Author's Note: Hello everyone! I'm so excited about this chapter! Character development makes me happy :)

A big thank you to joicecarolyne12 and "Guest" for your lovely reviews!

Enjoy,

Dragonwing

Chapter 6 – Astronomy Towers and the Ending of Terms:

Severus was suddenly glad of the growth spurt he'd had over the last year, it allowed him to keep up with Adrianna's quick pace as she darted up the stairs, leading them farther into the castle. He had no idea at first where they were going, most of his time usually being spent in the dungeons or the classrooms. When they reached a set of doors that led to a winding, spiral staircase he finally understood.

The astronomy tower.

Adrianna was leading him to the astronomy tower.

Why in the name of Merlin's fucking beard was she leading him to the astronomy tower?

The half-witch reached the bottom of the staircase and stopped. Scant beams of moonlight filtered in through the narrow tower windows, bathing them in a mercurial glow that gave Severus the impression of being inside of a crystal ball.

She grinned, elongated fangs showing briefly as the light moved. "I can get us to the top faster if you don't want to climb."

"Erm…" Severus felt like he'd left his brain behind in the Great Hall. He didn't relish the idea of feeling that icy sensation again from her succubus magic, but neither did he think he was in good enough shape to keep up with her to the top of the tower without looking like a fool.

"Alright." Severus nodded before he could chicken out. Then he nearly swallowed his own tongue when Adrianna wrapped her arms around his waist again. Severus' hands flailed briefly before he got a grip and locked them loosely behind her back.

Her button nose brushed against the hooked beak he'd been cursed with and her breath ticked his cheek. Severus decided he could probably die right then and be perfectly happy about it. Not a bad way to go at all.

"All set?" Adrianna murmured.

Not trusting his voice at the moment, Severus nodded and pressed his eyelids shut as the chill of ancient magic worked its way down his spine again. There was a brief whooshing sound in his ears and his stomach flipped up into his chest.

When the dizziness passed, Severus creaked one eye open and they were out on the roof of the tower. Severus shivered, waiting for the icy sensation to pass. The high battlements around the edge served to block some of the wind blowing up from the lake. He reached out a hand to steady himself against the stone. Adrianna waited until her friend had his footing before releasing him and stepping back.

"I know it's strange at first, but after a while you don't notice the cold so much." She leaned her elbows onto one the battlements, gazing out at the moonlit lake across the field.

"If you say so." Severus mumbled, finally regaining the feeling in his fingers and toes. So far in his experience the second trip had been even chillier than the first. Maybe it was a distance thing.

"So…what are we doing out here?"

"Nothing." She said.

"Nothing?"

"Well, nothing in particular." She sighed softly. "I needed to get away from all those people for a little while. You don't have to stay if you don't want to."

Severus burst out laughing, surprising both of them. "Are you kidding? You can't transport me all the way up here and then make me walk back down. I risked life and limb to sneak out of a ball for you, and I expect to be transported back downstairs, bone-chilling magic or no. Thank you."

Adrianna blinked for a moment, then began to laugh herself. Her head tipped forward into one of her palms, several obsidian curls escaping to dance around her face. When she finally looked back up there were tears running down her cheeks and Severus was suddenly afraid he'd done something to upset her.

"I don't believe it." Adrianna giggled, struggling to catch her breath. "Severus Snape just made a joke!"

"I…what?" Severus paused while his brain processed what she'd said. He began to chuckle again, and soon they were both doubled over like they'd just taken a healthy dose of Laughing Potion.

By the time their laughter subsided, Severus and Adrianna had sunk to the ground, backs leaned up against the cool stone of the battlements. The moon was directly above them now, a spotlight on this small corner of the world. Adrianna had been so overcome with mirth that her irises had switched completely to silver, her fully elongated fangs showing every time a residual giggle escaped from her lips. Severus felt better than he had in months, years even. He rested his head back against the stone and felt the still-cold February air seep into his skin. Though it was nothing compared to the chill of succubus magic.

Adrianna shifted and spread her skirts out, the copper silk pooled around her making the half-witch look like some ethereal dessert. They sat like that for a long time, enjoying the quiet and the company.

"How are you, Severus?" She asked after a while.

"Hmm?" His black eyes shifted lazily in her direction. "I'm quite well at the moment."

"No, I mean really, how are you?" Her brows drew together slightly. She looked worried.

Severus sat up straighter. "Why? What's wrong?"

Adrianna sat back with a huff, looked out across the tower roof. "I'm not sure. Something just…feels off. There's something in the air, I don't know how to explain it. My aunts have been talking about it for months now, they call it a dark current."

"A dark current?"

"Right." She nodded. "They say they can't really tell me what it means, just that there's some kind of imbalance happening and that's why I can feel it sometimes."

Severus pondered this idea. Were the succubi feeling a difference in the balance of magic that existed in the world? And if so, what could something like that possibly mean?
"There have been other things." Adrianna spoke so quietly he almost missed it.

"What things?" Severus frowned.

She shook her head, still looking away from him. "Rumors, whispers. The succubi pick up a lot of information, and there's been talk of some wizards…recruiting others throughout London."

"Recruiting." The word tasted funny on his tongue. "Recruiting for what, exactly?"

"They don't know." Adrianna glanced over at him and Severus saw just how anxious she was becoming. "All they know is that it's not something good. Maybe it has something to do with this so-called dark current we're feeling, and maybe it's completely unrelated…but either way it just feels wrong."

Severus felt a knot of dread forming in his stomach. "And why are you asking me about it?"

Her red lips parted to answer, then clamped shut. She looked away.

