DISCLAIMER: I do not own any of the Potterverse characters. They are owned by JK Rowling.

Aurelia and a handful of other characters you don't recognize, along with the story, though, are mine.

Timeline: HBP and beyond.

Ok, this chapter did not end where I had planned it to end at all. Strange how that happens. Sorry to all of you reading, you know, both of you. I was hoping to get a chapter up a week. I missed a week. Can't promise it won't happen again, but I will try my darndest to keep up weekly.

And seriously, reviews help. I start these for me, and finish them for others.

Minerva.

"Why is it always those three?" Minerva's voiced sounded tired even to herself.

The chuckle that was his response mirrored her exhaustion with his own. She didn't turn to face the younger man even though the response was out of character for him. Mostly. She continued to stare out onto the snowy Hogwarts grounds. The height of Gryffindor Tower gave her an obstructed vantage point of the setting sun over the lake.

"Even when it's not them, they're involved somehow," she continued thinking back to the Golden Trio's first year together. Nothing but trouble followed. Even the Weasley twins hadn't caused as much trouble as those three.

She frowned thinking about the two red heads. Maybe not. At least Harry, Ron and Hermione didn't actively seek or create the trouble like Fred and George. She smiled fondly, secretly relieved she was still able to see her former students at Order meetings. Even though their antics often caused grating of her nerves, it was nice to break up the horror of their reality with laughter every now and then.

She sighed and turned to the man in her office. Severus Snape didn't share her same sentiments. He never had a break from the horror. Not for the first time, nor the last, she thanked Merlin that she didn't have to hide who she was. She didn't have to be constantly guarded and unable to be completely honest about anything. She didn't have to balance on that thin line of good and evil.

The only time she had ever seen him relax was when the two of them were alone. It was a careful friendship the two opposing Heads of House had forged out of a basic need to have someone know who they were, really were. Not as professors, Order members or soldiers but as people. Neither pressed the other for secrets or half truths they knew the other held, they just simply were.

She was sad to realize their time together had begun to wane. She, of course, had Albus, although he had become increasingly distant as well lately. But she did hope Severus had found someone else to confide in. Perhaps someone who was separate from all of … this, she thought looking at the cursed necklace on her desk.

Severus was still examining it, his wand out, casting different revealing spells. His hair was falling in his face and obstructed Minerva's view of his sharp features.

It was within the last few months she noticed the change. He was no longer on the edge of something. He was now resolved. Not at ease by any means or content, that was still quite the opposite. He had come to terms with something and it bothered her. Actually, it outright terrified her. Mostly because the Headmaster had recently started showing the same resolve.

And neither of the two bastards were telling her anything to ease her worry.

"Do you think it was meant for Albus?" she asked, pulling his attention.

Severus looked up from the necklace. "Do I believe someone is trying to have Albus killed?" he didn't wait for her response. "Of course I do."

She slumped down into her chair behind the desk trying to relax the tension that was instantly building in her shoulders. "And what Potter is saying about Malfoy's involvement?"

"I think Potter gives Malfoy too much credit if he honestly believes he placed the curse on this."

Minerva stopped herself from growling and settled instead on a frustrated sigh. It didn't escape her notice that he didn't answer her question. "You can't let your feelings for those boys cloud your judgment."

"And neither can you," he countered.

She turned the necklace so she could see it straight on, making sure to only touch the outer casing. "Do you think they will make another attempt at his life?" She left the ambiguity of the 'they' linger. Minerva watched as Severus her friend was ripped away and the only thing left behind was the cold calculating Death Eater.

"How many of us do you really believe will live through this war?" he spat with disgusted venom.

She ground her teeth, angry at him for ruining their time together. "Obviously more than you do!"

Albus cleared his throat and both professors startled, not aware of his presence at Minerva's doorway. "Minerva," he said in a greeting and then turned to Severus. "Severus. May I have a word?"

Severus sighed and closed his eyes momentarily. The look he then shot Minerva was sad, and it pained her to realize it was an unspoken apology. There was most definitely something horrible coming, and she knew she wouldn't be able to protect the man from whatever it may be.

