After Olivia had gone, he stood, grabbing a drink from the cabinet next to his desk. He downed the firewhiskey quickly, not savoring the taste, and poured another. Severus settled into his chair and put his wand on his desk as he stared into his glass.

Her mind was well protected; perhaps it was time to tell her. His mouth wouldn't form the words. He knew that it would be difficult, but he didn't fully grasp how difficult. Severus knew that the time would come when he would have to explain. Olivia couldn't possibly understand just how much danger she was in and why he will be doing the things he must do until she knew about her, about what happened.

He told himself that he was protecting her, but, now, he wasn't sure if he was anymore. Maybe he was protecting himself. He finished his glass, pouring another. For the time being, he had to get a grasp on his control again. He couldn't lose himself to these thoughts now.

The memory of her and Draco in Moody's office came to him once more. That had been an interesting discovery. It was the main reason why he told her to stay away from him. Until he found out the answer to that very question, he needed to keep an eye on the man. Moody had always made him uneasy, angered, bloody pissed more like, but things seemed suspicious, more than usual.

"Draco, what on earth are you doing up there?" she asked as she found him in a tree.

"What does it look like I'm doing?" he asked, looking serious. "I'm sitting. In a tree." He grinned. Olivia laughed, shaking her head.

"Prick," she muttered. Draco and the other boys around gave their stammered 'o-oo-ooh's, but one interrupted.

"There's Potter," the boy snickered. Draco looked out through the branches.

"Why so tense Potter?" he called out. The dark haired boy turned, but decided against commenting and continued on. Draco jumped down from the tree. "My Father and I have a bet, you see. I don't think you're going to last ten minutes in this tournament." Olivia just shook her head, knowing Draco just wanted to rile the boy up. "He disagrees. He thinks you won't last five."

In the midst of their laughter, Potter seethed, "I don't give a damn what your father thinks, Malfoy." He walked up and shoved Draco in the chest. "He's vile and cruel. And you're pathetic." Potter quickly turned away. Olivia's own anger was spinning and she pushed passed one boy. How dare he talk about her uncle and Draco that way, without even knowing them at all!

"Pathetic...," she heard Draco mutter, reaching for his wand.

"Hold right there, Sonny...," she heard Moody's voice come from just outside of their circle. He tore out his wand, pointing it at Draco. Olivia tried to reach her own, but wasn't fast enough as he transfigured Draco into a ferret. She gasped. "I'll teach you to curse someone when their back is turned," he continued. Taking his wand, he made Draco move up and down in the air as he spoke. "You stinking, cowardly, scummy, back-shooting."

"That's enough, Professor!" she called, stepping through the rest of the boys. "How dare you pull your wand on a student. Draco simply made a comment. Potter is the one who made physical aggressive contact and insulted his family!" When Moody didn't stop, she stepped forward again and forced herself to stay calm and keep her wand at her side. "Yes, Draco may have drawn his wand, but it would've been harmless dueling. There's no way he would curse someone!"

"Oh, you think so, Miss Snape," he sneered. "I suppose I should trust the word of a Malfoy and a Snape, hmm?" Olivia was furious and she heard Professor McGonagall calling.

"Professor Moody! What-what are you doing?"

"Teaching," he replied stiffly. Olivia laughed sarcastically.

"Is-is that a student?" she asked, horrified.

"Technically it's a ferret."

"Oh, for Salazar's sake!" Olivia yelled, turning, pointing her wand at Draco. The spell reversed and she could tell he was pissed.

"My father will hear about this," he said.

"Is that a threat?" Moody asked as he went after him. Draco rounded the tree. "Is that a threat?!" Moody continued to yell across the courtyard as she went after Draco. "I could tell you stories about your father that would curl even your greasy hair, Boy! It doesn't end here!"

"Alistair...," Minerva tried to get his attention. "Alistair!" Olivia didn't hear the rest, but she could hear the irritation in the professor's voice as she continued back towards the dungeons after the boys.

Back in Draco's own dorm, she waited until he seemed calm enough to ask, "Are you alright?"

"I'm bloody pissed is all. That arrogant, one-eyed, limpy bastard," he said causing Olivia to smirk. "By the way, I've been meaning to ask since the thing with Pansy. When did you learn non-verbal spells?"

"Oh, it's just basic stuff like the smaller hexes and Finite Incantatem, though I'm working on others."

