The remainder of the weekend was spent in the library with Susan, avoiding carefully the subject of Henry Wood. It was the beginning of the second week of O.W.L's meaning that we had a week before we began our N.E.W.T's and it was four weeks until the end of the year and the end of my time at Hogwarts.

My consciousness of the speeding timeline made it almost impossible to keep my concentration on my studies. Susan pretending not to care about Henry and insist she had no feelings for him made it even more difficult. I hated seeing her like this. It was much worse to see her lethargic and distant than to have her gushing and annoying.

Henry was released from the Hospital wing Sunday night in time for supper. His face still slightly bruised but much better than it had been. Nearly everyone was surrounding him, asking him if he remembered anything. Susan pretended not to notice when he waved at her. He made a beeline for her but stopped, his brow stitched in confusion and hurt, when it was clear she was making an effort to not acknowledge him. It took everything in me not to reach across the table and slap her.

"Miss Winston!" Severus' booming voice startled me out of my thoughts. "I wanted to know what the seven uses of Ptolemy are but it is clear you are not paying attention. Five points from Ravenclaw and stay after class."

The Slytherins in the class gave their hoots of approval which went unpunished.

Severus finished his lecture (after scolding me several times for not paying attention and a total of 30 points lost for Ravenclaw.) The room cleared out quickly with a few Slytherins taking extra time in an attempt to catch a bit of the punishment that was surely coming my way, Severus shooed them out of the room before long.

"What's the matter?" He asked, after he ushered the last student out the door and shut the door.

I shrugged, my back turned to him, hovering over my half packed bag. I felt as though I brought Severus into my personal problems far too often. I had always been able to take care of them on my own before. I could just tell him that I was nervous about the approaching tests. He would believe that, wouldn't he?

"Ruby." He said softly, moving from the door and turning himself around to face me. He bent over and tilted his head in an attempt to look at my face.

I looked up at him still unsure if I wanted to burden him with my meaningless troubles.

"Is something wrong?" He asked, concern etched on his face.

I shook my head.

"Are you lying?" He said.

I looked back up at him. The second I looked into his dark eyes filled with worry, I was undone. "Susan is being Susan again."

His shoulders slumped slightly with relief. "Is that all? Isn't she always going on about something?"

"She refuses to speak to Henry." I said. "It's stupid and I know it's hurting both of them but Susan has made up her mind."

"What did Wood do to her?" He asked.

"Nothing." I said, rolling my eyes. "Mark made some kind of stupid threat against him and Susan is taking it to heart."

"What sort of threat?" He asked.

I looked down at the floor. I wasn't sure if Susan would want me sharing such things.

"Ruby?" He said.

"You have to promise not to tell anyone." I said.

"I promise." He said somewhat reluctantly.

"You have to swear." I said.

"Who would I even tell?" He said. "I don't exactly talk about you with the other professors and you are the only student I actually talk to like this."

I considered this and felt stupid for even being worried about it. "He told her that if he thinks anything is going on between Susan and Henry that a Bludger to the face will be the least of his concerns. You don't think that was a confession, do you?"

He contemplated and shook his head. "I don't know. But why is she afraid of Mark? He's not exactly a force to be reckoned with, is he? And it's not uncommon for Bludgers to be intentionally hit at another player, albeit they usually don't try to hit a fellow teammate."

"I know." I agreed. "But I think seeing Henry in the Hospital wing frightened her and I don't think she wants to be the reason for any such injuries to him. Even if they are threatened by such a cowardly weasel."

Severus smirked but his face instantly melted into discontent. "Don't let it happen again, Miss Winston, or I'll give you so much detention you'll be sure to fail every one of you N.E.W.T's."

I turned around to see a few students coming in for his next class. A few of them snickered at me.

My heart pounded in my ears as I nodded my head and picked up my things forgetting that everything wasn't in my bag and my potion book and a few vials fell crashing to the floor. The Slytherins burst out laughing.

"Silence." He yelled over the laughter and was greeted with quiet. He lifted his wand and the pieces of glass stuck themselves back together.

They and the book floated back onto the table. I quickly grabbed them and shoved them into my bag, my face reddening from embarrassment and from my heart pounding so fast.