"Adrianna." Severus scowled. "Please don't pick now as the moment you decide not to be honest with me. If anything, I can always count on you to be painfully frank."

The half-witch sitting next to him laughed harshly, her lips twisted to one side. "True enough." Adrianna inhaled deeply and her silver eyes found him again. "One of my aunts wrote to me recently. She asked me to pay attention to what was going on around school for the rest of the term, to let her know if I heard anything suspicious because…because she found out that more than one of these recruiting wizards used to be in Slytherin."

The knot in Severus' stomach constricted. "How…did she learn that?"

"I don't think you want to know."

"Ah." Severus looked at his hands, he hadn't even realized he'd clenched them into fists until now. Without thought, he reached out and grasped one of her hands. Her eyes widened slightly but she didn't pull away, which Severus knew she could easily do if she wanted.

"Adrianna, I can promise you on my life that I don't know anything about this. No one has come to me about joining any group, and I certainly haven't sought one out." He squeezed her fingers. "If I hear of anything you will be the first one to know."

Her expression softened. Soft, slender fingers tightened around his palm and she nodded. She believed him.

Severus' mind was a torrent of conflicting thoughts. On one hand, he badly wanted to know what brewing situation could be so bad that it had drawn the attention of the succubi. On the other, the last thing he wanted to do was shatter this moment of trust he seemed to be having with Adrianna.

"Adrianna…I…"

"Oi! What's going on up here?" Sirius stood in the doorway to the tower, his face grim and shadowed.

Severus glowered at the intruding Gryffindor. Rising slowly, he kept his grip on Adrianna's hand and helped the half-witch to her feet.

"Hello Sirius." Adrianna said calmly, shaking the stone grit out of her skirts.

"I said, what's going on?" The taller boy stalked out onto the roof. "It's after midnight, Adrianna. Professor McGonagall sent us to look for you."

"It's none of your business, Black." Severus seethed. He was tired of this fucking Gryffindor bully, walking around the school as if he owned it, treating other people like shite. Somebody ought to put him in his place…

"Then I'll make it my bloody business!" Sirius was suddenly in Severus' face, his wand gripped tightly in one fist. Severus realized belatedly that his own wand was still in his pocket. Damn.

"Enough!" Adrianna's voice cut between them. Now fully back into her witch form, she glared from Sirius to Severus and back again. "If Professor McGonagall is expecting us then we need to go."

Sirius scowled down at the other boy a moment longer before turning, his should pushing roughly into Severus. "Not fucking worth it anyway." He growled.

Adrianna gave Severus an apologetic look, touched his forearm as she passed, and followed the other Gryffindor inside.

Severus reached a shaky hand into his pocket, drawing out his wand as he stared at the now empty doorway.

"Sectumsempra!" He lashed out at the nearest battlement wall. Harsh, red light sprang from his wand, cutting a deep gash into the face of the stone.

OOOOOOOOOO

If there had been some mild tension between certain Gryffindors and Slytherins before, now it had increased tenfold. Somehow, Evan Rosier found out about Snape's confrontation with Sirius Black in the astronomy tower, and before long there were hexes being thrown across crowded corridors, exploding letters delivered by visibly flustered owls, and a general sense of animosity on both sides. Not that Severus thought Rosier was actually sticking up for him, more likely he'd just found the excuse he needed to lash out at the Gryffindors.

The spring term Quidditch match between the two houses wasn't much better. Adrianna no longer had her team-spirit inducing record player, thanks previously to Evan Rosier, and there were so many cheap shots thrown during the match that Madam Hooch threatened to disqualify both teams from the Quidditch championship runnings if they didn't stop behaving like wild hippogriffs.

Gryffindor won, just barely, but it was a hollow victory. Sirius was sporting a cut above one eye and a bruised jaw from a particularly nasty Bludger hit. While James was nearly knocked off his broom by two Slytherin players who'd flanked him while he was diving for the Snitch. The Slytherin team didn't look much better.

Adrianna spent most of her free time either with Lily or Remus. She was beginning to feel claustrophobic around too many people, and worried that she was going to have to leave yet another school before she could graduate.

"None of this would be happening if it weren't for me, Moony." She told Remus one spring night in the common room. The other students had long ago gone to bed, while the half-succubus and the lycanthrope sat close by the dwindling fire.

"Nonsense." He shook his head, sandy hair falling into his eyes. "There's always been trouble between Slytherin and Gryffindor, you being here has nothing do to with it."

"Oh?" She twirled a quill absently between her fingers, her final Herbology essay sat forgotten on the coffee table between them.

"Yes." Remus reached out and flicked the quill with the feathered end of his own, earning himself a small smile. "I'd even venture to say you're one of the best things to ever happen around here." He chuckled at the incredulous look she gave him. "I mean it. If nothing else you've become one of the best friends I've ever had, the other blokes notwithstanding."

Adrianna grinned. "What would I do without you?"

"Me?" Remus puffed up his skinny chest. "Why you'd be lost, my dear." They laughed softly, taking care not to wake any of the sleeping students above them. "Seriously though, it's just been a rough term. Nothing really terrible has happened. In a few weeks we'll be on summer break, and before you know it we'll be seventh years, and then…" He trailed off.

"And then?"

"Then, who knows?" Remus shrugged. "I can't exactly get a regular job with my…problem."

Adrianna moved quietly around the table to sit beside him on the sofa. She looped her arm through his and kissed the werewolf on his papery cheek. "Whatever we do, we'll all do together. If I have to glamour someone into hiring you, I'll do it."

Remus blinked rapidly. "You wouldn't do that!"

"I know." Adrianna chuckled. "Either way, we'll stick together. Agreed?"

"Agreed." Moony said.