McGonagall peered over her desk at the young woman. Kate stared down at the untouched internship application placed in front of her, not a single mark made onto it. It had sat at the bottom of her trunk for months, Kate hoping that her inability to see it would simply make it disappear. Out of sight and out of mind. But as her final trip across the Black Lake crept closer in the coming hours, the damning reality of life beyond Hogwarts became much more real. And it terrified her.

"Miss Blakewood," Minerva said sternly, "You told me you had submitted this in December. It is now June. Six months have passed, and St. Mungo's does not have you on file. Is it no longer your wish to become a healer?"

Kate stared down at the application, images of her father running through her mind. She remembered how he would come sweeping through the door, always so alive and cheery. She watched as his career that he had loved so much broke him down, leaving him sickly and frail until he faded out. She remembered how he looked during his last days; so small in the hospital bed. Her father, once larger than life, a large able-bodied man unable to breath on his own, thin and pale while she sat there holding his hand until he just couldn't breathe anymore. After everything, she just wasn't sure if she could go back to that hospital every day and pretend as if it wasn't the last place she and her father had ever been together. She kept her eyes locked on the application, images of her father running through her head; happy, healthy and full of life. To his sickness, the early days in which fatigue swept over him. To when the disease overcame him, and he wilted into nothingness. She looked up at the professor, gently sliding the application to the side, "I decided not to go forward with the application," she said simply, avoiding the older woman's eye.

"And what have you decided to go forward with, Miss Blakewood?"

Kate opened her mouth, hoping she could create some lie to push McGonagall off her trail. But nothing came to mind, Kate shutting her mouth and shaking her head, "No, Professor. I have not."

"Could you please explain to me the reasoning as to why?"

Kate sighed, unsure of what to say. "I just," she paused, collecting her thoughts, "I thought it might do me some good, you know, taking some time away from everything."

McGonagall's face softened, the professor removing her spectacles, reaching across her desk and taking the student's hand, giving it a tight squeeze, "These past months have been hard on you, Miss Blakewood. Don't think that I have not noticed."

Kate wanted to laugh. She wondered what grand observation the professor had made to come to that conclusion. She walked the halls like she was half dead, her lack of sleep leaving her eyes sunken and dull. Her hair ratted and usually pulled into a bun. Her friends had to drag her out of her dormitory, the girl only making time for her studies and to sleep, finding peace at the bottom of whatever bottle of alcohol she could get her hands on. The loss of her father had been hard enough, but she could find comfort in others when he passed, finding herself free to share her woes with those around her. But with him, she couldn't share her pain with anyone. She was forced to swallow it, try to hide it. Try to avoid his eye in the Great Hall and pretend that his iciness towards her didn't allow her to mend.

"The death of a loved one can be incredibly hard to cope with. I know your father meant a great deal to you," McGonagall said, patting the young woman's hand, "I have also considered that following in his footsteps, as noble as it may be, may not be the best choice for you. In fact," Kate watched as Minerva rummaged through the drawer of her desk, procuring from in a sickeningly yellow pamphlet, "You have quite a talent when it comes to children, Miss Blakewood. I have spoken to a few institutions and, well," she handed to pamphlet to Kate, offering her an apologetic smile, something Kate had seen often over the past year, "The woman who runs this school is looking for new teachers. I think you would excel at it." Kate looked over the pamphlet: Madame Baillargeon's Primary School for Magical Children. Another attempt by the old witch to get Kate into education. "I have seen your tutoring, Mis Blakewood, you have quite the talent when it comes to educating. If you do decide to follow this path, Madame Baillargeon would be more than pleased to have you."

Kate offered her a smile, nodding her appreciation, "Thank you, Professor."

Minerva gave the girl's hand another squeeze, "It has been an honor to have been able to watch you mature over the years. Miss Blakewood. Out of all the goodbyes I'll have to say tomorrow, well, you are surly going to be one of the most difficult. I wish you the best of luck in whatever you choose to pursue."

Kate smiled, "Thank you, professor."

"Can you believe that this is the last night that we will all be here together?" Meredith asked, smiling tearfully at all the girls gathered on Jane's bed and her own. The group of girls had shared the same dormitory since they were First Years, the six of them growing close. And as their last hours in the castle dwindled as the night grew older, they found themselves realizing that these would be the last hours in which they would all be together for what could be forever.

Kate listened from her bed as the girls shared stories from their years at Hogwarts, laughing and sharing tear-filled goodbyes. The dormitory had been packed, their posters and banners removed from the walls, tucked neatly into their trunks awaiting their final trip home. The stone walls were left bare, their belongings packed away, the tower awaiting the next group of fresh-faced, starry eyed first years to call it their home. But, in the final hours, it was if they had never been there at all; another slate wiped clean, making them nothing but another memory. Nothing but another group of girls that the tower would soon forget. Kate smiled when her friends erupted into another fit of laughter, yet she didn't feel as if she fit into their touching moment.

