Chapter 19

Severus sat in his private rooms at Hogwarts and stared into the fire. Ms. Granger's dreams were intense, to say the least. He sipped his Firewhiskey and felt the warmth flow down his throat.

He had to admit that when she stood before him, pacing the room, he was entertained by her outburst. Imagine it! She admitted to admiring him, as a Professor of course, her entire career of being Potter's little sidekick. She whined about him berating her. She cried a little too. Severus didn't know why, but that didn't sit well with him.

It wasn't the dream of course that bothered him so. He knew that reoccurring dreams have significance in relation to the magical world. What bothered him, to the point that he couldn't drive the notion from his head, was the fact that she hid that part of the dream from him. It affected a part of his psyche that he had almost forgotten about.

When he experienced her "vision", for he loathed to call it Ms. Granger's dreams, he felt…warm. A warm tickling sensation that started in his belly and spread, like a virus it spread, until his palms were warm and his heartbeat quickened. She had received him well in her "vision" too. He felt what se felt as he watched it play out. He felt her expectation of him in a snake form. He felt her enjoy in the touch of the snake and felt her enjoy his touch even more. He felt the closeness and the familiarity between them. He felt her acceptance of what he said to her, "…not what you need…". Whatever that meant.

A small voice in Severus' head kept picking and picking at the rest of this mind. Could she be harboring feelings for him? That would be…terrible, to say the least. Not only did she annoy him, and make him so angry he couldn't see straight, she was a former student. He remembered her from years ago, bright eyed and bushy haired. Now, though she had bright eyes, her hair was calmer and actually flowed quite nice down her shoulders. She had grown up, better than most thought she would. But why was he thinking this?

Severus shook his head and went deeper into the recesses of his mind. He closed his eyes and sank deep into thought. He came to her, almost like she called him. The snake was dark and slithered towards her and she welcomed it. That part was odd. Was the snake really himself? Or was it someone else? He couldn't think of anyone who would be a snake in her eyes except himself. Or Voldemort. But he was gone and Severus was here. Besides, she would never have welcomed the darkness, not unless she could change it into something good.

He forced himself to replay the dream in its entirety. She liked the feel of the snake, then she liked the feel of his holding her even more. She made a soundless sigh when he held her and he even saw her caress his skin. Though he was a snake to her, she still thought him…what? Thought of him as special and thought of him as…attractive? She would never think that about him. Where had that come from?

He sighed and remembered his hand holding the vial in front of her. It was a clear glass vial. Inside the purple potion. Above that the green mist. Directly after him holding the vial out towards her, there was always some form of contact. A kiss, or supposed kiss. A touch, a caress…all of these things both he and she welcomed.

Back to the potion. He had read earlier that everything in the dream has a meaning. Snakes, caresses, words, even the potion could mean something else. Ms. Granger was so sure it had to do with her research. Severus had to believe the same. He believed that it was possible that the potion was real, but he was always stumped by it's properties. He could not identify it, without knowing what the catalyst was. His mind could not wrap around it yet.

He took a long drink of the fire whiskey and lay his head back on the chair. He breathed deeply and was asleep in minutes.

Ms. Granger, standing before him and his arms were around her. She loved to feel his body so close to hers and he welcomed it. He saw the rapture on her face as well as his own. They were in love. He held her and then he was giving something to her, the vial. Clear as day. The liquid inside a purple with the green mist. He knew what was coming. She would kiss him and all would be well. He loved her. She loved him. He saw it in their faces. The acted like school children. They acted as if…

Severus sat bolt straight. It was so simple, how could he have allowed his mind to be so clouded? So jumbled up with other things? It was simple. The potion was possible. It needed the catalyst. The potion was purple, the mist was green, signifying it needed a third element. The vial was clear…the dream was so clear now too. They were in love…clear potion…a love potion.