Poles Apart

by Slytherin99

Snape survived, but in a coma. Headmistress McGonagall arranges for a Russian professor to take over teaching potions, but she has some secrets of her own...and that's only the beginning of the story. Post DH, mostly compliant, perhaps AU, with several OCs. Rated M for safety. Chapter 6-10 revised 1/30/15.

3. Chapter 6 to 10

~Chapter 6~

After Sir Petto had finished with his work on Ana's shoulder, Poppy handed her a vial of Dreamless Sleep potion, which she accepted reluctantly. Making a face at the tiny bottle, she glanced over at the old wizard as he hummed a tune under his breath, opening his tool box and selecting the tools he needed.

"Go ahead, take it. It's only a half dose," Poppy said, watching as she drank the contents, "I didn't want to give you too much, not with your accident. But then again, you shouldn't have much trouble sleeping, not with how exhausted you look."

Ana nodded, already feeling a bit sleepy anyway. She figured that she didn't have long until the Dreamless Sleep put her under for the night, even though the sun hadn't set yet. She turned toward the table at the window, watching Sir Petto tinker with her prosthetic arm.

"Hmm…" He mumbled, half to himself, as he examined the slender cables that closed the fingers of the prosthetic hand, "looks like you've broken two of the flexor cables here…and this looks like…porcelain dust?"

"I…slipped in my bathroom, I remember that…" Ana blushed, looking down at her right hand in her lap uncomfortably. "I might have tried to catch myself on the sink. It…it's kind of fuzzy."

"You did, dear." Minerva said, gently patting her on the arm. "Seems you broke a big hunk out of the rim of it, too."

"Oh, dear…" She replied, really embarrassed now. Her eyelids seemed to be getting heavier, and she was fighting to keep her eyes open.

"No matter, dear. A quick Reparo, and it's good as new. Not to worry."

"But I…hurt the castle…" Ana slurred, the Dreamless Sleep beginning to take effect. "Мне больно Хогвартс ... Мне так жаль ... Прости ... Я просто ... не могу держать глаза открытыми ... Директриса ..." Her words gradually faded to soft murmurs, her eyelids fluttering as she struggled to stay awake. Slowly, her breathing deepened, her body relaxing.

For a while, Minerva stood by the bed, watching her, then walked around to where Sir Petto was working.

"Sir Petto," She asked, "how long will it be until she might have her arm back? Is the damage very extensive?"

"No more than two weeks, Headmistress." He smiled, dabbing at his forehead with his hanky. "I think I may need to apparate back to my shop for a few parts, such as motors…they were shorted out by the water. Perhaps ten days, I should have it in perfect working order again."

"Well, if we can do anything here to help, let us know."

"Don't worry, Headmistress." Sir Petto smiled. "I'll take good care of her. I always have, you know."

ooOoo

When Ana woke the next day, Poppy told her that she would be allowed to walk around in the corridors of the Hospital wing, so long as she did not leave it. Putting on a pair of slippers and a terrycloth robe that one of the assistant Healers brought her, she cautiously ventured out into the hallway. She was acutely aware of the empty left sleeve of the robe hanging uselessly beside her as she walked down the hall. Stopping in the hallway, she carefully tucked the offending sleeve into the sash of her robe, an awkward process given that she had to do it one-handed. Giving Severus' room a wide berth, she walked around to the South side of the Hospital, into the waiting room for visitors that had a breathtaking view of the lake.

"Lovely view; isn't it." Severus Snape said softly from a wheelchair in a corner of the waiting room.

Ana jumped, giving a squeak of panic as she quickly turned her left side away from him, bumping into a chair and nearly knocking it over as she backed toward the door.

"Oh, please desist, Professor Romanov." He sighed in exasperation. "I'm not going to bite you."

"I…I don't…I'm sorry…"

"Now you are making no sense at all, Professor Romanov. I'm actually quite happy to see you."

"You are?" Ana asked, puzzled at such uncharacteristic behavior from Snape.

"Indeed. Minerva tells me that you spent a great deal of time…reading to me, trying to get me to wake up. I just wanted to say…thank you."

"I…all I did was…read to you…talk to you, sir." She said hesitantly, her voice unsteady. "I…well, I don't…um…Извините, я действительно должен идти."

Abruptly, Ana fled the room, leaving him sitting there in his wheelchair, a confused expression on his face.

She didn't stop until she reached her hospital room, slamming the door shut behind her. Crossing the room to her bed, she climbed in, pulling the sheets up over her head, trembling violently. As time passed, the shaking eased, until she felt calmer. Relaxing on the bed with a sigh, she stared up at the ceiling, lost in thought.

He thanked me; she mused, and then smiled to herself, a tiny, fragile smile. Severus Snape actually thanked me. I should mark this day on my calendar.

Doesn't mean that he wants me around, that's for sure.

The next day, after Poppy examined her, she was cleared to move back to her rooms. Relieved, Ana chose to floo directly there, just to be safe. She still felt that it was best that she avoid Severus, and until Sir Petto brought her arm back, she didn't want to chance an encounter with one of the other staff members in the halls.

ooOoo

"It's only two weeks until the other professors begin returning from summer holiday for conference and planning, Poppy. Will Severus be able to walk by then?"

"He's still very weak, Minerva." Poppy sighed. "It's not that his muscles are that atrophied due to the coma; they really aren't in bad shape at all. For some reason, the venom seems to have some residual effects on his nervous system. It's unpredictable. Every day, he gets a bit stronger, but he can't even stand up on his own yet, and some days we seem to actually lose progress."

Minerva sat quietly at her desk, considering what Poppy had said.

"This will be quite a problem if he's teaching Potions." Said the Headmistress. "If he can't move around the room, or stand up, it will be difficult for him."

"He could use a wheelchair." Poppy pointed out. "But then, he would wear his hands raw rolling it around in short order."

"True."

"What if we owled Sir Petto? Perhaps he could rig something up to move the wheelchair."

"Send him an owl, then." Minerva said, tapping a finger on her desk idly. "Perhaps he could come up with a solution. I'm sure Severus would be much happier with more freedom of movement."

"Have you found a professor to teach Defense Against the Dark Arts?"

"No…and we're running out of time. We lost so many in the war, and there have been very few applicants so far. None of them are very qualified."

"Why not Severus?" Poppy said, leaning forward in her chair. "You know how well qualified he is."

"You know why." Minerva sighed. "Oh yes, the Ministry cleared him of any charges, awarded him the Order of Merlin, praised him in public…yet people whisper hateful things behind his back. He made far too many enemies in the Ministry, Poppy. You know how Severus is, he doesn't kiss their backsides and he's far too honest for their comfort."

"A pity."

"Indeed." Nodded the Headmistress.

The two witches sat there together for a long time, just thinking about the situation, not saying a word. After a while, Poppy looked over at Minerva, pursing her lips in thought.

"She's going to leave us soon, as soon as he's able to teach again." Poppy said softly. "I don't know why, but Ana's afraid of him. The other morning, I put him in the waiting room while his bed was being changed. She happened to wander in there, came out like the devil himself was after her. Hid in her room the rest of the day."

Minerva sighed deeply, leaning back in her chair.

"I've had about enough of this nonsense." Said the Headmistress, getting up and moving toward the door of her office.

ooOoo

"I beg your pardon?" Severus said, one eyebrow raised warily.

"You heard me." The Headmistress said quietly. "I want to know if you would teach DADA this year, until we find a permanent professor for the class."

"So…you are offering me the DADA position."

"No, I did not say that I was offering you the position. I asked if you would teach it until we found a suitable professor."

"Then I refuse." He said coldly, rolling his chair away from her. Minerva followed him as he wheeled himself to his room in the Hospital wing.

"Severus, you are being completely unreasonable!" She snapped, closing the door behind them. "You know the situation. I can't just offer you the position; the Board of Regents would never approve it!"

"Tsk, tsk. Where's their sense of civic duty?" He hissed bitterly. "Hire the handicapped and all that rubbish."

He wheeled his chair back toward the door, only to find her standing there, blocking his way out. Glaring at her sullenly, he sighed in frustration, crossing his arms across his chest.

"Listen to me," Minerva said, "I am trying to get you the position that you have wanted for years. You are the best qualified person by far to teach this subject."

"And just how do you propose to do that?" He said, crossing his arms and glaring up at her.

"By using my administrative privilege as Headmistress to reassign you to teach the DADA course instead of Potions." She said. "The Board of Regents can't do anything as long as it's a reassignment. They don't have to approve it, and they can't override it. As long as I can prove that I can't find a suitable applicant to hire, they have to go along with it. You just teach, try to stay out of trouble, and eventually I might be able to convince the Board to approve of you being the DADA Professor."

"So…who will teach Potions?" He asked softly, barely concealing his interest.

Got you, Minerva thought triumphantly.

"Oh, I'll find someone, don't you worry." She smirked. "You just work on getting well. You now have two weeks until the students arrive, and you need to get ready to teach DADA."

"Just don't hire Markus Slyzanany." Severus said sourly. "The man is a moron. You'd be better off with Neville Longbottom."

ooOoo

"It…it's just like new." Ana said softly, flexing the fingers on her artificial arm experimentally.

"Nearly like new." Sir Petto smiled, patting her gently on her back. "I replaced all of the cables, tinkered with it a bit to adjust the action, and balanced it a bit better. Should feel almost like your right arm now."

She smiled at the old wizard warmly. He'd made her first arm, after she'd recovered from her injuries enough to have one fitted.

"Oh! I almost forgot, silly me." He exclaimed. "I put something special in. Here, try running your arm's fingers over this bit of sandpaper."

When Ana did, she was astonished. As she touched her man-made fingers to the rough surface, her face lit up, reflecting first amazement, then joy.

"I…I can feel it! The grains of sand on it!" She looked up at him, her grey eyes wide with wonder. "How…?"

"Sensors, they call them. Something they came up with working on the Muggle version of prosthetics." Sir Petto explained, enthusiasm bubbling in his voice. "I used magic to make the connections, but they work wonderfully. Soon they expect to have artificial skin, even."

"Skin…" she said softly, gazing down on her shiny metal artificial hand. "I could look…normal again."

"Oh, now, Ana," He huffed. "Don't you start up with that again. You're a beautiful young witch who had an unfortunate event happen to you. It didn't change who you are."

"But-"

"Hush, young lady." He said, holding his finger up to her lips. "The Headmistress and Poppy have told me all I need to know about what is going on around here. I've put that together with my own observations, and I want to tell you something. Just listen, and then think about it. I don't need you to reply.

She nodded mutely.

"When I first saw you in the hospital, you were broken. The arm was nothing; I've made hundreds of them. Be glad that you don't have to wear a Muggle prosthesis, dreadfully crude things. But your spirit was broken. And not by the war, not by the Death Eaters, but by you."

"But I never-" She protested.

"Hush, now." Sir Petto said sharply, putting his finger to her lips. "Now, young lady, you know that I know you better than just about anyone else, right?"

She silently nodded, closing her mouth obediently and biting her lip.

"You broke yourself, just as surely as a blacksmith breaks a defective sword on his anvil." He said, leaning forward, his blue eyes sharp and piercing. "We got you fitted for your arm, got you rehabilitated, and you seemed fine for a long time after that. So…what changed? What made you start doubting yourself again?"

Ana began to open her mouth to speak, but he held up his finger to her lips again, hushing her.

"Now, I told you, I don't want, nor do I need you to answer my questions. You need to think about it a while, consider it carefully. You're a bright witch, one of the most promising witches I've ever had the pleasure to be acquainted with in my lifetime. You know how much I care about you, and that I have your best interests at heart. Now, in the days ahead, you'll have to make some decisions about your future. I'd like you to do one thing for me."

"What…is that?" She said hesitantly.

"If you are offered a job here, a permanent one," he said, "I recommend that you accept it."

"I…" She looked down, unsure of what to say.

"Ana, look at me." Sir Petto said kindly, taking her chin and gently raising her eyes to his own. "I think that the Headmistress is going to offer you a job soon, a full professorship. I've known Minerva McGonagall a long time. Take it. Have courage."

