Samara was standing in front of her closet, trying to decide what to wear. It was an unusually warm and sunny day for early May. Looking out through her bedroom window, she could see the orchard with its fruit trees dressed in young leaves of a fresh, bright green shade. Some of them were still showered in white or pink blossoms. Beyond, in the distance, the ocean was glittering in the sun, the waves adorned with little white crowns of foam. The two black horses were grazing peacefully in the shade of the trees.

Below in the kitchen, Trixie was chopping vegetables and preparing dinner. Samara had told her that this was a special occasion. She wanted to impress Snape. The thought that he would be arriving here so shortly made her feel slightly giddy, and butterflies were dancing violently in her stomach.

Over the last two months, they had worked on the second attempt of the potion, but Samara's plan, to have the Room of Requirement deliver the unicorn blood, had failed, quite predictably, according to Snape. In the end, all they could do was bottle up the unfinished potions, and keep them, hopefully for future use. Samara had tried to re-apply to the Ministry as well, but to no avail. Snape had been unwilling to try anything else, claiming to be very busy, but she suspected that he was disillusioned with their project. And then, just as she, too, was losing hope, she suddenly had an idea that refuelled her optimism. Initially, she had been a little hesitant to tell him about her plan, as it required her to reveal her best kept secret, but then she had decided she could trust him, and had invited him to Ravencroft. To her surprise, he had accepted.

She finally picked a floaty summer dress, made from layers of pale blue chiffon silk, which complemented her pale skin and blue eyes, and went with the spirit of the first days of spring. Her dark hair was flowing over her shoulders and back in the usual unruly mess, and she made no attempt to tame it. If Samara was perfectly honest with herself, part of her hoped that something would finally happen between them, and that was why she was making such an effort to look pretty. And there was something else, too...That nagging trepidation about exactly what horrible things he might have been party to during his time as a Death Eater. Did she hope that, by bringing him back to the crime scene, she was likely to get some answers?

She had to hurry up; it was time to go pick him up from the forest, where she had told him to wait. As she skipped down the stairs into the hallway, her eyes fell onto the beautiful display of white delphiniums in a large vase by the fireplace - dear Trixie, she had thought of everything!

***

Severus had Apparated to the small Muggle village a few miles from the Devonshire coast, as Samara had instructed him, and had followed the footpath that led from the village through fields, where cows were grazing, and finally into a dense beech wood. It was a warm day, and, under his long black travelling cloak, he was wearing only his white linen shirt and black trousers. His glossy, black hair was neatly parted in the middle, and adorned with indigo reflexes, conjured by the spots of light that managed to penetrate the canopy of leaves above. He reached the spot where she had asked him to meet her, and waited.

His hands were clenched in the pockets of his cloak in nervous anticipation. Did this qualify as a date? If all she wanted was to discuss a new Potions idea, there was hardly a need to invite him for dinner. He turned when he heard the sound of breaking twigs to his left. The sight that presented itself took his breath away. Bathed in pale green sunlight, Samara was emerging from the shadows of the trees, smiling and waving at him. Severus had never seen her dressed so femininely, and revealing so much pale soft skin. Her long, dark hair was falling over her naked shoulders in playful locks.

"Good to see you!"

Samara gave him a shy hug. He stiffened when he felt her body against his, and her arms around his neck, so fragile. The perfume of violets and lily-of-the-valley wafted from her hair, and Severus had to fight the urge to run his fingers through it. He was relieved when she let go after a short moment. Waving him to follow, she turned, and started to walk back down along the left-hand path, which didn't appear to lead anywhere, but, in reality, was the well concealed entrance to an ancient wizarding home.

Suddenly, the path continued as if it had always been there, and, after only a few hundred yards, the forest ended, giving way to green fields and a sandy path leading up to a manor house, surrounded by gardens and an orchard of old fruit trees. The building was made from light grey natural stone with a dark slate roof, and, with its two castellated towers either side, remotely resembled a small castle.