"Thanks for turning me back, though. I was starting to get sick."

"I was already angry when Potter said that about you and Uncle Lucius, but I went livid when Moody did that...then he turned it on me. Like we can't be trusted..."

"He's an auror," Draco said, shaking his head. "It's likely his knickers are in a knot because of something our fathers did to him before we were born."

"Ew," Olivia said, shaking the thought from her mind. "Moody in knickers?" she asked Draco, lightening the mood. She started to laugh harder as he pretended to vomit.

The air was definitely chill as she and Draco made their way to the Slytherin section in the stands. The area below looked like some rocky mountain terrain. To be honest, she wasn't too inclined to come to the first trial, or any trial. It wasn't something she wanted to spend her time watching, but Draco insisted they watch Potter struggle.

"If I may have your attention, please!" Dumbledore shouted over the noise of the arena. All seemed to quiet down and he continued. "First, I'd like to welcome you all to the first task of the Tri-Wizard Tournament!" After a round of applause, he started describing the task, "Our champions are about to come face to face with a beast who can leave devastation in its wake, a vicious and truly terrifying creature. Each champion will choose at random, from a bag, the figure of their particular breed of this creature. They each will face their chosen one-on-one. Each creature has been given a golden egg to protect. The champion must collect this egg less they have no hope of moving forward in the competition. These eggs hold a secret that will help them with the next task. Let me introduce you to the first of their fearsome foes."

He motioned to the west side of the arena where she saw a cage being brought in. She saw a red-headed man with a ponytail connecting a thick chain to the ground. As another man unhinged the cage door and began to lower it. The red-head brought a golden egg into view, walking slowly as the creature began to appear from the cage.

"Dragons?" Draco said next to her. He had an excited smile on his face. Olivia smiled and shook her head. Boys.

They had to carefully lure the dragon from her cage and towards the egg while discretely hooking the chain onto her. As she curled around the egg, they began to retreat back to the exit, dodging a heavy breath of fire as they did.

It wasn't long before Olivia grew tired of the event, the noise becoming increasingly irritating. She simply bit her tongue and waited for it to be over. There were much more important things she could be doing at that moment, but instead Draco had dragged her to the tournament and she was stuck there until it was over. Draco sat smugly as Harry Potter came into the arena, looking quite nervous, while she focused on the fringe of her scarf.

"Bored?" sounded a strange and deep accent to her right. Glancing up, she noticed a Durmstrang boy sitting next to her. He had another three boys sitting on his other side, shouting and stomping, while he was quietly waiting for it to be over, much like herself.

Olivia smiled. "A bit." She couldn't help staring at his startling icy green eyes, accentuated by thick dark lashes and brows. He seemed almost as fair skinned as her, but with a slightly olive tone she was sure would come out much more if he were in the sun more. There was a slight stubble across his squared jaw.

"I'm Maxim. Maxim Vasiliev," he said, straightening, holding his hand out, palm slightly facing up. A breeze had dislodged a few short strands of hair he had lightly swept backwards as he turned to face her more.

"Olivia Snape." Placing her hand into his, she was shocked at how warm he was even with the cooler temperature and wind. His hand wrapped around her fingers, bringing it just up towards his face, but not any further, a polite greeting.

"I can't get into these things, myself," he said, having to get closer for her to hear him.

Shaking her head, she said, "Me neither, but my friend insisted."

"It is the same for me," he laughed, jerking his head towards his right. "I will be ready when this is over."

"How are you enjoying Scotland otherwise?" she asked over the roar of the crowd.

"It is not as cold and the air...it is thicker here."

They continued to talk about the countryside, Olivia listening intently as he described his own home, but were soon interrupted by chaos in the arena as Potter came flying into view without a dragon on his tail. Draco turned to hiss in her ear as he stood abruptly.

"Let's get out of here."

Olivia was a bit startled at his dramatic spin of mood, but she sighed, turning to Maxim who was laughing with his friends. "It was nice to meet you," she said politely.

He smiled. "I hope to speak with you again sometime, Olivia." Standing along with her, he waited until she'd vanished behind a crowd before sitting back down.

"Miss Snape? Might you wait a moment?" asked Professor Flitwick as the classroom began to dissipate after the lesson.

"Of course, Professor," she answered, waiting patiently as the other student filed past her.

