My eyes fluttered open, pale morning light filled the room. I blinked, allowing my eyes to readjust to seeing. Severus' face came into focus. We had shifted during the night and were now face to face. His arm was heavy on my waist and our legs were tangled up in each other. His breathing was deep and rhythmic, he was still sleeping and I was glad. His sleeping face was free of tension and he looked so young. I wanted to reach out and touch him, but I didn't want to wake him, not in this fleeting moment of peacefulness. Waking would bring him back to the stressful reality where he was a double agent so undercover that not even the side he was fighting for knew where his allegiances lied. One of the corners of his mouth twitched and breath escaped him in a heavy puff. I wondered what he was dreaming about, the serenity on his face led me to believe that it was a pleasant dream. I hoped sleep offered a calming escape for him and not a nightmarish exaggeration of his reality.

His eyes flickered open, blinking before focusing on my face. A smile etched across his face, I involuntarily smiled back. He took a deep breath and stretched his limbs, his hand slid from my waist to my hip where he caressed the exposed skin. I brushed my fingertips across his cheek, feeling the slight morning stubble on his face.

"How did you sleep?" I whispered.

The grin that spread over his lips made my heart palpitate. "I don't remember falling asleep, but the last time my eyes were open it was very dark. What about you?"

"I slept well, thank you." I watched as he pushed himself up, his hand slid from my hip to my back as he rested himself up on his elbow. Slowly, he closed the gap between us, his lips pressing softly against mine. My heart burst with elation. He pulled back slowly, allowing his lips to linger on mine as long as possible before planting a gentle kiss on the tip of my nose. His lips brushed against my skin before kissing my forehead, more light kisses on each of my eyelids and down to my jaw before he buried his head in my neck. A euphoric pleasure spread through me like warm syrup as he dotted tender kisses over my collar bone. I wrapped my arms tightly around his torso, pulling him close, feeling the realness of him. His scent, his warmth, the rise and fall of him as he breathed, the softness of his body under my fingertips. He pulled back to look at me.

"Thank you." he said, softly. "I feel much better."

The dark half-moons under his eyes were less prominent and he looked less tired, a weariness was still discernible, I didn't know if anything would be capable of remedying that, apart from this whole mess he was in coming to an end. I held his face in my hands, savouring this moment with him. He looked down at me with a contented warmth and lowered his lips slowly to mine. I felt his jaw moving under my fingers and he parted his lips and deepened his gentle kiss. His hands roamed over my body, exploring its curves and dimples. I ran my fingers into his hair, spinning them into the soft strands. His hand slid under my sleep shirt, delicately running over bare flesh. A delicious shiver ran through me as his fingers glided over my skin. His tongue brushed over my closed mouth, I parted my lips, granting him access. Our tongues swirled around each other in an elegant, pleasurable dance. Desire ignited in my belly, hot and raging. I tugged at his linen shirt, my hands running against his supple skin as I pushed the fabric up.

The handle to my room rattled. The sound tore us apart with lightning speed, our eyes met with the same silent panic. I brought a finger automatically to his lips to silence him even though I knew he wouldn't speak.

"Aunt Ruby," Laura's voice sounded on the other side of the door. I rolled my eyes in annoyance at having been interrupted, Severus and I shared a quiet sigh of disappointment. "Are you awake yet?"

If there had been any doubt that Laura was Susan's daughter, it had been decimated by this impeccably timed interruption. "I'm so sorry," I mouthed to Severus. He gave an understanding shrug before we both silently climbed out of bed. "Yes, Laura, dear. I'm awake. Just give me a moment."

I rushed to pick up my apron from the floor and hung it up on a rack near the wardrobe. I scooped up my dress and Severus' robes from the chair. Throwing the dress unceremoniously into the wardrobe and closing the door noiselessly. Severus was picking up his cloak off the floor along with his belt and shoes. I handed his robes to him and motioned to a hidden corner for him to hide, holding my finger to my lips, again, as though he would even consider making a sound. He looked in the direction of the corner and back at me. He gave his head a slight shake before lifting his wand and disappearing with a crack. I winced at the loud noise.

"What was that sound?" Laura asked.

"Nothing!" I called. "I, er, hit my foot on the bed." I finally opened the door, finding Laura and Sam on the other side. "Good morning."

"You were still asleep!" The accusation in her tone reminded me, again, strongly of her mother. "Do you always sleep this late?"

