J.K. Rowling owns HP. I own OC and the plot. thanks :)

Alone No More

CHAPTER SEVEN: nose stuck in a book

7

Lumora flew towards the Astronomy tower. The weather today surprised her. The sky was completely clear, but the air was as frigid as mid December. She neared the tower, circling it once to ensure it was empty. Then as she had done before, she changed just above the ground, landing quietly on her feet, tucking her arms under her cloak against the chill. The sense that someone was watching her caused Lumora to turn around.

"You are magnificent." The compliment was spoken directly in her ear, sending shivers up her spine. The spicy and earthy scent of the Potions Master surrounded her senses. She turned quickly to face him. He placed in her hands her broomstick, as promised. There in the handle her first name, Lumora, was engraved in glossy silver print to match the Soaring Eagle 5 inscription. She looked up from the broom, her eyes searching his face. As usual it was void of any real emotion, but his eyes seemed softer.

Then she leaned into him, wrapping her arms around him, burying her face in his chest.

Shocked momentarily by her display of gratitude, he didn't move. Then he slowly folded his arms around her, burying his face in her hair. Despite being encased in his warmth, Lumora was still freezing. She began to tremble as the wind picked up and blew icily through the observation deck. Snape pulled back and looked down at her, he placed a hand to her soft rosy cheek. It was like ice.

"J-just a little ch-chilly up h-here." She chattered out. Now her teeth were chattering. 'Great, now I look like a real damsel in distress," she thought. She was supposed to be the one doing the saving.

He nodded, then he led her away from the open observation deck, down the winding tower steps to the classroom hall. The continued past her classroom, down a few more flights of stairs to the dungeons. He went directly to his potions classroom. Opening the door for her, he ushered her inside. With a wave of his hand, a door behind his desk opened, and they went through.

Lumora couldn't help but gasp at her surroundings. His private quarters were nothing like she had pictured. The entire first room spread before her encased in floor to ceiling book shelves, with the exception of the window on the far side. The window had been charmed to show the lake which was now freezing, the trees still smoldering with brilliant shades of red, orange and gold. The book cases stood firm, full of books, all shelved neatly with their gilded spines facing outwards. In front of her sat a large desk that was neat and clean. To her right, Two plush arm chairs sat off to the side under the window with a small table between them. In the back right corner was a doorway, that's where they went next.

The wide room was even more beautiful than the last, warm earth tones, wine reds and rich cream adorned the decor. A large white marble fire place gleamed on the far wall. A large green sofa offered seating in front of it, a plush fur rug laid out on the wood floor between. That is where he placed her, in middle of the sofa. He took off his own cloak and tucked it around her. Then he turned to the fire place, and with a flick of his wand a roaring fire radiating into the space. "I will make tea." He stated, walking through a door on her right.

In the kitchen, Snape made short work of bring tea together. He opened the tea chest McGonagall had gotten him last Christmas. Grabbing his favorite, a sweet and spicy herbal, he waited for the pot to whistle.

The fire crackled and spat, the comforting sound filing the empty room. Not able to help herself, she abandoned the sofa and sat on the thick fur rug. The warmth of the fire began to unthaw her icy skin. She stripped off her boots, hoping that Snape wouldn't mind. Content for the moment, Lumora snuggled deeper into Snape's cloak, breathing in the intoxicating scent.

Snape emerged from the kitchen a few moments later to see Lumora sitting on the fur rug in front of the blazing fireplace. She had abandoned her own violet cloak and had his wrapped tightly around her. Setting the tea tray down on table next to the sofa, he went to his bedroom. He returned to the living room with his thick green coverlet. Two black entwined S's were monogramed on the front. Gently he took his cloak away from her, wrapping the coverlet around her warmly.

Lumora almost fainted, his scent became even stronger as she relaxed into the thick blanket. Snape sat on the sofa, and after taking off his own boots, he handed her a cup. Then he did something he had never done before, he joined her on the rug. They sipped the tea, gazing into the fire. Lumora was at a loss for words. She usually could think of something to say. Somehow the silence didn't seem overbearing. Neither dared to address the elephant in the room.

After two cups of tea, Lumora placed her tea cup back on the tray. Then Snape announced, "I will be in the library, after you are warm, you can show yourself out," He put the "t" on his last word with perfect Snape finesse.

Where had the warm, caring Snape gone? "I am quite warm thank you." Lumora shot back, standing to face him, the coverlet falling forgotten to the floor. "Now," She drawled, "your library?" she inquired, not giving him room to protest.

Snape opened his mouth to argue with her, but thought better of it. Never had he met someone so insistent, aside from himself of course. Instead of replying, he spun on his heel and stalked off like a temper-tantrum throwing five year old. He led them back through the door to what she had earlier identified as his library. Instead of sitting himself at the desk like she expected, he walked over to the farthest wall. There he removed a book from the middle shelf, and the bookcase gave a small groan and then swung inward, revealing a small passageway. Snape went through it, and Lumora followed closely at his heels, afraid it might close before she could pass through.

