Author's Notes: wow! Once again, thank you all for the long reviews. I know, last chapter was morbid and dark (and rather controversial), but it was necessary. Professor Charon's role in this story is minor, but important as well. This chapter deals with the aftermath of last chapter, and as you can see, some students deal with it differently than others... It's also important to note that Charon picked those particular students for a reason. It might be surprising that neither Pettigrew or Rosier got called up, but the fact that they didn't is important as well, especially when it comes to Rosier.

I honestly hope I did a good job with characterization here - this chapter was HARD to write. Particularly with Lily, who now knows about Narcissa and Severus, and with Narcissa too.

I'm probably going to work on updating one of my other stories after this, but another chapter is in the works. Until next time, read, review, and enjoy!

She knew it was strange, but even as she strode down the shadow-crossed corridor, she knew exactly what she wanted, and how to get it. It was bizarre, the feeling of such clarity, but she didn't mind it. She welcomed it – at least it freed her from the cloying uncertainty that she had been feeling for days.

No question about it, Lily swore to herself, I'm going to kill Narcissa Black.

She couldn't deny it anymore – hells, she had seen Severus along with James and Petunia in the Greater Boggart's vision. She didn't want to remember the nightmare, but the flaming remnants of the image kept rearing its ugly head whenever her mind wandered.

She knew now that she had feelings for Severus, no matter how much she didn't want them. I've been trying to deny it, but I hadn't reached a resolution – until now, she thought, blindly turning down another deserted corridor. She knew that denial was useless – especially considering the hot flames of jealousy that was burning in her chest. When she had seen Severus holding a sobbing Narcissa in his arms…

He should have been holding me...

She gritted her teeth as she shoved away the images, but even as she tried, she could still see the connections. The snide little wink that Narcissa had given her on the platform while she was embracing Severus… it all made sense now, clear as the open sky.

He should be with me, Lily thought furiously. How dare Narcissa do this, try and seduce Severus? Why wasn't she just satisfied with Malfoy? Hell, she's just like a filthy scavenger – pouncing on the juiciest bits of meat whenever they're left unattended… And I can't believe Severus either! He even said that he… well, he never really said it, but he always implied that he liked me! And after his apology, he goes and becomes some Prince of Slytherin with Narcissa? What kind of game does he think he's even playing at?

But you threw Severus away, the snide little voice in her mind remarked. YOU refused to apologize... YOU were the one who refused to accept his apology... YOU were the one that drove him away... why so jealous of a relationship you COULD have had, but threw away?

Lily choked back a sob as the guilt came rushing back like a tidal wave of liquid pain. She knew she couldn't approach Severus now - he had moved on to other things, other people. I guess... I guess you really don't appreciate things - and people - until they're gone...

The image returned in her mind of the flaming house, and of the three figures lying on the ground. She wondered, suddenly, why James Potter was even there. I can't stand the bastard, she thought with confusion, so why is he even there? Do I have feelings for him too, despite everything?

And wouldn't that be ironic, the snide little voice sneered in her head, that when you finally acknowledge your feelings for Severus, you lose him, while you also have feelings for a young man you can't stand…

She growled with fury as she turned around another corridor. She didn't even know what floor she was on, but the castle seemed deserted. Everyone must be down for dinner, Lily thought suddenly, her mind snapping back to the present.

But Lily didn't even want to go back down to dinner. She knew that there were people who were going to disregard Professor Charon's warning and spread the stories across the school. I don't want to be known as the 'Mudblood Bitch', she thought to herself, remembering the nightmarish simulacrum of herself that the Greater Boggart had created. And I don't want people to start thinking I'm in league with the Death Eaters…

She leaned heavily against the wall, her energy leaking out of her as she slid down to sit against the cold stone as she remembered the horrifying visions. Mulciber's vision was a giant… he must be afraid of things that more brutish and bigger than him... not that there's much of that. Athena… she's afraid of becoming weak, inadequate... which makes a lot of sense, given how she acts…

She frowned when she thought about the next vision. Try as she might, she didn't understand why Remus' vision showed some twisted monster version of himself. Remus is unassuming, a prefect and studious… why would that vision even make sense for him…

She considered asking him about it later, but she shoved the thought aside. If he feels the same way I do, he won't want to talk about it.