"Of course not." I said. "What time is it?"

"Almost nine." she answered. "Are you coming to breakfast or not?"

"Probably not." I answered without consideration. "I want to avoid the Carrows as much as I can and mealtimes are the only time I come near them."

"Oh," Laura said, her face full of exaggerated sadness.

"And Snape," Sam added, my heart skipping at the name. "Now that you're on his list, you should probably avoid him, too."

"Right," I agreed with a nod, "Him as well." I looked again at Laura, who was making her face sadder by the moment. "Tell you what, I'll go get dressed, head to the kitchens, and bring us back some breakfast and we can eat in here together. Does that sound alright?"

"Yes," Laura accepted enthusiastically.

"Alright, wait here." I said and closed my bedroom door. I threw on a simple knee length dress in a gorgeous royal purple colour. It was one of my favourite things I owned and instantly made me happier just wearing it. I turned towards the door and saw the bed with tangled covers. I looked at the space that had held Severus in it just a few short moments ago. My cheeks blushed with heat as I reminisced about what had been occurring. I gave my wand a swish, the covers untwisted, covering the bed, and the pillows fluffed and smoothed out.

"I'll be right back." I said as I breezed past Sam and Laura when I emerged from my room. I returned moments later with a platter holding toast, butter, various jams, sausage, pastries, and fried eggs. An elf followed closely behind carrying a jug of pumpkin juice and a carafe of coffee. I had assured her that I could manage but she insisted. I placed everything on the desk and expressed my gratitude to the elf who responded with a curtsy before running back to the kitchens.

"Where will we sit?" Sam asked, looking at the one chair situated at my desk.

"There are other chairs," Laura said, pointing to the uncomfortable wooden chairs meant for visitors. "We can grab some."

"Wait," I said, picking up my wand. "I have a better idea." I readied my wand and made a practised motion. Tufts of green grass sprung up from the floor. Laura's eyes lit up and she clasped her hands together. I repeated the motion several times until a sizable patch of meadow grasses spread over the floor. "Care for a picnic?"

Laura squealed with excitement and Sam merely nodded his head, his temperament much more even like Henry's. I placed the platter between them as they sat on the grass before pouring each of them a glass of pumpkin juice. I poured myself a mug of coffee before joining them in the makeshift meadow.

"This is amazing!" Laura shrieked as she reached for a cream filled pastry stuffed with strawberry slices.

"Much better than the Dining Hall." Sam agreed, grabbing for a rather large chocolate filled croissant.

"Can we do this everyday?" Laura asked, gulping down some pumpkin juice.

There was a lot of energy in these two. "I don't think so." I said.

"What about just on Sundays?" Sam asked reasonably.

"We'll see." I offered.

Sam and Laura both spent a good portion of breakfast telling me all of the Gryffindor gossip. It seemed that Neville's acts of rebellion were well known within the house with new stories of his adventures circling around the common room nightly. Many of their stories were far too dramatic to be real, but the tales seemed to fill them with hope that everything would be alright and that this wouldn't last forever. It made me happy knowing that they had things to distract them from the horrible things happening around them.

I was laughing at one of Laura's silly stories when a dark figure captured my attention. My eyes flicked up to the entry, panic slicing through me, only to find Severus Snape striding in with several bottles and vials in a basket. Sam and Laura looked over their shoulders to see what had distracted me and turned back with pale faces. He stopped very near us, setting the basket down on the desk.

He looked down at our little picnic, a sparkle of amusement in his eyes that was missed by Sam and Laura who were too scared to look at him. "These supplies were requested before your arrival." he said in his low, monotone drawl. "Try to put them away without breaking anything." he flashed me a teasing smile. I fought hard the urge to smile back. I nodded rigidly instead. Sam and Laura were tense, their eyes wide as they waited to hear his exit. "Make sure you clean this up. If I find a single blade of grass once you leave, I'll send a bill to St. Mungo's for damage to the castle." He paused briefly in the entry, I took the moment to stick my tongue out at him. My action was met with a smile and appalled looks from the twins who turned quickly around to find him already gone.

They burst out laughing. "Do you think he saw you?" Laura asked.

"Definitely not!" Sam shouted. "She'd be dead if he had."

"That's true." Laura agreed. "Aunt Ruby, you should be careful, what if he had seen you?"

I shrugged as though I were merely a risk-taker. "Don't copy me, though. You need to at least pretend to respect him."

