Harry Potter, a fifth-year Gryffindor, grumbled loudly as he threw his books against the wall in Gryffindor's common room. He wasn't normally that angry, but after a detention with Severus Snape, resident evil bastard of the dungeons who loved to torture children, who could honestly blame him? It wasn't as if it was his fault he couldn't brew anything right. Snape's little terrorists loved to make sure that Harry seriously botched his potion just so Snape would snarl and hiss like a ticked off cat. Even Harry's Head of House, Minerva McGonagall whose Animagus form was a cat, wouldn't get that upset with Harry over a mistake.

While Harry understood why Snape would be a bit edgy with dozens of adolescents in sniffing distance of dangerous potions, he couldn't understand why he was always the target of Snape's vicious verbal attacks. It wasn't his fault. It was all Draco Malfoy, the supreme arrogant little sod of Slytherin. However, if anyone even mentioned that to the evil bat, that student would receive a night full of removing scales from the nastiest creatures Snape could find, which was what Harry received that night thanks the big mouth of his best friend.

"Hey, mate, you know I'm sorry right?" Ron quietly said as he slowly approached Harry. He only received the evilest glare Harry could manage. "I bet it wouldn't be so bad if Snape had someone else to focus on for a change." Again, Ron received a glare. However, loud footsteps from the stairs behind him made him turn around. Ron sighed as his twin brothers, George and Fred, walked into the common room.

"Thought we heard you, Harry," George said first.

"Yeah, nobody throws books like you," Fred joked. "Another detention with Snape again, Harry?"

"Who else, Fred?" snapped Harry. He wasn't in the mood for those two. At least he wasn't in the mood tonight. Not even the Weasley twins could cheer him up. "The stupid git wants me to write him an essay."

"You know, George, I think our little brother's right. Evil git does need someone else to focus on," Fred said with a smirk. "You know, I bet it's been awhile since the bat's been with one."

"That is if he's ever been with one," George retorted, which made Fred whistle appreciatively.

"Lot of tension there," Fred said, grinning.

"Oh, most definitely," George replied before glancing at Harry and Ron. "Doubt those two would know the first thing to do, though. Don't you agree, Fred?"

"Ah, yes, sadly, you're right. It would solve all our dilemmas with the evil git, though."

"What would?" Harry asked practically on the edge of his seat. He couldn't understand what the twins were talking about, but he knew by their looks that it was going to be good. He nearly pummeled the twins when they shook their fiery red heads at him. "Come on, guys. What would solve our dilemmas with Snape?"

"Should we enlighten our friend here, George?"

"Hmm . . . I don't know . . . might tell Hermione on us," George replied.

"Oh, come on, you two. What is it?" Ron asked.

"Oh, honestly, you two, sometimes I think you are about as dense as a troll. They're talking about setting Professor Snape up with someone to date," Hermione Granger, another Gryffindor, drawled as she glanced up from her heavy Charms textbook while walking into the common room.

"YUCK," exclaimed Harry and Ron simultaneously.

"Does he even know how to date?" Harry asked with a look of disgust.

"He'd probably drink the blood of whomever it was we set him up with," Ron responded. "Or at the very least chop them up into potions ingredients." Both fifth-year Gryffindors then suppressed a shudder. Neither of them would put it past their Potions professor who was practically the shadiest creature that walked the earth. Not even Dementors came close to Snape's level of darkness in his attire and attitude.

"Well, then comes the question of whom we would even get to volunteer for this suicide mission," Harry said as he glanced at Ron. The plan was coming to life in both boys' eyes. Slowly, they nodded at each other. It wouldn't be long before they'd have the perfect woman for their evil and sadistic Potions professor.

"She has to be able to put up with Snape's temper and attitude."

"And his severe lack of colors in his clothing," Hermione chimed in.

"Someone who is a challenge," Ron piped up saying.

"He'd probably want a fellow Slytherin," Fred spoke.