She sighed as she considered the next visions. Avery's was of You-Know-Who… no surprises there, given he's on the fast track to the Death Eaters. Sirius… well, despite all his bragging over dinner last night, he must still have some feelings for his family, otherwise he wouldn't have been so emotional with his brother as a Death Eater...

James' vision seemed a puzzle. I can understand fearing rejection, Lily thought to herself, but to fear rejection from his family? Everything that I know about Potter doesn't match up with that… unless he's concealing things that the rest of Hogwarts doesn't know about…

Narcissa's nightmare gave Lily pause, and her frown grew deeper as she considered the vision. Lucius was the one that hit her… does she still have some feelings for Lucius inside? Although if he hit her for real, that could be the reason why they broke up. It would make sense… Narcissa's too possessive of her status for anything else to be true… the scandal would be huge if she was cheating on Severus already…

She shuddered as she remembered the leer on the fake Evan Rosier's face. Even though she and Narcissa were in different houses – and practically rivals now, she thought with disgust – she didn't wish Evan Rosier upon anyone. Some of the stories she had heard... why girls still even sought out the handsome Slytherin, Lily couldn't understand. She still seethed with fury that Severus had stepped in, though. It's not like he did ever did that for you, the snide little voice sneered in her mind.

Now for Severus' worst fear… he seemed to be facing an older version of himself, but the words didn't make a lot of sense… 'rewriting the song'… what the hell does that mean?

I know one thing, though, Lily though, even as she pulled herself to her feet and shouldered her book bag. Narcissa's going to pay for taking advantage of Severus like this. I don't know what her goals are, but I'm going to find out, and she's going to see her sweet little scheme break all over her pretty little face!


"No questions asked this time," Sirius said grimly, taking his seat at the end of the Gryffindor table with the rest of the Marauders. "I don't care what you all say: I'm going to kill Nathaniel Charon."

Remus sighed with exasperation. "Look, Sirius, I know you're upset, but that doesn't mean –"

"Upset?" Sirius snarled. "The word 'upset' doesn't even begin to describe how I feel right now!"

"Padfoot, cool down," Peter said anxiously, throwing a quick look at James, who was eating his food in silence. "You've got to think –"

"Wormtail, be quiet before I say something I might regret, it's not like you faced that… that fiend," Sirius growled through gritted teeth, his hands still shaking with raw fury. "If I don't kill Charon, I'm certainly getting him thrown out."

Remus swallowed hard. "Sirius, you know Dumbledore already knows what Professor Charon did –"

"Doesn't make it right, does it?" Sirius spat, slamming a fist on the table. "Dumbledore's made mistakes before, he says it himself! Well, this was one of his bigger mistakes – no, scratch that, his biggest one!"

"Sirius, if you don't keep your head, you are going to say or do something you'll regret," Remus whispered angrily. "Now, I know you're upset, but this isn't going to solve anything! Let's just… let's just put it behind us, all right?"

"You think I can do that?" Sirius whispered back furiously. "You think I can just put behind what I saw there? I saw… I saw Reg –"

"I know, Sirius," Remus said quietly. "Charon thinks he can play fast and loose with our secrets, and that's not fair to any of us, but do you really think that people are going to start spreading around the fact that you still love your brother? He's family, Sirius, and it could have been worse."

"Easy for you to say," Sirius muttered.

"You think it is?" Remus hissed, his restraint finally breaking. "You think people won't starting to put two and two together about me? They'll figure out the truth, and I'll be lucky to still be at Hogwarts by the end of the year! People don't want their sons and daughters attending school with a werewolf! And think of everyone else you saw! Hell, look at James!"

They both looked up at James, who was still slowly eating his dinner, his face expressionless. The evidence of tears, so uncharacteristic for the Quidditch Captain and Marauder, was still on his face. Both Remus and Sirius knew why their closest friend was like this… James had seen something so unthinkable, so terrible for him… and he hadn't even been able to face it.