They both nodded their heads and we finished breakfast by mid-morning. They left to go finish their assignments and once they were gone I cleaned up the remnants of breakfast, returning the dishes to the kitchen and reversing the grass charm so the stone floor was as grassless as it had been before. I then turned my attention to the basket of supplies dropped off by Severus. I carried the vials and bottles to the closet. Much of the list I had put together the day before was taken care of by the contents of the basket. I pulled each container out and placed it in its designated spot, pausing as I reached in and pulled out something that wasn't glass. I held a small roll of parchment in my hand. I unrolled it and read the message scrawled in a familiar hand.

My office tonight.

-SS

P.S.- I wasn't joking about the grass.

I smiled as I read the postscript, re-rolling the parchment and turning to tuck it away in a desk drawer.

Once I put the items from Severus away there wasn't much else to do. I contemplated requesting the items I noticed were low that hadn't been in the basket from Slughorn, but I wasn't sure if that was something he'd do. Severus brought these vials, perhaps he was still overseeing that aspect himself. I decided that I would ask him before bothering Slughorn. I should visit the Potion's Master anyways, whether he would be my source or not. He was one of my favourite professors and I was interested to know if he remembered me.

"Excuse me." a quiet boy's voice sounded, pulling me from my thoughts.

I looked up to find a Hufflepuff, he couldn't have been beyond his fifth year. He looked alright, sounded normal, and there were no foul odours or obvious signs of pain. "Hello." I said after my initial assessment. "Is there something I can help you with?"

"Er…" he paused, nervously rubbing the back of his neck. "Is there someone else I can talk to?"

I was caught slightly off-guard at the question. "Oh, uh, what sort of problem are you having and I could figure out who would be able to help."

"It's, er, my skin." he stuttered.

"If it's a skin problem," I said, standing up to get a closer look at him. "That would be my area of expertise. Well, not expertise, I specialise in poisons. NOT poisoning people, antidotes and the like. What I'm trying to say, rather badly, is that I'm the school healer for the time being. I promise that my healing skills are better than my speaking skills."

"Oh," he said, still nervous. "So there isn't anyone older…or male that I could talk to?"

"I promise," I said, starting to get offended that he didn't think I was qualified. "I have years of experience and I am very professional."

"No," he said, immediately. "I'm sure you are, but…" His voice trailed off.

"But, what?" I asked.

"But This is embarrassing," he said quickly, "I don't want you to be disgusted, either."

"Oh." I considered. "I could go fetch Slughorn or Flitwick, but whatever you tell them, they'll have to tell me and I'm still going to find out and have to be the one to treat it. I can guarantee that it's not as bad as you think it is and I have certainly seen worse."

The boy took a deep breath, considering my words. "Someone jinxed me yesterday, at first nothing happened and then there was…a spot," He pointed to his hip. "Where the jinx had hit and now…it's spreading."

"Is it a wound?" I asked.

"No." he said.

I waited for him to continue on and tell me what it was, but he remained silent. "Then what is it? The spot?"

"It's, er…" he began.

I was hanging on every word, as few as there were. "Well, are you going to tell me? Show me? I need more information."

He scrambled, moving his robes and pulling at his tucked in shirt, revealing a patch of skin. The part closer to his stomach was pinkish in colour, but it darkened to a reddish-brown as it faded near his back. There were articulated ribbed sections with small hairs protruding and a layer of mucus covered the skin. I fought a gasp so that he wouldn't panic.

I pressed my lips together. "Do you know the word or words spoken with this jinx?"

He shook his head as he pulled his shirt down rapidly.

"Okay." I said calmly. "I think it looks like a Vermiculus jinx which is not supposed to be used on humans and it appears that you are…it seems that you are, er, exhibiting physical characteristics of a…worm."

"A what?" he shouted.

"Well," I began, St. Mungo's never taught me how to explain to a teenager that they were turning into a worm, you'd think they would have left me better prepared. "You appear to have setae and you seem to be developing…segments, also, your dorsal colouring is…uh, darker. You say it's spreading?"

"Yes," he confirmed. "It's getting close to, er…"

"Ah," I said in understanding. "Quite an urgent matter, then."

He nodded his head.

I thought about the logistics of what was happening, what could be done, and what amount of time that might take. I began to worry about his response. "The thing is…what's your name?"

"Jamie Horner." he said.

"Well, the thing is, Jamie." I began. "When jinxes and potions are used in a manner or on an anatomy for which they weren't intended, reversal can be a bit complex."