"Hmm . . . and someone who has his hair issues . . ." Fred and George then glanced at each other before their eyes lit up with excitement. "She'd be perfect. Don't you agree, Fred?" His brother nodded once. The twins then turned towards Harry, Ron, and Hermione. Their smiles widened before they nodded. "She's Slytherin, has hair issues, feisty so she won't put up with his crap, and loves challenges."

"Who, guys?" the Golden Trio asked.

"Professor Aurora Sinistra," Fred replied before the twins laughed manically. "It's so perfect that I don't know why we didn't think about it earlier."

"Only problem is that she's currently with someone," Hermione responded with a roll of her eyes.

"Hermione, Hermione, don't worry about those minor details."

"And tell me what is so minor about the fact that everyone knows that Professor Sinistra is engaged?"

"Yep, still just minor details," Fred replied. He then glanced at Harry and Ron. "You do realize that we're going to have to recruit others into this little scheme of yours. After all, it'd be a bit awkward if people realized that Gryffindor is trying to help Snape with his love life."

"Ah, I have just the plan. We can tell the others in D.A. about our idea and soon we'll have others joining in. It wouldn't be too suspicious since the others already know that Harry's teaching us defense since Umbridge sucks," George said. "However, we can't keep being D.A. for this, though. We need a new name."

"Ooh, what about Organization for Snape's marriage, ORGA.S.M?" Within seconds, the Golden Trio and the twins were laughing hysterically. "Okay, well, we'll come up with a better name later."

"That could be your job, Hermione, since you come up with such great names," George said quietly. "Since we know what Fred will come up with," he added.

"Ooh, what about Committee of Loyal Initiates Making a Xanadu, C.L.I.M.A.X. for short?" The group groaned before throwing the soft pillows at Fred. "Okay, okay, last one . . . Plan: Expressed Actions of Kama Sutra or P.E.A.K.S. for short."

"What's Kama Sutra?" asked a first-year Gryffindor boy who had mistakenly walked in at the most inopportune moment.

"Um . . . well, it's . . . um . . ." George then glanced at Fred. Both twins were bright red before Fred replied.

"It's a book on . . . well . . . on sex, but we've only heard of it. It's not as if we know any of the stuff in it. Right, George?"

"Uh, yeah, sure, um . . . man, I'm tired. Aren't you tired, Fred? Wow! Will you look at the time? Well, see everyone tomorrow." The bright red twins then fled to their dorms. The Gryffindor trio only laughed.

A day later, Severus Snape, a tall and lanky wizard, growled under his breath as he carefully examined the bluish goop that remained in his cauldron. He could easily identify what ingredient proved to be the fatal one, but identifying it didn't help him feel any better. His experiment had still failed. Shaking his head angrily, he waved his hand towards the cauldron to vanish its contents.

He glanced towards his desk before rolling his eyes. It seemed like a never-ending battle with paperwork. Slowly, he walked over to his desk and grabbed the essay that was on top. A soft smirk quickly spread across his face as he read in the familiar chicken scrawl "Harry Potter." His good mood should quickly return after grading this failed essay.

Wise people whose names I can't recall right now consider Gander root to have aphrodisiac tendencies in which the person who took it will immediately fall in love with the person closest to him or her. In the medieval times, witches liked to bake with it so that they'd marry some rich knights because as you know every woman wants a knight in shining armor. Granted, sometimes a witch prefers the tall, dark, and handsome type, but that combination is extremely rare. Witches also are increasingly liking bad boy wizard types so the eviler the wizard the more the witch likes.

"What in the nine hells is this, Potter?" Snape growled before tossing the essay far from him. He stared straight ahead, trying to focus on anything else. Within the first twenty seconds, though, Snape's dark coal eyes slowly darted back towards Potter's essay. He had to admit it was intriguing, but Potter (surprise, surprise) missed the point of his essay. After a few more moments, he found himself reading more of Potter's essay.