"The demon struck close to home for him," Remus said quietly, watching as the dark-haired Chaser slowly continued to eat, oblivious to his friends' attention. "Talk about a blow to the self-confidence."

"Probably one of Charon's goals," Sirius muttered. "What do you think? Bet he's from Voldemort, trying to break our spirits –"

"Watch your tongue, you know that's not true," Remus said in a low voice. "Didn't you see how he was trying to get Avery to stand up to Voldemort?"

"Fast track to Death Eater, I bet," Sirius muttered morosely, taking a swig from his goblet.

"Possibly, but for some reason I think he might be wavering," Remus said thoughtfully. "Rosier would be the more likely candidate – although we didn't see him go up there…"

"Or Lestrange. Mulciber's vision was just pathetic," Sirius grunted, cutting into his pork chop. "Guess there really isn't anything more below the surface."

"Sirius, that's not fair."

"Could be true, though," Peter muttered.

"That's not funny, Peter." Remus ran a hand through his hair as he groaned with frustration. "Look, I'm sure Professor Charon was trying to show us those damned visions because he wants us to be ready. This coming war – and you'd have to be blind or a Death Eater not to see it – with Voldemort's not going to be pretty, and Charon knows that. Can you imagine facing one of those Greater Boggarts without Charon there with his Occlumency protection?" Reaching into his book bag, he pulled out a few rather official-looking pieces of parchment. Sirius and Peter leaned close as Remus pointed to a paragraph. "See here? Without the mental protection that Charon was using, the visions would have been even more real, we could have been mentally paralyzed, and the physical damage could have been even worse than it was."

"Athena nearly lost her leg," Sirius pointed out, narrowing his eyes. "Charon's protection wasn't that good."

"And according to these notes, strong emotions tend to weaken Occlumency," Remus finished, shoving another piece of parchment to Sirius. "Didn't you see how angry he was getting? He wasn't enjoying this either, and the fact that some people weren't able to fight those monsters really shook him. Hell, he's probably feeling terrible for what he did!"

"No proof of that," Sirius replied with disgust. "He's not even at the staff table! Wonder how he'd like to explain to McGonagall or Pomfrey or Dumbledore the repercussions of his little experiment, eh? I'm happy Lily Evans had the balls to slap him across the face."

"Where is she, anyways?" Peter asked curiously, scanning the table.

"She probably dealing with this whole mess in her own way," Remus said as he slid the parchment back into his bag. "Look, we've got to believe that Professor Charon was at least trying to help us. I also believe," he added, lowering his voice, "that most people aren't going to bother talking about it or spreading rumors."

Sirius was skeptical. "Why do you think that?"

"Because it happened for everyone," James said.

The other Marauders looked at him with astonishment – those had been the first words that had left his mouth since the class.

"Only the nine of us went up there, Prongs," Sirius said cautiously.

"I know, but didn't you see all the girls crying?" James replied sharply. "Hell, there were boys crying too, and I… by Merlin, I was one of them. I… well, can't really deny it now, can I? Right now, I'm considering it a relief the rest of the school won't find out about it. The point here is that nobody's going to talk about this. Even if they had the balls to go against Charon – not easy, the man's intimidating – they'd be set upon by members of their own house before they had a chance to even say the insult. Let's face it here, everyone was scared and… hell, I'd even say traumatized in some cases, by that… thing. Nobody will want to talk about it. They'll just want to move on." James sighed, and set down his fork, looking up towards the cloudy night sky. "If anything, I'm relieved I saw the monster now instead of out there in the real world." He swallowed hard. "Might not sound like me, but I don't know how long I'd last against it."

"Come on, Prongs, you got enough nerve and bravado to match all of us put together, plus more," Sirius said with a hint of a warm smile. "After all, who's the one who plans to woo Lily Evans this term?"

"Prongs…" Remus said warningly. "I don't think now is –"

"It's not a good time, I know," James replied bracingly. "But that is part of my plans, and I'm not throwing that away, not because of some… illusion."

