Well HELLLOOOOOOO! Okay so I didn't actually write anything yesterday, I was having a nice Arts and Craftsy day- the evidence of which you'll see on my DeviantART profile I have done 2 posters for this fic so PLEASE check them out. I have also done some drawings of Sam's outfits so far.

Here's a link to my gallery - http:/ fashionnightmare12 .deviantart .com /gallery/#

(Get rid of the gaps and search)

I have to thank lightbabe with all of my heart for being so freaking amazing and helping me decide what to draw on my poster. Here's the link to that poster- http:/ fashionnightmare12 .deviantart. com/gallery/#/d46lhrm

The red rose represents love; the hands and orby thing represents healing; and the hands holding represents strength.

The other one just has quotes on it and that one is here - http:/ fashionnightmare12. deviantart .com/gallery/#/d46iqez

So PLEASE check it out and I hope you like this chapter…. I know I sure did :D

HINT HINT WINK WINK NUDGE NUDGE!

…Just read it…..

Chapter 9

Fred looked down at his body as it jolted and writhed on the ground, covered in blood and screaming deafeningly loud. He felt himself pale. He was watching himself—or whatever it was—die.

He felt frozen to the spot until Sam's sobs grew louder when the screams grew more gruesome with each one, blood spilling from his mouth.

George backed away in horror before running downstairs to get help; but that wasn't just it. He couldn't stand watching Fred, or any semblance of Fred, die before him. Even thinking of living without his twin felt like a stab to the heart. Seeing it was a whole other story.

But he knew that it was a Boggart. It was the Boggart that had plagued his own mother early this morning. They had closed the door on it; that was until they could get someone to come and finish with it.

As he got half way down the stairs, the screams from above ceased; as did Sam's loud sobs. He froze, looking up in confusion, walking back up the stairs slowly. After two steps the screaming instantly came into focus.

He cursed loudly. A silencing charm. A silencing charm had been cast so that they couldn't be heard from upstairs and they couldn't hear anything from below. That answered why the members of the Order hadn't come running when the screaming began.

George once again ran erratically down the stairs, clenching the banister for balance, when he neared the bottom he jumped the last three steps. He landed awkwardly on the floor, stumbling before running straight into the door where the meeting was being held. He tried the door handle but it didn't budge. He couldn't imagine what type of charm his mother had put on it too keep them out. So he ended up banging frantically on the oak door.

It was swung open by a disgruntled looking Snape.

"What is it?" He hissed.

"Sam."

Looking at George's pale face and hearing that name was enough for Severus.

George, seeing worry on his potions Master's face ran instantly for the stairs. The swishing of Snape's robes was all George heard from the man behind him as they raced up the stairs.

The moment the screams came into earshot Snape made a small noise in the back of his throat. His ears immediately picked up on Sam's heart wrenching sobs. The older man pushed past George and ascended the remaining stairs not hesitating at all as he ran to the dark room.

The sight that greeted him froze the blood in his veins and tore at his heart. So much so that he didn't even notice the teenagers lining the walls inside the room, hands over their mouths, tears falling silently; and he didn't hear the gasps of the adults who had pursued him to the room.

On the floor was the body of Fred Weasley. Snape may not have been able to tell the difference between the twins' appearances, but he certainly could tell the difference between the way Sam felt for Fred, compared to the way she felt for George.

And the way she felt for Fred made him a prime candidate for the Boggart to "kill".

He barely looked around him before his eyes landed on two figures surrounded by glass.

Sam was being embraced tightly by Fred. He was gently stroking her hair and caressing her tearstained cheek, he was hushing her in the midst of whispering to her in quiet words as he rocked her slowly.

Snape heard a snippet of what he was saying.

"It's okay. It's not me. I'm alive. I'm here. Shhh. I'm here. It's just a Boggart; not me. Don't cry."

Snape felt his breathing constrict and he watched wide eyed as her sobs quietened.

He sighed in relief when he heard them stop completely.

This sigh was heard from across the room and Sam raised her eyes to her friend's, she blinked once, then her eyes widened in horror, because her thought in that moment had been one of relief, one of hope; and one that the Boggart would take great pleasure in proving wrong.

"I'm so glad that he didn't have to see himself lying there."

Severus was momentarily confused at her change in emotion, before the Boggart's screams ceased and it morphed quickly into a replica of himself. The adults gasped once again, and had be not been so shocked he would have rolled his eyes and told them that they all sounded like a pantomime audience. Not that they would've known what a pantomime was.

