Disclaimer: STILL not owning HP.

GETTING CLOSE TO THE END

"Isn't this great?" Alyssa asked, shoving the remainder of her clothes into her bag.

"Oh yeah! Totally!" Jessica said, trying to act a bit peppy.

"What's wrong? You don't seem so happy about this!"

"I'm not, I'm scared! You're mom doesn't seem like the kind of person that would be very, I don't know….excepting of me!" Jessica was no where near ready to leave. She figured she could pack after lunch and that she would still have enough time to get to her last class of the day, which happened to be double potions.

"Don't be silly! My mom is gonna love you! Yes she may be evil and vindictive sometimes, but she does……wait….um….I actually can't think of something nice to say about her." Jessica looked sick.

"Great! I feel fantastic about this now!" She stood up and started to leave to go to the common room, or so Alyssa thought.

"Please don't feel bad! My mom isn't that crazy." She sighed "Sorry…I'll meet you downstairs in a few minutes." Alyssa didn't notice it, but Jessica grabbed her jacket and left. She was already out the front door of the school by the time Alyssa came downstairs. Jessica wasn't feeling like she could stomach any kind of food. She put on her jacket and started to walk down threw the snow towards the forest.

She didn't hear anyone behind her or see anyone because of the quickly falling snow. She was just walking away from the school and farther towards the forest all alone. She knew that no one would be able to find her. The snow was falling so fast and so thick that it had probably covered her steps at the school by now.

She traveled far into the forest and just wandered around for at least 45 minutes. She saw that the steps she had made not even 3 minutes ago were already gone. She tried to walk back to the school but seemed to get more and more lost. She was starting to get frantic because, like she knew before, no one would be able to find her. She was dressed in a rather inappropriate manner for winter weather; her school shoes, her skirt and her school shirt with a sweatshirt jacket.

She started to shake from both the cold air and fear. She felt that her only option was to keep going straight, so she did. The wind was increasing and being forced against her face. She tried her hardest to get out of the forest, but the weather just kept pushing her to go slower and slower. The snow had gotten so deep that it was more than mid shin. She started to feel this grief rushing threw her and she started to wonder to keep her mind from thinking of how cold it was.

She wondered whether she would make it back before class, if she would make it back before dinner, if she would make it back before the train left, or if she'd make it back at all.

"Stop thinking like that! You're gonna get back alive! No one's gonna let you die out here alone, in the snow, while no one realizes that you're gone….I'm gonna die." She kept pushing forward, not wanting to stop, but the snow kept pushing her and pushing her. The snow was now knee deep.

BACK AT THE CASTLE

Alyssa walked down to Potions, still baffled that her friend had some how slipped away. When she got down to class, she noticed her friend wasn't sitting with Severus yet. She shrugged and sat down next to Lily. When the bell for class to start rang, she gazed back and saw that Jessica was still absent. Professor Slughorn had started his lesson already so she thought that her friend would just stroll in late.

But by the time the second period of Potions was about to start, she was still not there! Alyssa grabbed Sirius and asked him,

"Do you know where Jess is?"

"No! I thought you would! I haven't seen her all day!"

"Well, the last time I saw her, she was leaving the dorm and I told her that I'd meet her downstairs in the common room. She shrugged at me and grabbed her….." She stopped, her face turning white. Severus had come up to Alyssa and Sirius, wondering the same thing.

"Um, not to be a bother, but do either of you know where Jessica is? I wanted to give her a Christmas present before school was over." Sirius grabbed his sister and shook her a little.

"SHE GRABBED HER, WHAT?!" Severus looked a little worried.

"Over 2 hours ago, she was leaving with her coat. She's probably still outside! She goes down to the forest sometimes when she's stressed instead of going to the Great Hall for lunch. It started to snow harder than I've ever seen it snow before about 20 minutes after she left! And I'm sure it hasn't let up, but only gotten worse!" Without thinking, both Severus and Sirius went bolting out of the classroom. Professor Slughorn came over to Alyssa to ask her where they went and when she told him the situation, he too bolted out of the classroom.

A few moments later, Sirius and Severus had reached the front doors to the school. A crowd had started to draw, all of the students whispering. Sirius and Severus ran threw the open school doors and out into the front court yard which was full of snow. Teachers came running into the Entrance Hall questioning students why they were there, most didn't know but everyone from Potions did, Jessica Potter was out there in the snow, and was most likely going to die before either Sirius or Severus got to her.