"But Professor Snape-"

"Oh, don't worry about him, dear. His bark is far worse than his bite, I can assure you."

ooOoo

"I would like to offer you the position of Potions Professor." Minerva said, leaning back in her chair. "I'm very pleased with your work. Not just anyone could have picked up another professor's class with only three weeks left to go and managed as well as you did. Frankly, I looked over the final grades for your classes, and several students actually improved somewhat in the final weeks."

Ana sat stiffly in her chair, nervously picking at an imagined flaw in the new glove that covered her artificial hand.

"What about Professor Snape?" She said uneasily, trying to keep her face neutral. "Won't he be angry to be replaced?"

"Oh, I think he won't mind." The Headmistress smiled. "You see, he will be doing something that he's wanted to do for years-teaching Defense Against the Dark Arts. We'll finally have someone who knows something about the subject teaching it."

"Oh…" Ana said, at a loss. Part of her urged her to run away, to pack her things and head back to France immediately. "I don't think this…"

Have courage. His bark is worse than his bite. Echoed in her mind, the last thing that Sir Petto had said to her before returning to Milan.

"I beg your pardon?" Minerva said, a puzzled frown on her face as she peered over the top of her reading glasses at Ana.

Realizing her faux pas, Ana quickly recovered, putting her most diplomatic smile on.

"I meant to say, Headmistress, I accept." Her smile faltered a bit when something occurred to her.

"Um, Headmistress…" She said hesitantly, "where will Professor Snape be living if I take the Potions position? I'm fairly certain that he won't want to leave the dungeons. Those quarters have been his for years."

"Severus will stay in his quarters that are adjacent to the Potions Storeroom and his private potions lab." Minerva said briskly. "New quarters will be set up for you, connected to the Potions classroom and storeroom."

"WHAT?" Ana said, springing up from her seat. "That's never going to work, Minerva! I…um, that will put us practically living together! It is completely inappropriate! The students-"

"Calm down, Ana. He will have no access to your living quarters, and you will have no access to his. I'm sure that you two can work out some kind of schedule for him to access the storeroom when he needs to get ingredients. We'll be building you a private potions lab as well. It will be lovely, you'll see. Since your lab will be on an outside wall of the castle, we should be able to put some windows in…"

Ana sat down weakly, unable to say anything more. She had been neatly trapped.

ooOoo

Ana deliberately arrived at the Great Hall with only minutes to spare before the Welcoming Feast was to begin, determined to minimize her time spent around Severus. He was already seated at one end of the staff table, deeply involved in conversation with Professor Flitwick, the topic evidently being his new wheelchair. She glanced up and down the length of the staff table, her heart sinking when she saw that the only seat available for her was on the right of Severus.

Черт возьми в ад, she thought. Why is my luck always so bad?

Gritting her teeth, she made her way through the crowd of students milling around as they found their seats. It wasn't difficult, as only the first-years were unacquainted with her, and the older students quickly shooed them out of her way, giving her uneasy glances. He didn't even look up at her until she got to the table.

"Professor Romanov," Snape said in his silky voice, "How good of you to join us for the Welcoming Feast. I must say, I thought you would be back at Beauxbatons by now."

"Good evening, Professor Snape." She replied curtly, sitting down in the sole remaining chair, pointedly scooting it a bit farther away from Snape, who smirked at her obvious discomfort. Ana gritted her teeth and fumed silently, fighting down the temptation to hex him.

Minerva walked up to the podium to address the students, casting a charm to amplify her voice and project it throughout the Great Hall.

"Welcome, everyone. We begin a new year, and hopefully a new era here at Hogwarts, full of hope and free of the Dark Lord. There is much damage, but we are rebuilding, and we will go on, for this is Hogwarts, and we will endure.

"With the exception of the new students, we know our teachers, with the exception of these changes.

"Professor Severus Snape will be temporarily taking over the duties of our former Defense Against the Dark Arts professor, the late Remus Lupin."

Snape allowed himself the slightest of smirks, even though Minerva had cautioned him to appear as if he were unwilling to take the position publicly.

Thus another Head of Hogwarts begins to manipulate me, once again, He sighed in disgust. No matter. It is the story of my life.

I wonder who she has hired to blow up cauldrons and endanger students in my Potions classroom for the coming school year…

As the Headmistress droned on, naming one fallen professor after another, and their replacement, Severus picked up his cup to take a sip of tea.

"Professor Anastasiya Romanov will be taking over as the new instructor for Basic and Advanced Potions…"

Severus choked on his tea, nearly dropping the cup and saucer. Professor Flitwick pounded him on the back as he coughed violently, struggling to regain his composure.

Ana sat perfectly still, her eyes on the crowd of students before her, though under her calm façade she was trembling with fear.

ooOoo

The howlers began to arrive almost immediately, with nearly thirty reaching Minerva's office before the tower clock struck eleven.

"Headmistress McGonagall! How on earth could you allow Severus Snape to teach again, much less an important subject like Defense Against the Dark Arts! I am making arrangements to remove my son Brian-"

"Inciendio." The Headmistress said, pointing her wand at the offending Howler. It burst into flames with a yelp, dissipating in a cloud of ashes.

"What about the others, Headmistress?" Mr. Filch asked, holding up a burlap bag full of struggling, cursing Howlers.

"Burn them, Mr. Filch." She said coolly. "We should see a few more, and then they will drop off. I don't think there are that many people who despise Severus."

ooOoo

Ana rubbed her temples, and then sighed deeply. The headache that had started after lunch had only gotten worse as the day had worn on. She Accio'd a headache potion from the storeroom, the bottle of silvery blue liquid leaping to her hand. She'd spent most of the day inventorying the stocks of ingredients, making a list on parchment of the items she'd need to order to prepare for the term.

I must admit, this arm is quite good. She thought, looking down at the vial she held in her gloved artificial hand. Uncapping the vial and downing the potion, she turned back to her list. At least, I'm finding it a lot easier to use it for magic. The old arm, I might have broken the vial when I caught it.

The door to the hallway swung open as she was writing a particularly detailed part of her list, painstakingly checking it against her planned potions she was to teach the first month. Whoever it is can wait a moment, she thought irritably, biting her lip in concentration as her quill scratched out the last few words.

"May I help you?" She said wearily, setting her quill down and looking up, startled to hear the locks on the classroom door snap home in their mortises.

Severus sat before her desk in his wheelchair, hands folded in his lap.

"We need to talk, Professor Romanov."

ooOoo

Author's notes: So many kind reviews! Thank you, everyone.

"Мне больно Хогвартс ... Мне так жаль ... Прости ... Я просто ... не могу держать глаза открытыми ... Директриса ..." = "I hurt Hogwarts...I'm so sorry...I'm sorry...I just...cannot keep my eyes open...Headmistress..."

Having been around people who are under the influence of drugs similar to Dreamless Sleep potion, they do get a bit loopy.

"Извините, я действительно должен идти." = "Excuse me, I really must go now."

"Черт возьми в ад.." = "Damn it all to hell."

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

~Chapter 7~

Ana sat completely still at her desk in the Potions classroom, her eyes wide, scarcely daring to breathe. A million things seemed to run through her mind, all at once.

"How did you lose your arm?" Snape asked, his voice neutral.

Not exactly what I expected him to want to talk about, she thought, completely thrown off balance.

"In 1996, I…was teaching at Beauxbatons." She said uncomfortably, unable to meet his eyes. "In October, there was a Death Eater raid on the school itself. They used Fiendfyre on…some of the buildings, including the student dormitories. We fought them off successfully, though we suffered heavy casualties."

"I know."

"Were you there?" She said, almost making it an accusation, anger beginning to stir in her. He'd been a Death Eater, but it was only just now that she had even considered that he might have taken part in the raid in France.

"I heard about it after it happened. I assure you, Professor, that my duties for Headmaster Dumbledore and," He paused, making a face, as if the words were bitter, "…the Dark Lord kept me close to them. "I don't think I left the country more than a few times, and hardly ever traveled to France. Any part of it."

"Anyway," He sighed, "you still have yet to answer my original question."

"Ah…yes." She said nervously. "I…was burned. My arm…they had to…amputate it."

"Burned by Fiendfyre?" Severus said, genuine shock on his face. "I'm surprised that you're still alive. How on earth did you survive?"

"Sheer luck, I suppose. We…we'd already driven off the Death Eaters when…when it happened."

She stopped there, unwilling to go on, not wanting to relieve the events that haunted her dreams most nights.

I couldn't help them, she thought, a shudder running through her. The screams that still haunt my dreams most nights, those poor children.

Her reverie was interrupted by Snape clearing his throat.

"Are you alright, Professor?" He asked, arching an eyebrow.

"I suppose we need to talk about when you can access the storeroom," she said curtly, ignoring his question. She didn't feel like discussing it any further. "I see no problem with you using it any time of day or night, so long as you do not interrupt my classes."

"That's quite generous of you." He replied dryly. "I assure you, I will not be bothering you. I have my own classes to teach. At the same time, I will still be handling the brewing of…certain potions for the Hospital wing, as the senior Potions Master here."

Ana sat absolutely still in her chair, outwardly showing none of the anger that seethed within her after his last statement. Of all the nerve! She thought angrily, gritting her teeth. He's just as…no even more infuriating than I remember!

ooOoo

The days crept by slowly, agonizingly so for Ana. Every day, it seemed that she could not avoid seeing Severus at least three times a day, often having to talk to him. She did her best to make sure other people were around, but with living literally just across the potions classroom from him, it was nearly impossible to avoid him.

On nearly an equal basis, they shared the task of brewing potions for the Hospital Wing, with Poppy dividing her requests between them. It became a contest of sorts between them, with Ana striving to outdo Severus on quality and effectiveness. While she struggled at times to do as well, he gradually began to admire her spirit, as well her work.

Her ability in the classroom eclipsed his. While at first he felt somewhat jealous of how the students seemed to more readily respond to her, he had to admit that she ran a well-disciplined classroom, with few accidents and with most of the students improving their work. She seemed tireless, filling what little time she had between classes with research in her private lab, stolidly ignoring him for the most part.

By the time two weeks of this had passed, Ana was nearly a nervous wreck, struggling to hide her seething emotions as best she could. As bad as the days were, the nights were the worst part; now he haunted even her dreams, causing her to awaken more often than not with her legs entangled in her sheets, his name on her lips, clutching a pillow tightly to herself.

Finally, she resorted to taking Dreamless Sleep potion before bed, in order to gain some relief. At the end of a week, she skipped her nightly dose to give her system a rest and avoid addiction; the vivid dreams returned with a vengeance. That morning, she actually dozed off at the breakfast table when Professor Flitwick was talking to her, drawing a sharp reprimand from the Headmistress. Embarrassed at the public scolding, she glanced at Severus for just a moment; he was carefully avoiding her eyes, his expression neutral as he sat at the end of the table in his wheelchair.

This order of affairs continued for another week, with Ana finding no relief.

ooOoo

Ana was reading in her bedroom, hoping it might help her sleep, when she ran across something in an article in Potions Monthly on interactions between belladonna and foxglove that didn't quite ring true. After thinking on it for a bit, and not being able to put her finger on what the problem was, she sighed irritably, got out of her bed, and donned bathrobe and slippers. As she walked down the short hallway that led to the potions classroom, she gathered her hair into a loose ponytail, securing it with a clip.

I think I'll summon a house elf, she thought. Perhaps some warm milk might help. Or maybe some medi-chocolate, or some hot cocoa.

Bennett's Lexicon of Plant and Fungi… I'm pretty sure I left it on my desk this afternoon, it should have the information I need.

As she reached her desk, she heard an odd sound, one she couldn't identify right away. Puzzled, she stood quietly and listened, her brow furrowed in concentration.

After a moment, she realized that what she was hearing was someone calling for help. Severus, she thought in alarm, moving to the door that connected his rooms with the Potions classroom. Pulling her wand from her sleeve, she unwarded and unlocked the door to his quarters, then opened it.