I raced to Herbology and arrived just in time to slip under Sprouts arm as she was about to close the green house door. I slid into a spot near a Hufflepuff girl named Cordelia. I pulled out my book, a piece of parchment stuck to it and fell on the table. I opened the book to the page number that Sprout had just written in the air in glittering numbers.

I readied my quill to begin taking notes and my heart stopped. There was already a bit of writing on the parchment.

My office, tonight.

-SS

I slammed my hand down on the parchment and stuffed it back into my bag as fast as I could. Cordelia jumped at the sudden noise and looked at me, as did the rest of the class, including Professor Sprout.

"Something wrong, Miss Winston?" Professor Sprout asked.

"No." I said, nudging the bag containing the note under the table with my foot. "Nothing at all."

Cordelia gave me one last side glance before looking down at the reading.

Finally Herbology was finished. I made my way to the dungeons and walked into the potions classroom. It was completely deserted. No one ever stuck around after class with Severus unless they were forced to. I crossed the room to his office and poked my head inside.

He was hunched over his cauldrons as usual. I leaned back on the doorway, my arms crossed, admiring his backside. He lifted a hand to tuck a piece of fallen hair behind his ear.

"Perhaps, next time you should be more careful when sending me secret notes." I said.

He spun around, startled. The piece of hair falling from behind his ear and back into his face, a look of confusion began to spread across it.

"It sort of fell out of my bag in Herbology." I said.

Confusion changed to panic. "Did anyone see it?"

I shook my head. "I very expertly hid it."

He shifted into a more relaxed pose. "You caused a scene, didn't you?"

"I may have made a bit of a ruckus." I admitted.

"Did the class stop to stare at you?"

"My goodness." I said. "Were you there?"

He laughed.

"Sit." He instructed as he crossed the room and closed the door behind me as I stepped in the rest of the way.

I sat down at his book covered round table and he sat facing me. "So, Susan is worried that Mark might hurt Henry Wood and he may or may not have been behind the Bludger at the Quidditch match?"

I nodded my head. "I wasn't sure I wanted to bring you into any of this. It's not like you even like Susan so you don't care."

"Yes I do." He said.

I raised my eyebrows in surprise.

"Susan is your friend." He said. "You care about her and I care about you, so it comes to reason that I care about what you care about especially if it interferes with your academics."

"You're only upset because I wasn't paying attention to you." I said lightly.

"It's your last weeks at this school." He said. "You can count on one hand the days of classes you have left. The most important series of tests of your school career are days away and I know how hard you have been studying and if it helps you to talk to me about what's troubling you, even if you suspect that I hate the subject I'll bear it. I don't want you to fail because your mind is elsewhere."

I looked at Severus, my breathing calm but my heart pounding hard in my chest.

"And if it means that I have to risk my job as Potions Master to punch Mark Wizenby in the nose to ensure your peace of mind, then so be it." He added.

My heart gave a flutter and my stomach flip flopped. Severus Snape was perfect.

I leaned awkwardly forward from my chair and wrapped my arms around his neck, my cheek pressed against his chest. I felt him tense at the sudden contact but soon his muscles relaxed and his arms wrapped around me, his hands pressed against my back.

"Don't punch Mark." I whispered. "He's not worth the trouble."

One of his hands lifted off my back and moved to the back of my head where he buried his fingertips in my hair.

I heard the door to his classroom open. He pulled his arms away and I pushed myself back and turned to the table, quickly snatching the nearest book and began to pour over it. Severus was already back in front of his cauldrons watching the contents bubble.

I realized that the book I was reading was filled with Severus' handwritten notes about experimental potions.

"Severus." I heard Dumbledore's voice drift in through the door.

It was too late to switch books, I could only hope that Dumbledore wouldn't pay attention to me. I leaned forward farther to cover as much of the handwritten notes as I could.

"Severus." He said again. This time he had made it to the office. "I told Madame Pomfrey I would ask you about the Draught of Peace she asked for. The fifth years have apparently used up her entire supply and she is worried she won't have any for when the seventh years start panicking about their N.E.W.T's. Oh, pardon me, Miss Winston, I didn't see you there. What brings you here?"

I looked up from pretending to read the book. "I have detention."

"Again?" He asked, looking from me to Severus.

"Miss Winston has great trouble following directions." Severus said.

"Are you studying?" Dumbledore asked me, craning his neck to see the book I was hovering over. "What subject? Perhaps I could help."

