AN: I don't know if I'll be able to post on Thursday. I've been swamped and barely had enough time to post today. Still, I figured I'd post while I had time!

Thank you for all the support! It is very deeply appreciated!

It had been years since Hermione had felt the wind kick up snow from a snowdrift. Moisture was moisture, so when it snowed she was confined to her quarters. When the ground was white it was difficult to maneuver in her wheelchair, preventing her from going outside. Had she had the proper wheelchair, she could frolic with the other professors as they made snowmen and fought in snowball battles. Alas, such wheelchairs were proving difficult to find, and it was difficult to get the time off for a proper wheelchair fitting. This was enough to keep her indoors in the winter.

Now she was sitting outside the castle, wondering why she had followed Severus into the moonlit night. A stray flake blowing from a snowdrift landed on her cheek, melting as soon as it absorbed her warmth. Although the snow covering the grounds was beautiful, the cold breeze chilled her. Already, she was tempted to return to her room and resume her drinking. There was little she could do outside, so there was no point in remaining and reminding Severus what a waste of time and energy she was proving to be.

"What are we doing here?" She asked.

"I am going to take you nobody else has ventured, a place only I know the existence of," he answered.

"How am I supposed to get there? It's next to impossible for me to maneuver in the snow in a wheelchair. Even with a cane I'm hopeless."

"That will be no problem whatsoever. You can't reach this place from the ground."

She cocked her head.

"At the party, Lucius and I had a less than welcome chat," he frowned. "During which he reminded me that you do not know how to land. Unless you know how to land, teaching you to fly does us little good."

"Great, I'm going to fail my demonstration because I can't land properly"

"You will not fail because I'm going to teach you how to land. I won't be able to do so if you spend your time feeling sorry for yourself though."

"I,..."

He gestured for her to close her mouth, which she did. "Listen and follow my directions. You are learning how to land tonight, even if it takes us until the dawn to accomplish our task."

"Okay," she drawled.

"In addition to landing, we will be working on how to improve your speed and altitude when flying." He took to the air.

"How high are we going to go?" She shook, and not from the spasms in her leg or the cold air.

"How high do you think we will go?"

"I'm not sure I want to know."

"If you want to learn to fly, you have to be comfortable in any altitude. That means you need to soar."

She clutched her cane harder.

"I'll be right here," his voice softened. "I will not allow anything to happen to you. You have my word that you will escape this without injury."

After a few moments of deliberation, she loosened her grip on her cane, took a deep breath, cleared her mind, and joined him in the air.

"Now what?" She asked. "Do I land or go higher?"

"That depends," he answered before going higher. "On whether or not you want to catch me."

"You still think you can escape me?" She answered with a gleam in her eyes.

"I do not think that at all, I know that for a fact." There was that smug Slytherin expression that got under her skin every time.

She lurched herself towards him. He jerked to his right and flew higher. "Remember, no Gryffindor has ever caught a Slytherin in the air."

"That's because no Gryffindor has ever flown," she called before using her cane to pivot herself to her right. Then, she flew towards him until she was almost touching his cape.

"It does not change the fact that you have not caught me yet." He flew higher, leaving her to grasp at the wind.

"You git!" She called before increasing her altitude.

"And here you said I was not a git," he flew up and turned to his left.

"On the ground you aren't, but in the air," she used her cane to maneuver to her left and raised herself higher. "You are an enormous git."

"I am relieved to hear you say that." He flew to his right. "I feared you were a horrid judge of character, thinking I could be kind, compassionate, and socially respectable."

"I'm an excellent judge of character," she used her cane to follow him, but still could not get close enough to capture him. "You are all those things when you are with me."

"I sense there is a 'but,'"

"You give into your more mischievous instincts when you're in the air."

"Mischievous," he smirked as he flew higher. "You make me sound so young."

"Given that wizards can live to be over a hundred, I'd say you're still young," she remained in pursuit.

"Only compared to Minerva." He continued to accelerate and go higher.

"She is young compared to Dumbledore."

"May the old man rest in peace," Severus began to zig zag through the sky.

"Indeed," Hermione took off after him, using her cane to twist and turn. Though she was unable to take hold of him, she noticed that her turning had improved. Her motions were more fluid, and her body was more in control of itself. If she kept it up she may silence Severus and become the first Gryffindor to capture a Slytherin in the sky.

After a few minutes of turning, accelerating, and soaring in the air, Severus announced, "the game is over."

"Why? Because I'm about to capture you?" She flew towards him.

"No, because we're here," He answered.

"Where?" She glanced around. All she saw were the stars, the full moon, and the shadows of the castle spires.

"At the top of the grand staircase tower," he answered.

"What?" Her eyes grew.

"Yes," he he held out a hand. "I like to fly out here when nobody else is around, gaze at the stars and meditate on my life."

"And nobody else has gone up here with you before?" She took his hand.

"No," he answered as he floated to the tower. Then, his feet touched the spire. "Now, keep floating until your feet touch the tower."

"Are you certain?" She swallowed.

"Yes," he answered.

She remained in the air.

"I won't let you fall, I promise."

"I trust you, but…"

"Do not second guess me. Land knowing that if something occurs, I will be present."

She took a shaky breath before holding out her cane with her free hand. Then, she floated forward until her cane touched the ground. She lowered herself until her feet were on the spire. At first, she stumbled, but Severus pulled her against his chest and rubbed her back. In her ear he whispered, "I have you. I am holding onto you. Nothing will happen to you, not while I'm here."

"I know," she looked into his eyes. "I know you won't let any harm come to me."

"I won't."

She gave him a small smile.

"Now, let's sit and enjoy the night," he helped her position herself onto the spire. Then, he lay beside her.