But all he could do was watch as Sam flinched and buried her face in Fred's chest; whimpering as she felt the tears spill over once more.

"Not again!" She cried, as her voice cracked.

Fred began rocking Sam and he buried his face in her hair, murmuring all the while. He gently kissed Sam on her head before pressing his forehead against hers.

Snape shook his head to clear his thoughts before striding forwards. He walked around the place where 'his body' lay, writhing and convulsing; he made it to Sam's side and knelt by her.

Fred raised his head, propping his chin on the top of the weeping girl's head, he looked worriedly at Snape.

In that moment they weren't student and teacher; they were two men who were fighting for someone important to them.

And for them, that was all that mattered.

Severus reached forwards and rested his cool hand on top of hers where it was clenched in the front of Fred's t-shirt. A silent gesture that showed he was there.

He nodded once to Fred who grimaced in response.

Severus stood and faced the Boggart full on, calming himself and letting the defences around his mind slide.

Without a moments hesitation the Boggart's eyes flickered over to the man towering over him and a cruel grin stretched across his face before it morphed, in a cloud of poisonous black smoke, into a figure that stood on his own two feet and stared Snape directly in the eye.

Sam raised her head slowly as she heard the 'whooshing' noise as the Boggart transformed and she gasped; but Severus ignored her and stared straight back at the Boggart, his gaze unwavering.

The Boggart had cold blue eyes which were narrowed, black hair slicked back to the scalp, an angular face with high cheek bones and a hooked nose.

The two men who faced each other could have been identical. Except for the small things.

Severus' eyes were a completely different shape and colour, his mouth was thinner, he was taller and leaner. And he cared.

He never cared.

The Boggart opened its mouth and a voice Severus had managed to forget rang out amongst the dead silence.

"Hello son." Eyed widened around the room, and mouths hung open. That voice was enough to make Severus ignore their reactions; it made his emotions frenzied and his blood run cold.

It was low and gravely; cold and emotionless; just how Severus remembered.

Snape said nothing. He simply glared at the figure of his father. A short stocky man; nevertheless a simple look from him would send you running. He was imperious, he was powerful; he was ruthless.

"You look shocked to see me Severus." The figure of Tobias murmured, cocking his head to the side as his eyes swept over his son.

A sneer quickly made an appearance, as Tobias snorted distastefully.

"You look pathetic as ever." He spat. "You're a disappointment to the Snape name, you little weed!" As he was about to take a step forward Snape raised his wand, pointing it at his "father's" face.

Tobias stopped his approach, stepping backwards with his hands raised in surrender; he was still sneering.

He let out a short, cold laugh at Severus' action.

"What are you going to do Snivellus?"

Snape's eyes widened drastically and he heard Sirius hiss regretfully at the name, as if it was painful for him to hear it; an endless reminder of his bullying days. It hurt Severus more. No one but Sam knew exactly how it pained Severus to hear that name; like a knife to the heart.

"Don't call me that!" Snape hissed through his teeth, jabbing his wand in the Boggart's direction.

"You're a disgrace! I wish you'd have never been born you brat!" He said it calmly, but the venom behind his words, and the hate in those stormy eyes hit Severus full in the chest, hard.

"Riddikulus!" He forced out.

The spell performed true to its purpose, despite his warring emotions. The form of his father dwindled to the floor with a nails-against-the-blackboard scream. Finally, in his place, sat a garden gnome, smiling gleefully.

It was then that Sirius stepped forward.

"Evanesco!" He said as he pointed his wand at the gnome; it disappeared in a puff of smoke; gone from existence forever.

Snape took no time to examine his feelings before spinning back to face Sam who was looking worriedly up at him, her thin eyebrows knitted together.

"Sev? Are you alright?" She whispered hoarsely as Severus knelt down next to her.

"Me?" Snape said disbelievingly with a breathy laugh. "I think that it's you we need to be worrying about little one." He said as he pushed a stray hair from her forehead fondly.

Samantha smiled grimly as she took in a calming breath.

"I'm… dealing." She said as her eyes slid to land on Fred.

The look that passed between them in that moment could have set all of the stars out of line and shattered the skies with its intensity.

It was strange. They had known each other a grand total of three days, but felt as if it had been two lifetimes; they knew nothing, but everything at the same time. It was one of those rare occurrences where 'love at first sight' seemed logical; as if they were meant to be. Words weren't needed, they just knew.