Sirius finally cracked a wide smile as he threw an arm around James' shoulder. "Now that's the James I remember." Remus couldn't even help but to smile as James swatted Sirius away from his food.

"Little puppies need to know to eat their own food, not someone else's."

"Oh bugger off," Sirius said lightly. "So, on a more serious note –"

"You're taking notes now, Sirius?"

"That joke's been done to death, Prongs, shut up. As I was saying, when did Snivellus and my beloved cousin become an item?"

James frowned. "Didn't they dance at Malfoy's party?"

"Still awfully fast," Sirius said, his eyes narrowing. "And I thought she was dating Lucius Malfoy… wonder what changed?"

Sirius looked at James. James looked at Sirius. Peter looked at both of them while Remus just tossed up his hands with exasperation.

"Are you thinking what I'm thinking, Prongs?"

"I think I am, Padfoot. I think a little, ah, reconnaissance," James said with a growing smile, "might be in our future."


"I honestly think," Narcissa whispered in a low voice as she and Severus sat down at the Slytherin table, "that I will kill Nathaniel Charon and Albus Dumbledore."

Severus raised an eyebrow. "I can understand the first, and I can even support it, but why Dumbledore?"

"Two reasons," Narcissa growled, her blonde hair a mass around her flushed face. "Because he let that demon-spawn Charon into our school and then condoned his little exercise! How dare he? How dare he?"

Severus gave a disgusted sigh as he shoveled pork chops onto his plate. Regulus Black, who had remained silent throughout Narcissa's threats, gave him a sympathetic look.

"There have been rumours…" he began slowly.

"What rumors?" Narcissa asked furiously, her head snapping up. "Tell me who's spreading them, and I swear I'll –"

"Cissy, cool down," Regulus replied quickly. "Nobody knows anything about what happened, and I think that's what's sparking the rumors. All people know is that most, if not all, of the Gryffindors and Slytherins in the sixth year Defense Against the Dark Arts class came out in tears or in shock. You, Narcissa, reportedly went to the Hospital Wing –"

"Not true," Severus interrupted. "I managed to help fix her up, and her nose is still perfectly straight."

"I still wonder how you know healing spells," Narcissa muttered.

Severus snorted. "After all the years with Potter and Black and the rest of the damned Marauders after me? I would have to be stupid to the point of idiocy to not have learned them."

"Anyways, while Narcissa reportedly went to the Hospital Wing, Athena Moon utterly refused to even go near the place –"

Severus and Narcissa exchanged darkly significant looks. "No surprises there," Severus muttered.

"Will someone at least tell me what's going on?" Regulus exclaimed with frustration. "I've heard everything from Charon being a vampire to him getting up there and molesting every student publicly! Surely Dumbledore wouldn't have condoned that!"

"The fact… well, the fact that he condoned what happened in the Defense classroom makes me wonder what his motives really are," Severus said darkly. "It was a practical lesson."

Regulus frowned. "Non-verbals? That's what the first lesson usually is –"

"No," Narcissa and Severus said flatly.

"Professor Charon decided to… change things, a bit," Severus added with a scowl. "And, well, you heard about the results, didn't you?"

Regulus swallowed hard. "That bad?"

"You have no idea," Narcissa muttered.

"Do you think the other class –"

"After what happened today, Professor Nathaniel Charon would have to be insane to try this lesson with the Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws," Severus cut him off bluntly.

Regulus raised his eyebrows. "Dear Merlin, it must have been bad. Well, how is he?"

"Who?"

"Professor Charon! Is he a good teacher, what's he like? Is he as good as Troy, or as bad as Perks?"

Severus took a large bite of pork chop as he considered Regulus' question. To be completely truthful, he didn't know what to think about Charon's erratic teaching methods. He's cold, and he's brutal, and he's certainly not a teacher to take lightly. Yet there's something else about him… almost like he knows that what he's teaching will be terrible, and that he hates himself for it. A strange dichotomy for a Hit Wizard like him…

"He's not nearly as bad as Perks," Severus finally said after swallowing, "and certainly not one to take lightly. But as for the quality of his teaching… well, only time will tell that much."

