Ch. 13

It was now December tenth and Harry was waiting by the front gates for the arrival of the final ingredient to the ritual. The wind was crisp and Harry felt himself wrapping his cloak around him tighter to try and keep warm. He had already cast a warming charm and it was already wearing off. At exactly two p.m. a woman appeared out of thin air. Harry opened the gate to allow her entrance.

"Hello miss, my name is Harry Potter heir of Salazar Slytherin. Please come in and we can get out of this Scottish winter weather."

She smiled at him and let him lead her up to the front of the castle. Once inside she followed Harry up to the seventh floor, where a door she didn't remember sat. When Harry opened the door she could see that she was not the only female in the room. She was still nervous as a June bride when Harry offered her a cup of tea. When she had received the letter from Lady Ravenclaw she was shocked that anyone knew of her secret. She had been asked to prove her loyalty to the light, by freeing a marked Death Eater who had long since been fighting against the dark. She had no idea who this man was but she knew what was expected of her during the ritual. If she was honest with herself she would have jumped at the offer had this man been her long lost lover. He had been her strength and comfort during her final years at Hogwarts. He had lost the only woman he thought he would ever love and she enjoyed that she could make him forget about her. However after they had graduated she never heard from him again. After a year of searching she had moved to the states and started a new life. She had become a potions mistress of the highest order and relished in getting a new potion to take apart and prefect. She had even gone so far as to remain pure for him. Not that she expected him to do the same. She just could never imagine giving herself over to another.

When the time drew near for the ritual to begin she saw Harry leave the room. She imagined that it was to retrieve the tainted soul.

++++Snape's office++++

Severus was sitting behind his desk reading a potions journal that he received from the states. He would always scan the magazine for her name before going through and reading the articles. Severus placed the magazine down on his desk and let his mind wander.

It had been the beginning of his seventh year at Hogwarts and Julia's sixth. He had just returned to the common room from seeing Lily draped all over James Potter and making goo-goo noises at him. It had made him want to hurl. He walked into the common room and Julia had noticed his temper.

"Severus what's got you in such a tiff?"

"That bastard Potter always gets his way. I'M THE ONE SHE SHOULD BE WITH! If it hadn't been for Malfoy and his goons threatening her I would probably be the one she was hanging all over."

"Ah so you finally saw them together huh? There's been a betting pool on when you would see them together. In fact I think Nott won that pool. Now what you plan on doing about it is the main question. You can't live in the past, Severus."

Severus looked down at her. She had always been a bit on the skinny side, anorexic all most. Now that he looked at her he could see that she had gained some body fat. 'Must be all that chocolate that the girls seem to devour' he thought. He had never liked the really skinny girls. He wanted them with a little meat on their bones as that gave him more to play with. His mind took on a very dirty path suddenly and he had to shake his head to clear those thoughts away.

"Your right Julia; how about I stop living in the past right now. I have been pining over Lily for far too long. Would you like to go on a date with me?"

She stuttered for a while before answering him. "You're asking me on a date?"

"That's what I believe I just did." He said smirking at her.

"Well then, yes, yes I do believe I will go on a date with you."

They had dated for the rest of his last year at Hogwarts. She was always against Voldemort so when he had joined the Death Eaters after graduation he never spoke to her again. He still believed that he loved Lily, even going so far as to beg the Dark Lord for her to be spared. That hadn't worked and the longer he thought about it, the more he realized that Lily was more a sister than a lover. Julia on the other hand had been very much a lover. He had come across her name on accident and it had brought back those old feelings again. Now if only he could find the courage to go after her again. Then maybe he could find some peace.

At eleven o'clock at night there was a knock on his office door. He went to open it and found Harry Potter standing there. The moment had come and he was more than a tad nervous.

Harry led Severus through the castle up to the seventh floor and to the Room of Requirement. Severus was led inside and told to stand off to the side of a curtain. Harry moved to stand in front of him.

"Now as the Dark Mark is a protean charm based on hate. We felt that it would be best to remove the mark with an act of Love. Therefore we will be preforming two rituals interlocked with one another. The first is naturally to remove the Dark Mark; the second is to create a soul bond. Now before the two of you freak out on me. The soul bond is temporary. It will last for exactly twelve months then it will fade. That is unless the two of you have a larger connection then we know about. Then it will be considered a marriage bond. Now professor I will introduce you to her and vice-versa. Then you need to tell me if you still want to go through with this."

