A/N: I'm back :) Enjoy!

Severus placed his arms underneath her and pulled her back onto the bed. Angelina could feel the heat between them increase tenfold as he began to deepen their kiss. She could taste their mingled tears in his kisses. He assaulted her lips shamelessly with a longing and a passion that was almost tangible. Even though she was still thoroughly confused by his inexplicable behavior, she found her thoughts interrupted by his hands moving against her bare back. Her thin lacy top was off in an instant as Severus continued mercilessly. They had of course had relations before but they never had actually engaged in sex. Severus had always stopped at a certain point. Angelina had never questioned him, for she sensed a light insecurity that accompanied the cessation each time. It was another one of those things that Angelina noticed about Severus but had decided not to dwell on. Any further contemplation was abruptly halted as he moved from her mouth down to her neck and his hands rested on her breasts softly. Whereas a second ago, he had moved against her with power and control, he now traced her skin with the gentlest of touches. She drew in a sharp intake of breath as his thumbs found her nipples and teased them lightly. Severus ceased kissing her and whispered into her neck,

"Your skin, Ange…"

Then, the softness was gone and so were her panties. In one quick movement he entered her fully and she could not help but to whimper. Faster and faster he moved within her as she arched her back in lust. Angelina could not suppress her cries of need as she completely offered herself to him. Gripping her hips with all of his strength, he flooded her with his seed as she lost herself in the beautiful light.

Deliberately, Angelina walked down to the solitary grave by the edge of the lake. There was no way she could even begin to attempt to understand Severus's behavior last night. Innumerous conflicting thoughts ran through her mind as she recalled Severus's terrible sadness that preceded their incredible lovemaking. Nothing could make her forget the ominous things that he had said before she admitted her love. Angelina knew that she was being kept in the dark about something huge, something dreadful, but until last night she could not bring herself to think about it. There was so much she did not know about him, so much that she completely ignored. Her love for him had distracted her, blinded her from reality and last night was a painful reminder of everything that she unconsciously sought to avoid. As she sat on the dark grass near the small headstone she felt tears spring hotly into her eyes. What are you doing, Ange? The mixture of confusion and anguish that she felt in light of Severus's obvious distress was almost too much to bear. Shaking her head and blinking back tears, Angelina decided that she was going to confront Severus as soon as she made it back to the castle. Drawing her dark thin wand slowly from beneath her robes she gently began to trace an elaborate pattern in the air in front of her. Thin, green tendrils began to appear where her wand outlined and delicate pearl flowers began to intertwine themselves throughout the tendrils. Over and over Angelina rotated her wand until she had created a wreath of thin light green vines covered in tiny white flowers. Gracefully sweeping her wand, the striking wreath landed gently at the head of the stone embedded in the dark earth.

Turning away slowly, Angelina began up the path toward the castle. As she turned to give the distant dark forest a last look a strong arm encircled her waist. Angelina started and spun around to face her attacker. Relief washed over her entire being as she found herself face to face with Severus Snape.

"Sorry, did I startle you?" he asked quietly. Angelina laughed forcibly and apologized.

"I'm sorry; I've just been feeling a bit skittish lately." Severus didn't even have ask what she was doing out here; he knew that she had been visiting Madame Pomfrey's grave. The grave was far too close to the forest for comfort, however.

"Let me know the next time you want to go down there, I'll come with you." Not recognizing his intention, Angelina leaned into him and replied,

"Nah, it's okay. I like going by myself. It helps me clear my head." Severus clarified rather harshly.

"No. I don't think you should go down there by yourself." Looking up at the darkening sky he added, "Especially not this late." Angelina stiffened as she realized that he was trying to forbid her from visiting the grave of her late mentor and friend.

"What are you talking about? I am a fully capable witch who can look after herself. And the grounds are safe; I don't know why you're so worried." As Severus couldn't reveal the reason of his anxiety to her he just stated firmly,

"I don't want you going near the forest by yourself, Angelina." Angelina separated herself from his embrace and looked at him rather angrily.

"Well are you at least going to give me a reason? You're not making any sense lately Severus! What do you want from me?!" Severus's apprehension was getting the best of his temper and he found it difficult to deal with the confused woman before him.

"I just don't want you to. I don't have to give you a reason. Just stay away from the damn forest!" He growled at her threateningly. Angelina glared at him with a mixture of rage and hurt.

"You can't tell me what to do. Don't ever think you can. I can take care of myself!" with this she spun away from him and headed to the castle alone. He set his jaw and followed her up the path, making sure to keep her within his sight the entire time.

After a sleepless night filled with dark dreams of betrayal, Severus swept to the infirmary early the next morning intending to attempt to assuage Angelina's fears and put things right. He had three bottles of Skele-Gro in his arms. She had been asking for more for a while and now was as good a time as any to drop it by. As he entered the hospital wing, he was surprised to find it completely empty. Calling her name quietly, he moved toward the back of the main room, where her personal quarters were.

