A/N: Snape's Point-of-View
Severus smiled as she accepted his offer. He also accepted her kisses; he never knew he was a starving man for affection until he stumbled upon this oasis.
"You honor me, Nymphadora." He replied, worried that he was being foolish to get involved on the eve of the Solstice, knowing that he was months away from having to be her enemy.
He opened the box and put the bracelet on her left wrist, watching the spell take hold as it clasped onto her. "Now the Aurors will be able to detect the magic on this, but won't know it's from me. If any of them ask, just say it's from Twilfitt and Tattings. The store's name is respectable enough for them to know that it's nothing dark."
He gestured back towards the party. "I don't care to be stuck back in there, do you?"
McLaggen bolted out of the enlarged office, followed by a guilt-ridden Granger towards the Hospital Wing.
Severus smirked. "Remind me to add five points to Gryffindor House later." He offered his arm to her and took her out for a stroll among the greenhouses. He had no idea what he wanted to do or say to her, but he was sure that something would come up.
He knew that he'd be the happiest man just to have her by his side and let him spend time with her, free of judgment and with full knowledge of the kind of man he was.
Narcissa Malfoy still had her contacts within the Daily Prophet in case the vile Skeeter woman wanted to pull another fast one on her family, and was not at all amused to see an early edition of tomorrow's front page.
The photographer with press credentials had obviously been capturing Slughorn's massive party with Harry Potter as his latest victim. But in the midst of the crowd moving about was none other than her niece, Auror Nymphadora Tonks, on the arm of Ex-Death Eater Severus Snape.
She checked her stores for headache potion, knowing the flurry of howlers she would be getting. And that would just be from her own relatives.
Severus lead Nymphadora to Greenhouse 5, extending his wand and casting the Lumens Nox spell. As his wand swallowed up all of the light within a three-foot radius around them, nobody could be certain that the pair of them were out on the grounds.
They had a great, gentle conversation about their days as students here at Hogwarts. He had no idea that she had been as much of a troublemaker as she had been, while she had expected his schoolboy years to have been more exciting, outside of his being bullied by James Potter and his gang.
"So where was Remus in the midst of that?" She asked as they sat down on a nearby bench.
Severus smiled as she rested her head on his shoulder. "The first three years he would defend them and try to hex me back, four against one. That is, if you count Pettigrew and he was more of a squeaky cheerleader. But sometime in our fourth year, he quit casting the offensive spells and only used defensive spells to block. I quit targeting him and Wormtail then, and I thought that we had some sort of unspoken cease fire between us. Even when he became a Prefect, he just stood back and stated flatly that they should leave me alone while the pair of them threw their worst curses at me as he just stood there and deflected spells meant for his friends.
"He still was in the thick of it, throwing the insults and baiting me like they always did. I wore a lot of black and went to the Wizengamot as a child because of my accidental magic during the summers at home when I watched my mother get beaten by my drunkard of a father..."
"Severus! I'm so sorry." She exclaimed, meeting eyes with him as he frowned about it.
"Don't be, dear. The Ministry didn't do anything to keep his hands off of her and she wound up in the Janus Thickey Ward a few times just so she wouldn't... or couldn't... go back to him. He was a large reason why I hated Muggles for so long and went along with The Dark Lord's agenda. So Potter and Black went from making fun of my oversized muggle clothes to the idea that I must know Dark Magic and they set out to prove it by constantly provoking me."
"Did you know Dark Spells that young?" She asked. Severus nodded.
"As innocuous as the Lumens Nox spell is, doing the exact opposite of lumos is a Dark Spell. Once you use it, you want to try it again. Because it's not hurting anyone, and you will want to see how well it works in the well-lit library... or if you can sneak into the potions supply cabinet... But I knew a few, and after picking myself up from the first year of being their random practice dummy, studied up just to ensure a fair fight when I was outnumbered. You recall the spell that dangles someone by their ankles, it got a lot of use by the Death Eaters and at the Quidditch World Cup? I created that one myself."
"Well it wasn't your fault. They pushed you to it!" She exclaimed in fury. Severus shook his head sadly.
"I didn't have to fight back. I didn't have to research Dark Spells. I didn't even have to find the bigger bullies in the school and befriend them for 'protection'. My own choices are just as much to blame as theirs were."
Severus took her left hand in his, while strengthening the spell around them and putting themselves in pitch darkness. His fingers traced the chain around her wrist while her fingers played along his dark mark. Did she know she was touching it?
"But in some horrible way, I'm glad that the path I've been on has brought me to this moment. Here with you." He leaned in and kissed her lips ever so softly, and savored the warmth and gentleness that was there.
"Oi! Anybody out there? It's pas' curfew, yeh sneakin' lot!" Hagrid furiously burnished his pink umbrella before pointing it threateningly at the pair.
Severus stood, still wrapped in darkness. "It is I, Hagrid. I simply could not take another moment of Horace and his dragon-veal appetizers." Severus actually enjoyed the soft texture of baby dragon, but thought that perhaps this would gain him some sympathy.
"Tha' you, Severus? I can't see yeh." He responded, slowly walking towards them. Severus dropped the spell, sighing almost dejectedly.
"Whom else responds with 'It is I', Hagrid?" Hagrid nodded at the sight of him and then saw Tonks also on the bench. "Oh, hello Tonks! Ye also needed away from ol' Horace and his Slug Club?"
Before she could respond, Severus took a commanding step towards Hagrid and lowered his voice.
"Hagrid, do you recall when you were asking all of the faculty for advice when Madame Maxine was at the Yule Ball two years ago?" Severus' eyes narrowed, expounding for him to get the idea.
"Yeh, I put on me best jacket and asked her about 'er own intrest' and talked about mine." Hagrid smiled, remembering how well his night went.
"Then please vacate the immediate area so that I may do the same. And don't let word of this get out." Severus stated flatly. Hagrid's eyes got wide and he nodded, "Ye can trust me. Albus keeps sayin' we need more 'appiness in these dark days." Hagrid gave Severus a playful slug on the arm as the Potions Master took the hit stoically. He's been playing with his brother Grawp too much, he thought as he knew he'd have a bruise by morning.
Severus turned around to see Nymphadora smirking at him. "You gave Hagrid romantic advice? That's sweet." He was wondering if his humor was rubbing off on her.
Severus was rubbing his shoulder in pain. "I really didn't want to have to deal with an angry half-giantess should he bollock it up." He looked at his pocket watch and frowned slightly. "Nymphadora, as much as I wish this night could go on, I have a growing stack of mid-term papers to mark and I really should get started on it." He took her hand in his, smiling at the sight of the bracelet on her wrist. He lifted her hand and kissed the back of it.
"I truly had a marvelous night with you, dear. Pleasant dreams." He bade her goodnight, turning to leave.
"Aw, deep down Snapey's a closet romantic!" She teased in a flirting manner.
"I will hex you, witch." His eyes sparkled mischievously, knowing that his other gift to her was already in her room. There was no note attached, but none was needed.
As he made his way back into the castle, he looked up at the stars. The solstice would be in two days, and he had no idea what to expect from The Dark Lord.