"Welcome to Ravencroft!" Samara exclaimed.

They proceeded until they stood in the gravelled front garden in front of the heavy double oak doors that formed the entrance to the house, framed by climbing ivy.

"Come in!" Samara said as she pushed open the wings of the door, and they walked through into the entrance hall. "Dinner is nearly ready, so why don't we sit down for a moment, and I'll get us a glass of wine?"

He took a seat on the sofa by the fireplace, while his eyes scanned his surroundings. Ravencroft was a stately wizarding home, but, unlike Malfoy Manor, it was light and friendly, and relatively unadorned. A stone staircase spiralled down to what must be the cellars, and another, wider one, led up to a gallery, which he suspected would lead to the bedrooms. The double-height room where he was sitting was flooded with light from large windows, throwing rectangles of sunlight onto the whitened oak floor. A few steps up was the dining area, where a mighty, rectangular table stood tastefully set for two people, with white chinaware, and a sparkling silver candelabra.

Samara re-appeared from the kitchen with two goblets of wine and handed him one. Behind her, a small elf, wearing a neatly ironed dress with a white apron, was now lighting the candles on the dinner table with a snip of her fingers.

"Professor, let me introduce you to my faithful old friend Trixie," Samara said, waving towards the house-elf.

"Esteemed Professor Snape!" the small elf squeaked, excitedly clutching her apron, her over-sized eyes blinking, and her large ears turning red. "Trixie is very honoured to have the pleasure of cooking for you."

He smiled amused. "The pleasure will be all mine, I'm sure."

They sat down at opposite ends of the table, and Trixie scurried into the kitchen to serve the food. She had made watercress soup, followed by roasted lamb, and elderflower ice cream with strawberries for dessert. Twinkle's cooking was excellent, as always, and Severus even found some words of praise.

After dinner, Samara stood up and said, "Let's go outside for a walk. I promised you I would show you a secret, the one I suspect may enable us to save Professor Dumbledore after all."

From the sitting room, French doors led to a gravelled garden area, where bushes of lavender and rosemary intermingled with a bay tree and other shrubs, and trellises with climbing roses and jasmine adorned the outside walls. The sun was already quite low, so that the light had softened. They strolled through the garden, and beyond into the fields of the orchard. Under a group of trees, Severus saw two black horses grazing. When they noticed the witch and the tall wizard, they raised their heads, and looked towards them attentively.

"Professor, these are Godric and Rowena."

"You gave them the names of Hogwarts founders?" He laughed.

"Yes, because one is very brave, and the other is very smart."

Severus walked up to the one closest to them, and stroked its neck, amazed at how soft the black coat felt.

Samara smiled. "They aren't ordinary horses, they are magical creatures. Have you ever ridden a horse? Fancy a nice evening ride?"

"I have never ridden anything other than a broom," he replied, "but I would be intrigued to give it a go."

"This is much better than brooms," Samara insisted. She had always been somewhat at odds with brooms. "Allright then, you take Godric."

Godric lowered his head, as if he had understood Samara's words, and gave the Potions Master a gentle nudge with his nose.

He climbed onto Godric's back with one swift movement. Samara had already mounted her horse, and the two proceeded to walk through the fields, and down the path that led to the beach. She wasn't used to riding in a little summer dress; it was a bit weird, but Rowena's soft coat felt nice against her naked legs. Severus was sitting confidently on Godric's back, as if he had never done anything else. His dexterity and balance were remarkable, she thought. The path descended down a fairly steep slope to a small sandy cove, surrounded by cliffs.

When they reached the beach she said, "Let's go a bit faster - shall we?"

"Here? There is hardly enough space," he replied, unconvinced.

She smiled secretively. "You'll see... Come on Rowena!"

Rowena set off towards the edge of the water, and when she reached the surf, she rose off the ground, and continued to gallop through the air just above the water's surface, out towards the open sea. Godric followed, and they galloped side by side into the endless open. Samara looked at Severus, and smiled inwardly at the stunned look on his face.

