Snape's POV

Easter came and went and soon it was time to start preparing for the third task. Most of the teachers spent their free time down at the Quidditch pitch which, with the help of Hagrid and Professor Sprout had been turned into a maze of hedges that grew larger every day. I was surprised no student had discovered it yet, but with no Quidditch matches there was little reason to go down to the field.

The champions were due to meet Bagman down at the Quidditch pitch during the last week of May and I decided I would take Olivia down to the field before then. I didn't have a specific reason to tell her about the third task…it just seemed fitting, since she had known in advance and even helped with the first two. So at lunchtime I sent her a note, telling her to leave the castle after dinner and I would meet her out there.

After dinner- throughout which Albus had tried to engage me in conversation- I slipped out of the Great Hall. I had seen Olivia leave not five minutes before.

"Where are you going, Severus?" said a voice as I started to leave the Entrance Hall. I cursed inwardly and turned to see McGonagall at the top of the Grand Staircase. She had not been present at dinner.

"You were absent from dinner, Minerva," I said casually.

"The Weasley twins were serving a detention in my office," she said somewhat crossly.

"Ah. I'm going out for a walk," I said and, not waiting or caring for further explanation, I headed outside.

I scanned the grounds for any sign of Olivia- both with my eyes and with my mind- but came up with nothing. I frowned and started down the path, wondering if she was still inside. Perhaps she had forgotten. Perhaps she had gotten caught. Perhaps she didn't care for me anymore…

All of a sudden something leapt out of a bush and had I not swiftly deflected it with a sharp elbow jab, I would have been knocked to the ground.

"Ow," said a surprised Olivia, who was sprawled on the ground, robes and hair askew.

"Oh my god. Forgive me," I said, helping her to her feet. "Are you okay?"

"Fine," she said, massaging her ribs.

"You startled me," I said. "What were you doing? I could have cursed you!"

"Surprising you. Testing my Occlumency."

"Well…it certainly had the element of surprise," I said- my heart beat still hadn't returned to normal.

"I was just trying to be cute."

"You don't have to try," I told her with a small half smile.

She smiled.

"Where are we going anyway?" she asked me.

"It's a surprise."

We started walking towards the Quidditch pitch together. Olivia didn't ask any questions, content to wait and see. We moved through the growing darkness and as we came to the stadium, we went through a gap in the stands and out onto the field.

Olivia stood there, mouth agape, staring at the field and the rows and rows of hedges.

"It's…a maze," she said. "The third task?"

I nodded my head.

"They'll put it back to normal after this is all over, won't they?" she asked anxiously.

"Of course."

We stood there in silence, looking out over the maze.

"So the champions will just have to get through the maze?" she inquired. "It doesn't look all that difficult."

"The hedges will be 20 feet tall by time for the second task. And there will be a number of creatures and enchantments they must pass through," I told her. "It will be a challenge."

"Nothing Potions-related though, is there? Nothing we can help with?"

I shook my head.

"Pity," she said.

We stood there a moment longer then I told her we had best head back. I didn't want to still be out there when Potter and the other champions arrived.

"It's past curfew. Should I make myself invisible?" Olivia asked. I considered this.

"No," I said decisively. "I feel foolish talking to you when you are invisible."

"What if we run into somebody?" she inquired.

"Then I will tell them I caught you out after hours and am going to give you detention."

"Clever," she said with a grin.

As luck would have it, we didn't see anyone…until we were walking into the castle and met Albus on the steps. One look from him and I knew lying was pointless.

"I wish to speak with you in my office, Severus," he said quietly.

"Yes headmaster," I said and glanced guiltily at Olivia. "Return to your Common Room."

"Yes sir," she said, eyes cast down, not looking at either of us. She hurried into the dungeons.

I followed Albus up the stairs to his office, neither of us speaking until he was seated behind his desk and I before it, feeling like a schoolboy in trouble again.

"You showed her the maze, correct?" he asked.

"Yes," I said sullenly.

"Why?" he asked, x-raying me with his electric blue eyes. I looked away, staring hard at the floor. How could I explain it to him? I didn't have a real reason. I had just wanted to share something special with her, something no one else knew about- like when Lupin took her for a fly on the back of a hippogriff or when Charlie showed her the waterfall cave.

"I don't know," I said finally, realizing that Albus was still waiting for an answer.

"Could it be that you have come to care for the girl?" he asked. I said nothing, knowing that lying to him was futile.

He nodded thoughtfully.