"What does that mean?" he asked.

"There is a cure." I said first. "It's a brewed remedy, but it is not something I have on hand. It's not difficult to make, however, depending on ingredient availability and the brewing time required, I'd say it could take up to a week to begin administ–"

"A WEEK!?" he shouted. "IT'S SPREADING! FAST! I DON'T HAVE A WEEK!"

"Now, now," I attempted to calm him down. "I understand your concerns, but whatever is affected will be reversed when the antidote is given and everything will be back to normal."

"What am I supposed to do until then?" he asked.

"Obviously, I'm going to want to keep an eye on you." I said. "Pick a bed, change into a gown and get comfortable. I'm going to check on ingredient availability and I'll be right back. We can talk about whether you want to allow visitors or not when I get back."

"Definitely not." Jamie scoffed.

"That's settled then." I said, shrugging on a set of black robes over my dress. "I'll be back."

I rushed out into the halls and hurried to reach the gargoyle guarding the staircase. "Wormwood." I said, smiling when I realised the coincidence. The gargoyle jumped aside and I ascended the stairs. I knocked on the door, hoping he was there. I was suddenly overcome with panic that he might not be alone. I would look either very suspicious or extremely stupid coming to Severus with questions about potions ingredients. Only a great fool would inquire with the headmaster instead of the Potions Master. I heard an annoyed groan coming from the office.

The door flung open and Severus stood directly in front of me, an angry annoyance screwing up his face. His eyes lit up as soon as they landed on me, his lips turning up at the corners. A confused furrow of the brows followed soon after as he looked around at the windows in his office. "What are you doing here?" he asked. "I said tonight, it's still afternoon."

"Oh!" I said, "Oh…oh." Though I said the same word three times, each had its own intonation and different meaning. Severus' brow furrowed even further. "I'm not sure I'll be able to make it anymore."

His face fell. "What? Why not?"

"That's actually why I came to talk to you." There was a sudden noise in the hallway at the bottom of the stairs. Severus' eyes went wide and he quickly seized me by the wrist, pulling me into his office. Our bodies pressed together; he closed the door. My heart was pounding in my chest, both from the startling noise and panic of being caught, and our close proximity. I wondered if I would ever get used to the feel of his body on mine or if I would always respond this way. Excitement flushed through my body at the thought of being in this position enough to get used to it.

His hands glided up my back. I looked up into his face, his eyes focused intently on my face, his lips curved up slightly at the corners. I wondered if he had the same response to being pressed against me as I had to him. He lifted a hand to my face, gently brushing my cheek with his thumb. He slowly lowered his lips to mine, gently pressing his mouth to mine. He tasted, surprisingly, of tea and honey. I welcomed the sweetness of him as the kiss deepened. He slid down to my throat, planting soft kisses on my pulse point. My head spun as I clung to his robes, my veins flooded with heated desire. I wished I could continue to lose myself in him and let my want consume me.

A frustrated growl churned in my throat as I pushed him gently away. "We can't." I was met with a heavy-lidded gaze that begged for further explanation. "There's a student in the Hospital Wing who's turning into a worm."

His eyebrows raised in surprise. "Whatever I thought your excuse would be, it certainly wasn't that."

"I came here to ask whether or not we had ingredients to make a Vermisabivit potion." My eyes stared at his lips as I waited for an answer. I longed to feel them on my skin.

"Of course," he said, "I'll brew some and have it for you in a few days."

"Oh," I said. "You don't have to; I can do it."

"I feel utterly useless," he said, "I want to feel as though I have some sort of purpose. All I've been doing lately is waiting for an opportunity that has yet to arrive. I'm at a standstill in my quest and I'm beginning to believe I'm worthless."

"Well, if it means that much to you…" I smiled. He brushed my cheek with the back of his fingers in response. I leaned into his touch.

"Why can't you come tonight?" he asked, his eyes gazing deeply into mine.

"I have a patient." I said as though it were the most obvious thing in the world.

"Is he in pain?" Severus asked.

"I don't know." I said. "He didn't say."

"Is he at risk of dying?" he continued. "Going mad and escaping on a murderous rampage?"

I smiled. "I don't believe so."

"He'll be fine." Severus said without doubt. "Come tonight."

"What's so important?" I asked.

"We have," he paused, a flare of heat in his eyes, "unfinished business."