"I told you they are magical!" she cried through the wind.

The horses were now racing each other, rising up higher into the air, only to descend again, just skimming the surface of the ocean, and causing the water to splash up around them.

"Woohoo!" Samara cried in exhilaration.

Severus appeared to be thoroughly enjoying himself; the hint of a smile played around his mouth, and his eyes seemed to sparkle. Soon, the sun was beginning to sink into the ocean, dipping everything into an orange light, and sending a golden, glittering sparkle over the ocean. Samara breathed in the salty air, spread her arms wide like wings, and sighed; this was bliss. The horses finally slowed down, and fell into a steady canter. Their hooves just occasionally touching the surface of the water, they were heading back to the beach.

She watched him as he was riding in front of her. He sat relaxed, following Godric's movements, his black hair ruffled by the wind, bouncing up and down. His wet shirt clung to his sinewy body, betraying the outline of his shoulder muscles. When he turned his head and looked at her, she saw an expression on his face she had never seen before. He smiled, and, for the first time, the smile reached his eyes.

The sun had all but gone, when the horses reached the beach, and climbed up the steep slope to the top of the cliffs.

When they reached the edge of the fields, Severus jumped off and patted Godric. Samara felt dizzy with excitement. She slid down Rowena's back, and staggered, nearly loosing her balance. He caught her, and for a moment his hands were resting on her waist. The sensation of his warm grip through the thin fabric of her dress sent tingling bolts through her body, and made her pelvic muscles contract involuntarily. She didn't dare to look up into his eyes, for fear of what he would see there. She felt the small bulge of his biceps underneath his shirt where her hand rested, and willed herself not to stroke up along his arm. Way too quickly, he let go of her waist.

"Now enlighten me, while most enjoyable indeed, what has this got to do with Dumbledore's treatment?" he asked, his voice showing nothing but academic interest.

They started to stroll back towards the orchard, and the two horses trotted off into the distance.

"These creatures are Ipterippi," Samara explained, "members of the magical species Equus ipterippus, closely related to the Unicorn, the Thestral, and the Muggle horse, of course. They have long been believed extinct, but I think they are just very good at hiding from humans. They were hunted and killed by wizards in the Middle Ages, you know, because their precious coat was used to make the finest invisibility cloaks. I doubt it has ever been tried, but their blood could work in a similar way to unicorn blood, and I'm sure Godric would happily donate a little. It may not remove the curse completely, but it should be more effective than anything we have so far, and buy us a lot more time."

Severus knew intuitively that it was a very sound suggestion; he was almost convinced it would work. It was a very happy thought; perhaps he would not have to kill him after all.

"A very good idea indeed. It is fortunate that we decided to prepare three different potions. I believe the one containing black Moonstone will be the most suitable."

Samara nodded. "Yes, I think so, too." She laughed. "For once we agree on something!"

"It must be a good sign then. At the next full moon we will find out."

They continued to walk in silence. By now, the trees were only dark shapes against the purple sky of dusk. It was only two days after the full moon, and the silvery disk was rising like a large round mirror above the forest. A light breeze ruffled through Samara's dress and hair, and occasionally a bat tumbled through the air above their heads. The windows of the house glowed in the distance with a warm light.

She had never seen him so relaxed and seemingly happy. The features of his face seemed softer, while his eyes were alive with a warm fire.

When they were close to the gardens, Samara made to sit down in the grass underneath one of the old apple trees, and Severus sat down next to her, leaning his back against the gnarled trunk. They sat in silence for a while, listening to the owls hooting through the night. Her skin glowed ivory in the moonlight as she plucked a blade of grass, absent-mindedly tying a knot into it.

"So these horses...Ipterippi, I mean, have they always lived here?" he asked after a while.

Samara shook her head. "No, I found them."

"Found them?"

"It's a long story."

"I'm in no hurry."

Samara hesitated.