"Johnson. Johnson, are you back there? I brought that Skele-Grow that you've been requesting…" Not being able to resist, Severus turned the handle of her room and pushed the door open only to find the room empty and Angelina's bed a disheveled mess of pillows and tangled sheets. Where could she be? As Severus sustained his gaze over her disordered bed the sunlight that had previously been streaming through her small window quickly dissipated as a cloud drifted over the sun outside. A peculiar thought passed through his mind and he sought to dispel it. There's no way she would go back to visit the grave. Not after he had expressly forbidden her to do so. However, his stomach clenched tightly and his feeling of unease grew by the second as he turned to look more carefully out of the window. The lake looked almost black and the fringe of the forest looked more hostile than ever. The sun was completely obscured now, and the sky churned in a palette of grey as it got steadily darker. Why is it so dark out? It's nine in the morning… And then everything came together and his breath caught in his throat. Death Eaters. Severus swept out of the room, cursing under his breath, headed for the forest.

As the darkness got deeper, Severus got more afraid. His gait began to quicken until he was sprinting and the trees were nothing but black blurs that surrounded him on each side. As he traveled further and further into the forest the trees got closer together and he found himself stumbling over gnarled root systems that seemed to be hindering him purposefully. The air was distinctly colder and he began to see the icy shadow of his breath as it began to tear out of him in sharp gasps. And then he heard the laugher. And the terrified screaming. Not feeling his utter exhaustion, he plummeted forward in desperation. Closer and closer the painful sounds got until he broke into the clearing and a sight from the most horrifying of his nightmares came into view. Bellatrix Lestrange and Fenrir Greyback stood over Angelina as she lay shivering on the ground before them. Her face was streaked with dirt, tears, and Severus realized with a blow, blood. Her hair was tangled around her face but it did not conceal her wounded mouth. Blood poured out from between her lips and Severus realized that she was biting her own tongue. He had seen this many times before; the Cruciactus Curse. Everything, everything screamed in his body, his mind, to kill Bellatrix and Fenrir exactly where they stood. However, a tiny part of his conscious brain told him that if he did that, he would be spelling out his and Angelina's inevitable deaths. He couldn't even begin to think of how to handle this situation.

"Can I get her soon, Madam Lestrange? I want her to be able to feel…" Fenrir's malevolent growl was drowned out by Bellatrix's loud maniacal squeal.

"Ahhhh Snape! Lookit what I found! Have you come to join in the fun?! Crucio!" Bellatrix screeched as she turned her wand back on Angelina. Angelina whimpered piteously as the spell ravaged itself up and down her broken body once more.

"STOP!" the word ripped itself out of his throat as Severus stepped forward and raised his wand to Bellatrix, blocking the spell.

"What are you doing? Get out of my way. She's probably nothing but a little mudblood whore!" Bellatrix moved again to continue her torture and Snape once again deflected it. The force of his defense was so great that Bellatrix was thrown back several feet into the unyielding trunk of an evergreen. Fenrir stepped out from the shadows and growled menacingly at Snape. However, Bellatrix recovered quickly and came at Snape angrily.

"Why do you want me to stop?! What is it to you if I torture her until her mind snaps? Who is she to you?" Bellatrix's eyes glinted demonically. Severus knew what she was waiting for and he felt as though it would be impossible not to give it to her at this point. I love her. She loves me. She is mine. Silence reigned around the clearing as Bellatrix's glittering eyes bored into Snape's.

"She is one of my colleagues. She is also a sympathizer. She is on our side!" The words escaped his mouth before he could stop them. Bellatrix looked at him for a split second with genuine surprise but then hastily called him out.

"How do I know you're not just saying that to stop me?" she asked suspiciously. Realizing that he was being given an opportunity to save Angelina's life he improvised expertly.

"Whether or not you believe me is none of my concern. However, if you don't leave immediately I will report you to the Dark Lord. I'm sure that he'll find your reckless torture of a follower worthy of praise and admiration. You are also drawing extremely unnecessary attention upon us. What do you think they'll think up at the castle when she returns in this state?" Snape was in his element now. His ability to lie had saved his life many a time before. However much more was at stake now and he felt the words flow out of his mouth more smoothly than ever before. This statement did it. Bellatrix lowered her wand, glanced contemptuously at the woman on the ground and grabbed Fenrir's arm.

Severus watched them retreat warily and waited until he heard the distant crack of their departure before collapsing on the ground by Angelina's side. He lifted her head tenderly as she sobbed softly. Severus quieted her,

"Shhh, Lina. You're gonna be fine... Just shhhh…" Severus looked up quickly as he heard a nearby rustle of bushes. Sturgis Podmore emerged from behind a large pine, his eyes wide as he took in the scene before him.

"Wha…what happened to her, Severus? I wasn't that late… we haven't seen traces of anyone yet so I figured…" Podmore blustered clumsily.

"Well you figured wrong. She was attacked!" The words were dangerously low and emitted through clenched teeth.

"By who? Surely not a Death Eater…?" Sturgis was thrown backward as Severus sprung up and turned his wand on him in a rage.

"YES, a Death Eater. TWO, in fact! They could have killed her!" Aside from being extremely afraid of the man before him, Podmore was also confused. Why was Snape all jumpy over this one woman? He had seen Snape deal with much worse unflinchingly.

"I'm sorry… just calm down… what do you need me to do?" Podmore inquired in a shaking voice.

"Send a Protronus to Minerva and tell her to meet us immediately in the hospital wing." Snape's anger had abated, his attention turned from Podmore back to Angelina. Severus gathered the shaking woman in his arms, lifted her easily, and headed doggedly out of the trees toward the castle.