Severus rewrapped the necklace with the leather and tucked it into his robes. Albus bid her a good night, but Severus just followed the old wizard out of her office, closing the door behind them.

"Albus," she spoke to the now empty room. "Be careful with that boy."

Aurelia.

The black socks with the neon pink squares Aurelia was wearing did little against the cold basement floor. But the frigid cement wasn't what was bothering her. It was the two shelves of very dead plants. She shifted her weight and rested her hands on her hips.

Twenty-seven attempts of the antidote she had dubbed the Seventh Dwarf, and each one had failed miserably.

She smirked at the seemingly random name for a poison antidote. But there was actually a thought process behind it. The unnamed poison, apparently Severus was not as inventive as she was, was a very thick white liquid that dissipated to a clear odorless substance when mixed with another liquid, like snow. Snow White, Seventh Dwarf. She couldn't wait for Severus to scoff at it. Because he would, she had no doubt about that.

She pulled a browning leaf off one of the plants and compared it to the plant directly below it. They were both very dead in the exact same way. She sighed. When she was first presented with the task, she was sure she would find Severus' mistake quickly. But looking over his notes she realized why he had to seek help elsewhere. All of his theories were sound, brilliant in fact. But for some reason, the antidotes weren't working. She had a few more ideas that she would need an extra pair of hands to brew, but she wasn't hopeful.

She smiled when the wards tickled her senses. She had altered them slightly when Severus refused to knock for the second month. It wasn't that she didn't like him visiting, she did, but she didn't like being startled. They actually worked well together. Sure he was sarcastic, brutally honest and had a wicked sense of humor, but he wasn't as outright mean as Albus had led her to believe.

She looked up at the ceiling where she heard him enter the house. His steps made their way confidently to her study, then to her bedroom. She raised one eyebrow when he lingered in her bedroom longer than he should to determine she wasn't there. Finally he made his way to the door at the top of the stairs.

"Aurelia?" he called.

She smiled, he didn't often use her name.

"I'm down here," she acknowledged.

Her mouth dropped when he was finally visible coming down the stairs. It was the first time she had seen him dressed in anything other than robes. It was all Muggle attire. He was wearing dark gray slacks tucked into what looked like a hardier pair of dark brown equestrian riding boots, a black knitted sweater and wool coat that hung at mid thigh.

He ignored the blatant stare and turned away from her to the shelves of dead plants. She was thankful for the distraction. For a moment she couldn't separate their emotions. She wasn't sure which were hers and which were his. They were extremely similar which only served to magnify the awkward feelings.

She suddenly had the urge to touch the fabric of his coat.

"I see you've resorted to poisoning living things," and the smirk was easily heard in his voice.

"Hey, I can manage killing plants without any help." She was surprised she could speak levelly. "But I'm having troubles with the Seventh Dwarf."

He turned to face her, his emotions back to normal now. "A Dwarf?"

She suddenly felt very young and stupid for naming it that. "It's what I've named the antidote."

He didn't scoff like she thought he would, but merely frowned. "As in Snow White?"

She flashed him a toothy grin. He got it.

"You are so strange," he said rolling his eyes.

She chuckled to herself. "Speaking of strange, why the Muggle attire?"

He reached inside his coat and pulled out a package.

"Have you brought me a gift?"

"Yes, but this is not it." Severus held the package open and with the hide covering he opened the leather jewelry case.

The necklace was beautiful, black pearl and white gold. But the way Severus was holding it told her it was extremely dangerous. She squinted, moving to get a closer look.

"There's some kind of curse on it." She looked up at Severus to confirm her suspicion. He nodded almost imperceptibly.

"The young student we found with it is lucky to be alive."

"You think a student placed this curse?"

"No, I do not. But I do believe a student was trying to smuggle it into the castle." Severus recovered the necklace and held it to his chest.

"An assignation attempt."

"For the Headmaster," he finished for her.

"Hmm. I would have gone with something more masculine." She paused for a moment, the worry she had been feeling at Albus' absence growing. She shook her head. "So if this isn't my gift, what is?"

"Go put on something warmer," he demanded. He looked down at her feet and frowned at her socks. "And boots."