"Well, after I graduated from Hogwarts, I went travelling with my boy-friend at the time, one of my Hufflepuff class mates. It was the year after Voldemort disappeared. The plan was to go camping in Sweden, and gather interesting plants in the wild. Unfortunately, he soon got bored with me. All the time, I wanted to try out a potion with some plant I had found, and he had imagined something more fun. So in the end, we broke up, and I decided to continue the trip on my own. One night camping in a forest, I was awakened by a beautiful black horse that was snorting and rummaging outside my tent. I had never seen such a beautiful creature before. His coat was so black that it seemed to swallow all light, and when I touched him it felt like the softest velvet. His gentle eyes were wise and knowing. After a while, he turned away, and started to walk into the wood. Then he stopped, and turned back to look at me, as if he wanted me to follow. He led me through the forest for what seemed like an eternity, and I was starting to get worried that I would never find back. Then, suddenly, we arrived at a clearing, where I saw another horse, a mare, standing in the moonlight. She was badly injured. Her foreleg was bleeding and torn up; she was standing on three legs unable to walk. I realised that he had brought me there to help his companion. I didn't know much about healing then, but I found some moss and herbs I could use, and I knew how to perform a simple healing spell. I didn't leave the horses for several days, until the injury had healed. During those days, I soon realised that they were not ordinary horses, but some sort of magical creatures I had never heard of. Soon they allowed me to ride them, and I discovered that not only could they fly, they were also invisible to Muggles and wizards when airborne. They became my friends. When I returned to Ravencroft, I took them with me. I read every book on magical creatures I could find, trying to understand what these horses were, and finally found something in an old book. The winged horse Pegasus in Greek legend is said to have been an Ipterripus, although, in reality, they don't need wings."

Samara paused, twisting the grass blade into a pretzel shape.

"So you saved these creatures, you're protecting them from extinction," he remarked.

"No, they saved me."

Neither of them spoke for a while as they watched a pair of badgers bumble through the grass, and disappear into the forest.

"I'm a half-blood, too, you know," Samara suddenly broke the silence.

"That makes no difference," He replied, giving her a questioning look.

"No, but everything else does." She sighed.

Severus said nothing. He sensed that she finally wanted to talk about her past.

After another long silence, Samara started again. "My father was from a pureblood wizard family, the ancient clan of Ravenhood. Not that he cared about blood status - the Ravenhood family had always been Muggle friendly. And so it was not an issue that my father married a Muggle-born. My mother was an amazing woman, a healer, whom my father met through his course of work. My father worked at the Department for Magical Maladies, and was quite influential at the ministry. My mother introduced all the comforts of modern Muggle society to the old family house, but with a magical twist. We had a magical washing machine, for example. Her dad, my grandfather, was a Muggle doctor, and my mother was passionate about trying to introduce some of the achievements of modern Muggle medicine at St. Mungo's. Of course, she met with a lot of resistance. She always said that wizardkind would be much better off, if they were a little more open-minded. She also ensured that my younger brother and I received a solid home-education in Muggle subjects, before we would go to Hogwarts to start our wizard education. We had a very happy childhood here at Ravencroft. Being so secluded, and far away from London, my parents felt safe here, even when Voldemort gained more and more power."

She sighed again. "One day, during my fifth year at Hogwarts, my mother was summoned to the Ministry to stand trial for using magic, and being a Muggle impostor. My father did not let her attend, saying they would send her to Azkaban. He tried to use his connections at the Ministry to get them to drop the charges. Then one night, a group of Death Eaters turned up at Ravencroft, trying to take away my mum. My parents fought to the last. The Death Eaters killed them all, my mother, my father, and my little brother, all of them. Their bodies were never found. Then they blew up the house, and burned it down, but not until after they had looted it, and taken all the valuables and artefacts they could find, including my mothers ring, the ring that somehow ended up in your hands." She shot a probing and uncomfortable look at him.

