I woke up on the morning of the Valentine's Hogsmeade trip. My stomach fluttered as I contemplated what Severus might have planned for us. I was too preoccupied with my thoughts to care much that Susan was still doing an excellent job of avoiding anything to do with me. I hadn't even seen her since the day Mark talked to me. The only thing on my mind other than my day with Severus was wondering why after today Mark was certain that Susan would stop giving me the silent treatment.

It was agony waiting for everyone to leave the castle so that I could find Severus. The time until a trip to Hogsmeade and never before dragged on so slowly. I thought I would pass the time by working on an assignment or two but I finished my homework with time to spare until everyone was gone.

I resorted to laying in my bed and staring at the ceiling imagining different scenarios for the day. My heart jumped into my throat. He wouldn't have a gift for me, would he? I hadn't even considered anything for him. He wouldn't do that and even if he had I had just given him three books two weeks ago, would that be enough? Did Severus even expect things like Valentine's gifts? It was the worst time for me to think of this as there wasn't enough time to even put anything together.

I quickly decided it was a lost cause to worry about it and turned my head on my pillow and looked at the snow globe from Severus. The unicorn raced around his watery world. I could hear the quiet clacking of his porcelain hooves against the glass ground. I was hypnotized by his rhythmic prancing.

A few girls rushed gleefully past the door of my room. I sat up straight in my bed and pushed myself off the bed. I opened the door and saw another group walking past chatting excitedly. It looked as though quite a few girls had spent the last hour or so putting on make-up. Their lips were stained red and their eyelids a powdery blue. I wondered if maybe I should have enhanced my looks before going to meet Severus.

Ultimately I was too eager to see Severus to follow through with the idea of doing my make-up. As soon as a majority of the student body had left the castle for their dates and shopping I raced down the steps to Severus' classroom.

I opened the door and took a step inside. Standing next to his desk was a fifth year Slytherin whose name I couldn't remember but he was the Keeper on the Quiddich team.

"Oh." I said. "I, er, hi."

I had no idea what to do with myself. I stood awkwardly in the doorway.

The boy smiled. "Ruby."

My throat constricted. I had no idea he knew my name.

"Er…" I forced out in a high squeaky tone.

"Don't worry." He said. "I thought this would be a bit safer to get us started."

I furrowed my brow and looked around the room because there was no way he was actually talking to me. I turned around expecting to see someone else standing behind me but there was no one. I turned back to face the Slytherin.

He smiled again. "It's me. Severus."

I felt my eyes instinctively bulge from their sockets. "Uh…"

"It's Polyjuice." He said pulling a silver flask from his pocket.

I had just noticed the robes were Severus' and seemed a bit long for the student in front of me.

"I wasn't planning on doing this but when Tiberius came into my office the other night with clumps of hair falling out due to a jinx cast by Morgana Selwyn, it came to me that pretending to be someone else until we get to our destination might be simpler." He said putting the flask back in his pocket. "I always have Polyjuice in my stores just in case."

I was skeptical that it really was Severus. There was nothing of him in the person standing in front of me except the black billowy robes.

"Wh-where is our destination?" I stuttered.

A smile spread across Tiberius' face, it wasn't even close to Severus' and it made me feel queasy and like I was being tricked.

"We'll have to leave school grounds before I can get us there." He said picking up a small wicker basket off the desk.

He gestured for me to follow and disappeared into the ingredients cupboard. I stood frozen still in the doorway. Tiberius' head covered with a frizzy crown of curly brown hair popped around the corner of the entry to the cupboard.

"Ruby." He said in a very Severus tone of voice. "I promise it's really me. We have to hurry. I purposely made the potion poorly so the effects wouldn't last very long. We haven't go much time."

He disappeared around the corner. This time I followed and arrived at the doorway just in time to see him finishing the wand movement needed to open the passage to the outdoors. He handed me the wicker basket and took my free hand in his newly empty one while he held on to his wand with the other. This hand felt foreign and odd in mine. The hand I held was callused from extended time tightly gripping a broomstick and the fingers were short and stubby in comparison to Severus' long slender fingers.

We made our way outside and upon our emergence Tiberius-Severus looked around before pulling me at a run into the forest. We weaved around trees and hopped over roots. He suddenly stopped and dropped my hand. He immediately wrapped his arm around my waist.

"Hold on tight." He said.

I wrapped both arms around the boy who claimed to be Severus and squeezed tightly.

Suddenly I felt the familiar sense of being crushed from all directions and inability to breathe that came with apparation. After a few short seconds I felt the solidness of ground under my feet.

I opened my eyes. Tiberius-Severus and I were standing on a hillside opposite several cliff faces seeming to tear into the grey skies overlooking turquoise blue waters. A chilly wind whipped around us but it was still warmer than it had been at Hogwarts. The water was still and looked as smooth as glass. A gust of wind shot past us from behind and created a disturbance on the glossy surface.