"Severus?" She called into the sitting room. A fire still burned in the fireplace, a bottle of firewhiskey and a glass still sat on the table beside the armchair. She wrinkled her nose disapprovingly as she eyed the bottle of firewhiskey.

"In here." She heard him call, his voice weak, full of pain and resignation. She walked quickly toward the hall, glancing into a room with an open door. His bedroom, covers turned down, but he wasn't there. His wheelchair sat empty by the only remaining door, which was probably...

The bathroom, she sighed. The gods have seen fit to torment me further. He's naked, no doubt, the pervert.

She cautiously opened the door.

"Severus? Are you alright?"

"No." He replied weakly, his voice tight and strained.

She cautiously peeked around the door. He lay on the floor, half wedged between the tub and the sink, where he had fallen getting out of the tub. He had a towel haphazardly wrapped around his waist, thought it wasn't entirely effective.

"Um, where might I find your robe?" She asked, certain that her face was red as a beet.

Don't be so silly, you've already seen everything. She chided herself, but that only served to redden her cheeks further.

"Back of the door, over there." He whispered, his teeth chattering slightly as he shivered.

She opened the door, and then closed it partway to retrieve his robe from the hook, stepping carefully to avoid slipping on the wet floor herself. Kneeling next to him, she carefully slipped the robe around him, covering him up.

"Do you think you can stand, if I help you?" She asked, tying his sash. "Your wheelchair is only a few steps away. I can use a light levitation spell if that will make it easier."

He reached out and grasped her left hand. Ana froze in shock. Because of the newly installed sensors, she could feel the warmth of his hand on her comparatively cool artificial hand, and it was a most unsettling sensation. She'd taken her glove off for the evening, and now he held the bare metal of her hand, turning it this way and that, examining it closely.

She was trembling, fighting the urge to flee the bathroom, her cheeks aflame with embarrassment and panic. No one had ever touched her bare prosthesis; it was all she could do not to snatch it away from him.

The sensors that Sir Petto added definitely need some adjusting, she thought, squirming uncomfortably. They are far too sensitive for me.

Are they? The little voice again, mocking her.

"I…I'm sorry." Severus said, releasing her prosthetic hand, which she immediately snatched back, holding it to her chest with her right hand as if she had to protect it.

"I was just curious." He said gently. "I've never seen any of Sir Petto's work, though I've read a great deal about it. I frightened you, and I apologize for that. I should have asked permission first."

Have courage. Sir Petto's words, again, coming back to her as she bit her lip nervously.

Ana found herself, as if in a dream, extending her left hand out to Severus. For a moment, he looked surprised, and then gently took it in his.

"You startled me." She said shyly, unable to look at him for long. "Sir Petto…he did some work on it recently. It's a prototype, of sorts…the Muggles have developed touch-sensitive sensors, and he added them."

"Really?" He said, genuine wonder in his voice. "How remarkable."

He ran his slender fingers over her artificial hand.

To Ana, the effect was electric, hundreds of sensors overloading her nervous system with sensory input. She nearly yanked her hand away from him, sitting up with a sharp gasp, but forced herself to be still.

"I…I'm not sure the sensors are tuned perfectly." She blushed. "I'm a bit sensitive to the inputs, I guess."

He smiled, and that was nearly as bad as when he touched her artificial hand. Completely unsettling.

He's touching me, she thought, her mind seemingly in a fog. It's been so long since he touched me…

Ana felt a bit warm. She could hear him saying something, but it wasn't quite registering. She forced herself to pay attention.

"-get up, if you could help me a bit." He said.

"Oh. Right." She said, feeling a bit fuzzy inside. She helped him up, sliding his left arm around her shoulders so she could support him effectively.

This is a pretty good fit here, me under his arm, she thought as she helped him to the door, and his wheelchair. Very comfortable, almost like-

What am I thinking? She chastised herself. Struggling to put such thoughts out of her head, she took a deep breath to calm herself.

"What are you doing?" He asked irritably when she started gently running her fingers through his hair, examining his head.

"Checking for injuries." She snapped back, glad that he was acting more like himself. She wasn't sure if she could handle him being nice to her. It was too…nice. It made her think of things that were completely inappropriate and rather unprofessional. Finding a small gash over his right eye, she frowned, bending down over him to examine it closely.

She pulled out her wand, murmuring "Lumos." A bright light appeared at the tip of her wand and despite his protests; she used it to examine his pupils for any signs of neurological injury, quickly checking their reaction and size.

"How do you feel?" She asked, extinguishing the light on her wand. When she looked back at him, he just looked back at her, an odd expression on his face.

Too close, she thought, far too close…

Feeling his hand come up behind her head and pull her down to him, his lips meeting hers. She didn't resist, closing her eyes and giving in to the kiss, her wand dropping from her hand to clatter to the floor as she put her hands on his broad shoulders. It was tentative, shy, and oh, so pleasant, making the fog even worse in her mind.

Déjà vu…Oh, Merlin…he's just as good as I remember... She shivered, feeling as if her body were melting, collapsing down to settle in his lap, her arms snaking around his neck as she deepened the kiss hungrily.

Oh gods…I've wanted this for so long…

After some time-she had no idea how long-he broke off the kiss, turning his head away with a soft sigh.

"Um…I should floo Poppy," she said nervously, looking away, blushing. Then she realized…

"Oh, Merlin! Your legs, Severus!" She jumped up from his lap. "Did I hurt you? Are you alright?"

"No, I'm…fine." He replied.

"We'd better get you to your bed and floo Poppy. She needs to take a look at that bump on your head and-"

"I said, I'm fine, Ana. It's nearly midnight; Poppy went to bed two hours ago. Let her sleep."

"But-"

"Ana, I am quite familiar with the symptoms of a concussion." Severus smirked. "I've had a few of them, and I'm fairly sure that I don't have one now."

He rolled the wheelchair into his bedroom, after Accioing a dry towel to finish drying off there. Ana followed behind him, wrapping her terrycloth robe around herself just a bit tighter and retying the sash.

I kissed Snape, she thought numbly, touching her lips with her fingers. Again.

When he reached the bed, he took the towel and began drying his hair. She looked around, suddenly uncomfortable with the intimacy of the situation.

I'm in his bedroom…oh, gods. Does he expect…

"Professor Romanov, if you don't mind, please use your training in Occlumency." He sighed. "You're fairly well shouting your thoughts at me. It's a bit distracting."

"Oh." She said, blushing harder now.

"I assure you, I am not feeling nearly strong enough for anything beyond the bit of snogging we just enjoyed partaking in. Not yet, at least."

He Accio'd a hairbrush from his dresser and began to calmly brush his hair.

Oh, Merlin! Ana thought in alarm, her hands flying to her face as she perched nervously on his bed.

When he had finished drying and brushing his hair, he sent the brush back to the dresser, then looked at her expectantly.

"If you don't mind, I will need your…assistance in dressing for bed. My nightshirt is right there beside you on the bed."

"I'm not sure this is proper-"

"Professor Romanov," he said patiently, "I assure you, I have no intentions of taking advantage of this situation. But I do need some help getting up out of this infernal contraption, and with putting on my nightclothes."

"Besides," He smirked, "You've seen everything I have to offer."

What cheek! Ana thought angrily, hopping down from the bed.

She helped him up from the chair, and then removed his robe. He had removed the towel somehow, so she found herself blushing again, resolving to look no lower than the middle of his chest as she retrieved his nightshirt to slip it over his head. As he leaned on her for support, he turned to the bed, using a nonverbal spell to turn down the covers neatly, even plumping up the pillows.

Ana felt a twinge of envy; she'd always wished that she could be half as good as he was at nonverbal magic. She helped him into the bed, pulling the covers up to his chest. He caught her hand, and she gasped in shock, looking at him warily.

"Stay here with me." He said quietly, his dark eyes on hers.

"Severus, I-"

"It's Saturday morning. As long as we're up by seven, no one will be the wiser."

"I…"

"Confound it, woman!" He snapped, and then sighed deeply. "You were concerned that I might have a concussion. Why don't you just spend the night here, in my bed, right where you can keep an eye on me? I promise to behave myself. While some parts may be willing, my body is too weak for anything other than sleep right now."

He released her hand. Ana looked at him for a long moment, then slowly walked around to the other side of the bed and removed her robe.

I can't believe I allowed him to talk me into this, she thought, climbing into the bed. I said I'd never do this again.

She tugged the hem of her nightgown down so it covered her legs better, and checked the buttons on the front to make sure they were buttoned all the way up.

"Nox," she whispered, dousing the lights and setting her wand on the bedside table before lying down, making sure there was plenty of room between them.

For a long time, all she could hear was his steady breathing, the normal night sounds of the castle around them. The steady ticking of the grandfather clock in his study down the short hallway. She shifted slightly, moving to get more comfortable. She was lying on her side, he on his back. With a sigh, she closed her eyes, trying to calm her mind so she could sleep.

Porto-Pollo beach, in Corsica, she thought. That's where it happened, back in 1996, before the Second Wizarding War began.

Oh, Merlin…

ooOoo

May 30, 1996, Porto-Pollo, France~

"Well, if it isn't the lovely Miss Romanov."

She sat up quickly, grabbing her wand and pointing it at the man who stood there, the sun at his back. Ana couldn't tell who it was right off; she'd taken off her sunglasses to work on her tan, lying on her tummy in a secluded part of the beach. Squinting, she began to make out more of the man's features. Tall, lean, all whipcord muscle covered with faint scars, longish black hair, hawk nose, black eyes…Snape. She groaned inwardly, biting her lip.

Дерьмо! She thought with no small amount of disgust. Of all the people I could run into while on vacation…

"What do you want, Professor Snape?" She asked icily, lowering her wand. "And by the way, it's Professor Romanov now. I just finished my graduate work, earning my doctorate in Potions, as well as my P.M. title. I think you could be more respectful. Why are you here, anyway?"

"I came here on holiday," He smirked, crossing his arms. "A brief respite before having to face…my students this fall. Right now, I'm just admiring some…rather lovely scenery."

Ana stared at him for a moment, somewhat puzzled, and then felt a breeze caress her torso as she sat there. Slowly, with a sinking feeling, she realized that she had taken her top loose to tan her back, and it now dangled uselessly between her breasts. Which were in plain view, her pinkish nipples becoming erect in the cool breeze coming inland from the Mediterranean Sea. Blushing furiously, she struggled to put her top on, cursing under her breath in Russian, acutely aware of him smirking at her as he turned away to allow her to cover herself.

Дерьмо, she thought irritably, as she reached behind her to tie the strings. Of all things to happen to her, why this, why now?

"What do you want?" She repeated, her embarrassment turning to anger, lending heat to her words. "I came down here because I wanted some privacy."

"Please, Professor." Snape said, spreading out his hands in a gesture of supplication. He was wearing a loose, thin linen shirt and black swim trunks that were making it difficult for Ana to keep her eyes above his waist level.

He's really in good shape for his age, she thought, realizing that she'd never seen him dressed in anything other than his trademark black robes.Her eyes followed the thin trail of hair from his chest downward, down the flat stomach with the hints of abs, to the waistband of his trunks…

"Professor Romanov?"

"What?" She said, snapping out of her trance.

"I asked you, 'would you like to have lunch with me?" He smirked, fully aware of her problem. "The sun is getting rather hot, and I think that neither of us wishes to have a sunburn."

She never did go back to the beach that day, spending the rest of it with Severus. The whole experience seemed surreal to her; lunch at a very good Italian restaurant, then shopping in town, ice cream, then dinner. She had to admit, it had been fun.

They'd gone back to his room, ordered champagne, and proceeded to get rather tipsy while watching some movie. By midnight, she was kissing him, his strong arms wrapped around her as she sighed in pleasure.

Ana awakened the next morning in his hotel room, with him comfortably spooned up behind her, wrapped around her like a warm blanket. It felt like the most natural thing in her life. With a sigh, she leaned back into his warmth, closing her eyes.

This can't be real, she thought sadly, caressing his forearm with her finger. I'll wake, and he'll be nasty, snarky, sarcastic Snape again. But just for now…this is nice.