If you don't have Gander root on hand, though, you could use Amortentia. It's tough to brew, but—Snape snorted here . . . as if Potter knew how tough it was. It has an excellent percentage of success and a lifelong of testimonies that state that it works. Gander root is easy to grind up if you have a mortar and pestle, but let's face it. Not all of us have that kind of stuff because it's somewhat odd for a fifteen year old to have. I have to wonder, though, if all these love potions and ingredients that have these effects really work on another person. I mean, love should be the ultimate ingredient in any relationship. Without love, you have lust and let's face it . . . lust runs out rather quickly after the age of thirty-five. Snape's eyes narrowed on the last sentence. While Potter's essay was extremely uncharacteristic of the young Gryffindor, Snape had to admit it was at least semi-interesting and better quality than what the boy usually handed in (which wasn't really saying all that much).

Several contraceptive potions ingredients can also make sure you don't knock up the wrong girl. Snape couldn't help it when he snorted again. He quickly skimmed over Potter's following paragraph before sighing. Potter was every bit through in his research, which made Snape groan. He couldn't understand why the boy felt the need to inform him of every method known to mankind. However, when Snape flipped over the page and found the various drawings on the back, he started to get concerned. The boy had never put so much effort in his Potions' essays before. Then again, Snape never had assigned a punishment essay without designating a specific topic before. To that day, he still didn't understand why he hadn't and to Potter of all people.

A few pages later, Snape sighed before grabbing his correcting quill. It pained him, but he managed to write an "Acceptable" at the very top. The essay was extremely unconventional and not anywhere close to what Snape had wanted Potter to focus on, but Potter had at least seemed to put some effort into it. Therefore, since Snape didn't want to have to listen to Harry's Head of House snarling at him for a "Poor," "Acceptable" was the only thing he could manage to write. However, that didn't mean that Snape wasn't going to make the boy's life a living hell. He couldn't have others see him as being soft with Harry Potter. It wouldn't bode well for him.

Snape stood up and walked to his fireplace. He threw the powdery green Floo powder into the roaring fire and called out for Minerva McGonagall's office. The elderly Gryffindor witch's head quickly appeared in the burning ashes. She didn't appear to be in a good mood, but then again it was nearly five in the morning.

"I apologize if I woke you, but I must speak with one of your students this instant." Snape's voice betrayed nothing, which Minerva's face followed suit.

"And just which student must you speak with before class, Severus?" Minerva responded tersely.

"Mr. Potter," he answered. Within seconds, he heard the loud groan from the witch. "I assure you that I shall return your precious lion as soon as I am finished with him. I only wish to inform him that he received an "Acceptable" on his latest essay. It is my understanding that he has been rather . . . concerned about it."

"Fine," Minerva groaned. "I'll speak with him." The flames disappeared, as did she.

Snape waited patiently at his desk for a good two minutes before he started to growl. It wasn't as if it was that long of a walk for the boy. Granted, Potter had to walk down eight flights of stairs to reach the dungeons, but he was on Gryffindor's Quidditch team. Surely, the boy could make it there in record time.

After another two minutes, Snape started to drum his fingers on his desk. The essay was in front of him, but he didn't pay attention to it. It didn't take that much longer before he was pacing back and forth in his office. The boy definitely was taking his time this morning.

Just as he was about to fire-call Minerva again, there was a soft knock against the door. Snape didn't vocalize his permission. Instead, he waved his hand towards the door, which made the door burst open, revealing the young disheveled Gryffindor. Snape glared at Potter before schooling his features. Honestly, doesn't the boy own a damn comb? You'd think the spawn of James Potter would at least attempt to clean himself up before meeting with his professor. It's probably too good for him to brush his hair.

"You wanted to see me, sir?"

"Sit," Snape hissed as he pointed at the empty chair before his desk. As soon as the door closed and Potter was in the chair, Snape pushed the essay in question towards him. "Explain yourself now, Potter."

"Well, I thought that'd be pretty self-evident, sir," Potter replied calmly. "You assigned me to write an essay of my choice. I chose to write mine on love potions." He then glanced at the essay before glancing up. "Is something wrong with it?"

"Why love potions, Potter?"

"I don't know. I mean, I suppose it was because it sounded interesting."

"I see. From now on, if you ever research another potion, I expect you to research thoroughly as you did with this essay. Otherwise, every essay you give me will have a large T on it. Is that understood?"