"Where are we?" I asked looking over to my companion.

"Gorges du Verdon." He said. "I saw it in a book once. Some stones at the bottom are said to possess magical qualities."

"We're in France?" I asked.

He nodded and looked at me. His eyes that used to be brown were now black and he seemed a bit taller. He also had patches of straight black hair amongst his curls.

"Wow." I whispered to myself, drinking in our surroundings.

"This is just the area where the picture I saw was taken." He said definitely taller this time and his hair only holding a slight curl. "We can go somewhere else around here if you'd like."

I surveyed our mountain surroundings and stopped at a peak across the lake. It was the tallest in view.

I pointed to it. "Can we go to the top of that one?"

"Hold on." He said and for the second time in a few minutes I wrapped my arms around him.

There was barely enough time to register the feeling of being crushed when my feet fell on solid ground again. I couldn't wait to see the view and rushed to the edge of the plateau.

I stopped. I felt as though I could see on for forever. I spun around and saw the clear view of the water we had been standing next to a few seconds before. The wind where we were now was stronger than it had been below but the view was worth the extra chill.

"Severus." I sighed with a smile. "It's wonderful."

He took a few steps until he was next to me and we just stood staring together at the sight below.

"So what is in here?" I asked holding up the basket.

"I don't know." He said. "I asked the elves in the kitchen to make a hot Valentine's picnic. They didn't ask any questions and one of them brought this to me this morning after breakfast."

"Let's find out." I said reaching into the basket.

The first thing I pulled out was a midnight blue blanket. I handed off the basket to Severus as I fought against the wind to spread the blanket on the ground.

"Quick!" I shouted as I sprawled over the blanket. "Sit on that corner!"

He smiled at me and waved his wand. The edges of the blanket stopped flapping in the breeze.

"I still want you to sit down." I said to him.

He placed the basket down in the middle of blanket and sat next to me instead of across from me. I was suddenly very glad the blanket was magically restrained to the ground.

Severus reached into the basket and pulled out two mugs and a thermos.

"I'm assuming we have tea," He said reaching in the basket again. "Cornish pasties…"

He placed two steaming pastries on a plate down on the blanket. Tiny golden brown hearts were scattered over the dough casings. I smiled at the small detail.

He reached in one more time and withdrew a cherry tart just the right size for two. The top of the tart was covered with chocolate lace and the word Love was written across it in whipped cream.

"Well that isn't over the top at all is it?" I joked.

Severus laughed. It was a rare sound for him to make but it made my tummy fill with warmth every time I heard it.

I reached for the thermos and poured the contents into the two mugs. It wasn't tea but was instead hot chocolate with small heart shaped marshmallows floating in it.

"Maybe you should have just requested hot picnic food." I said looking at the little white hearts bobbing in the chocolate liquid. "I am feeling far too pressured to be romantic."

"Then maybe we should just eat it and forget about the pressure." He said taking a spoon and smudging out the word on the tart.

Everything was delicious. My tummy was near bursting but I was happy. I held onto my mug of still hot cocoa because it kept my fingers warm.

"What made you decide to take me here?" I asked Severus, finally.

"I don't know." He shrugged. "Girls like pretty things."

"Do they?" I asked somewhat amused by the simplicity of his reasoning.

"Yes." He said simply. "Rainbows, unicorns, flowers, and butterflies. I thought this place was pretty so I thought you'd enjoy it."

"You've just listed everything that was present in the theme of my sixth birthday." I said smiling at him.

I looked out at the beautiful blue waters and the mountains that stretched to the end of the Earth. "But you're right, it is pretty and I love it."

"Plus it seemed sort of…romantic." Severus said.

I looked over at him as he gave me a side glance to gauge my reaction.

I smiled. "So it was all part of your plan, then. The love food."

His cheeks blushed but I wasn't sure if it was because I had figured out his plan or if it was caused by the icy gust of wind that just blew through. I shivered.

"Are you cold?" He asked. "We can go."

"No." I said placing my now empty mug into the empty basket. "Are you cold?"

Another gust blew my hair into my face.

"No." He said shivering slightly.

I smiled. "Stand up."

He did as I said and I picked up the blanket and moved it closer to the edge of the cliff to better the view. I sat on the part closest to the drop and patted the space next to me with my hand. He took the hint and sat next to me.

I scooted over closer to him and wrapped the remaining half of the blanket around our shoulders. His arm moved and wrapped around my waist and I tilted my head onto his shoulder. We sat in silence as we warmed each other.

I wasn't sure what to do with my hand that wasn't holding on to the blanket. I pulled his arm from around my hip and intertwined his fingers with mine.