"It's about Christmas. I would very much like to have you play a solo piece. I was wondering if I might persuade you," he said gently, but excitedly.

Olivia smiled slightly, brightened by his confidence. "I have been working on something..."

"Oh, Miss Snape, I can't tell you how happy we would be to have you play," he smiled broadly.

"Alright," she replied, blushing slightly.

The common room seemed packed full the next morning when Olivia came downstairs. A small crowd of girls clustered around the bulletin board, giggling amongst whispers. As she passed, she glanced at board. A Yule Ball. The formal dress made all the more sense. Olivia smiled, as any girl would, wondering who would ask her. Her thoughts were interrupted by Pansy's nasal tone.

"Oh, I simply can't wait. I knew this months ago, of course. I had my own dress handmade in France over the summer. It's completely custom, absolute perfection." Rolling her eyes, she made her way through the passage and out of the dungeons towards breakfast.

The week passed slowly, as usual. Olivia was going over her essay one final time, making some last minute grammatical adjustments. It was a nice day, though the cool air was coming in, bringing with it the smell of an oncoming snow.

"Olivia," came a familiar voice, drawing her attention away from her assignment. She smiled as she saw Maxim crossing the courtyard. "May I sit with you?"

"Sure," she said, making some room for him on the bench next to her. "How are you?"

"I am well, thank you. And yourself? I hope I'm not interrupting your studying," he said, frowning as if just realizing what she was doing.

"Oh, no, I was just checking over my essay for Arithmancy. I'm good. I'm glad the tournament is on hold until after the holiday," she laughed.

"You and me both. Although, I think, for us, at least, the tournament is an ever present thing."

"I know what you mean."

"I was wondering," he paused. Olivia tensed, wondering in the back of her mind, at the foreboding nature of his tone. "I was wondering if you had a date for this Yule Ball."

"No," she said, softer than she'd intended, but following it a bit clearer, "I do not."

"Then, Olivia, would you do me the honor of attending with me?"

"I would love to," she replied, which made his smile widen. The clock chimed two, which meant she needed to get to her class. "I have to go. I'll see you later?"

"Absolutely."

Olivia bit her lip as she walked into the school, trying not to smile too much. It wasn't until she'd nearly made it to class that her stomach twisted. She'd have to tell her dad who was taking her to the ball. Oh, no.

She smoothed out her dress after adjusting the strap on her shoes. Standing in front of the full length mirror in their dorm, she took in her French twist hair style, which she'd chosen to leave a few strands loose in order to curl. Her dress, a navy high-low style, coming to her knee in the front and to the floor in the back, had tiny specks of silver and was scattered with constellations under a layer of French silk tulle and a peak of black lace at the bottom to match the lace sleeves that were added for modesty-sake.

Her pale skin seemed even more like porcelain. She chose to keep her makeup to a minimum, a light blush and a bit of a smoky eye, but added mascara to enhance her long lashes. She took the hair piece that was given to her by the Malfoys and, with the help of a sticking charm, tucked it along the twist at the back of her head. The earrings were a unique touch, one moon shaped and the other a large diamond star shape with a tiny diamond dangling an inch and a half below it. Clasping the matching necklace around her neck, she figured she was finally ready.

Downstairs, she could already hear Pansy fussing about something. "Oh, Draco, hold still, your tie is crooked." Olivia groaned internally and rounded into view of the common room. She could see Draco looking rather annoyed near the fireplace, until he saw her and went utterly still. Pansy noticed and followed his gaze to her, sneering. "Well, Olivia, that dress is rather...unusual."

Olivia smiled to her. "Thank you, Pansy, that was exactly what I was hoping for," she said honestly. "Yours is...nice. I could never pull that color off, too close to scarlet for my tastes," she added before turning to leave the common room, but was stopped.

"Miss Snape," her father's voice came from the adjoining passage within the common room, "a moment, if you please." She followed him through the passage and into his quarters, taking a steadying breath. He was tense; she could tell. "I assume that you have a date for tonight?" The word 'date' came out like a curse in his deep tone.

"Yes, Daddy."

"Who?" he asked, nearly groaning with the talk on the subject.

"A boy from Durmstrang," she said quietly, hoping he wouldn't threaten him. "His name is Maxim."

"You have your wand?"

"Of course," she laughed. "Daddy, he's nice. I don't think I'll need it, but I do have it."

"Good." He looked very uncomfortable.