"Is that so?" I asked.

He wrapped his arms around me tightly, pressing his lips hungrily to mine. I melted into him, allowing myself to be lost to his touch. I wanted to tear his clothes off, to press my naked body to his, to succumb to his pleasure. My brain was hazy and my instincts were taking me into the direction of continuing. He pulled back and I responded automatically with a disappointed pout. "Come back tonight." he instructed, curling my hair playfully around his finger. "Forget the little worm."

"You're a bad influence on me." I said with a smirk.

He leaned in close to my ear. I became aware that several portraits were staring at us. I could feel my cheeks blush with embarrassment at the realisation that several old headmasters had watched our moment of passion. "I love you." he whispered so quietly that I must have been the only one who could hear it. He brushed his lips against the side of my neck sending the butterflies in my stomach into a tizzy.

I walked into the Hospital Wing, Jamie was settled into a bed, looking at me with concerned anticipation.

"Good news," I began, "We have all of the ingredients and it should only be a few days until it's ready. It's a fast acting potion so, depending on how much the jinx spreads, you should be able to return to classes by Thursday."

"That's a relief." Jamie sighed, throwing his head back on a pillow.

"You're not in any pain are you?" I asked, feeling guilty that it had taken Severus asking to realise I never did.

Jamie shook his head and poked his side as if testing out his answer. The fabric of his gown clung to the spot, mucus seeping through. I involuntarily shuddered in disgust as I sat back at my desk. I hoped he didn't notice. Still spread out on my desk was the letter I had been writing to Susan when Severus interrupted me. I picked up my quill and began adding news of the picnic Sam, Laura, and I had this morning. I found myself again longing to tell Susan about Severus. I knew I couldn't, not in a letter. She was far too volatile and quick to react to tell her something as big as this in a letter. She would have a fit and likely do something rash and irreversible. I supposed I would have to come up with some way to tell her gently, in a situation where she would be worried about making a scene. My heart dropped. I probably wouldn't have to tell her. Severus was convinced he wasn't making it out of the school year alive. It was already December, I had a few months left with him at best. I could feel tears stinging behind my eyes. I looked up at Jamie who was absent-mindedly stroking his finger up and down the segments on his torso while looking out the window.

For Dinner, I ventured back to the kitchens to pick up a pair of Sunday Roast plates. Roast beef, potatoes, and carrots with steaming Yorkshire puddings. I was also given two warm apple tarts by the house elves.

"Do you need help?" a voice from my right asked as I left the kitchens.

I turned to see Professor Sprout. "Oh, thank you," I said, shaking my head. "But everything is in delicate balance and I fear that any shift will cause everything to fall."

Pomona smiled. "Of course." she said, gesturing for me to go ahead of her.

I moved quickly to get out of her way before a thought occurred to me. "Oh," I turned carefully back to face her. "Jamie Horner is in the Hospital Wing." A look of concern flashed across her face. "It's nothing serious, a bit of a jinx misfire with some unfortunate side-effects. He has made it clear he doesn't want any visitors, but he is going to be there for a small stretch. Would you be able to bring him some school work? I'd hate for him to fall behind and he's going to be dreadfully bored, he might find even school work would be a welcome distraction."

"Absolutely. I'll bring some of his things right over after supper." Sprout said. "It's nothing too unfortunate is it?"

I shook my head. "He's just a bit embarrassed and doesn't want anyone to see him. He needs to wait for a potion to be brewed, which has already been requested and is likely already started."

"We're lucky to have someone as skilled as Horace back in the school, aren't we?" she smiled.

"What?" I asked, before realising that she was making the reasonable assumption that the Potions Master was making the remedy. "Horace Slughorn!" I shouted, frightening even myself. Sprouts eyes went wide as she leapt in surprise at my raised voice. "Professor Slughorn." I said at a much more reasonable volume. "It's odd having all of my past professors using first names like I'm an equal. Though, I suppose I am, now." I smiled, shaking my head. "Sometimes I forget I'm as old as I am."

"If you're old," she began, placing a hand on her hip. "Then I must have one foot in the grave." She laughed. "I'll bring some things for Jamie later. It's nice to see you back in the school, Miss Winston."

I returned to the Hospital Wing to a very hungry and grateful Hufflepuff. I set his plate and tart on his bed tray, returning to my desk to enjoy my meal.

"What was Hogwarts like when you were here?" Jamie asked after a stretch of silent eating.