The trio ate in silence for a few more seconds before Narcissa suddenly tossed down her fork and stood up.

"I can't stand this. I need some privacy," she said, her face flushed and betraying her flustered expression.

"Where are you going to be?" Severus asked coolly, a bit surprised at Narcissa. "We still need to… well, act on our plan –"

"I… I don't know. I'll see you some time later, Severus!"

"Weren't you the one that wanted protection?" he asked, his own eyebrows raising now.

"I… I… oh, goddamn it!" Muttering swear words that Severus was surprised she even knew, Narcissa strode out of the hall, her hair and robes fluttering behind her.

Severus stood immediately. "Regulus, I'm going after her."

"Are you sure? She could be –"

"Rosier noticed that she was gone, and I don't want her to get hurt," Severus replied curtly, picking up his book bag and hurrying out of the Hall right behind her.

Suddenly deserted at the table, Regulus turned to Avery, who was sullenly picking at his food. "So, Avery, are you planning to –"

"Black, don't want to be rude, and I appreciate your concern," Avery growled through clenched teeth, not even looking up, "but just be quiet and leave me alone, please?"

Regulus sighed with exasperation as he turned back to his food. Stupid new professor, he thought savagely. Gets everyone all worked up every time.


Severus caught up with Narcissa very quickly in the corridors outside of the Charms classroom. It appeared that she hadn't even been paying much attention to where she was going, and Severus noted with a flicker of concern the confusion on her face.

"Narcissa?"

She turned quickly – she hadn't heard him coming. When she recognized him, she sighed. "You didn't have to miss dinner for me, Severus. Merlin knows with your plans, you need your strength –"

"Said plans can wait, because Malfoy will have my head if anything happens to you," Severus cut her off, walking even closer. "And besides, Rosier noticed that you left."

"He probably suspects that this 'relationship' is a ruse," she muttered.

Severus cocked an eyebrow. "Come again?"

"In fact, a lot of people probably have figured it out by now –"

"Narcissa, you're not making sense. Why do you think Rosier figured anything out, given that he's denser than rough granite and having about as much quality?"

Narcissa didn't answer, only pulling open a door to an empty Charms classroom and sitting down heavily on one of the desks. "Don't you think that after they saw my little hallucination they figured it out? That I obviously still have feelings for Lucius?"

Severus quickly entered the classroom and shut the door behind him, locking it with a wave of his wand. "Or they could have interpreted it to mean that you're terrified of pureblood reprisal, and given Lucius Malfoy's position –"

"That's reaching, Severus."

"As is considering that Charon molested the students this afternoon, but people still bought that." He snorted with disgust. "People will believe anything at this school."

Narcissa gave a weak smile as Severus sat down next to her heavily on one of the desks.

"So people know we are a couple now," Narcissa finally said, trying to change the subject.

"Yes," Severus replied listlessly. "And they know I've changed… I'm surprised I haven't heard more about it yet."

"Gossip takes time to spread, and let's be frank here: most people are too self-interested to gossip about your changes when they'd rather debate how the new Defense teacher could be a threat to them," Narcissa said fairly.

"True enough."

There was another awkward silence, punctuated by Narcissa looking out the window rather nervously.

"Severus…"

"Yes?"

"Thank you."

"For what?"

"For coming after me," she finished in a rush. "I mean… it could have been Rosier."

"That's one of the reasons why I came. So that it wasn't him."

Narcissa gave a weak laugh. "I guess… still, I'm grateful."

She's ducking around the issue – she knows what she saw, and she needs to talk about it if she wants to get over her fears. "Narcissa, you don't need to be afraid of Evan Rosier."

Narcissa snorted. "I think I have a very good reason to be afraid of him."

"Not because of that – hell, most girls would be terrified of that happening." Severus lowered his voice. "It's more because I won't let that happen to you."

Narcissa's eyes widened. "You… you really mean that?"