"She's my cousin," I defended weakly, "And my ward. It's inevitable that there should be a certain amount of-…"

"Love?" he suggested.

I flinched.

"Compassion then," he said and I inclined my head.

He spent the next few minutes talking to me about propriety and being careful and "not wanting people to get the wrong idea." I accepted all of these things with a nod. He didn't sound angry but I still felt chewed out when I left… A fact I gladly took out on Potter, who was running away from the headmaster's office when I emerged.

"POTTER!" I said loudly. He skidded to a halt and looked back at me. I beckoned for him to return.

"What are you doing here, Potter?" I asked suspiciously. Had he been eavesdropping?

"I need to see Professor Dumbledore!" he exclaimed, running back up the corridor and skidding to a stop before me. "It's Mr. Crouch…he's just turned up…he's in the forest…he's asking-"

"What is this rubbish? What are you talking about?"

"Mr. Crouch!" Potter shouted, "From the Ministry! He's ill or something- he's in the forest, he wants to see Dumbledore! Just give me the password up to-"

"The headmaster is busy, Potter," I sneered.

"I've got to tell Dumbledore!"

"Didn't you hear me Potter?"

"Look," he said angrily, "Crouch isn't right- he's- he's out of his mind- he says he wants to warn-"

Suddenly the door behind me opened and there stood Albus, looking between the two of us.

"Is there are problem?" he asked pleasantly.

"Professor!" Potter said before I could speak, "Mr. Crouch is here- he's down in the forest, he wants to speak to you!"

"Lead the way!" said Dumbledore promptly, believing him immediately. He followed Potter down the staircase, leaving me feeling even more annoyed and wounded than I had felt before.

Olivia's POV

Instead of returning to the Common Room as Snape had told me to, I went to wait for him in his office. I felt a bit guilty that we had been caught by the headmaster- even though it had been Snape's idea.

It was past midnight when Snape finally returned and I had long since fallen asleep with my head on his desk. I started awake when he opened the door. He looked tired and frustrated and I knew it couldn't be just Dumbledore.

"What happened?" I asked, getting up and moving to my usual seat so he could sit down.

Snape proceeded to tell me that Barty Crouch had been found in the forest by Potter and Krum. He had been raving mad, talking about the return of the Dark Lord and asking for Dumbledore. Potter had gone to fetch the headmaster and upon their return found Krum stunned and Crouch gone. They'd spend the past few hours scouring the castle, grounds and village for any sign of the madman.

"I could have helped," I said.

"I thought you would be asleep. Besides, I've already been chewed out once for having you out after hours."

"Not my fault," I said hotly.

"I didn't say it was," he said somewhat irritably, then sighed. "I'm tired, Olivia. We can talk about this tomorrow."

"…Fine," I said, getting up to leave. "Goodnight Severus."

"Goodnight."

June seemed to fly by and while everyone throughout the castle was abuzz with excitement about the final task, I was more looking forward to the school year being over. I had never been more excited to leave Hogwarts, to return to Spinner's End, where Snape and I could finally be alone. No more sneaking around or hiding our relationship…we'd have the whole summer…

The morning of the third task I entered the Great Hall at breakfast time to find it full of the usual chattering students. As soon as I sat down, however, my friends exploded.

"Have you seen this, Liv?" Brandi asked me, thrusting a newspaper under my nose.

"It's that Skeeter woman, the one who wrote the article about Potter in Witch Weekly," Alex said.

I took the paper from Brandi and read the article quickly. I let out a snort of laughter.

"Rubbish," I said. "Who is this Skeeter woman? I think if Potter was inclined to the Dark Arts, he'd have been put in Slytherin. And he wouldn't be so…Potter."

"But he's a Parselmouth," Brandi said, mystified. "I never knew that."

"Well yeah…but he didn't set a snake on that other boy. That was just a rumor. Any idiot there could see he was chasing it away," Alexandria said. "We were there."

I nodded in agreement.

"Severus said that Dumbledore thinks that when the Dark Lord tried to kill Potter, some of his powers were transferred to him," I said, voice quiet. "Including Parseltongue."

"Ohh la la," Brandi said. "I wonder what other dark powers the boy is hiding? Maybe he can turn into a snake."

"Or kill with a single glance?" Alexandria suggested.

"Or destroy whole villages with a single spell?"

"Or become invisible without using a spell?"

I was silent as they continued to list impossible feats…or what I assumed were impossible. I realized then that I knew very little about what the Dark Lord was capable of. It's not like Snape was very open to discussing Him and would certainly not volunteer any information. I glanced up at the staff table where he sat beside Dumbledore, deep in conversation, most likely discussing the Daily Prophet.