"Yes, sir," Harry replied. He didn't appear at all phased by Snape's words, but then again his plan was working beautifully. "Am I dismissed?" He only received a slight nod from Snape. As he was walking back out of the room, Harry glanced back at Snape. "So . . . how'd I do anyway?"

"Get out, Potter," Snape snarled before having the door slam shut in Harry's face. He's up to something, Snape mused. If I find out what you're up to, Potter, you'll only wish you were writing essays.

At breakfast the following morning, a large group of Gryffindors bent their heads towards one another as if to plan a top-secret mission, which truthfully it was. Everyone's favorite twins were in charge of this morning's planning, since they had the most experience. The twins had spent almost the entire morning plotting and planning their next attack, and they finally finished it this morning at three.

"All right, so we need recruits from the other houses. We also need to get some of the staff and especially Dumbledore in on this thing. He loves to plan so it shouldn't be too hard. Hermione, you're rather close with Vector, right?" Fred asked. Hermione nodded instantly. "Good, well, your mission is to sway her to our side today. If we're going to complete Operation: Get Snape a Girl, we're going to need the girl's best friend. It shouldn't be too hard because I think Vector has been trying to set them up for years." He then nodded towards his brother. "George and I will get McGonagall on board so we don't have to worry about her. Harry, if you take Dumbledore, then we should be set with the staff."

"Hermione, how goes the name hunt?"

"Well, my current ideas aren't really that good," replied Hermione.

"Doesn't matter, what are your ideas?"

"The first one was a play on the Muggle word GPS." She smiled apologetically when the pureblood Gryffindors stared at her clueless. "It's a device that helps Muggles when they get lost it. It's like our Point Me spell." The twins slowly nodded with still puzzled looks on their face. "GPS would stand for 'Getting Professor's Soul mate.' The second one is H.I.S.S. since they're both Slytherins. It would stand for 'Hell's Inferno: Snape/Sinistra."

"Ooh, I like that one," Fred said. "It's very sassy."

"I thought you might. My third idea was SOULMATE, 'Successful Organization Uniting Lovers in Matrimony Also Terminating Engagements." Several loud cheers were for this idea. "However, it would be rather easy for them to figure out."

"Unless we tell everyone that it's a dating service for students. They're bound to fall for that."

"Eh, you give them too much credit, Harry. Okay, so the plan for today is to get more recruits."

"Also, we need to keep them on their toes, so George and I are planning a special surprise for Professor Sinistra tonight. Oh, by the way, does anyone know who she's engaged to exactly?"

"Well, according to Daisy who heard from Roxie who heard from Dustin who heard from Keisha who heard from Lucian who heard from Roger who heard from a Sagittarius—" said a young Gryffindor.

"Oh, dear Merlin, what is it already?"

"She's engaged to an Auror."

"You're joking!" Fred, George, Ron, and Harry all said simultaneously.

"Nope, and that's not all. She's engaged to the head of the Auror agency."

"NO WAY!" Harry shouted before glancing towards the staff table. He instantly felt Snape's eyes on him, but he didn't care. There just wasn't any way that their Astronomy professor could be dating Rufus Scrimgeour. He had only met the head of the Auror office once, and the man had been a total git to him. He shook his head before glancing back to the table. "How in the world did those two meet?"

"I wouldn't even venture a guess," Hermione said.

"Professor Sinistra is not the straight arrow professor you believe her to be, Harry," a lemon in the bowl of fruit said. The sudden talking of fruit, however, caused all of the Gryffindors to scream out of fright. In fact, Neville and Ron both fell backwards off the benches onto the hard floor. "Ah, I must apologize for scaring you, Mr. Longbottom and Mr. Weasley. It certainly wasn't my intention."

"You . . . you . . . oh . . ." Ron started to say before picking himself up off the ground slowly.

"Lemon drop?" the lemon said before a soft laugh. "In answering your question, it is my impression that she is not truly in love with Rufus, but is rather satisfied for the moment because whom she wants is being a stubborn 'ass'. Her words, not mine," the lemon spoke. "Ah, well, you must forgive me, but I must return before they get suspicious. Do be careful. I would hate to have to visit my Potions master in Azkaban because a certain Gryffindor managed to be caught." The face that allowed the lemon to speak then disappeared.