She was acutely aware of him following her up the stairs, but once at the top he made his way into the study and she closed her bedroom door behind her. She dressed quickly taking longer than usual to look in the mirror at her reflection. She knew the only reason she was having this attraction to him was because he was literally the only man she had been in contact with for months. And it had been a long, long time since she had been with a man in that way.

She shook herself, breaking the eye contact she had with herself in the mirror. She would be fine.

When she opened her bedroom door, Severus was standing in the hallway holding the coat she had worn the first night they met. He held it open for her and she let him help her put it on.

She followed him out the back door and into the garden. He took her arm and pulled her into his body.

"Where are we going?" she asked, trying to ignore how warm he felt.

He just smiled and disapperated. The pulling sensation ended and her feet hit grass. She grasped his coat for a moment, settling her stomach. She stepped back and looked around her.

"Oh my gosh," she whispered looking up through the stone walls and onto the stadium seating. "Amphitheatrum Flavian." She covered her open mouth with her hand as her lips pulled into a smile. "This is the Coliseum. We're in Rome."

"Stay close to me, do not use any magic, and only speak if directly spoken to. Do you understand?"

She nodded her head vehemently, unable to take her eyes off of the large stone walls once used to cage gladiators and wild animals.

A pop, that was unmistakably the mark of someone apperating, sounded about fifteen meters in front of them. Instinctively, Aurelia took a step closer to Severus.

The wizard who had just apperated was dressed as a stark vicar. The white square at his throat was easily visible amongst the black of the rest of his clothing. He moved swiftly, but not rushed, to stand before Severus.

He was tall, almost the same height as Severus himself, but broader. His hair was a fine sandy brown with a dusting of gray at his temples. He looked to be in his late fifties, but Aurelia knew age could be difficult to place on a wizard. But it was his eyes that gave him an otherworldly appearance. They were silver.

"Severus," the man greeted, his Italian accent strong.

"Father Crowley," Severus returned, bowing his head minutely.

Aurelia frowned when they began to converse in quick Italian. She knew some of the language, but not enough to keep up with their dialog. The two men seemed to know each other better than just acquaintances.

Crowley finally turned his attention to Aurelia. "Who is the girl?" he asked, speaking in English for her benefit.

"She's with me," Severus said plainly, making a show of stepping in front of her, claiming her. The movement sent a shiver up her spine and she wasn't sure if it was because of the gesture or why the gesture was needed.

Crowley said something Aurelia was sure meant 'pretty' and chuckled when Severus agreed by nodding his head. Then their conversation returned its pace, losing Aurelia once again.

Finally, Severus pulled the leather package from his coat and handed it to the priest. He pulled out his wand and, after eyeing Severus, gauging how he would respond to movement, he opened the leather with a flick of his wand to reveal the cursed necklace.

"Albus has agreed to help?" Crowley was speaking in English again. "No offense Severus, but you would still stand out with the Muggles."

Severus shook his head and motioned to Aurelia. Crowley craned his neck to get a better look at her from behind Severus. He smiled at her in a way she would not expect a man of God to.

"And you speak Gaelic?" he finally asked, addressing Aurelia.

She frowned at Severus, completely lost as to what Albus had agreed for her to do. "I do," she answered cautiously.

"What's your name, girl?"

"Aurelia Kassius."

"Her accent isn't right. She wouldn't be able to pass as Irish," Crowley directed to Severus.

Aurelia stepped out from behind Severus and caught his eye. He nodded, encouraging her.

"I can have an Irish accent if needed," she spoke, the brogue strong with a slight English influence found in Northern Ireland.

Crowley smiled again, and then switched back to Italian. It was starting to annoy her. She felt like Albus had set the entire meeting up here, the one place she had wanted to visit since she was a child so she wouldn't mind being thrown into something without her knowledge. But he was oh so wrong.

The meeting ended a few moments later. Crowley folded the leather back over the necklace and tucked it into his priests' robes.

"I look forward to seeing you again, Miss Kassius," he smiled at her again. "And Severus, try not to get yourself killed. We still have a chess game to finish."

Severus repeated his greeting of barely bowing his head and the priest dissaperated.

Aurelia cleared her throat, "I suppose you couldn't have warned me about that before we left, could you?"

Severus didn't answer.