Throughout the day, students could hardly concentrate on their exams, excited as they were about the final task. I had several ask me for a concentration potion, which I got form Snape and lunchtime and gave to my fellow Slytherins…for a fee, of course.

I had no problem with my exams and when I headed down to dinner that evening my pockets were filled with coins. I would offer to split it with Snape later, since it had been his potions I'd been selling.

When everyone was almost done eating and the excited chatter had again risen to a maximum, Dumbledore stood and asked the champions to follow Ludo Bagman out of the castle. Five minutes later he stood again and asked all the students to make our way down to the Quidditch field. I walked with Brandi and Alexandria at first, listening to their speculations as to what the third task would be. Then I saw Snape and he saw me and beckoned me over. I said goodbye to my friends and hurried to his side.

"Are you okay?" I asked as we walked, noticing that he appeared anxious.

"I just…have a feeling that something is going to happen," he said. "I want you near me."

"Okay," I said, sensing that it wasn't the time to ask questions.

We were at the end of the crowd of students. Just as we reached the steps leading into the stands, Dumbledore approached us. He, too, had the same anxious look as Snape.

"I want you to sit with me, Severus," the headmaster said and added softly," In case something goes wrong."

Snape inclined his head then glanced quickly t me.

"I want Olivia with me," he said firmly.

Dumbledore didn't seem surprised.

"Yes, I think that's best," he said.

Somewhat perturbed, I followed the two nervous wizards into the stands. Dumbledore said in the first row of the stands and Snape sat to his right. I sat beside Snape, at the end of the row nearest to the stairs.

Once the stands were full and the champions positioned at the entrance of the maze, Ludo Bagman began to speak to the crowd. He didn't waste any time; he told how the points currently stood- with Potter and Diggory tied for first, Krum in second and Fleur in third- then sent the champions off into the maze. I had noticed McGonagall, Moody, Flitwick and Hagrid, each with bright red stars pinned to them, had gone off around the outside of the maze before Bagman began talking. Once he as finished, I asked Snape about the four teachers, but it was Dumbledore who answered me.

"They are positioning themselves around the maze. If a champion is injured or unable to continue, he or she will shoot up red sparks and one or more of the teachers will go assist," he explained.

It wasn't long before the first red sparks were sent up. There were murmurs of speculation from the crowd. I waited, silent. Nearly ten minutes passed before McGonagall and Flitwick emerged, levitating Krum's body between them. Karkaroff was seen running form where he sat with the other judges. He, Bagman and Madam Pomfrey crowded around Krum. After a moment, Madam Pomfrey took off with Krum. Bagman cleared his throat.

"Viktor Krum has been found unconscious," he announced. "And is therefore unable to continue, leaving only three champions to compete for the Triwizard Cup."

"Stating the obvious, isn't he?" I murmured to Snape. Dumbledore heard and chuckled quietly.

Bagman continued talking again once the crowd began to get restless. He talked about some of the challenges the champions would face in the maze- giant spiders, riddles, enchantments and Hagrid's Blast-Ended Skrewts, which had grown to ten-feet in length. When he ran out of things to talk about he began to give facts about each of the champions in order to hold the attention of the crowd.

It wasn't enough to hold my attention, however, and my mind wandered freely. Mostly I thought about all the prospects of the summer. I kept my mind guarded, of course. All of a sudden, Snape tensed beside me and uttered a soft cry. I looked over to see him grabbing his forearm and gritting his teeth in pain- The Mark.

Dumbledore looked over at me, his expression dark and serious.

"Olivia," he said quietly. "I want you to take him away from here until it passes. You must not let him Disapparate, no matter what. It will hurt him…but it will pass. Understand?"

"Yes sir," I said somewhat fearfully. "Does this mean…what I think it means?"

"I'm afraid so," he said gravely. "Now go, quickly."

Snape and I left the stands as quickly as we could without drawing attention to ourselves. I knew now why Dumbledore had chosen to sit us so close to the stairs. He must have suspected this would happen. Snape was still clutching his forearm and was obviously in excruciating pain. I cast around for somewhere to go. The forest was closest and I led Snape to a spot just inside the trees. There he fell to his knees with another cry. His breathing was labored and his eyes were watering.

"Is there nothing that will help?" I asked desperately. He shook his head.

"No," he said through gritted teeth. "It…will pass…"

I stood there, watching helplessly as my lover knelt, isolated in his pain.