"That was just too weird," said Harry, staring at the fruit.

"Yeah, I'm definitely not looking at fruit the same way ever again," groaned Ron. "Okay, well, we'll meet back here later at dinner to tell how everything went." The Gryffindors then went their separate ways.

Fred Weasley was grinning widely as he and his brother walked into Professor Sinistra's office in the Astronomy Tower around seven. The twins had just finished speaking to McGonagall about their plan, and of course the Head of Gryffindor couldn't say anything but yes to them. Well, she did say other things like they should be focusing this hard on their studies, but neither really listened to that part.

So far, the group had reached their goals for the day surprisingly easily. Since Dumbledore hadn't taken points or even scolded any of the Gryffindors yet (as if that was ever going to happen!), the twins figured that Dumbledore was on board. Hermione only nodded towards the twins at dinner, so that meant Vector was also on board for their plan. According to some of the new recruits, the group had managed to recruit at least a hundred students, which was all due to the sheer brilliance of one Ron Weasley.

"Good evening, gentlemen," a soft voice spoke in front of the twins a few seconds later.

"Why, a good evening to you too, Professor Sinistra," Fred smoothly replied.

"Should I even ask?" Professor Aurora Sinistra, a witch with long dark brown hair pulled into a ponytail, asked, looking pointedly at the plate of food George was holding.

"Well, my brother George and I noticed that you were about to miss dinner again and thought that we'd bring it up to you." Fred then quickly grabbed the plate from George before setting it on her desk. "We weren't really sure what you wanted so we got you a whole buffet plate full of food." He smiled as the Astronomy witch nodded slowly. "It hasn't been tampered if that's what you're thinking."

"I assure you that I'm not thinking that, Mr. Weasley," Professor Sinistra replied. She then inhaled deeply before folding her arms. "Out with it," she said. "What do you two want?"

"Nothing," Fred and George replied instantly.

"Uh huh . . . now why don't I believe that, boys?" She then sighed. "You don't have detention with our Supreme Toad, do you?"

"Nope," Fred replied with a grin. "We've been good all week."

"That's likely," she snorted. "What do you two want? Just say it now before I find out and make you fine boys lose those points you earned this morning."

"Well, it's just . . . well . . . we heard that you were engaged."

"Mr. Weasley, there is such a thing as a private life."

"I know, but it's just . . . well, my brother and I were kind of . . . you know . . . shocked."

"That I'd be engaged?" she asked.

"No it's not that. It's just, well the rumor is that you're engaged to an Auror."

"And not just an Auror, but the head of the Auror office," George said.

"Yeah, and, well, my brother and I kind of thought that you were a bit of a . . . rebel."

"A rebel?" she repeated before rolling her dark eyes. "You've been spending too much time experimenting with your little inventions, boys. I have never been a rebel."

"No, but you do have a bit of a wild streak in you. After all, we all saw you last year at the Yule Ball." Fred instantly noticed the blush creep up her neck before she glanced away.

"Yes, well, I believe I was suffering under the influence of a laced cup of punch that certain Gryffindor twins mixed with Firewhiskey. I cannot be held responsible for any of my actions that you two caused." Her dark eyes then locked onto the twins. "However, none of that is the point. What is it about my personal life that you feel you need to discuss with me?"

"Well, it's just—and please don't take offense, but we think you're dating beneath you. I mean someone as lovely as you could have your pick, but instead you choose Scrimgeour whom people think is a vampire."

"Uh huh, okay, well, thank you for bringing me dinner, but before either of you say anything more, I would very much appreciate it if you left."

"But, Professor," Fred said.

"Mr. Weasley, I will not ask again. Now, whatever you two are scheming, don't. I am happily involved with a man I love, and I do not need either of you acting like jealous idiots around me. Now, I admit that I've allowed you two to carry on for too long, which is my mistake. Gentlemen, please do settle for someone your own age." She then sighed heavily. "I had thought you two would know better since we had this same discussion three years ago. Now, leave, boys, before I speak with your mother about your behavior." Both twins quickly fled soon after. They so did not need to hear Molly Weasley's lecture about proper behavior again.