"Daddy, I'll be fine. It's a school dance, not an actual date where he's taking me off to Merlin knows where. You, yourself, are a chaperone. I know my spells and if I don't hex his bits off first, I know you will." He made a noise of understanding and Olivia hugged him before leaving through the main door.

The closer to the Great Hall she got, the more her heart started to race. Olivia took a minute to calm herself before she turned the corner. As she did, she saw many students waiting there, just outside the Hall.

She noticed Maxim standing with a few other Durmstrang boys. He looked up and walked over, causing one boy to give him a look that made her only guess he'd left in the midst of conversation. However, his ire seemed to rectify when he saw why Maxim had left abruptly. He bowed before walking the last few feet towards her.

"Olivia, you look beautiful," he said softly as he held his arm out to her before leading her into the Great Hall. She held back the slight gasp as she noticed the ceiling. It was snowing and the entire Hall was decorated in white and silver.

It wasn't long before the rest of the students were ushered inside, the doors closed, and the orchestra prepared. The champions and their partners entered and started to dance. When a few other students joined, Maxim bent down slightly. "Shall we?" Once they were dancing, Olivia couldn't help but feel like eyes were seared onto them.

The orchestra played for a little while. She knew that, before long, she would have to play. Olivia hadn't told anyone, though she imagined the staff knew. Once the current waltz ended, Professor Flitwick turned to address the crowd. Maxim stood next to her, his hand still held onto hers. She gripped it slightly out of reflex.

"Young Ladies and Gentlemen," he began, "before we hand over the stage to our special guests for the evening, I would like to showcase another great musical talent of our own. Miss Olivia Snape."

She could feel Maxim look at her in surprise, but took a step forward, leading her over to the side of the stage where there was a small set of stairs. This was different from the Malfoy's annual Christmas gathering. There were so many more people and she was on a stage rather than just in a room. As she passed where the staff were standing, she saw Professor McGonagall give her an encouraging nod.

Maxim took the first couple of steps with her, but stood at the third, just holding her hand at the final two. She went to the piano and took the recently vacated seat. Taking a breath, she forced herself to focus only on the keys, the music as it seemed to stream from her fingertips.

As she reached the end of the piece, she heard the applause from all around her. Slightly stunned, she stood, took a tiny curtsy, and walked back to the stairs where Maxim was waiting with his hand out for her.

"It has been an honor, Olivia," he said smiling. It was late. They'd stayed and danced as the band played. While it was nearing midnight, she stifled a yawn and Maxim suggested they end the evening. Leaning forward, Maxim brought his fingers up to brush the curl away from her cheek. "May I kiss you goodnight?" he whispered gently, his green eyes flitting back and forth between her inky black ones. She nodded slightly, blushing beneath his touch.

As his lips brushed hers, she felt a fire drift from her belly to her cheeks. Maxim was gentle, kind, and respectful. His hand never moved lower than her shoulder and he did not pull her body flush against him as she'd seen so many others do when they kissed girls. He did not try to dominate her, letting her lead the kiss.

Olivia's nerves died down after a couple of seconds, giving her confidence to move her lips against his. Lifting her arms up, she took his hand into hers and rested the other on his chest, feeling the fur trim of his single-shoulder half cape.

She thought, oddly, that the kiss was nice, but...underwhelming. Part of her had wanted to experience the passion she'd seen in others. Perhaps it was because it was her first. Perhaps Maxim guessed that, which was why he was being so delicate with her. Also, part of her respected that. She was thankful for him at that moment.

As he pulled away, she blushed again, seeing his eyes staring into hers again. "Goodnight," he said, stepping back, pulling her hand up to kiss it.

"Goodnight," she whispered in reply before he turned to leave. Olivia couldn't stop smiling as she started down the corridor towards the dungeons. She rounded the corner to the stairs only to come face to face with Draco. The look on his face made her stomach drop.

"How could you let him touch you?" he whispered through clenched teeth. He looked at her with eyes narrowed.

"Excuse me?" Olivia couldn't quite grasp at the way he was speaking to her.

"You heard me," he said taking a step towards her. "You let one of them put their hands on you."

"Draco, you're being a prick, now stop," she said as she pushed past him.

He grabbed her arm, stopping her. "Hope you enjoyed yourself with that filth," he said nearly hissing in her ear.

"Actually," she said as she yanked her arm from his grasp, "I did."