"I was at Hogwarts at the time, and when I heard, I was in complete shock. Unable to cry or grasp the magnitude of what had happened, I was in denial for a long time. And I couldn't face returning to the ruins of Ravencroft until years later. As I was orphaned, Hogwarts became my home, where I stayed with my godmother, Mme Pomfrey. When I finally did return to Devon with Rowena and Godric, there was hardly anything left of the house except for a large pile of stones. But the horses seemed to feel immediately at home in the fields and orchard. They knew they were safe here. The happiest surprise was that Trixie, our house-elf, had survived, and lived amongst the rubble all those years, waiting for me to come back. I was moved to tears when I saw her. Together, we started rebuilding the house. We used a lot of magic, but I also ended up spending my entire inheritance on the reconstruction. So I had to get a job, and went to London to work as potions trainee at St. Mungo's. As my mother had worked there, and was well liked, they offered me the position, even though all I had done since graduation was drifting about, and I had forgotten half of what I learned for my NEWTs."

She paused, and, after a moment of silence, went on, "My little brother was only ten, he didn't even have a wand yet. Who kills an innocent child, I ask you? I always wonder what would have become of him, if he had been allowed the chance to grow up. He loved Quidditch... He was so much looking forward to coming to Hogwarts... He would be twenty-eight now... I miss him so much, all of them." Her voice sounded shaky now.

"Severus, there is one thing I must know," she said, looking at him with searching eyes, "Were you there the night the Death Eaters attacked Ravencroft? Did you -" She couldn't bring herself to finish the question.

Severus saw tears glittering in her eyes, and the blade of grass in her hand was trembling. He felt as though he was going to drown in the blue depth of her eyes. His heart felt heavier than stone; no doubt he was going to sink straight to the bottom.

"No, I was not there that night," he replied slowly. "And I was not involved in the deaths of your family." He fell silent; the weight on his chest was unbearable. He had a pretty good idea as to who had killed the Ravenhoods.

"Have you ever killed someone?" Her voice sounded hoarse. The silence that followed was uncomfortable, and filled with dark foreboding as he was trying to find the right words.

"If by killing you mean pointing my wand at someone's heart, and speaking those terrible words - No, I have not. Yet, I contributed to the death of more than one person, in other ways - by providing the Dark Lord with information, by being a silent bystander. Assisting murderers is no better than committing murder yourself."

She still seemed relieved at his answer. A sob left her chest, causing her eyes to finally overflow, and the tears to roll down her cheeks. He moved closer, and put his arm around her, drawing her into his embrace. His other hand gently stroked over her hair. Her breathing slowed, while the sobs subsided. She felt surrounded by the soothing warmth of his body, inhaling his scent deep into her lungs. He gently pulled her head back, and wiped a tear off her cheek with his thumb.

"You look very beautiful tonight." His voice was as soft as black velvet.

When she looked up into his eyes, she felt like she was tumbling into the blackness. She could not resist any longer. Slinging her arms around his shoulders, she brought her face closer to his, and brushed a light kiss against his lips.

He remained immobile, surprise showing on his face, while his eyes fixed her with a questioning gaze. Samara immediately regretted her boldness, bracing herself for the rejection that would surely follow. But instead, he suddenly pulled her closer, and kissed her back, hungrily, desperately. Samara's breath caught. For a moment, it was as if she were paralysed, before she opened her mouth to accept his warm tongue, while his hands around her head were holding her still. Her blood was thundering in her ears as she responded to his unspoken demand and their tongues entwined.

His hand moved from her face, lightly stroking down along her spine, making the hair on the back of her neck stand up. Samara closed her eyes and savoured the sensation. She had waited for this moment so long, everything else was forgotten now. When they finally broke their kiss, they remained silent, looking into each others eyes, each trying to read the other's thoughts. Severus' hand brushed down her naked arm, caressing her skin with his fingertips. Feeling the little goose bumps on her arm, he said softly, "It's getting cold, let's go inside."

He rose slowly and stretched out a hand to help her up. She never let go of his hand as they walked back to the house.