' breath, blowing gently across her cheek. His arms were around her and neither of them had moved. She was somehow calm and exhilarated and at peace all at the same time. Taking deep breaths, she leaned back against him, feeling his warmth and strength behind her.

"What was that?" she asked, softly, a little shaken.

Severus kissed her cheek. "That was what I wanted to show you, my darling," he whispered. "There are many kinds of magic in the world – I wanted to share that one with you."

"It was beautiful, Severus," she whispered. "Thank you."

He rested his chin on her shoulder and nuzzled against the side of her face. "I do it myself, sometimes," he explained, "to escape wherever I am and let my mind drift. With practice, one can do it from anywhere – or to anywhere – but it helps at first, if one can see the place. That's why I brought you here."

"I'm glad you did." It felt wonderful to spend time out here with Severus, away from the castle. She wished there was a way to spend more time like this – but then, maybe ...

"Severus," she asked, softly, "do you always stay here for Christmas?"

His head tilted to the side in a question. "Usually, but not always. Why?"

She had an idea. "I've already told my parents that I might want to stay here this year. The family's spending Christmas at my aunt's house, and it's not my idea of fun."

"Indeed?" in a single word, he managed to convey his puzzlement and interest.

She reached a hand up to touch his face, and he kissed her fingers lightly as she continued. "Owl post would find me wherever I am. Harry and Ron would assume I was home, and no-one would know if I wasn't here."

Severus was silent for a while, then spoke softly, with amusement in his voice. "Ms. Granger, you are becoming devious and conniving. Maybe you should have been in Slytherin!"

For a long time, they stayed at the top of the hill, drinking in the view and the night air, then, wrapping their cloaks about them, they walked slowly back to the castle, hand in hand.