As the rising sun gradually warmed the room, she sighed sleepily, running her hand down his forearm, pausing as her fingers felt something odd. With a frown, she sat up in the bed, rubbing her eyes, and then looked at his arm.

A scar? Ana thought, frowning as she drew the covers off of his arm. A scar might feel lumpy, but it wouldn't have a shape to it, like a brand…

Slowly, her eyes widened in horror, her tummy rolling with a sudden wave of nausea as she let go of the covers.

Her heart pounding in terror, she carefully backed away from him, freezing in place as he rolled over on his back, away from her, taking his left arm away from her. She picked up her wand from the bedside table, watching him closely.

I have to make sure. She thought grimly, grabbing her clothes up, stealthily padding around to the other side of the bed to examine his arm more closely, her wand pointed directly at him with an unsteady hand.

It has to be my eyes playing tricks on me. That's what it is, I'm sure.

Placing her clothes back on the floor, she drew the covers off of his arm again.

Her heart sunk as she saw the Dark Mark, branded into his left forearm.

Mama. Papa. The Razins. Their faces haunted her, urging her to use the wand that trembled in her hand.

You bastard. You despicable, disgusting bastard. You monster.

You're one of them.

You may not have been there, you may not have killed them, but you are one of them. You pledged your allegiance to the Dark Lord.

You used me.

Ana unsteadily raised the wand, the unforgivable forming in her mind, ready to burst from her lips.

"ummm…no." Severus sobbed quietly in his sleep, his face contorting in agony. "No, we mustn't…he's innocent…Albus…I'll do anything…anything…"

Ana was scarcely breathing, the wand trembling in her hand.

What was that all about? She thought, puzzled. Who is he talking about? What are they going to do?

He was sobbing softly, in his sleep, the mumbling unrecognizable now.

Slowly, Ana lowered the wand, standing naked by the bed, her clothing forgotten.

Why can't I kill him?

You know why, whispered an inner voice.

She dressed quietly, then after a pause, retrieved a sheet of parchment and a quill.

I know you are a Death Eater, but chose to spare your life-this time.

If we meet again, I will kill you.

Ana.

She read what she had written, then walked to the bedside table, slipping the note under his wand. With shaky hands, she dressed, warily keeping an eye on him as he slept fitfully.

Walking to the door to leave, she faltered, her hand just touching the doorknob. Slowly, she leaned forward, resting her forehead on the cool wood of the door.

I can't do this, either, she sighed finally.

Walking back to the bedside table, she slid the parchment from under Severus' wand, crumpling it up and stuffing it into her pocket of her blue jeans. Her mouth worked, reflecting the conflicting emotions warring within her.

Hesitating only for a moment longer, she turned and walked to the door, opening it and going out into the hallway, gently closing the door behind her. Turning her back to the door, she weakly leaned against it, tears trickling down her cheeks.

"Goodbye, Severus." She whispered, and then quickly walked away.

ooOoo

"Ana."

She opened her eyes to find him looking at her in the dark bedroom, his arm stretched out toward her.

"Come here," He sighed, "so we might both get some sleep."

Hesitating only for a moment, she moved over next to him, automatically putting her head on his shoulder, her hand coming up to rest on his chest, her slim leg around his. Once there, she gave a quiet sigh of contentment as she felt his arm come around her to pull her closer.

"I don't know if we should…" She whispered faintly, so softly he almost didn't hear it.

"Nonsense. We're adults; we should be able to work this out."

"Severus?"

"Yes?"

"What is…this? What do we call it?" She asked hesitantly, feeling very uncertain.

"We…" He sighed, gathering his thoughts, and then said, "Ana, it's one in the morning. We don't have to call it anything yet. Just take what comes to us, figure it out along the way. Is that good enough for now?"

"Yes," She said, feeling a bit better. Snuggling into him a bit more, she closed her eyes. "I'll take this for now. Good night, Severus."

"Good night, Ana."

ooOoo

Author's notes-

"Дерьмо!" = Shit!

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

Chapter 8~

Something was tickling his nose. He opened his eyes to find a generous amount of auburn hair in his face, most of it in the area of his nose and mouth. Carefully, he brushed it away from his mouth and nose, looking over at her in the early morning light.

Ana was curled around him closely, her head pillowed on his left shoulder, her soft exhalations tickling the side of his neck. She sighed in her sleep, pulling herself closer to him with her artificial arm, her leg still locked around his.

I'm impressed, he thought. She never moved after she lay down with me, not one bit. She must have been tired.

Then he remembered what Minerva had told him, how Ana had spent all that time reading to him, talking to him while he was in a coma.

No wonder she didn't move much last night. She's completely exhausted.

He sighed heavily. I badly need to go to the loo.

Slowly, ever so slowly, Severus worked at extricating himself from the slender woman who had wrapped herself around him like a vine. Being as weak as he was made it rather difficult. He nearly had his leg free of hers when her eyes fluttered open, silvery gray, unfocused at first, then sharpening as she realized where she was.

"Am I dreaming still?" She whispered nervously.

"No," he chuckled. "But all good things must end, and I need to use the loo."

"Oh…Well, I do, too."

"Ladies first." He sighed.

With a tiny smirk, she slid out of bed, grabbing her robe. Sliding on her slippers, she flew to the loo.

With a bit of effort, he got his robe on, and slid out of the bed. Holding onto the footboard, he managed to get into his wheelchair, where he rested for a moment. Though he was feeling stronger with every day that passed, progress was painfully slow.

She came back into the bedroom, her left hand tucked into her bathrobe pocket, shivering.

"Do you need any help, or can you manage?" She asked shyly, a bit of color in her cheeks.

"I've been managing just fine, thank you." He replied, wheeling his chair toward the doorway. "Last night was…I just slipped getting out of the tub. I-"

"You shouldn't be alone." She frowned. "Last night, it was only by chance that I happened to hear you calling out. What if you were to fall again and no one was around to hear?"

"I'm perfectly capable of taking care of myself. I haven't regained my strength yet, that's all."

"I'm staying here with you until you do." She snapped, her cheeks coloring now with anger. "Especially at night. You shouldn't be alone."

"I am not an invalid." Severus hissed back. "One accident does not mean I cannot care for myself."

"If I had not heard you, you would have been lying there on the floor all night!"

"This is pointless," He growled, wheeling his chair toward the loo. "I'm going to go piss."

"You're just as stubborn as you have ever been." She threw after him as he rolled down the hallway.

When he returned to the bedroom, she wasn't there.

Slowly, he dressed for the day. By the time he finished with the last button on his robes, he was exhausted, even having used his wand and magic to fasten the buttons.

Thirty minutes until I need to leave for the Great Hall, for breakfast. He mused idly, rolling his wheelchair to his sitting room. Perhaps I can read a bit.

The door connecting his quarters to the Potions classroom banged open, and Ana briskly walked in, fully dressed for the day in her scarlet and black teaching robes, carrying a black suitcase. With a chilly look in his direction, she lifted her head and walked into his bedroom, slamming the door behind her.

Oh, my. He thought, turning to where he'd left off reading the night before, removing the bookmark-the one with the rose petals-from between the pages. Professor Romanov is displeased with me again, it seems. I may have to get used to this.

ooOoo

He's so infuriating. She fumed, staring into the fire that burned low in his bedroom fireplace. I'm staying here, and that's final. Stubborn, bull-headed, irritating...

As she unpacked her bag, putting her clothes into the wardrobe that she had transfigured from a chair, the flames in the fireplace shifted to green.

"Severus, are you there? I need you to –"Minerva said, and then paused, her eyes widening when she recognized Ana.

Ana turned to the fireplace, feeling herself go from being furious with Severus to absolutely mortified in nothing flat, the clothing in her hands forgotten for the moment as she stared at the face of the Headmistress, feeling her cheeks burning as she blushed.

"Ana?" Minerva said, her green-tinged face blinking in surprise. "Um, is Severus there with you?"

"I…um, Headmistress, Severus is in the sitting room reading, I…" Her voice trailed off, feeling vaguely ill. "I could transfer your floo call there…"

"No need, Ana," Minerva said, trying to keep from smirking. "Just tell Severus that Poppy and I need to talk to him after breakfast. I'll leave you to…whatever it is you were doing when I interrupted you."

The flames shifted from green back to their normal yellows and oranges as the face of the Headmistress vanished.

Ana stood there a moment, rather confused. '…whatever I was doing…' Echoed in her head. Slowly, she looked down at her hands.

She was holding green silk, trimmed in black…a bra and matching panties. Her favorites.

Oh, Merlin…She groaned inwardly, closing her eyes tightly. I'll never live to hear the end of this.

ooOoo

Breakfast in the Great Hall was somewhat chaotic, as a food fight had broken out between the Gryffindors and, of all houses, the Hufflepuffs. Ana arrived late, having to stop at the loo to be sick, her nerves on a raw edge at the thought of facing the Headmistress. She reached her seat just after Hagrid and the Headmistress, along with Filch, had broken up the altercation. Platters of bacon, eggs, toast, fresh fruit, yogurt, along with pitchers of pumpkin juice and carafes of coffee covered the staff table. She poured herself some pumpkin juice and got a piece of toast, not feeling like anything too heavy. Her nerves couldn't handle it this morning.

She was intensely aware of Severus, sitting at the end of the staff table sipping his coffee, involved in a deep conversation with Poppy. He looked up as she reached the table, raising an eyebrow in inquiry. She blushed, slamming up her occlumency shields. There was an empty seat next to him, but she passed it by..

I'm still angry with you. She deliberately sent to him, taking a small amount of satisfaction when he flinched slightly. Caught you off guard, didn't I? Serves you right, you jerk.

Minerva and Hagrid returned to the staff table, the Headmistress still grumbling about the food fight. The burly groundskeeper went over to the empty seat by Severus and sat down; there was a plate already there that he had abandoned with the eggs and sausages had started flying.

"Ana, come sit down." Minerva said with a smirk, taking her by the arm.

"Oh…Headmistress, I was-"She blurted, and then realized that the only seat left was the one that Minerva was guiding her toward, the one next to hers.

Дерьмо, she thought, why me?

"Well, we're a month into the fall term," Said the Headmistress, taking a sip of her tea. "How are your classes going? Any problems?"

"I…um, no, no problems at all," Ana said warily. "Mostly with new students adjusting to the school here, but it's all sorted out."

"And your neighbor?" Minerva said, raising an eyebrow. "Any problems with Severus?"

"N-no…" She said, paling visibly.

The Headmistress leaned forward, casting Silenceo on them, and smiled kindly.

"Ana, if you're worried about what I may have seen this morning, or what I think of it, don't worry. Officially in my capacity as Headmistress, I saw nothing."

"I…I see. Um, and, unofficially?"

"Whatever it is, I approve wholeheartedly." Minerva said gently. "I've known Severus since he was a boy, and you since you…well, your mother, Katerina, was a student of mine. I was there for your christening, when you were only a month old."

"I…I didn't know that you knew my parents…" Ana said, tears welling up in her eyes. She quickly brushed them away, breathing in deeply to calm herself.

"Oh, yes, dear. I didn't know your father, Gregori, that well, but Katerina attended school here at Hogwarts. I taught her in my Transfiguration class."

"So…" Minerva said, taking another sip of tea, "What has you so upset this morning? You looked a bit green when you came in and saw the food."

"Severus…" Ana blushed, twisting her robes hem in her fingers. "He's just so…so-"

"Irritating?"

"Yes. That, and stubborn. He was taking a bath last night and he slipped and fell-"Ana stopped, afraid she'd said too much.

"Go on." Minerva said calmly, watching Ana like a hawk. "Relax. I'm not about to say anything to him; after all, you are telling me this in confidence."

Ana took a breath to calm herself.

"He slipped getting out of the tub. I just happened to be up reading, if I'd been asleep I might not have heard him call out for help…" She paused, unsure whether she should go on.

"Continue."

"Well, I went to his rooms, and found him on the floor next to the bathtub…I helped him up, checked him to make sure he hadn't hurt himself, then…"

Ana looked at the Headmistress.