We watched cars driving along the roads below and we watched as the water quelled in the wind. I thought I felt a slight plop on him head. I waited a moment but felt nothing more. A cold splash on my cheek. I looked up at the grey sky and a second icy drop landed on the end of my nose.

All of the sudden rain started crashing down upon us in sheets. I let out a squeal and pulled the blanket over my head as best I could. There was nowhere on the mountain top to hide and even if there had been a tree it wouldn't have had foliage yet.

Severus stood up and I rolled to make a tent like structure. It was like when I was a child and I threw the covers over my head and used my flashlight to read after bedtime. I didn't have a flashlight so instead I withdrew my wand.

"Lumos." I whispered.

Half of the blanket was lifted up and Severus entered soaking wet with his black hair clinging to his cheeks. A drop of water slid from his bottom lip to his chin where it then fell to the ground. He and I sat staring at each other in the close confines of the blanket fort. His wet lips glistened in the light of my wand.

As if we had made a verbal decision, Severus and I both leaned forward. Our lips met in the middle and I felt his hand glide up my back. The rain water made kissing more slippery and sloppy but before long Severus and I had a rhythm. His robes were drenched and were transferring their wetness to my sleeves as I wrapped my arms tighter around him.

After a few moments he pulled away. I followed him with eyes closed trying to find his lips with mine.

"I think the rain has stopped." He said, his voice low and unintentionally seductive.

The sound of falling rain was gone but I could still feel the impact of small things hitting the blanket.

He smiled wide. "I have a surprise for you."

He pulled the wet blanket from over our heads. I was immediately hit softly on the head by something falling from the sky. It wasn't wet and I put out my hand.

A small white flower fell into the palm of my hand. It lingered for a moment before it melted into a small puddle.

I looked up, slowly standing, and saw the sky around us was full of slowly falling white flowers. I looked over at Severus.

He smiled at me.

"You did this?" I asked him, catching a snowdrop flower in my hand.

He nodded. "I made this spell a few years ago to impress Lily but I ruined everything before I had gotten to show her."

"What is it?" I asked. "The spell?"

"Flos Nix." He said. "You have to swirl the wand above your head."

I smiled and stuck out my hands catching several floral snowflakes. "Are the flowers random?"

He shook his head and began pointing at the different flowers. "That one is Field Madder, that is Arabis, and this one is called Summer Snowflake."

I watched as the blooms melted in my palm and dripped through my fingers. Severus took my now empty hand and spun me by my fingers.

"You dance?" I asked.

"Not a bit." He said pulling me close and swaying with no particular rhythm.

I laughed as he gave me another impromptu spin followed by an awkward unstable dip.

The flowers diminished down to falling white petals before disappearing all together. The grey clouds cleared and gave way just in time for a beautiful sunsets full of pinks, reds, orange, and yellows. The sky reflected off the waters giving the illusion that the whole world was on fire.

Severus and I laid on the mountain until the orange turned into blue and then to black specked with a million shining stars. Looking up at the night sky reminded me of the first time I thought there must have been some good in him. This time, however, I was wrapped in a blanket with him and my head rested on his shoulder.

"Severus." I said for really no other reason than to savor the word on my tongue.

"Yes?" He asked looking over at me.

"It's an odd sort of name isn't it?" I wondered aloud. "Severus. What made your parents think of it?"

"My mother came from a prestigious pure-blood wizarding family." He said. "Severus is a family name. It was the name of her great great grandfather who did something considered important. I think it might have been a family story though since I haven't been able to find any record of Severus Prince. My mother never really had time to tell me stories about her family. My father was always angry about something and he'd usually take it out on me or her."

The last part made my heart pump hard and my throat went dry. I felt slightly sick in my stomach imagining Severus' childhood.

"What about you?" He asked changing the subject. "How did you become Ruby?"

"Do you want the reason I tell people?" I asked. "Or the real reason?"

He looked at me again and smiled. "Both."

I smiled. "Well what I tell everyone is it's because when I was born I had bright red hair and my parents thought I was the most precious thing they had ever seen so they named me after the jewel."

"And the truth is?" He asked.

"The truth is that when I was born my parents were basically hippies so when I was born they decided that I should earn my name." I laughed a bit. "Odd, I know. So anyways, I had colic and when I would scream and cry for hours my entire body would go bright red. So they named me Ruby."

"You could have ended up with a much worse name than that." He said. "You could have been Cherry or Apple…or Beetroot."

I laughed at the last suggestion.

"You could have been the witch Beetroot." He said with a smile.

"The magic Beetroot." I giggled. "I'm not sure that name would look good hanging on the wall of St. Mungo's."