She rose from her bed, slipping away from the group unnoticed. The warm weather left her sleeping in her favorite nightgown, her thin robe draped over her shoulders as she started down the tower's winding staircase, dragging her fingertips along the cool stone of the walls. This tower had been her home, and without a home to go to, the loss of this one weighed heavier on her heart as her friends sat and reflected on their time at Hogwarts before their embarked back to the comfort of their parents' homes. How sweet it must be, knowing that there was a place for them beyond the castle walls.

Kate found herself standing in the Common Room, the usually bustling room empty and quiet as the students spent their last night together. Kate looked around at the tapestry covered walls, trying to absorb everything about her home that she could, afraid that she would could to forget it. She hoped to take as much as should could with her, wherever she would end up next.

Severus kept up the winding staircase of the Astronomy Tower, the breeze cool against his skin. The heat of the June night left him uncomfortable, again looking for solace from the heat. Not as if the heat had kept him awake that night, Severus finding himself incapable of finding rest. He had completed his grading for the school year, the final night at Hogwarts coming to an end as the morning hours came closer. With it came a great wave of excitement, caution thrown to the wind by students. Severus had found several in the hallways during his walk to the Tower, threatening another year at Hogwarts if they didn't return to their dormitories immediately.

He stepped into the threshold of the tower, finding himself to not be alone. Annoyance quickly flooded over him; another bloody student to escort back to their Common Room and further ruin his night. He straightened himself, steeping nearer to confront the student when he noticed the figure standing in the parapet.

The same creamy white nightgown hung on her frame, now thinner than he remembered. Moonlight illuminated her mess of curls, her head tilted up towards the sky. He found her in the same way he had many months ago but found a pull to her that was not the same as it was before. He had seen her in the corridors, resisting the same urge he resisted now. She had allowed herself to wither, because of him. She had lost weight, her skin had lost the glow that she brought into every room, and he wouldn't pretend that he didn't notice the days she swayed down the corridors, her cheeks pink and eyes glassy from the alcohol. He had done that to her. He wanted to pull her towards him, down some unoccupied corridor, apologize away the damage he had done and hold her to him, kiss away the wrong he had done and help her to heal from the way he broken her. Now he wanted to do the same, hold her close and tell her how much she meant to him, beg her to forgive him. But instead he stood, frozen and unable to speak. Unable to string together the words he wished to say.

She must have heard him, turning towards him in the same way she did that September night. The circles under her eyes where dark, her skin gaunt and pale; she looked exhausted, sickly. His breath caught in his throat when he saw the look in her eyes; the same as the night he broke her heart; the betrayal and the sadness, and the anger that glossed over it. She looked down, unwanting of his gaze, "My apologies, Professor. I'll be returning to my dormitory," she crossed the stone floor, keeping her eyes on her feet. She stepped past him, Severus wanted to reach out for as she neared the stairs. He knew what the Headmaster thought of this. He knew had had to resist himself once again. And yet they stood there in that place. In that beautiful, miserable, wonderful place that he had come to love her, come to break her heart and now to beg for her once more. In the place in which this all had become, and he refused to let this become the place where it would find its end.

"Katherine," he called, his heart pounded when he heard her footsteps cease, "Wait."

He turned, facing her. She stood, the stairway dark behind her. She stared at him, her body stiff and turned towards the steps, ready to escape his presence in the same way as she did months ago. He stared back, finding his mouth suddenly dry, "I'm sorry."

"I'm sure you are. Goodnight, Professor," she snapped, turning towards the stairs.

"No, Katherine," he lurched forward, grabbing her wrist, "Please, just listen."

"To what?" she hissed, pulling her wrist from his grasp, "I've heard all you have had to say. And quite frankly, I'm not interested in anything more you have to say to me. Goodnight, Professor."

He watched as she turned away once more, starting down the stairs. He started after her, "The Headmaster knew of us," he called after her, watching as her pace down the stairway slowed, "He came to my home, he told me that I was to end things between us immediately. I never wanted any of this."

She stopped, yet kept her back turned to him, "You're lying," she stated flatly, her voice wavering.

Severus started down the stairs slowly, nearing his student, "No. My career was at stake, Katherine. Dumbledore is the only reason I have this job. You can't imagine the things that Dumbledore has me doing for him. If I could go back; back to that morning, I'd tell him to fuck off. I would have sent him away from the house in which you slept in, the home that you gave me, that I shared with you, and gone right back up the stairs to you and confessed everything to you then, but I was afraid, Katherine,"

She turned, looking up at him, Severus a step above her, "I was afraid. I was selfish. I regret that. I regret ever second that I believed that pushing you away would be what was best for me because I was wrong. The time I spent with you, every moment," he met her gaze, the brown eyes that had stared up at him from is arms so many nights ago boring into his, "Has yet to leave my thoughts. You have yet to leave my thoughts. Not a moment passes that I don't think of you or regret my actions."

She remained silent, Severus taking the step down, standing in front of her. Neither spoke, unsure of what to say, one still absorbing what had been said by the other. Severus reached up, taking her face in his hands gently, the warmth of her skin washing over him in a wave of nostalgia. He brushed his thumbs against her cheeks, Katherine reaching up to wrap her fingers around his wrists. "I love you," he whispered, his voice shaky with the threat of tears and he confessed the one thing he had been forced to conceal, "And I am so, so sorry."