Please don't make me go on, she thought, blushing deeply.

"So, you spent the night…" Minerva prodded gently, "just to make sure he was alright, yes?"

Ana nodded her head, unwilling to say anything else.

"Look at me." Minerva said, taking her hand gently.

Unwillingly, she did, raising her gray eyes to look at the Headmistress.

"My dear child, you have done nothing wrong. You and Severus are both of age, and if you find happiness together, I will be very happy for you."

"But I…we didn't-"

"Shush." Minerva said, smiling. "All I ask is that you be discreet. What goes on in your rooms, or Severus', is none of my business, or that of anyone else."

Ana nodded mutely.

"One word of advice, dear." Minerva added, patting her on the arm. "Be honest with him, be forgiving, be patient. He needs that."

ooOoo

She was sitting at her desk in the Potions classroom, grading essays from first years-so horrible! Ana set her quill down and rubbed her temples, trying to ease the headache that was already well established. With a sigh, she Accio'd a vial of headache relief potion and yet another bottle of red ink. She'd already used two bottles today; some of the parchments had more red ink on them than black now.

Should I be angry with him? She thought, drinking the potion, then closing her eyes and leaning back in her chair.

Not really, I suppose. He's stubborn and proud, doesn't want to be seen as weak. He's never had anyone he could rely on, no one to stand up for him. He's had to do it all alone.

Just like me. Being angry with him for wanting to be self-sufficient is a bit hypocritical of me.

He has scars, too…all over.

Just like me…

He doesn't know about mine, she thought grimly.

She graded a few more essays, and then threw her quill down in disgust, capping her inkwell.

I'm not being fair with my grading, she thought, taking her wand and vanishing most of the red ink on the stack of parchments. I'm allowing my own problems, my anger to influence it.

I need to go do something, go for a walk perhaps.

She wandered out of the dungeons, walking down the hallway with no particular destination in mind. Eventually, she found herself on the seventh floor of the castle, walking past an odd tapestry. When she stopped to examine it closer, she was astonished that it showed a wizard, surrounded by trolls that were wearing pink tutus.

These English and their odd customs…she thought, shaking her head in disbelief.

Mumbling under her breath in Russian, she aimlessly paced up and down the long hallway, by chance passing by a blank wall several times. Suddenly, there was a grinding, grating sound as stone moved upon stone.

Ana paused, turning to look in the direction of the sound.

A large double door had appeared in the wall, silently swinging inward to reveal a large room.

Curious, she walked in, closing the doors behind her, wand at the ready.

In the center of the room was were several training dummies; to one side was a rack that held several swords. Walking to the rack, she put her wand away and picked up a saber.

Perfectly balanced, she thought with a thin smile as she admired the lethal weapon. Taking a few careful swings to limber up her arm, she advanced on the closest training dummy.

ooOoo

Severus looked annoyed when she showed up late for dinner, scowling at her when she walked in. At least, he looked angry until she sat down next to him; then he just looked somewhat puzzled, then there was no expression at all. Several stray hairs had escaped from her French braid, her cheeks were flushed, and she was breathing a bit rapidly, having run from the room to the Great Hall.

Well, he can just be angry, then, Ana thought with a bit of satisfaction. I had a very pleasant afternoon.

Then she noticed more than one of the staff looking at her appearance, and whispering to each other. Minerva arched an eyebrow, frowning in quiet disapproval. Severus wasn't looking at her at all, his mouth set in a tight line as he cut his roast beef in stony silence.

Suddenly it hit her.

Oh, Merlin...she thought, horrified. Everyone, including Severus, probably thinks I've been off somewhere snogging someone. Я такой идиот ...

What should I do?

The house elves delivered a plate of steaming roast beef, mashed potatoes and vegetables. She was so hungry she dived right in, clearing half her plate in minutes.

"Must have been quite a busy afternoon, Professor." Snape remarked coldly, passing her a napkin. "You have bits of straw in your hair, and now, some potatoes on your chin."

"Oh, thank you, Severus." She said graciously, accepting the napkin and dabbing at her chin.

He sneered and turned back to his meal.

"Severus, I found the most delightful thing!" Ana said, in her cheeriest voice, knowing full well how it would irritate him. "A room to practice swordsmanship in! Training dummies, a full rack of the best quality weapons, everything."

"Sounds like you found the Room of Requirement." He said, pushing his half-full plate away.

"Is that what it is called? It's wonderful."

"Indeed. It provides whatever it believes the user needs." He sighed.

"That's wonderful." She said, smiling brightly at him. I'll be damned if I'm going to allow him to pout on me any longer.

"That's why I was late to dinner," she explained, taking a sip of pumpkin juice. "I got to practicing and lost track of time. It was wonderful."

"You said that once already." He said, one corner of his mouth twitching slightly.

How adorable, she thought. It's almost like he's trying to keep from smiling.

"Will you forgive me?" She whispered, putting her hand on his knee. "I'll forgive you."

He looked at her for a moment, and then nodded his head slightly.

When she turned back to her food, she smirked. Apparently from the conversation buzzing around the staff table, they now had something else to gossip about.

ooOoo

Severus was lying in the bed, reading, when she came in the bedroom. Fresh out of a glorious hot bath, her cheeks were rosy, her hair still a bit damp.

Ana sat down at the vanity that she'd transfigured earlier that evening from an old wooden box, and began to brush her hair, softly murmuring a drying charm as she did.

"It must be a tedious chore, taking care of that much hair." He said, turning the page. She turned to face him.

"I…I started growing it out after I gave you that book mark." She said, hesitantly at first, but gaining courage as she spoke. "I'm not sure why. I guess I thought I looked plain with short hair, that I was…уродско…ugly."

"But you aren't ugly. You…you are beautiful."

Ana said nothing, turning back to the mirror to brush her hair.

Beautiful. She thought, frowning to herself, gathering her hair together to put it up for the night in a loose ponytail.

He's just saying that.

He doesn't know.

Should I show him? Would he turn me away?

He says I'm beautiful. Should I show him how wrong he is?

Would he still think so, after he sees?

Her hand came up to her neck, trembling as her fingers touched the buttons of her nightgown, a sensible flannel one that was buttoned up to her neck.

You're such a coward, she chided herself.

"Severus, are you going to read all night?" She said, putting her hairbrush down and walking over to the bed. "It's almost eleven."

"No, darling." He sighed, putting his bookmark at his place and setting the book on his bedside table. She smiled, getting into the bed.

"Nox," he said with a wave of his hand, extinguishing the lights. He lay down on his back, holding his left arm out flat on the bed in invitation. Ana snuggled up to him, pillowing her head on his arm with a sigh.

"Ana?"

"Yes, Severus?"

"I'm glad you aren't angry with me any longer."

"Have I ever been able to be angry with you very long, witch?"

She shook her head, and then laid it on his shoulder, closing her eyes with a contented sigh.

For a long while, she listened to him breathing, her left hand lightly on his chest.

"Were you jealous this evening at dinner?" She asked softly.

"When you showed up late?"

"Yes. I was irritated."

"You thought I was snogging someone else on the sly, didn't you?"

"Well, you looked like you'd been doing something that took a lot of work-"

Ana playfully slapped him on the chest, eliciting a grunt of pain.

"Oops." She said, chagrined. "Are you okay?"

"Yes," He said, wincing. "I suppose I'm not healed up completely just yet."

"Well, next time perhaps I should use my right hand. I forgot that I have to be a bit more careful with things with my prosthesis."

"Do tell." He sighed. "I heard what happened to your sink in your old quarters."

"Oh…that." She blushed, thankful he couldn't see it in the darkness of their bedroom.

She lay next to him a while, just thinking for a moment.

"Can I ask you something personal?" She said hesitantly.

"Could I stop you?" He sighed. "Go ahead. If I don't want to answer, I'll say so."

"Will you tell me how you got your scars?" She asked, bracing for his refusal.

"Most of them were at the hands of the Dark Lord, or his…minions." He said softly, stroking her back with his left hand. "A few were from my childhood, others from various…accidents, either with potions or foolish ventures on my part."

"Alright. That's all I need to know right now."

"That's it?" He chuckled, surprised. "That's all the questions that you have? I thought you would want to relight the lamps, strip me, and have me explain each mark on my body."

She shook her head, fidgeting with a button on his nightshirt, being careful not to accidentally tear it off.

I really need to have Sir Petto adjust this prosthesis, she thought. I'm not fighting Death Eaters these days.

"I must admit that stripping you sounds rather tempting." She said, sitting up to give him a light kiss. "But I don't believe it's necessary tonight, as we should get some sleep instead. Good night, Severus."

"Good night, Ana…sleep well."

"I hope you sleep well, too."

She lay there a long time, listening to his breathing deepen gradually, until he was sound asleep. She was wide awake, thinking.

He knows about my arm, and he hasn't rejected me, she thought as she lay there next to Severus in the dark.

But what is this? Are we a couple? Friends? Shag buddies?

He hasn't touched me, save to give me hugs and gentle kisses. We haven't gone any farther than that.

I want more than this.

I want more.

I need more.

But…I'm afraid.

"Ana, it's almost one in the morning," Severus mumbled, half asleep. "Go to sleep, darling."

For a moment, her breath caught in her throat. Then she found herself being hugged to him, a gentle, sweet hug, and then his arm relaxed as he drifted back off to sleep. She closed her eyes, snuggling up to his warm body.

I have no idea what to call this yet…but I do like it, she sighed, allowing herself to relax, slowly falling to sleep herself.

ooOoo

Author's notes-

"Дерьмо" = Shit

Я такой идиот = I'm such an idiot

уродско = ugly

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

Chapter 9~

He woke up, rubbing his eyes, his mind still foggy with sleep. Something had awakened him, though it was far too early for his alarm clock to have gone off. Reaching over to the nightstand, he picked it up and squinted at the face. It was just past three o' clock. Setting it back where it was, he looked over at Ana.

She lay on her tummy, her face turned away from him, still asleep. A generous portion of her long auburn hair had escaped her loose braid, spreading across the bed. She'd thrown off the covers, save for what was twisted around her legs, and he didn't see her pillow anywhere.

Yet another restless night for her, he sighed to himself, listening intently.

I know I heard something. If it's that Peeves again, I'll hex him into oblivion.

Then he heard it again. Cocking his head, he leaned over toward Ana slightly. She shifted position slightly, still deeply asleep.

There it was again; the faintest of whimpers. She was dreaming. Or, more accurately, perhaps a nightmare. He sighed.

This won't do, he thought, gently putting his hand on her shoulder to wake her up.

Ana sat up with a gasp that verged on being a cry of terror, and next thing he knew, he was lying on his back, stunned, his cheek stinging from a backhanded slap that made his ears ring. She screamed ferociously, leaping astride him, magic flashing wild and bluish-white in her hand. Severus twisted out of the way just barely in time. As it was, he was nearly blinded by the flash, the crack of the spell echoing loudly in the bedroom. Singed feathers from his pillow, and an acrid haze of smoke floated gently in the air. He rolled back, grabbing hold of her right hand, forcing it away from him.

"Ana! Wake up! It's me, Severus!" He shouted, casting a Protego spell nonverbally on himself, just in case she got her hands free. "Ana! Просыпайся !"

Opening her eyes she paused, her chest heaving, her body trembling as the magic dissipated from her hand, trickling through her fingers like water. She looked down at Severus, at the smoking hole in the pillow-clear through the mattress, in fact-and burst into tears. Slumping against him, she slid her arms around his neck and wept, great shuddering sobs that that seemed torn from her very soul. Cautiously, he put his arms around her, stroking her back, whispering comfort to her as she clung to him tightly.

Well, that was…interesting, in a rather scary way, he thought, listening to her cry.

After a long while, the heartrending sobs had diminished to sniffles and hiccups. Quietly, he held her, slowly stroking her back and hair.

"Feeling better now?" He asked softly; when she raised her head a bit to look at him.

Ana quickly looked away, her eyes shining with fresh tears. She turned her head, laying it on his chest, and shuddered.