"Beetroot Winston." He said like he was reciting something. "Inventor of the Cure-all potion."

I snuggled in closer to him as we continued to watch the stars. I thought about how easy it was for Severus and I to just be. We didn't need to talk or continually have things to do together. We could just exist and it was enough. We laid under the skies for a while silent.

I shivered.

He looked over at me. "We should probably go."

I sighed. "Probably."

"It's getting late." He said. "I'm sure Susan will be wondering where you are. It was probably odd enough that you didn't go with to Hogsmeade."

All I could do was shrug.

We packed up the picnic basket and took one last fleeting glance at the perfect starry night sky before I wrapped my arms tight around him. I experienced once again the crushing feeling of apparation and in a moment when I opened my eyes we were back in the Forbidden Forest.

"Is something the matter?" He asked as we started walking through the forest.

"Why would you think that?" I questioned.

"You haven't talked about Susan all day and when I brought her up I could feel you tense." He voiced his observation.

"Oh." I said consciously trying not to tense again.

"Something is wrong." He said.

"Why would you think that?" I asked for the second time.

"I'm an observer." He said. "It's part of my nature that I can read situations. I'm quiet but I'm always absorbing information and right now I'm sensing that you're upset with Susan about something."

I took a deep breath. "Susan and I got into a fight and she hasn't talked to me since the day after your birthday party."

"A fight about what?" He asked.

"You." I said. "Sort of. She doesn't know it's you we are fighting about. She found out that there is no such thing as defense club and she demanded to know what I was really doing."

"So tell her." He said simply.

"I know she's being unreasonab…what?"

"Tell her." He said "I want you to tell her."

"But what if she doesn't understand?"

He shrugged. "She probably won't."

"Well then what's the point?" I asked.

"I don't have many friends." He said. "But I think it would probably feel worse knowing you have been lied to when it's by someone you thought you could completely trust. She might be caught off guard that you've been seeing me but I think she'll eventually come around knowing that you've told her the truth."

"She hates you." I said.

He smiled. "I did give her a T on an assignment, didn't I? But she is very smart and I think she'll listen to you if you explain."

"She really hates you." I said.

He laughed a bit. "I'm not saying you have to tell her if you don't want to, I'm just letting you know that I'm not afraid if you tell Susan."

"What if she wants to tell Mark?" I asked.

"That, I am against." He said. "That boy talks too much."

"He really does." I agreed. "Did you know he offered to find me a date for today so that I would go to Hogsmeade?"

Severus laughed. "You should have taken him up on the offer. You might have gotten a good date."

"You're a good date." I said pushing him slightly with my shoulder. "He also said this was the worst time for her to be spending a lot of time with him. What do you think he meant by that?"

I felt him shrug.

"He should feel lucky to have Susan." I said. "She's great, a bit dramatic at times, but that's one of the lovable things about her."

"He also said that he thinks her silent treatment to me will be over after today." I added. "What do you think he means by that?"

He shrugged again.

I gasped. "You don't think Mark is going to break up with Susan on Valentine's Day, do you?"

"No." He said shaking his head. "I don't know."

"Susan is going to be devastated." I said. "She said he was acting weird but if she isn't the one to end it she is going to be heartbroken."

I tugged on his hand that I held as I wanted to sprint to the edge of the forest. I imagined Susan laying on her bed as tears streamed down her face. Severus wordlessly obliged and led me through to woods at a quicker pace.

We reached the opening and I turned around. "I'm sorry our good-bye is going to be so rushed but…well, Susan."

He nodded his head. "I understand."

I wrapped my arms around the back of his neck and pulled him in for a quick goodnight kiss. "Thank you for taking me on the best Valentine's Day I will probably ever have."

"You don't think I can top it next year?" He asked coyly.

I smiled and let my hand linger in his as I made my way to the opening letting my fingertips drag over his.

Once I had left him standing in the forest I took off running to the school. I was afraid I was going to return to a sobbing Susan.

I rushed breathlessly up the winding staircases in the school until I finally reached the Ravenclaw entrance. I hopped impatiently as the doorknocker gave me a riddle. I was able to answer it quickly enough but what I wouldn't have given to just have been able to say a password like all the other houses.

I scanned the commons looking for Susan as I rushed through to the stairs. I knew she wouldn't be there especially if she was upset. I reached the door of my dorm and opened it.

I saw Susan sitting on her bed but her eyes were completely absent of tears. She stood up when I came into the room.

"I have something to tell you." She said rather excitedly.

"I have something to tell you, too." I said between gulps of air.

"Can I please go first?" She asked. "I don't think I can hold it in much longer."

"Sure." I said grateful for the chance to catch my breath.

"Mark proposed!" She squealed as she held up her left hand and wiggled her third finger where now rested a rather large diamond.