Severus was stunned; he was going to be technically married for at least a year. The fact that this would get rid of his mark did not really enter his mind. After all the thought of losing the bachelor status that he had held for almost twenty years was not something you just gave up. It was more terrifying than giving the Dark Lord a bad report. Potter had promised him freedom, not to be trapped in a marriage. All plans that he had of going to the states to find Julia were put on hold. He turned to the curtain that must have been put up to separate him and his unknown bride. He swallowed hard then gave a nod to Potter.

+++Point of view change+++

I was standing on the right side of a curtain in the middle of a runic circle. When Harry had told us that we would be married I was prepared. I had decided that I would help no matter what. I had been briefed as to what they planned on doing so what was being said must have been for my future husband. The fact that it would only be for a year was a relief. If my husband and I were ill matched we could go our separate ways after that year. When Harry was done talking I turned towards the curtain waiting for them to drop it. I was curious as to who I would be living with for the next year.

Harry was smirking as he dropped the curtain between them. He was going to have to share this memory with the rest of the Hogwarts staff. He was positive of that fact above all else.

The first thing I saw was black. It was everywhere. I mean the man had black hair and was dressed completely in black. But it was his black eyes that made my breath hitch in my throat. It couldn't be, not him. After all this time I was staring at Severus Snape.

"Severus."

++++Point of view change++++

I had kept my head down for a moment as the curtain fell. I was too nervous to look at who the heirs had found. When I did raise my head however, I was left gasping for breath. The woman before me was an angel. I let my eyes wander up her body. She had curves in all the right places. Her thighs were thick and I felt myself yearning to rest my head on them. I let my eyes travel further up her body. Her stomach was flat but I noticed she had a bit of a muffin top in her tight jeans. My eyes stayed on her stomach wondering what it would be like to rest my hand on that stomach and feel a life inside of it. I shook my head to clear those thoughts. I could not be thinking of having children with this woman. I quickly raised my eyes further up and I caught sight of her voluptuous bosom. I was no fair judge on breast size but I could clearly see that my long finger hands would have more than a handful to play with. My eyes moved up to her round kind face. Then my heart stopped. I had always had a thing for eyes. And this particular pair of blue eyes was a set I would never forget. I heard her utter my name and the soft bell tone of her voice sent shivers down my spine and into other regions of my anatomy.

"Hello Julia, Long time no see."

Julia reached out and slapped me, hard.

"LONG TIME NO SEE! IS THAT ALL YOU HAVE TO SAY AFTER YOU DROP OFF THE FACE OF THE PLANET AND LEAVE ME?"

I cringed I hated making woman angry at me. They were always so… Creative in their punishments.

"Excuse me but I think we need to get the ritual started or we will run out of time."

I could not have wanted to kiss Potter more at that very moment. Julia was always a stickler for being on time. If she continued to yell at me then she would cause us to be too late. That would never bode well with her. Harry continued:

"Now I will need you to grasp each other's hands. Right to right; left to left."

Severus grabbed her hands as instructed and felt a power surge through his heart.

"Good now I will start the chant. The two of you have very little to do. Pretty much you just hold on. No matter what happens; DO NOT LET GO OF EACH OTHER!"

As we both nod our heads Harry begins to chant. At least that's what I think he's doing as all I can hear is hissing. It reminds me of being in the Dark Lords presence while he talks to his bloody snake. Suddenly I feel a sharp pain on my arm. I try to reach it but Julia refuses to let go of my hands. I look up at her and I don't feel the pain anymore as I am lost in her heavenly gaze. Her eyes held mine for so long that I felt like the world around us was gone. He never noticed the red and gold light spiraling around them. I felt a finger tap me on the shoulder. I turned to see a pair of dancing green eyes.

"Professor the ritual is complete. I suggest that you take your wife down to your chambers. It sounds like you two have some catching up to do. I do have one thing to say however; the red and gold light signifies that you two now are not just soul bound but married as well. I would suggest that you a… consummate the marriage as soon as possible."

Severus and Julia both nodded their heads and walked out of the room still holding hands. Harry was quietly chuckling as he thought 'I wonder what Snape would say if he thought about the fact that the colors to represent a marriage were the same as the Gryffindor house colors.'