"I-I could have k-killed you…" she whispered hoarsely, sniffling. "I nearly-"

"Well, you didn't. I still have good reflexes."

"I'm sorry-"

"Shush." He said, kissing her on the forehead, hugging her to him. "You were dreaming, and I startled you. I'm the one who should apologize."

"But I overreacted-"

"You were asleep, Ana. I, of all people, should know it's a very bad idea to startle a veteran of the war." Severus replied gently. Retrieving his wand, he did a quick Reparo on the bed and the pillow. "See? No harm done. Accio pillow."

Her pillow flew to his outstretched hand from wherever it had ended up on the floor.

She was still trembling a bit, stretched full length on him. He dropped the pillow on her side of the bed and stroked her hair, placing a gentle kiss on the top of her head.

"Must have been quite a dream." He said quietly, once she had calmed down a bit more. She shuddered.

"I…dreamed about you." She said softly, still trembling, her voice shaky. "You…"

Abruptly, she put her face in his chest, clinging to him tightly.

"What? What did you dream?" He prodded gently, rubbing her back. Like a frightened child, she shook her head, her face still buried in his chest.

Perhaps I should just let this go for now, he sighed inwardly, doing his best to console her.

Then she rose up, looking at him in the dark, her eyes slivery in the bit of moonlight that made it in through the window. Her expression was unreadable, her eyes locked on his face as she moved closer to him.

Then she kissed him. At first, it was gentle and sweet, her lips soft on his. He held her, returning the kiss, and as he did, she became more demanding, kissing him harder. Little mewls and whimpers escaped between passionate kisses, as she devoured his mouth with hers, grinding herself against him.

"Ana, are you alright?" He asked when they had to come up for air. She put a finger to his lips.

"Hush." She whispered, kissing his neck urgently, sliding her hand down into his loose silk pajama pants. "No more talking."

ooOoo

Only three weeks after that fateful night, on the 3rd of October, Ana moved back into her own quarters. The next day, she set a new record for points taken in a single day, issued thirty detentions, and generally made life a living hell for her students. She had stopped speaking to Severus completely, to the other staff; she was polite, but cold and distant. The students were utterly terrified of her.

He doesn't need my help any more, she thought bitterly as she picked at her lunch, shooting him a scathing look. He was sipping his coffee while he listened to Hagrid natter on about the size of his pumpkins this fall, pretending to be interested. He didn't even look in her direction. He was stronger now, finally able to get around with a cane. She resisted the urge to throw something at him or hex him.

The argument, like many tend to be, was silly; he's asked her again about the dreams, and she'd refused to discuss them. When he'd pressed her, concerned, she'd lost her temper. In a huff, she'd slept on the couch that night. Or more accurately, spent most of a miserable night on the couch in the sitting room before she woke up, her nightgown soaked in sweat, her heart hammering fit to burst out of her chest. She'd crept into the darkness of his bedroom, trembling like a frightened child, and crawled into his bed. He had curled an arm around her, holding her close, saying nothing. Gently, he stroked her back until she finally surrendered herself to sleep, exhausted.

The next morning, he'd ruined it. He'd asked again what she'd dreamed about that upset her so. She snapped, throwing a heavy crystal decanter of firewhiskey at him, narrowly missing. The decanter shattered against the wall, a flying bit of crystal gashing his cheek.

"You should be able to care for yourself now." She said coldly, "I'm moving back into my quarters. Thanks for the shags, they were…acceptable, I suppose. Just barely."

She had wanted to stay, to rage at him, to insult him, to vent her frustration and anger. It was almost primal, her urge to hurt him. Except all he did was take his wand out and clean up the mess, doing a murmured reparo on the crystal decanter, and vanishing the firewhiskey. His face had remained a neutral mask, his eyes unreadable in the brief moments that he looked at her. Ana clenched her fists so tightly that her fingernails drew blood from her real hand, and she felt something give a bit in her prosthetic hand. It was all she could do not to draw her wand and hex him.

Instead, she'd turned and walked out of his quarters to her own, Ivan hooting disapprovingly from his perch at her as she crossed the Potions classroom. With trembling hands, she'd Accio'd a water glass and the bottle of vodka from the icebox, pouring it half full.

I'm being childish, she thought in despair. I'm sure he despises me now. But I just can't talk to him about it.

I can't talk about it. I won't talk about it.

She took a large swallow of the liquor, shutting her eyes as it burned its way down her throat. With a negligent wave of her wand, she refilled her glass as she sat down in an armchair, curling her feet up underneath herself.

She had ended up deathly ill for most of that day and the next, and Minerva was furious. Finding someone to cover Potions on such short notice was difficult. In the end, the Headmistress had to cancel DADA classes for the day so Severus could teach Ana's classes.

"What on earth is the matter with that girl?" Minerva had asked Severus after lunch two days later, eying the cut on his cheek suspiciously.

"I have…no idea." He'd said, his expression blank, carefully not looking at Ana, who was sitting at the far end of the staff table.

The Headmistress scowled at him, but he didn't budge. Finally, Minerva gave up, rising from her seat to head to the end of the table.

Ana sighed heavily, pushing her half-full plate away and rubbing her temples, shutting her eyes tightly.

I need to get some Headache Relief potion, she thought. These headaches are starting to border on being migraines. I can't recall my headaches ever being this bad, ever.

It must be all the stress I'm under.

I really should talk to him. But I just can't.

A shadow fell across her plate.

"Professor Romanov." The Headmistress said coldly, her eyes hard as flint. "My office, young lady. NOW."

ooOoo

Ana sullenly sat on the chair across from the Headmistress' desk, arms crossed, staring fixedly into the fire.

"Sulk all you want." Minerva said crisply. "If you're not going to stop behaving like a child and make up with him, then you're going to tell me what it is that has you two at each other's throats."

"I'd rather not talk about it, Headmistress."

"Really?" Minerva scoffed. "I suppose your way of handling this is so much better. Pouting like some sixth year that's had her boyfriend stolen, terrorizing your students, drinking, that's so much more effective, isn't it?"

"Headmistress, this is a personal matter-"

"Professor Romanov, it ceases to be a personal matter when it is affecting this school, students, and faculty!" Minerva thundered, eyes flashing. "You are an employee of this school, and you answer to me. Now I want answers, and I want them right now!"

Ana looked away, her chin trembling. She felt sick to her stomach.

"Ana?"

"It's entirely my fault, Headmistress." She said miserably. "I just don't know what to do…"

"You two are fighting, aren't you?"

"Well…I…" Ana looked at her hands in her lap. "Not so much him as me. I…sort of lost my temper. We aren't speaking right now."

"Well, you need to talk to him, now." Minerva snapped. "I won't have this nonsense! Fussing like first-years, you are."

"I…I can't talk to Severus. He wants to, he tries, but I always shut him out."

"Being stubborn, are you now?"

"Y-yes."

"Ana," Minerva sighed, "what is it that's so awful you can't even talk to him about it?"

"Part of it…it's the nightmares I have." She whispered, "They…I keep dreaming, about the war…about the attack."

"The dreams you told me a little bit about, is that it? The one about the children?"

The children, she thought, closing her eyes for a moment as a shiver ran down her spine. The main reason I keep a bottle of vodka handy. No, that one hasn't bothered me for a while, not since I started teaching here at Hogwarts. Thank Merlin for small favors.

"No, not that one, thank goodness." Ana whispered. "I…it's a different version of another dream. They're worse, now that…we're together. He's in them now…in the dream, he rejects me…leaves me. I'm trying to reach him, but there is too much fire between us…he just looks at me, and then walks away. To just die."

Minerva sighed, rubbing her temples.

"Ana, I'm not a psychologist," she said, "but you are allowing a dream to ruin your life, and you're making everyone around you miserable. You're miserable, and I'm sure that Severus probably is, though who could tell? You need to fix this. Talk to him. Tell him what has you so upset."

"No." Ana said, blushing and shaking her head. "I can't. I just can't, Headmistress."

"Well, you need to do something. Talking to him would be a very good start, you know."

ooOoo

Numbly, Ana walked back down to the dungeons, to the Potions classroom. She had forty minutes left in her planning period that she had scheduled after lunch, but her impromptu meeting with the Headmistress had used up half of it. She was two days behind on grading essays, and she really needed to work on that. Walking into the classroom, Ivan hooted at her softly in greeting, flying gracefully from his perch to light on her desk, knocking over a stack of essays to be graded as he did.

"Ivan! Yходить! You'll mess up those parchments, silly! Pertica!" She sighed, heading directly to the desk to shoo her owl off. The owl hooted again, and then flew off to perch near the window. She didn't notice; her eyes were locked on the single red rose on her desk. A strip of parchment was tied to the stem. Untying it from the flower, she unrolled it to read it.

Ana.

I apologize for being so insensitive. I won't ask you again about the dreams, though I will always listen if you wish to talk.

I care about you.

SS.

Smiling, she transfigured a vial into a delicate crystal vase and filled it with water using her wand, and then slid the silver dagger out of its sheath to cut the rose's stem as a precise 45º angle. Gently placing the rose into the vase, she then cut a strip of parchment, wrote a note, and summoned Ivan back to her desk. As he flew out the door, she began to get ready for her next class, humming a tune softly as she did.

ooOoo

He scowled as the owl flew into his classroom. Miss Weasley and Miss Burnam were practicing against each other, and Weasley, distracted by the eagle owl flying by, failed to get her shield charm up in time. Now she was sitting on the floor crying and holding her leg, having been tagged with a stinger spell.

"Focus, Miss Weasley." He sneered, walking with his cane to his desk, where the owl waited for him. "When you are being attacked, you can't let a minute distraction disturb your defense."

The owl was Ivan, Ana's bird. The eagle owl held the leg that a scrap of parchment was tied to out, as if to say, 'hurry up.' He removed the note, and the owl flew off, not even waiting for a treat.

That bird can be as rude as his mistress, he mused.

"Continue, Miss Weasley, Miss Burnam. I expect better results this time, or you will both be writing lines for me."

Ginny Weasley swallowed nervously, preparing herself for her attacker.

Snape unrolled the note.

S.

This mess is entirely my fault. Please forgive me. See you tonight?

Love, A.

When he looked up, Weasley was still standing, having disarmed Burnam.

"Excellent work, Miss Weasley." He said, his face neutral to conceal his relief. "Now, reverse it. Burnam defends, Weasley attacks. Begin."

ooOoo

As she left her classroom for the day, headed to dinner, she happened to meet Filch on the way.

"Mr. Flich!" Ana called out to him as she caught up, "how is your arthritis? Did the cream I gave you help?"

"Oh, yes, Professer." Filch grinned, hobbling along beside her. "I get around a lot better since I've been using it."

"Good."

"Professer, I'm glad ta see you in a better humor. You make up with Professer Snape?"

"Um, Mr. Filch, I-" She stammered, blushing furiously.

"Professer, I'm sorry to embarrass you." Filch said contritely. "It's just that…well, I see Professer Snape a lot, usually, at night patrollin' the halls. At least I did, until he woke up and you moved into his quarters. After that, never saw him at night. Kind of missed him, I did."

"Well, Mr. Filch, he…he wasn't really able to get out that well, with his wheelchair and all-"

"Aye! He wasn't, was he?" Filch chuckled. "But after you an' him stopped speakin' to each other, then I got to see him again. Told me he couldn't sleep, figgered some exercise would help, he did. But I know the truth of it, I do. I may be a squib, but I know Snape."

"I…I see." Ana said hesitantly. "And what is…the truth of it, Mr. Filch?"

"Ah! He misses you, Professer." Filch winked, and laughed.

When she arrived with Filch at the Great Hall for dinner, she was stopped by two of her first-years, who wanted to ask a quick question about their Potions assignment. As she answered their question, she looked up at the staff table. One seat left, right next to Severus, just as she had hoped.

When she reached the table, she went to sit down next to him, asking the house elf to bring her some water. As she unrolled her napkin, she found a slip of parchment rolled up in it.

All is forgiven. I'll see you tonight.