Her heart almost stopped at the sight before her. She had thought the libraries at Oxford were breathtaking. This one put them to shame. She vaguely remembered such a sight from the muggle movie, "Beauty and The Beast." As a young girl her Aunt had taken her to see the moving picture. She had dreamt of such a sight ever since. Now the library before her smashed those dreams to tiny bits.

Severus hadn't stopped to admire the grand picturesque view, he had strode quickly across the wide floor to the far wall. He climbed the staircase and locked eyes with Lumora who stood just inside the room, in front of the now closed passageway. He noticed her astonishment, not because of any emotion on her face, but the way her shoulders had drooped. It was as if her very breath had been taken from her chest, and her shoulders had settled on top of her now empty lungs. He smirked, and continued to the ladder on the small balcony.

Lumora followed suit, gliding across the wide floor, stopping only a moment to take in the glass wall that served as the library's overwhelming light source. As a young witch, she had seen this wall from the lake and had wondered where it could be in the castle. Mystery solved, she mused, but still couldn't fathom how Severus could own such a treasure trove and keep it a secret. Climbing the staircase, she continued to gaze around her, reading the gilded labels above her on the shelves. Severus was perched on a ladder that was designed to make the higher shelves more accessible.

Still baffled by the cavernous room, Lumora chose to remain on the small balcony that the stairs had lead up to. Instead of climbing the ladder, she stood next to it, reading the book spines. Titles like, Alice in Wonderland, Huckleberry Fin, and Heidi sprang out at her. Other tales like, Beadle the Bard puzzled her. These were wizard tales she had heard as a child, but definitely not from her muggle mother and father. That was her Aunt and Uncle's doing.

Continuing down the aisle, flanked on one side by a solid railing, and the other towering with books, she didn't notice Severus coming down the ladder. He came up right behind her, she had stopped and pulled out a rather large volume.

"Nose stuck in a book," He sneered in her ear causing her to jump and slam the book shut. She spun around to face him.

"Severus!" She exclaimed, "You scared me!" she laughed, twisting around to place the book back on the shelf. She turned back to him, moving away from the shelving. Severus moved fast, shoving her back up against the bookcase. His book lay splayed open, forgotten on the floor. Her eyes widened with alarm as she met his smoldering gaze.

"Why are you here?" He snarled, pinning her harder against the shelving.

"In your library, or just at Hogwart's in general?" she gave him a cheeky grin.

Snape's only response was to shove her tighter against the shelves, a low growl escaping his throat.

"Oh, just at Hogwart's in general...um..." She tried to keep the mood light, despite his stormy disposition. She stared up at the ceiling, trying to formulate her words in such a way that he wouldn't just snarl them to pieces. "Well, if you must know, I teach Defense Against-"

"The Dark Arts, yes. I am not a fool Miss Olivander." Snape cut her off, then he shook her once, as if he could force the correct answer from her body, "Why are you here?"

Lumora lifted her chin in defiance against his harsh manner. "Because I will not accept your defeat."

"My defeat?" Snape inquired coldly, almost mockingly.

Lumora's head was spinning. She originally took this mission as a favor to The Order for saving her life. Now? Now, *sigh* she wasn't quite sure why she was still here at all. She nodded, "Yes, this morning at breakfast you surrendered. I do not accept." She lifted her chin again in defiance.

"I never surrender," He whispered icily, shaking her again. Rage was now washing off him in electric waves. I'm going to have his hands tattooed on my arms in bruises in the morning, she thought. She knew he wasn't doing it to deliberately hurt her. He was forgetting his own strength.

"Oh contraire Professor Snape, You stated that the Order truly sent me and you welcomed my help. You surrendered." She spat, getting angry at the memory of him giving up.

"I said I welcomed your help, not that I trust you." He spat angrily, easing up on his hold of her, taking a step back.

Lumora's eyes widened. He doesn't trust me? Hurt and disappointment crossed her features. He read her reaction and immediately regretting saying it that way. His grip softened even more. She took the opportunity to wrench herself from his grasp. He let go, and she rubbed her arm as the blood returned to it. She glanced around, as if searching for away out.

"There aren't any open windows, so you can't fly away this time Lumora." He said her name as if it were poison in his mouth, He continued as if he pitied her predicament, "I fear simply disappearing isn't an option either. Within the Castle, disapparating is against the rules -"

"Against the rules you say?" She spat at him, a fire flaring in her eyes, She took a step forward, pushing off the bookcase. "Rules are made to be broken,"

Before he could reach her, she disapparated without a sound.

Dearest Readers,

Thank you for reading! I am enjoying revisiting this story and editing it to fit more into the existing HP world. Thank you for your support and patience. Up next is "silence."

xoxo

Lumora The White