IN THE FOREST

Her legs felt numb and frost bitten and her eyelids were getting heavier and heavier. She kept walking as much as possible but it started to become harder than before. She was slowing down and falling down. Before she could stop herself, she had fall down into the snow, face first. She thought that if she had just rested for a moment, then she could get out of there easier. Her moment turned into a minute, and then the minute turned into 5 minutes, and despite how cold her new bed was, she couldn't get up. Her body had given up on her and she succumbed to a deep sleep.

Sirius and Severus kept running as fast as they could. Sirius finally noticed that he was not alone and looked to his right.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE!?!"

"The same thing you are!!" Severus replied.

"She's MY girlfriend!"

"But you obviously don't take great care of her if you didn't even know where she went!" Sirius was now angry with what Severus had to say. Suddenly, Sirius shriveled down next to Severus, and what Severus saw next was a black flash of a dog rush past him into the forest.

Sirius was trying to find her using his nose, but couldn't because he nose felt like it was going to fall off. Despite his clever tricks to find her, he couldn't see threw the thick sheets of falling snow. Severus, however, had found her! He rushed over to her at the edge of the forest and collapsed down next to her.

There was already a small layer of snow forming on top of her back. He started to roll her over and saw how pale her face was and that her lips were turning blue. He quickly checked for a pulse and noticed that it was weak but still there. He withdrew his wand from his robes and pointed it towards the sky. Suddenly, red sparks flew out into the sky and he knew that they were visible even at the school. He took off his robe and wrapped it around her, trying to keep what little body heat she had left inside her. He also hugged her tightly to try and transfer his heat to her.

Within five minutes, Sirius was standing in front of them. He saw what Severus was doing and, in a fit of anger for not only finding her before him but for also touching her, pushed Severus away from her.

"DON'T TOUCH HER!!" Sirius grasped her and hugged her in the exact same position as Severus had just done. They were soon accompanied by Madame Pomfrey and Professors Slughorn, McGonagall, and Dumbledore. They all helped her into the castle, with people gasping and whispering when they saw her frozen, limp body.

Alyssa, Sirius, James, Lily, and Remus followed all the teachers into the Hospital Wing and stood by her side while Madame Pomfrey did everything in her power to save her. She had to rush everyone out of the room so she could do this top secret procedure that involved an open chest which she knew that James, Lily and Alyssa didn't want to see, but Remus and Sirius might end up acting like regular boys.

After about and hour of worrying, they were allowed to come back in. They saw that she was wide awake, and Alyssa jumped on her, hugging her tightly around the neck. Sirius heard choking sounds coming from Jessica but also saw her patting Alyssa on the back.

"You scared me half to death!" Alyssa said while punching her arm.

"Ow! Sorry, I just lost track of time and where I was going." Sirius smiled and hugged her lightly realizing that she was finally okay. Madame Pomfrey came walking in and told the group that she was allowed to go home for break so long as she took it easy. Jessica sighed and slightly rolled her eyes.

"You did it so you didn't have to meet my mom didn't you?!" Sirius assumed.

"NO! I did it 'cause Alyssa freaked me out about your mom!!" Sirius chuckled lightly.

"It's okay, don't worry. I'll be there with you."

"Oh, before I forget, Lily and I have to pack your bag for you!" Alyssa and Lily bolted out the door before Jessica could protest. Sirius messed up her a little and kissed her forehead, noting that the three of them have yet to pack. They left and she started trying get out of bed, but felt great pain in her side. She lifted her shirt to see if anything was wrong and saw that there was a small incision there, probably from the ice that she fell on top of.

She heard footsteps behind her and she turned. She smiled when she saw the familiar black hair.

"Thank you Severus." She said. He turned bright red and asked,

"For what?"

"You're the one that saved me. I saw your face before I passed out. Thank you for all that you've done for me." She slowly walked up to him and leaned in and gave him a kiss on the lips. After a few moments she pulled away and whispered in his ear, "Happy Christmas." And walked off.

She didn't know what was in store for her at the house of Black, but she surely felt better getting that off her chest. She just couldn't wait until the next time she saw Severus again!

END

One more down!!! Like I said, it's getting closer to the end of the story!

Don't worry, I might write more!

-Jessi