SS.

She slid her hand under the table and gave him a gentle squeeze on his knee, smiling when he covered her hand with his own.

ooOoo

He was waiting in the sitting room, reading, a glass of firewhiskey on the table beside him as she came into his quarters.

"Welcome…home." Severus said as she closed the door, closing his book after marking his place. Ana stood there for a moment, nervously clutching her black suitcase.

"It's good to be back." She said awkwardly, unable to think of anything else. "I…I'll just put my bag in the bedroom."

"It's far too early to retire." He said, taking a sip of firewhiskey. "Would you like to go take a stroll, perhaps go to the Astronomy tower? It's not too chilly; at least it wasn't last night."

"I…I'd like that. Um…let me put my things up, get a shawl…then we can go."

"I'll be waiting for you."

She put her things back into the wardrobe-noting with some measure of satisfaction that he'd left things just as they were when she left. The bed was different, though. Out of curiosity, she flipped the covers back.

New sheets, in high thread count Egyptian cotton, and they were scarlet. She smiled wistfully.

He's trying, she sighed, running her fingers across the fine fabric. She tucked the sheet and the duvet back under her pillow.

Now, if only fixing the damage I've done was this easy, she sighed. I really must learn to control my temper better.

"Ready?" She said as she walked back into the sitting room.

"Of course." Severus replied, getting up and retrieving his cane.

They walked to the Astronomy tower, careful to maintain a respectable distance between them, as it was still two hours till curfew. Students were wandering in nearly every hall, and after a few hushed whispers as they passed, Severus cast Disillusionment on both of them.

"Really, Severus?" Ana laughed, "It's not like we have to sneak around. We are both professors here."

"I do have a reputation to keep up, you know." He smirked, "The greasy bat of the dungeons, and all that rot."

"Well, it's probably for the best." She smirked back, sliding her arm through his, hugging his elbow to her. "I was afraid that I'd have to wait until we got to the Astronomy tower, or to bed, before I could touch you."

She felt him tense up slightly, then relax.

"Severus," she said gently, all teasing gone from her voice, "I'm sorry I lost my temper this morning. I…I just couldn't talk about what was bothering me. I-"

"It's alright. I should have listened to you the first time you said you didn't want to discuss it."

"Well, we need to." Ana sighed. "I…need to talk to you about it. That morning, I was just being foolish and afraid…and I lost my temper…and kept on…"

"Ana, there's nothing shameful about being afraid, or of being foolish." He said gently. "Trust me; I have plenty of experience with both."

"I…I'm afraid you'll reject me." She said, her voice trembling. She'd slipped her arm out of his, and had stopped in the hallway. Severus stopped, turning to look at her.

Say something, she thought, her knees feeling weak. Please!

"I have a great deal of experience with…rejection, too." He finally said softly, leaning on his cane to walk over to her. "I have a great deal of experience with nearly everything negative in life, unfortunately."

He looked away, and then hesitantly, his eyes met hers.

"I'm not very experienced in some things, though." He swallowed nervously. "But, I can assure you that I would not reject you."

I'm so scared, she thought. But I will see this through.

"Severus, the night you slipped and fell…"Ana said, her voice unsteady, barely a whisper. "Do you remember?"

"Yes. I'm glad you heard me."

"You saw…my artificial hand."

"Yes."

Steeling herself, she began to tug at the glove on her right hand. When she had it off, she took her wand, using it to unbutton the numerous buttons on her cuff. Rolling her sleeve up, she held out her arm to him, exposing the reddish, lumpy burn scars on her thin forearm and hand, tears rolling down her cheeks.

"This…is what I look like, under the fancy dresses, under the flannel nightgown that I won't take off at night…even when we make love…" She sobbed. "I…I'm ugly…"

"So?" He said quietly.

"I beg your pardon?" She said, dumbfounded, thinking she'd misheard.

"I'm covered with scars, in case you haven't noticed." Waving his wand at his left arm, the buttons undid themselves, first on his robes, then his shirt sleeve. Rolling it up, he held it up to her.

"I can't think of anything uglier than this," He said, showing her the faint, but still visible brand of the Dark Lord, "or what I did to get it."

"Severus…"

"Enough of this." He hissed, backing her into an alcove in the hallway behind a statue.

She was so flustered that she found herself neatly trapped between his arms as he lowered his mouth to hers in a gentle kiss.

"Now, we will talk more, I'm sure, Professor." He said when he let her up for air, "but I will hear no more of this talk that you are ugly…because you are the loveliest woman I've ever seen in my life. You earned your scars as a badge of honor, trying to save innocent lives. Unlike me."

"I don't-" Ana protested feebly.

"You thought I would reject you if I saw them? Or your prosthesis? Foolish witch."

He closed his eyes with a sigh.

"My scars are shameful." He whispered. "Many of them involved my participation in terrible deeds, those that weren't punishment from the Dark Lord. You're a heroine, someone who fought for good, who tried to save lives-"

"Hush! None of that, now." Ana said, putting a finger to his lips. "If I can't say that I'm ugly, then I will not allow you to say things like that yourself. You did all those things to save lives, terrible as they may have been."

She threw her arms around his neck, standing on tiptoe to do so.

"I love you." She whispered into his ear, trembling as she held him tightly. "I've…always loved you. I'm so sorry I left you that morning in Porto-Pollo, Severus."

"I..." he said, hesitating, and then swallowing nervously. "I…I'm not very good at this…but-"

"Shush." Ana said, hugging him tightly. "You don't have to say anything yet. Just…just promise me you'll stay with me. That's enough for now."

"I will." He sighed. "Until you don't want me around anymore."

"Well, Severus Snape," she smiled shyly, "you may have to put up with me for a while."

ooOoo

Author's notes-

Pertica = perch (Lat.)

Просыпайся ! = Wake up! (Russian)

Yходить! = Shoo! (Russian)

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

Chapter 10~

Ana snapped awake, in a panic, sitting up in Severus' bed with the duvet clutched to her chest.

I've overslept! She thought, throwing the covers back to discover that she was nude, and in Severus' bed. He was nowhere to be seen, but she grabbed the covers, pulling them up to her chin as she blushed.

"Accio wand." She said softly, feeling her wand jump into her hand from the nightstand. "Accio—"

The door to the hall opened, and Severus walked in, dressed in his usual white dress shirt and black pants, unruly black hair gathered up in a ponytail. He was fighting the urge to smirk at her as she blushed and hid behind the scarlet sheets and duvet, only her eyes and auburn hair showing. He crossed the room to the bed, pausing on the way to pick up her terrycloth bathrobe.

"No need to panic." He said, leaning over to kiss the top of her head gently, dropping the robe on the bed. "It's only half past six. You have thirty minutes before we need to leave for breakfast in the Great Hall."

"I-"

"I'll be in the sitting room marking essays." He said, stroking her cheek as he turned to leave. "When you are ready, we'll leave."

"Severus…last night, when we…" She blushed, swallowing nervously. "Did you…um, did you put out the lights first, or...?"

"Of course I did, you silly witch." He smiled gently, "Now stop fretting about it."

"I'm sorry I overslept-"

"I let you sleep in. You were quite exhausted when we went to sleep last night."

"Oh…"

"Did you sleep well?" He asked, coming to sit down on the bed beside her. "My guess is that you did…I woke up and you were wrapped around me just as you were when we went to sleep."

"I…yes, I slept very well."

"No bad dreams?"

"None that I can remember." She smiled faintly.

"Well…I'm going to go back to marking essays. I'll see you when you finish getting ready to go to breakfast."

Leaning over and giving her a gentle kiss, he left the room.

Is this really Severus Snape, the snarky, greasy bat of the dungeons? She smirked, picking up her bathrobe and slipping into it. The smirk left her face as she considered it.

He brought me my bathrobe; she mused quietly as she found her slippers and put them on. He knew I had nothing on, and he knows how touchy I am about him seeing me naked.

He's trying so hard. He's bending over backwards to accommodate me and all of my silly insecurities.

They are silly, she sighed. I know that he's felt my scars when he's touched me. How could he not?

She shivered slightly, closing her eyes tightly.

But that doesn't mean they don't bother me anymore.

Ana walked out into the sitting room, and he looked up, raising an eyebrow in curiosity. She said nothing, just walked over to him at his writing desk, slid her arms around him, and kissed him on the cheek. He raised his free hand to caress her arm briefly, an act that made her smirk a bit. He'd put his hand on her prosthetic arm to touch her; as there were no sensors in the body of the arm itself, she didn't feel a thing.

Oh, well, she smiled to herself. It's the thought that counts, isn't it?

"Thank you for being so considerate." She whispered, hugging him. He nodded.

She ran her bath, charming the water to stay at the temperature she preferred, humming softly to herself.

Soaking in the warm water, her prosthetic arm well clear of it, she considered the events since he'd awakened.

He was so irritating, so annoying. I was so close to packing my bags and leaving several times, despite the damage it would do to my reputation as a Potions Mistress to quit in the middle of a term.

The balance has shifted, she thought. I can't hate him any longer.

I do love him, she sighed. It's difficult, but I love him. I can't leave now. I left him once, and that was a disaster for both of us.

Thirty minutes later, she was bathed and dressed, walking with Severus to the Great Hall. For the sake of propriety, they'd agreed not to hold hands in public-at least for now. Reluctantly, she surrendered his hand when they stepped into the hallway from the Potions classroom.

"You have a reputation to maintain, it seems," he'd smirked at her, earning a dirty look from Ana, "the terrifying Potions Mistress from Beauxbatons."

"You're a tough act to follow, Professor Snape." She replied, sticking her tongue out at him playfully.

ooOoo

Progress came slowly for them. Snape was surprised to find that her night terrors were worse than his own; the only explanation he could come up with was that he was better trained in occulmency than she was. Indeed, his very survival during the years of spying on the Dark Lord had often depended on it. He was thinking about this one night in the wee hours of the morning as he held her trembling body close to his.

Tonight had been especially bad for her, probably one of the worst nights she'd had since she'd blown the gaping hole in his bed with wandless magic.

At least we didn't have a repeat performance of that, he thought grimly as he stroked her back, murmuring words of comfort to her as she sobbed into his chest. Probably for the best that I never mentioned to her that I had to repair a hole in the castle floor, too. No need to upset her any more.

"I-I-I…I know you think I'm being a baby," She whispered, having transitioned into the sniffling and hiccups stage of her crying, as was so common. "You suffered so much more than I did-"

"No, not at all." Severus said, kissing her tenderly on her forehead. "I've cried a few times myself. We've both lived through some scary things in our lives; each of us has our own scars to bear."

"B-b-but you…you…" Ana broke down again, burying her face in his chest as she wept yet again, her body shuddering against him. Severus continued to hold her, to gently run his slender fingers over her back, crooning soft words to her as she cried.

"Shhh…it's alright, love." He murmured, "You're safe now. We're both safe."

Within thirty minutes, she had dropped back off to sleep, completely exhausted. He still held her, hoping to make sure that she would continue sleeping, his fingers idly tracing a comforting pattern on her back.

I may have to go back to giving her a half dose of Dreamless Sleep potion again, he mused as he lay there in the dark bedroom with Ana. A quarter dose doesn't seem to be nearly enough for her to make it all the way through the night.

Slowly, gradually, her fingers relaxed their grip on his pajama top as she slipped deeper into sleep with a gentle sigh.

ooOoo

Tonight, Ana thought, determined to see it through. I'm going to be brave; I'm going to do it.

It was Saturday night, three weeks after Halloween. Reaching over to the taps, she turned off the water. With a final glance at her reflection in the mirror, she walked from the bathroom to the sitting room, holding her bathrobe closed tightly at the neck.

Severus looked up from his book as she came in, raising a curious eyebrow.

"Is everything alright? Do you not have hot water?" He asked, putting his book mark in the book and closing it, setting it aside.

"I…I need your help with something." Ana said hesitantly, her right hand toying with the prosthetic fingers on her left.

"Of course." Severus said, standing up and walking over to her. "What do you need me to help you with?"