She wouldn't even normally sound like this but for Charon's damned monster… it scared her badly, and she's latching onto any sort of security she can. "It's not like I'm going to break a deal with Lucius Malfoy; doing that tends to be bad for one's health. And…"

His voice trailed off, but Narcissa noticed it in a second.

"And what?"

"If I had my way, Narcissa, Rosier wouldn't be touching any more girls," Severus growled savagely, clenching his fist. And if he even thinks of touching Narcissa or Lily…

Narcissa swallowed hard, and Severus saw with some astonishment that her eyes were filling rapidly with tears. "That's… that's good of you, Severus."

Severus snorted. "Any decent person would think that, Narcissa. It's just a damned pity we don't have many of those in our house."

Narcissa stood up suddenly, and turned away towards the door, hurriedly wiping her eyes. "I've… I've got to go. Can you let me out?"

"Narcissa, we –"

Before Severus could finish his sentence, her wand was out and pointing at the door. "Alohomora!"

The door popped open, and Narcissa darted around it, heading around the corridor. What the hell does she think she's doing, Severus thought with a mixture of astonishment and frustration as he got up to follow her.

Narcissa moved quickly, but Severus had been running for over a month and a half, and he caught up to her easily.

"Narcissa, what on earth are you doing?" he called out, finally getting her to slow her pace as he came up behind her.

Narcissa whipped around, a strange look on her face. "Severus… I don't think –"

But Severus had already placed his hands on her shoulders and was looking into her big blue eyes, rimmed with tears. "Narcissa, you can't just keep running from me. I'm trying to help you!"

"I… Slytherins don't need help! Not like this," Narcissa's voice broke as she blinked back tears.

"You think I buy that for an instant?" Severus snarled. "Why did I come to you and Regulus? Why did you and Lucius come to me? I'm trying to help you!"

"Why?" Narcissa shot back.

Severus lowered his voice as his grip on Narcissa's shoulders tightened. "Because… because… because I care about you, damn it! And I don't want to see you get hurt!" He could hardly believe those words left his mouth.

He could not believe that he had actually meant them.

Narcissa's composure finally broke and she collapsed into Severus' arms, shaking as she cried. Severus, completely flummoxed about what to do, tentatively put his arms around her and held her close.

"Severus," Narcissa whispered, "I'm so scared."

"Rosier won't come near, I promise you that," Severus replied.

"It's… it's not that," she said in a hushed voice, swallowing hard. "I'm just s-scared that… well, with Lucius…"

"What? He'll be all right," Severus said. Looking down at her, he suddenly understood. She's scared Lucius might hurt her the same way as he did in the vision! That's why she's so unsure and unstable – she's afraid that she made a mistake in falling in love with Lucius in the first place…

He took a deep breath. "Narcissa, Lucius would never hurt you. He loves you."

"Severus, how can you –"

"Be sure?" Severus let out a small chuckle. "He hired me to protect you, and he's paying me to do it! He's doing this because he doesn't want to see you get hurt."

"But… look, Bellatrix told me rumors about Lucius…"

Oh shit, Severus thought, guessing instantly that the rumors were likely about the trysts that Lucius had reportedly had while Narcissa was still at school. Everyone's heard about that… and if Narcissa actually believes any of those rumors…

"Severus?" Narcissa asked quietly. "Do you… do you know something about... about…"

Severus struggled for an answer. I don't want to lie, but... "He loves you," he said finally, closing his eyes so he didn't have to meet Narcissa's plaintive look, "and he would never want to see you come to harm."

"Are you sure?"

"You can trust me, Narcissa," Severus said firmly, finally looking back into her eyes. He noticed, for the first time, and much to his own astonishment, how beautiful they were. They're like pools of the clearest, darkest water you've ever seen, which can either dance or sparkle in the moonlight…

Narcissa, for the first time, gave him a weak smile as her hug tightened around him. "I know, Severus… you're one of the few people I can trust in this school."

Severus' insides were turning to water, and he felt that his rational mind would soon follow the way things were going. He tried to dredge up an image of Lily's accusing eyes, but he couldn't. He could only see Narcissa's, imparting a trust so rarely given.