"She told you that yoga would cure your shaking leg in only five sessions?" Severus raised an eyebrow.

"Yes," Hermione exhaled. "Another one of my aunts said I needed to mix Kava and St. John's Wart together in almond milk. She swore it would stop my leg shaking within three weeks."

"Did you tell them most potions masters are eschewing from those ingredients due to their potential toxicity with other, more stable ingredients?" He huffed. "Obviously you couldn't without violating the Statute of Secrecy, but you could alert them that their ideas are risky at best."

"I told them muggle drug companies said they were dangerous to mix together." Hermione shook her head. "Then I got a long lecture on Big Pharma and how they are destroying natural cures in order to make money."

"Wouldn't it make more money for Big Pharma to manufacture natural cures so they can sell them for more? Surely they have enough money to overtake a small herb company and profit from it."

"I would think so, but my aunt is convinced everyone except her holistic medical practitioner is out to make her sick."

"Of course."

"Anyway," Hermione's leg spasmed. "I've learned to laugh them off. Anymore their potential cures amuse me. They have no idea that I've tried everything, and the only thing that worked was making peace with who I am."

"Indeed."

Hermione grew silent as the stars above her glowed. Most nights, the cold made her yearn for a cup of hot cocoa. The memory of camping in the cold was enough to make her despise the winter. Yet Severus' body heat was keeping her warm. Somehow, he could make anywhere pleasurable.

Then there was the fact that she was the only person who had ever gone up here with him. It was an honor she wasn't sure she was worth of. Still, he was letting her into parts of his soul nobody else could enter. That was the kind of love she should cherish, not muddle with unrequited sentiments.

"What do you tell them happened to your leg?" Severus asked.

"I always say I was in a train accident a few years ago and it's residual nerve damage," Hermione answered.

"Do your parents know what really happened?"

She shook her head. "I didn't want to explain Bellatrix's torture to them, so I told them I cast a spell wrong. If they knew what I'd been through, they would want me out of the Wizarding World. Every time I visited them, they would try to create reasons for me to remain with them, find a good muggle man, and settle down forgetting all about my magic. It would create such a strain on our relationship."

"Indeed."

"It would all be needless anyway. The war is over, and it's less likely someone will be tortured the same way I was."

"Or so we hope."

"Indeed, so we hope."

Another comfortable silence fell between them.

Hermione kept her eyes on the stars, enjoying Severus' closeness. It had been years since Hermione had been in any kind of secret place. Part of her had forgotten they existed, and if they did, nobody would allow her into theirs. With each passing year, Severus exposed more secrets to her, making her all the more eager to learn more about him, and teach him more about herself.

"Thank you for bringing me here," she continued in a soft voice. "It's beautiful."

"I've always believed so anyway," he replied.

"When did you start coming up here?"

"It was my third year of teaching. I was overwhelmed with guilt, grief, and dunderheaded students. I needed a place to escape, so I looked at the castle. I realized from here nobody could see me, nor could they disturb me. I've been coming up here ever since."

"And you've never taken anyone up here?"

"Never," he replied. "I wanted to keep this place to myself for as long as possible."

"I am honored to be up here." She took his hand.

"I am honored you wanted to be up here." He squeezed his hand. "I never thought I wanted to take anyone up here until now."

"Oh?"

"Indeed, I thought I would appreciate the sanctity of a silent place all to myself. After Ginevra showed me the article though, I realized you may need a silent place as well."

"I didn't mean to take yours."

"You didn't. I am sharing it with you, and I am more than happy to do so."

"Thank you."

"There is no need to thank me."

"But there is," she turned so she could look in his eyes. "I know how private you are, and how hard it is for you to let anyone in. I'm honored you'd bring me up here."

"I am just happy you've accepted me, faults and all," Severus touched her cheek.

Before either could say another word, the explosion of a firework resounded through the air.

"I believe it is nearing midnight." Severus sat.

"It is," she sat upright, with Severus balancing her.

"You," he swallowed. "You are not one of those people who desires a kiss to bring in the New Year, are you?"

"Are you one of them?" She shook.

"No," he admitted. "But I wasn't the kind of person to kiss under the mistletoe either."

"Nobody's wanted to kiss me under the mistletoe or for New Year's in years."

"Then," he brushed his lips against hers before whispering in his silky voice, "Happy New Year's, Hermione."

Her body was warm as her muscles relaxed. "You know, a little kiss like that isn't enough for New Year's."

"It isn't?" He raised an eyebrow.

"No," she flung herself at him and captured his lips hoping her body could tell him he could have her if he wanted, that she loved him more than she had ever loved any other man, that she would always be with him, so long as he desired for her to remain at his side.

After a few blissful moments, they broke away from each other. Even under the moonlight, his face had a blush. He coughed a few times before straightening his posture. "That was quite enthusiastic, Hermione."

"Was it unwelcome, Severus?"

"No," his eyes glistened as his smile widened. "Not al all."

For one of the first times in her life, having a cane was proving to be an asset.

Hermione held onto Severus' hand as she guided herself to the ground. Then, she used her cane to touch it. Once she was stable on the cane, she landed.

"Very well done," he noted.

"Thank you." She relaxed. "I'm getting more confident in my ability to touch the ground."

"Indeed, it is easy once you adjust to the process." He kept a hold of her hand as she grew more confident in her balance.

"Indeed." She stood up straighter. "Also, thank you. Flying was much more productive than drinking."

"You deserve a productive night."

"May we have many more."

"Indeed we shall. Together, we will find a way to accomplish all your dreams."

Hermione grinned, knowing very well Severus had just made her a promise he had no intention of breaking.