He began walking towards me trying to get a look at the book.

"Sir." Severus interjected, pulling Dumbledore's attention away from me. "I have the Draught of Peace ready. I just finished it and I was going to take it up to her once Miss Winston's detention was over but since you're here, perhaps it would be best to get it to her sooner rather than later."

He held out a large bottle of a colored liquid reminiscent of sunshine. "If you don't mind delivering it for me."

"Of course I'd be delighted." Dumbledore said, forgetting about his attempt to aid my study. "She'll be so pleased to see this potion I might be rewarded with something from her stash of sweets. I hope she has Jelly Slugs or perhaps a nice licorice wand."

He walked from the room with the bottle in his hand listing off different sweets he hoped would be offered to him for his delivery services.

I pushed myself back from the table and took a deep breath of relief. "That was close."

"I've never been so nervous as when I realized which book you had." Severus said, reclaiming the seat he had been in before the interruption. "Any of my other books would have been explainable."

"I guess we aren't really any good at restraint." I said.

"We wouldn't have near as many close calls if we were." He agreed.

"Maybe I should go." I said.

"Do you have to?" Severus asked.

"I really should." I said regretfully. "I should actually study."

"You have your bag with you." He pointed out. "Couldn't you just study here?"

"You and I both know that I wouldn't get a single thing accomplished when I have you as a distraction." I said. "And I'm sure you have things you should get done as well. I'll see you tomorrow."

I hoisted my bag over my shoulder. "Good luck with whatever it is you're working on."

"Are you sure you don't want to stay?" He said.

"Goodnight, Severus." I said, waving my hand as I exited his office.

He gave a defeated smile. "Goodnight, Ruby."

I was rounding a corner on the second floor when I heard someone say my name.

I turned to see Henry Wood walking towards me. I looked in the opposite direction of him and contemplated walking away.

"How are you?" He asked.

"I'm alright." I said stiffly. "You?'

"I'm good." He said, nodding his head awkwardly.

"Well…" I said. "I'll see you later."

"Wait." He said.

My shoulders tensed as I turned back around to face him.

"Why won't Susan talk to me?" He asked.

This was what I had been expecting since he had stopped me in the hall. "You should ask her."

"She won't talk to me." He objected. "Was it something I did? What did I do? You have to know. I know you know. She tells you everything."

"You didn't do anything." I said.

"Then what?" He asked. "We were fine and then I was in Hospital for a week and now she ignores me? What happened?"

"You should really talk with Susan." I said.

"She won't speak to me, Ruby." He said.

"Then make her." I said.

"How?" He asked. "I've tried everything, I'm worried I look a bit like a stalker with how much I have been 'coincidentally' in the same place at the same time as her."

"I don't know." I said.

"Will you talk to her for me then?" He asked.

I sighed. "Tell you what. Be at Flitwick's classroom tomorrow at 4:00."

"Why would she be there?" He asked. "She has Charms in the morning."

"Because I am going to tell her that Flitwick wants to speak with her." I said. "Susan will much rather just listen to you rather than explain to Flitwick why she isn't speaking to you."

"What did I do though?" He asked.

"Nothing." I said. "It has more to do with what someone else did but because of that Susan thinks that she shouldn't talk to you."

"Who did what?" He asked, confused.

"Ask Susan tomorrow." I said. "I don't think I should say anymore."

He looked more upset than when I started talking to him. I breathed another sigh. "Susan isn't talking to you because she likes you, if that makes you feel better."

"That doesn't make sense." He said.

"Susan is my best friend and I love her, but her logic is very seldom…logical." I said. "If you're going to spend time with her you will figure that out and learn not to take anything personally."

"Thanks." Henry said. "So you'll really get her to come to Flitwick's room?"

I nodded my head. "But don't you dare tell her I had any part in this. In fact, think of a question for Flitwick just in case she's suspicious."

"Alright, I will." He said. "Thanks, Ruby. And I heard you had another detention with Snape. He's a horrible git to pick on you like that all the time. I bet you'll be glad to be rid of him in a few weeks."

I forced a light laugh. "Yeah, he's mean."

"Have a good night." Henry said, before he turned and headed back down the same direction he had come from.

"Well that was odd." I whispered to myself as I continued to the Ravenclaw Towers.