Harry walked down the lonely corridor, wondering if he had lost his mind. He couldn't believe he was heading towards the one place he knew was where all of his most adoring fans gathered. Closing his eyes before glancing at the portrait that guarded his fans' common room, he steeled himself up with plenty of courage. He knew he needed courage.

"What do you want, Gryffindor?" the man in the portrait snarled. "There isn't room in here for your kind."

"I wish to speak with Draco Malfoy." The man in the portrait immediately burst out laughing before shaking his head amusedly.

"Oh, of course, and I wish to speak with the Fat Lady," the man replied mockingly. "Out with it, Gryffindor; I don't have time for your idiocy."

"I wish to speak with Draco Malfoy," Harry repeated calmly.

"Yeah, well, he doesn't want to talk to you, Potter," a beefy Slytherin sneered, walking towards Harry.

"That's not up to you, Crabbe," Harry snapped back. "Now, where is he?"

"Oh, all right, Scarhead, what do you want?" the tall, blonde Slytherin drawled as he walked around the corner towards Harry. He walked haughtily, but his eyes were a bit more reserved.

"Giving up kind of easy today, are we, Draco?"

"Yeah, well, thanks to you and your little band of idiots we have to be extra careful. Now, what do you want, Potter? I don't have all the time in the world. Have to win the House Cup you know," Draco said with a huge grin. "Can't let your precious Gryffindors win it again, can I?"

"Let's just say that Gryffindor is focusing this year on more important things than the House Cup."

"Oh, is that right, Potter, and just what is this thing that is more important than that? Cause the way I hear it, Potter, McGonagall cries herself asleep, thinking about how we the true owners of the Cup are going to win it back from her."

"You wish, Malfoy," Harry replied with a hint of a growl. However, he quickly brushed his emotions off with a loud sigh. "Let's just say that the Gryffindors are united with the other Houses, and I'm here to extending an invitation to your House, Malfoy."

"Invitation to what, though, Potter?" he asked with a puzzled look.

"Well, the way I hear it, Malfoy, you had a slight issue the other day with Snape. Something about he started snarling at you for being out late with a certain student in the Astronomy Tower," Harry said with a smirk. He knew he had Draco. "Rumor has it that you're the reason that Slytherin lost over two thousand points." He watched the pale Slytherin turn several shades darker. "Let's just say that the Houses think that we all need to unite to take care of our current problem, which appears to be the same problem as you're having, Malfoy. It must really suck when your own Head of House takes points from you."

"What the hell are you talking about, Potter? Just what problem are you talking about here?"

"Our bat problem," Harry replied instantly. He watched the understanding filter into the Slytherin's gray eyes. "So, how about it, Malfoy?" he asked. "Are you with us or against us?"

"Just how are you going to go about this bat problem? Because the way I see it, we have a bigger toad problem than bat this year," Draco said emotionlessly. He wore an amazing poker face as he spoke.

"Well, according to Hermione, sometimes in the wild, animals get cranky when they haven't mated in awhile, so we're going to try to set bat up with someone."

"Oh, dear Merlin, please tell me you idiots didn't try to set him up with toad," Draco drawled.

"Not even close," Harry replied. "We were thinking more along the lines of Sinistra. She's semi-scary when she wants to be. She's a Slytherin alumna, and she has anger issues."

"She's with that Auror, though. How are you going to get her to leave that idiot?"

"Supposedly, that's the easy part, Draco. So . . . are you in or not?"

"If I joined your stupid little group, it'd hurt my reputation. I mean, me associating with known morons, and for what really. It seems to me to be a stupid move on my part." Draco then sighed heavily. "What's in it for me, Potter? What do we get out of this? Because frankly it seems like it'd be another 'gang up on the Slytherins' group, and you've already got your band of little rejects for that."