"I…need you to help me wash my hair." She lied; looking down at her slippers, then back up at his black eyes. "I…usually use a cleansing charm, but it just doesn't get it as clean as washing it…and with my arm…um, I'm really not supposed to get it wet…"

"After you, then." He said. Ana was just about certain she'd caught the slightest hint of a smirk on his face, but it might have just been her being nervous. She nodded, then turned and walked back to the bathroom, keenly aware of him right behind her. Warmth flooded through her lower abdomen, the terrycloth of the robe rubbing her erect nipples almost painfully.

Oh, Merlin, she thought, biting on her lower lip, I'm not sure if we'll even make it to the bedroom this time. I might just have my way with him right here on the floor.

She turned to look at him. He was unbuttoning his white dress shirt, revealing the white undershirt beneath. Severus took off the shirt, and then peeled his undershirt off, revealing his lean, muscular body, crisscrossed with pale scars, his chest sparsely covered with black hair.

"Remember to breathe, dear." He smirked, breaking her reverie.

"Irritating git." She said, blushing. She hadn't really been holding her breath. Really she wasn't.

He removed his pants too, as well as his socks.

"I…" she whispered, her voice shaky. I can't do this…

He reached over and caressed her face, then pulled her gently to him, drawing her into a hug.

"It's alright, love." He whispered. "You don't have to do anything you don't feel ready for."

Ana clung to him tightly, her eyes shut, her mind awhirl with raw emotion. Slowly, ever so slowly, she found herself calming down, though she was still trembling.

I can do this, she told herself. You're my rock, Severus. When you are with me, I can do anything.

Slowly, she freed herself, stepping back from him, smiling gently when he looked at her with a quizzical expression.

She undid the sash of her bathrobe, and holding her head high, she allowed the terrycloth to fall to the floor. Trembling, a single tear wandering down her cheek, she stood before him. In full light, completely nude before him.

I trust you, Severus. I hope you know what this means to me.

He stood there, just looking at her, his mouth slightly open, his eyes wide. Looking at the thin, ropy scars that ran from her left ankle all the way to her shoulder, and from her right hand to her elbow. At the glaring contrast of the silvery metal of her prosthetic arm and its mounting plate with her pale skin.

This is what I look like Severus, she thought, trembling with anxiety. If you turn away from me, I'll understand.

Slowly, as if in a dream, he found himself moving toward her, reaching out to touch the worst of her scars, near her left shoulder and the mounting plate for her prosthesis. Ana flinched slightly when his fingers made contact, sniffling as she tried not to weep, trembling before him. It was all she could do not to grab her robe, to flee.

Please don't turn me away, Severus. I'd die without you…

He slid his hand past her scarred shoulder, gently pulling her to him.

"You thought I would leave you…because of your scars…" He whispered, nuzzling her neck. "I…would never do such a thing. I would never abandon you. You…are my life."

The dam broke, and Ana sagged against him, relying on his strong arms to stay upright. Clinging to him, she wept, great shuddering sobs of relief.

Finally, when she had calmed down, she felt him move his hand behind her, casting a warming charm on the tub.

"Accio hanky." He murmured, deftly catching the handkerchief as it flew to his hand.

"Here," he said shyly, offering it to her with one hand, not moving his other from his embrace of her.

She dabbed at her eyes, and then looked up at him.

"Are you ready for me to wash your hair, darling?" He asked gently.

"Yes." She whispered. "I'd like that."

"Then, let's get into the tub," Severus said, dropping his boxers. "My lady needs some attention, and I'd like to show her…just how much I really care for her."

ooOoo

Ana was grading essays, intent on getting them finished before the weekend, when the Headmistress walked into the Potions classroom. Her quill scratched away on the parchment, her tongue pressed firmly against her upper lip in complete concentration, she was completely unaware of Minerva's presence until the Headmistress cleared her throat.

"Oh!" Ana gasped, horrified. "I'm sorry, Headmistress, I didn't hear you come in…"

"Don't worry, dear." Minerva smiled, accioing a chair and sitting down across the desk for her. "Getting some grading done, I see."

"Yes, I don't want to let myself get behind on it, not as we get close to the Christmas break."

"Have you decided what you are going to do for the break? You don't have to stay here, you know."

"I…I really hadn't considered doing anything…" Ana replied, "I…thought I'd just stay here at the school, catch up on a few personal projects I'm working on."

"Ah. And how is Severus?" Minerva asked, smirking slightly.

"Ah…good. Very good." She replied, wary now. "He's getting around very well without the cane, and-"

"I can see that myself. I'm talking about you and Severus. How is that little 'project' faring?"

"I…Headmistress, I don't…"

"Ana, enough of being bashful." Minerva said gently. "As I told you, nobody here minds if you have a relationship with him. I did ask you to be discreet, but you two have given me no cause to be concerned. So, out with it. How are things going?"

Ana sighed deeply.

"It's going…very well, Headmistress." She said, blushing. "He…he's wonderful."

"You look like you're sleeping better."

"Um, yes…I am." Ana said quietly, blushing even more as she thought of him. Last night had been a personal best for him, in a manner of speaking. He's definitely getting stronger…

"Good." Minerva smirked, "Though I'm not sure how that helps you sleep, exactly."

Oh, дерьмо! She thought in alarm, turning red as a beet, did I just say that aloud?!

Standing up to leave, moving the chair back where she'd retrieved it from with a wave of her hand, the Headmistress smiled down at Ana.

"Oh, well, no matter. I'm very happy for the two of you, dear. I can tell that he's good for you, and I know that you're good for him. Believe me, he is much easier to work with now that he has you."

I need to take Severus up on his offer to work with me on improving my Occulmency, Ana thought. At least, if I'm better at concealing my thoughts, I might not embarrass myself so much.

ooOoo

Three weeks before Christmas, Ana was surprised to see that Ginny Weasley had stayed after Potions class to speak to her. The girl's grades were excellent, no problems there. Ana finished marking the essay she was grading and looked up at her student.

"Yes, Miss Weasley? Is there something you need?" She said crisply.

"Yes, Professor Romanov. I have Professor Snape for DADA, and some of the other students and I would like to start a dueling club," Ginny said breathlessly, eyes bright and nervous.

"Professor Snape is your DADA instructor," Ana replied, capping her inkwell and accioing a scrap of cloth to clean off her quill. "Shouldn't he be the one to supervise your club?"

"Um, yes, Professor. But we hate to ask him to, because he's…still-"

"Still what, Miss Weasley?" Ana purred menacingly.

"Um…we didn't want to ask him," The girl stammered in panic, blushing. "We didn't want to impose on him. I…he's still…in so much pain, Professor."

For a long moment, she just stared in shock at the redheaded seventh year. If anything, the younger witch's eyes got even wider, her face turning ashen as stumbled over her words.

"I...please don't say anything to him, Professor! He'll be angry with me if he finds out I said anything!"

"Sit down, Miss Weasley." Ana said softly, when she finally managed to find her voice. Drawing her wand, she shut and warded the door to the hallway.

"Tell me everything you know, now." She said, pocketing her wand.

"I…I've seen him, even during class…" Ginny swallowed nervously, squirming under the scrutiny of Ana's flinty gray eyes. "He…he gets to leaning on the desk a lot if he has to stand. His left hand gets to shaking, too, like he has the palsy. He even dropped his wand in class the other day…his hand was trembling so badly. He just…, well, I…"

She looked at Ana miserably, fearfully, her hazel eyes pleading with her professor.

"Do…do I have to go on…?"

"Yes, Miss Weasley." Ana replied, sighing. "I…I need to know. Tell me everything."

The girl swallowed nervously, gathering herself.

"He didn't use to, but he usually can't make it through my DADA class without excusing himself." She continued, her voice shaky. "He…has to take a potion, sometimes two. He said that he had a headache, that it was Headache Relief potion, but I know he wasn't telling the truth."

"Miss Weasley, do you think that a Professor would lie to you? And just what makes you believe he is lying?"

"Um…yes, well…his eyes…he looks down, then to the left and purses his lips just before he lies, Professor." Ginny blushed.

Ana covered her mouth, barely hiding her smirk.

That's exactly what he does, she thought. I'd better find a way to quietly award about twenty points to Gryffindor. Very observant of her.

She sighed gravely, forcing her attention back to the subject at hand.

"Did you get a look at the potion?" Ana asked. "What color it was, what it smelled like?"

"Yes, Professor. " Ginny said, "Headache Relief potion isn't greenish gray, and it doesn't smell likeTears of the Poppy."

"Tears of the Poppy?" Ana asked, paling visibly. "Are you sure?"

"Yes, Professor. My fourth year, when Professor Snape was teaching Potions he had us all smell it to learn what it smelled like. It…it has a very distinct odor." Ginny replied, her voice cracking, tears welling in her brown eyes. "I…I don't want to get Professor Snape in trouble, I like him! I like having him for DADA, he's a great teacher! You don't…you won't tell the Headmistress, will you?"

This could be serious. She thought, as the gravity of the situation hit home, leaving her feeling somewhat nauseous. Tears of the Poppy, also known as extract of opium poppy.

Highly restricted access and distribution, kept under lock and key in the most carefully warded area of potions ingredient storage here…and only Severus and I have a key.

We would both be held accountable if there were an audit.

Shaking the thoughts from her mind, she forced herself to attend to the matter at hand, grimly putting her fears aside.

"No, Miss Weasley." Ana said, fighting off a wave of queasiness. "I…would need more information, and…this is probably best handled quietly. I'm sure there is a good explanation for this."

Ginny nodded, worrying her lip between her teeth nervously.

"It would be best if you didn't speak to anyone about this for now." Ana said. "Let those of us in the faculty handle this."

"Yes, Professor." Ginny replied. "Um…Professor…?"

"Yes?"

"I…I don't want Professor Snape to be sacked over this." The girl said miserably. "I…lots of students really do like him."

"Neither do I, Miss Weasley."

"I mean, he's a hero to us, Professor. He…he protected us."

Me too, Miss Weasley. Ana thought. Me, too.

"I'll consider sponsoring your Dueling Club, Miss Weasley." She said, "Get me a list of those students who are interested by Wednesday of next week, and we'll set it up."

Ginny nodded.

"In the meanwhile, say nothing about this to anyone." Ana said sharply. "I will investigate the matter, and determine what action needs to be taken."

"Yes, Professor."

"Dismissed, Miss Weasley." Ana said, unwarding the door to the hallway.

When the door closed behind the student, Ana let her head fall into her hands with a sigh.

Oh, Severus…she thought, what have you done?

How could I have been so blind?

Well, he is a potions master, and a former double agent, a spy. He's very clever, very intelligent. Since he still makes potions for the Hospital Wing here, of course he has a key to the restricted ingredients storage room.

She rubbed her temples, closing her eyes against the headache that she could feel brewing.

If the Board of Regents hears of this, he could lose his job. He could lose his title as Potions Master. He could lose his wand…

He has to be concealing the odor of the Tears of the Poppy somehow. Otherwise I would be able to smell it…

Where would I be least likely to look? Where would he hide it?

Her eyes widened as she realized how he was hiding it.

She abruptly stood up, crossing the Potions classroom to the door to Severus' living quarters, the rooms that they had shared for the past few months. Walking to the table beside his chair, she picked up the crystal decanter of firewhisky and removed the stopper. Raising the decanter to her nose, she sniffed carefully, wrinkling her nose up at the smell of the pungent liquor. Slowly, she replaced the stopper, carefully setting the decanter on the table with a muted clunk.

Closing her eyes, she sank down into his armchair, rubbing her eyes wearily.

Дерьмо. Я был таким дураком. She thought angrily, not certain who she was most angry with; Severus or herself.

How clueless of me. He's been putting it in his firewhiskey decanter all along, sipping it from a glass right in front of me. As dangerous as that can be, mixing an opiate with alcohol.

Oh, Merlin…what am I going to do now? Ana thought, fear gripping her heart.

ooOoo

Author's notes-

"дерьмо" = shit.

"Дерьмо. Я был таким дураком." = Shit. I've been such a fool.