I looked up from a letter that had arrived earlier in the day from St. Mungo's. It was just asking for a few of my opinions on things that were going on. I hoped to send the feedback before I met up with Severus. "Not like this." I said, putting my quill down. "It was never like this, not even when Vol-" Jamie's eyes lit with panic. "When You-Know-Who was at full power. Hogwarts always felt like the safest place, but it seems that feeling has gone with Dumbledore."

"I feel sorry for the first years." Jamie said, pushing a carrot back and forth on his plate. "They don't know that Hogwarts used to be a good place, a happy place. They only know it as a scary place, full of punishment and discrimination."

I paused for a moment, letting his words hang in the air, trying to imagine what it would be like coming into this Hogwarts with no knowledge of the way it used to be. "I can't imagine what it's like having the Carrows for teachers."

Jamie nodded his head. "It's terrible. Sometimes they'll curse you for not knowing an answer, even if the question has nothing to do with their class. Sometimes they just do it because they can. I wish Harry Potter was still around. He always stood up against things like this."

"Did you know Harry Potter?" I asked.

"I'd seen him around." Jamie said. "Everyone knows who he is but he surrounded himself with a small group of friends. I was in my second year when he won the Triwizard Tournament. I don't think I'll ever forget him returning with a dead Cedric Diggory, swearing that You-Know-Who was back. No one believed him, thought he was trying to get attention. He didn't waver from his story though, not even when he was punished for it."

"Punished?" I asked.

"The Defence teacher that year had it out for Harry." Jamie recounted, cutting through a potato with his fork. "She worked for the Ministry and didn't want him saying the things he was, that You-Know-Who was back. She used this sort of blood quill on him."

"Blood quill?" I asked. "I've never heard of that. What is it?"

"I think she made them herself," he said, "They would cut open the back of the user's hand and write using their own blood. Whatever they wrote would carve into their skin and eventually the message would stay. I had a friend who was in a group Harry had started that year and they were all given detention when they were discovered. Groups were forbidden that year when Umbridge decided that students were plotting. Anyway, he still has a scar of the message he was made to write on the back of his hand."

"That's awful." I said, when something clicked in my brain. "Wait, Delores Umbridge?" Jamie nodded his head. "They let that horrible woman work here?"

"The ministry made sure of it." he said. "They even gave her some made up title of High Inquisitor so that she would out-rank Dumbledore if she wanted to do something he opposed."

I ended the conversation with a shake of my head. What had been happening at Hogwarts these last few years. Why did so much bad seem to be focused on a school full of children, children who weren't even born the last time Voldemort was in power. I returned my attention to the letter from St. Mungo's and finished my supper.

Professor Sprout brought a collection of schoolwork for Jamie sometime after dinner. He was thankful for something to do other than stare out the window at the wisping snow. While he was working on an essay for History of Magic, I took the opportunity to make a quick run to the Owlry and send off the letter to Susan.

When I returned, there was a second-year girl with a gash above her eyebrow waiting near her desk. Jamie was pretending to be asleep, I saw one of his eyes open as I passed his bed. The girl wouldn't tell me what had happened, but it was a quick enough fix and before too long she was on her way. Jamie awoke from his fake nap and returned to his schoolwork. I noticed that I was running low on both Essence of Murtlap and Dittany since most of the injuries I was treating were cuts, scrapes, and gashes.

The evening passed by quickly enough and without too much interruption. Only two more students came in for care, both of which were routine (slashed cheek and a black eye). It struck me as sad that such injuries were becoming expected. I realised as I searched my memory, that there had not been many students in the Great Hall any of the times I had been there that were free of signs of injuries. Many of them bore bruises, healing cuts and scrapes, a few I had seen with binds around an arm or a finger or two.

It had been about an hour since Jamie put his schoolwork away and succumbed to slumber and my patience was running thin. I had wanted to wander through the halls until I met the familiar gargoyle hours ago, but I needed to wait until the castle was asleep. I picked up my wand and slipped silently from the Hospital Wing, extinguishing candles as I went, submerging Jamie into darkness.