He brushed away the tears that stained her cheeks, Katherine looking up at him from under her lashes, "I made a horrible mistake and I will regret it as long as I am alive. If I could return to that day, to that night, I would have done everything differently," he paused, "I would have done everything differently if it meant that I would still have you."

Katherine took his face in her hands, her lips crashing against his. Severus' heart leapt, craving this moment since the moment she left him in the Tower that snowy night. He took her into his arms, afraid that if he let her slip away once more she would disappear forever. His fingers knotted in her curls, their kiss growing more desperate, one clinging to the other, keeping them as close as they could. Severus pulled away, catching his breath as he whispered against her lips, "Follow me."

The two burst into the Potion Master's private quarters, Severus reaching behind him to lock the door behind him as his student fumbled with the buttons of his coat, forcing it off, Severus tossing it away, keeping his lips to hers. They had raced through the corridors, avoiding and dodging the gazes of wandering students, onlooking portraits and ghosts, and the reprimands of whatever professors walked the castle, Severus gripping her hand as he led her to the dungeons. The couple backed into the bedroom, Severus lowering her onto the bed, his lips trailing down her neck, drowning in bliss as her soft moans and whines filled the bedroom. Her fingers tugged at her belt, Severus reaching down and replacing her fingers with his own as she moved towards the center of the bed, Severus following.

Katherine tugged at his trousers, Severus pushing up her nightgown, pressing kisses to her stomach as she pushed her panties down around her ankles. He had longed for this for months, lying awake and dreaming back to the nights he had spent with her, contemplating what he could have done differently that could have kept her in his bed. What could have kept her laying on his chest, his fingers running through his hair as she looked up at him. Kept him sleeping beside him. This moment, this beautiful, wrong, desperate moment was all that consumed him for months. As now she laid under him, flushed and half dressed, looking up at him in the same way that made him feel worthy for the first time in his life.

"I love you," he whispered.

She smiled up at him, knotting her fingers in his hair and she pulled him down to her lips once more, "I love you, Severus."

He pressed his forehead to hers, realizing that he had never been told that by another before, and how incredible it felt to hear it fall from her lips. Katherine's hands mused over him, Severus gasping at her touch, remembering how incredible it felt to be touched by her. To be with her. To be wanted by her. "Please, Severus," she whispered, lust heavy on her lounge. Severus slid into her, moaning as her warmth encased him, her walls tightening around him. He had forgotten how incredible she felt, how wonderful it felt to be in her. The words he had wished to say for so long poured from his lips as he filled her, confessing all of the things he had wished to say to her for so long, filling the room with loving words and the sounds of their lovemaking. She clung to him, her fingers nodded in his dress shirt, her face pressed against his neck, calling out for him as he moved in her, pleasure buzzing throughout her.

"Severus," she gasped, her hands grasping at his hips, pulling her deeper into him.

"I'm here, Kate," he whispered, reassuring her, "I'm here."

Lips found every inch of exposed skin as they could, his hips rocking into her. Hands grasped for each other, declarations of love whispered between kisses. All of the longing, all of the pining, the want and desire brought to a close in this moment. Their moans intensified as their passion heightened, Severus gasping out her name as he reaching his climax, her body tensing and then relaxing under him, her eyes closed, body trembling as she tried to catch her breath. Severus rolled to his side, trousers still around his ankles, breathing heavily Kate rolled onto his chest, the two assuming the position that they had taken every night at Spinner's End, Severus wrapping his arm around her waist, pressing a long kiss to her forehead, the saltiness of her perspiration on his lips.

The two laid silently for a few moments, Severus forcing himself to stay awake as his body tingled from his orgasm, the threat of sleep washing over his body. "Where will you go tomorrow?" he whispered, "Please do not return to your mother's. I couldn't live with myself if something were to happen to you there."

Kate rubbed her hand across his chest, knowing he only had a few more minutes of conversation in him before sleep would envelope him for the night, "I will not be returning to that house," she assured him, his breathing evening out, "Meredith's family has offered to let me stay with them for some time. But beyond that, I'm not sure."

Severus gathered her into his arms, pulling her to his chest and pressing another kiss to her head, "You will always have a home with me, Katherine. Please know that."

"I can't intrude like that, Severus. What would the Headmaster think?

"It is not the Headmaster's concern. My home is as much yours as it is mine. Please consider."

Katherine lifted herself from his chest, pulling her undergarments back up and turning to rise from the bed, "I really must be going, Severus. The girls will begin to wonder where I am."

"No," Severus said, sitting up abruptly, grabbing her arm gently, "Please stay."

"Severus, you know I can't,"

"Please. Just give me this one night to feel like you are mine again. Stay."

Katherine sighed, leaning across the bed and kissing him once more. "I can't, Severus. You know that. If the Headmaster were to find out, we would be in deeper than we already are."

Severus nodded, acknowledging her levelheadedness where he lacked. He took her face into his hands once more, kissing her again, "Alright," he whispered, "Alright."

"Goodnight, Severus."

"Goodnight, darling."

Please review.

xo DCAGP