Fred leant forwards and buried his face in Sam's hair again, breathing in her fiery scent.

Snape nodded once at a blushing Sam, he brought her free hand to kiss it before squeezing it tightly and then releasing it.

"My goodness." - was the first thing said by any of the spectators. Molly stepped forwards after her words and rested her hand on Severus' bony shoulder. "Severus, I think that it would be best for you to stay here tonight. You're in no state to travel and you are – fairly – safe here."

Molly expected Snape to reject the offer, but just as he was opening his mouth to speak, his black eyes took in the sight of Sam, her eyes closed serenely, drifting off to sleep in the arms of Fred who kept rocking her back and forth soothingly, and in that moment he knew he couldn't oppose. He rubbed his eyes as a wave of fatigue rolled over him

"That would be lovely, thank you Molly."

Molly nodded and disbanded the group of observers and it was agreed that the meeting had ended. They hadn't come to any conclusion, but it looked like they weren't going to any time soon.

Severus left the room with a gentle pat on Fred's shoulder as an ache built up in his chest.

His little girl was growing up.

And he wasn't going to hold her back; because a wise young lady had once told him, that everyone deserved love, so he let Samantha's own words depict her future as he left the room.

Sam's mind was engulfed in darkness; she couldn't see anything, but she felt the pressure of two strong arms supporting her body. She was lulled in and out of consciousness by a swaying movement but she could still hear the short huffs of breath from someone near her.

Abruptly, the swaying stopped and Sam felt herself being lay down gently onto a soft surface, someone slipped her boots off and unclasped her cloak; she was soon encompassed in its familiar scent as it was wrapped around her.

There was a comforting noise as her wand was set down on the night stand next to her and seconds later the bed she was laid on sunk slightly under another weight. After a moment of silence, Sam felt soft fingertips hesitantly trace the curve of her cheekbone and she shivered under their warm touch; this went unnoticed by the person in her presence.

The touch disappeared but the person next to her didn't.

Slowly, they shifted their weight and Sam felt warm breath ghost across her face.

Then Sam felt as if she was dreaming.

A kiss was placed on her slightly open lips. Her breathing hitched noticeably and the person pulled back quickly.

Her eyes fluttered open and she saw Fred looking anxiously down at her.

"Fred –" She whispered.

Fred answered reflexively.

"George actually."

That earned him a mental face-palm.

Sam just broke into a grin; she sat up wearily, dragging her feet underneath her, her cloak fell from her shoulders and pooled around her. She looked Fred in the eyes and watched as he gulped, listened as his breathing became uneven.

"I'm not a fool, Fred." She said huskily.

Fred angled his body towards her slowly, watching attentively as she leant in towards him.

Instinctively, Fred rested his hand on Sam's freckled cheek and sucked in a breath as he felt his nose brush against her cheek. Their lips were centimetres apart and his heart was beating furiously in his chest; Sam's was using her ribs as a climbing frame.

Everything from this moment on would be a mere semblance of the emotions coursing though their veins at the moment when their fantasies became a reality.

Their lips finally touched and Sam whined in the back of her throat in disbelief and happiness. Fred moaned low and breathed in sharply through his nose. It was soft and sweet, nothing lustful or rough; just caring and gentle. She tilted her head to the side, deepening the kiss as Fred's hand caressed her cheek, the other rested on her hip, pulling her closer. Slowly, they fell back onto the bed, Sam lying on top of Fred. Her hair fell in thick curtains either side of her head, spilling onto the mattress, blocking their peripheral vision, but neither needed it; they were encased in their own moment, as Sam's hair shut away the outside world. Her hands balled themselves in the front of Fred's already creased and tearstained t-shirt tugging on it as the hand that had been stroking her cheek buried itself in the soft hair at the base of her neck. The hand on her hip moved to rest on her lower back, pressing her into him as they breathed together and felt together.

Later, Sam would say that no moment could ever live up to the one they had shared in the dingy spare room of Grimauld Place.

Her reason?

She was with the boy she thought she could never have.

!... however; it can't all be sunshine and ranebows (yes, I did spell it wrong for a reason I am on my Dalton high still (Reed and Shane = Rane), I have been listening to the soundtrack compulsively for days :D I just wish that CP Coulter would update sooooonnnnn!)

So yeah it can't all be good forever. But you'll see :)

REVIEW please and lightbabe, I am forever grateful :)

Lots of love from

Alicia

Xxxx