"Is… is it more than that n-now?" he whispered, choking on the words. His heart was starting to pound faster and faster, and he could feel his hands shaking slightly as they began to inch up Narcissa's back…

Narcissa blinked rapidly a few times as her blue eyes met his black. But her smile, genuine and filled with a rare life that Severus had never seen before, never dimmed.

"I think," she replied, her whisper husky, "that it is."

And then they kissed.

Severus closed his eyes as his lips met Narcissa's. His rational instincts were long gone, replaced with a warm, simple feeling that made his limbs quiver and his cares vanish.

And for one of the few times in his life, he felt completely safe and content, sharing a moment with a person for whom he cared.

They broke apart suddenly, Narcissa pulling away first. "I'm… I'm sorry," she stammered, blinking rapidly. "I shouldn't have done that."

"Why?" Severus asked, trying to regain his senses.

"You… Lily… I... shouldn't have been first… shouldn't have interfered –"

"It was going to happen eventually," Severus said, as the images of accusing green eyes finally reappeared. He shoved them away this time, looking back into Narcissa. "Just, well… a bit sooner than we expected."

Narcissa swallowed hard. "You changed for her, not for me. She… she should be –"

"When it happens, it happens. Life… well, it goes on, and when we…" Severus said, closing his eyes against the clenching pain of Lily's rejection, still fresh as it surged up again. "I'm sorry, too."

"Why?"

"I… well, Lucius trusted me…"

"And he still does," Narcissa said with a little smile. "He knew this was going to happen too."

"Doesn't make it any less awkward," Severus muttered.

Narcissa giggled, a sound Severus had never heard her make before. "You know, Severus," she said in the same sultry tone she had used in the train compartment, "I didn't know you were such a good kisser. Practice?"

"Hardly, and you know it," Severus replied, smiling a bit himself.

"Have you ever kissed a girl before?"

Severus flushed red. "Not… not until a minute ago."

Narcissa moved close again, and Severus felt his heart pounding again. "I guess then," she whispered, "that we better make your first kisses good ones."

She came close again, and Severus' rational thought departed with nary a wave or tip of the hat as Narcissa's lips met his.


He kept his footsteps quiet as he stormed away – after all, he didn't want to give away his presence. It required a great deal of effort, as the stone floor seemed determined to make every footfall echo, but he managed it. Giving away my presence there would have been foolish… no, I want to remember this as it is… it'll be good motivation later.

He kept a handle on his building rage, which was intensifying with every step. I can handle this… and after all, I expected complications. My father warned me that she'd be a difficult one to catch, given her temperament, but I'm patient enough. And I've got a better chance that he does, especially since the main obstacle to my ambition has ceded his claim on her. Ahd her... she may be hostile, but she fears me, the vision made that clear. All the easier, then.

He had expected interference. But it's coming from my side instead of Black's, though, and from someone I never would have guessed. But then again, times are changing… Well, if he wishes a rivalry and an enemy, he now has both. I just hope that he remembers that my rules will always supersede his… That Gryffindor Black will learn it too, especially when he is hamstrung by his own foolish bargain…

Shoving back his jealous rage, the corridors still deserted as he headed down towards the dungeons, he considered his newest predicament with the crisp, cool logic that had made him a political power in Slytherin. It'll be a shame to lose him as an ally, considering how smart he is, but for my greater good, necessary… sacrifices will have to be made. Thankfully, he hasn't taken the Mark yet – it would be treason if I were to dispose of him then. Now, he's just… in the way. An obstruction to be removed. He's playing on my pitch now, and one with home-ground advantage tends to win. And I always win.

It was a momentary flaw in his plans, a hole in his lines that would have to be plugged. Like I always plug said holes, he thought, drawing a bitter smile to his pale lips. Forcefully, with a gesture that will always be remembered… and she will remember it, too…

Evan Rosier knew without a doubt that Narcissa Black would be his before the end of the year.

And for that, he thought, his smoldering glare finally matching the satisfied smile on his face, I'm just going to have to kill Severus Snape.