The halls waited in shadows, I took corners slowly, surveying my surroundings before committing to any direction. The last thing I needed was to prove to Severus that I was a magnet for trouble. I came to a stop in front of the gargoyle without seeing so much as a sign of anyone out in the halls. I whispered the password and the statue jumped to the side. I walked carefully up the stairs listening for voices, but I was met with silence. I knocked gently on the door, barely having time for my hand to fall back to my side before the door whipped open. Just as quickly, I was pulled into the circular office. Severus' arms wrapped gently around me, his hands cradling my back and his lips already pressed to mine. My heart melted into a warm puddle and sat bubbling in my chest. I caught at his sides, stabling myself against him as he led me, lips together and eyes closed, to an unknown destination. His kisses were soft, but there was an eagerness in the way he held me against his body. As he backed me up to a bookshelf, his hands slid to my hips where his fingertips pressed against my soft flesh. His lips slid to my neck, extracting a moan of pleasure. I clung tighter to him as the electric pulses coursed through me where his lips touched.

I felt him smile against my throat and butterflies exploded deep in my gut. His hand moved to a book and the bookcase opened, revealing a separate room with a wardrobe, bedside tables, lamps, and a four-poster bed. He backed me into the room and the bookcase closed behind us. His hands moved to the sides of my thighs as he began sliding the fabric of my dress up. His fingers brushed against my bare skin as he bunched the soft material before pulling the dress off over my head, throwing it carelessly to the side. The backs of my legs ran into the foot of his bed, halting our backward movement. His hands came to rest on my waist and in a feat of strength I didn't know he was capable of, he lifted me off the ground. His hand slid to my butt as I wrapped my legs around him. He lifted us both onto his bed where he tossed me down. He hovered over me for a moment, his eyes travelling over my face and body as though they held a map he wished to memorise. He slowly lowered his body on top of mine and pressed our lips together. I could feel the weight of him pushing deliciously down on me.

"Why do you feel useless?" I asked breathily against his mouth. I hadn't been thinking about anything other than how amazing everything was feeling and how much I wanted him. I was unsure where the question had pulled itself from and why it felt now was a good time to be asked.

"What?" he asked, pulling away. His lips were reddened and puffy from kissing and his eyes held a sort of confusion.

"Earlier," I began, lifting myself onto my elbows. "You said you felt useless. Why?"

His eyebrows stitched together and he pressed his lips together. "You want to talk about this now?"

I shrugged. "I think I'm as surprised as you are."

He shook his head slowly, "It's not your burden to know. I shouldn't have let that feeling slip."

"I want to know." I said gently. "You're not useless and I want to know what is making you feel that way."

His eyes bore into mine; I would forever be in danger of being swallowed up into their dark depths. He took a deep breath and exhaled in a sigh, leaning back to sit on his knees. "I have one task and I can't even seem to do that. Everything depends on my ability to accomplish one thing and I'm failing."

I shifted positions so that I was standing on my knees in front of him and wrapped my arms around his torso resting my head on his shoulder. I felt him relax in my grasp. "Do you need help?"

His hand ran up and down my back and his lips pressed against the side of my head. "No." His hands wrapped around my arms and pulled me away. His expression was serious as his eyes searched my face. I felt my heartbeat speed up. "Damn." he said, defeated.

"What?" I asked.

"I am absolutely in love with you." he answered simply. "There's nothing for it and I find myself compelled to share all of my secrets with you." I smiled in response and he lifted his hand gently to my face, stroking my chin with his thumb. "Do you remember when I told you that a group of students were caught trying to steal the Sword of Gryffindor and that if I didn't need it that I would have let them believe that they had succeeded in their heist?" I nodded. "Well, I need to get that sword to Harry Potter. He needs it on his quest to find and destroy Horcruxes. All I need to know is where he is and I've no clue."

"What's a Horgrucks?" I asked, imitating the sounds I had heard him say.

"A Horcrux," he enunciated the word firmly. "Is a bit of magic, terrible, old magic, that allows a witch or wizard to tear apart their own soul and store the piece in an object. In order to make a Horcrux the witch or wizard in question must…take another life. We believe Voldemort has made seven of these. Two have already been destroyed, one is the snake, Nagini, who he keeps near at all times, and Harry is looking for the remaining three."

I considered his words. "That's only six."

A sadness tore across his features. "The seventh," he paused as though mustering the words to the surface caused him pain. "Is Potter himself, a fact of which he is yet unaware."

"How do you get rid of it?" I asked, "Is there a way to extract the Horcrux?"

Severus shook his head. "In order to destroy a Horcrux, the item it is in must be destroyed beyond magical repair."

"Well, what does that mean?"

Severus' face paled, his lips turning down at the corners. "Lily's son will have to die."