"We thought we'd hit this snag," Harry said with a soft laugh. "The group would be led by four people, one from each House. Your House would choose its representative, and that person would assign the duties to your members of your House. That way Gryffindors aren't giving orders to Slytherins or vice versa. However, the four leaders would ensure each day that each House still focused on our goal. I'd think this would be a no-brainer for you, Malfoy. You always wanted more power. Now is your chance."

"Yeah, but what's this goal you're talking about, though? I mean, are we helping Snape get lucky, or is there more to this then that?"

"Our main goal is to get him a witch whom he focuses all his attention on. We want him in a relationship, and if that ends in marriage, well, the better for us then." Harry then folded his arms. "So what do you say, Malfoy? Are you in or not?"

"We should tell Snape what they're planning," Crabbe whispered in Draco's ear. "Bet he'd—"

"Take more points from us for associating with those losers," Draco muttered. He sighed as he stared at Harry for a few moments. He weighed the pros and cons of his decision like any good Slytherin would. The decision didn't take very long, though. It was a win-win situation in his mind. However, Draco didn't want to seem too eager to want to work with a Gryffindor.

"Okay then, well, I'll take my business elsewhere," Harry said before turning to walk back up the steps.

"No, wait," Draco called out. He groaned when Harry turned back around with a smirk. "Oh, shut up, Potter. Fine, I'll join your stupid group of rejects. You do know that if he finds out that he'll kill us all, right? Hell, if any professors find out, we won't last a second."

"Don't worry, Malfoy. We already have Dumbledore, McGonagall, Vector, and we recently just acquired Flitwick." Harry nearly laughed when he saw Draco's eyes widen. "Yeah, we've been somewhat busy past few days with recruiting."

"And it took you this long to come down here and ask us?"

"Well, I couldn't have just waltzed down here when Snape was around, could I, Draco?" Harry then smiled and shook his head. "First meeting is tomorrow night at nine. I'm sure you and your group have followed my group up to the seventh floor plenty of times so I'm assuming that you can find your way up there tomorrow. Or should I draw you a map, Malfoy?"

"Only if it's to your grave, Potter," Draco sneered with a hidden smirk.

Harry only nodded, though, as he watched Draco leave. That had gone better than he had thought.

"All right, all right, I'm calling this meeting to order," Harry loudly announced over the screaming crowd of students. When the crowd hushed, he sighed and glanced at Hermione. "So, for our first order of business, we still need a name. Hermione," he said, holding his hand out to her.

"Well, I've come up with several potential ideas. In the interest of being fair, I would appreciate it if you voted on the name. The names we have so far are SOULMATE, Successful Organization Uniting Lovers in Matrimony Also Terminating Engagements; HISS, Hell's Inferno: Snape/Sinistra; or SWEETHEART, Slytherin Wedding: Electrifying Energy Tying Hearts Everywhere by Abandoning Rational Thought." A few people clapped for her new idea. "As you can see, though, it's kind of hard."

"Ooh, I just thought of this one. What about BREW, Bride Resisting Elegant Wedding?"

"We want her to marry him, though," someone yelled out.

"Plus, Snape would know something was up if we started a Brew club."

"What about H.W.?"

"People would think we're talking about Hermione and Ron then," Harry said. He glanced towards his best friends and caught the slight twinge on Ron's ears.

"Personally, I like Sweetheart's club." Several students then added their acceptances to the mix.

"As if a Slytherin would ever join that," Draco drawled. He then laughed softly as an idea hit him. "What if we acted like we were starting up the Duel Club again? We could call the club like Wand or something like Wedding Arranged, Nuptials Declared." A few students applauded that one, but for the most part the students weren't sure which name they liked more.

"We'll put it to a vote. Everyone will have a week to get his or her responses in, and we will use the winning name at our next meeting, which will be a week from now," Harry decided. He was getting tired of not having the name, but he guessed it wasn't something he could necessarily prevent. "All right, so Phase 1 was a success. We now need to start working on Phase 2. Draco, Luna, Hannah, and I have been working on this one, so I'll give Draco the floor in order to explain."

"All right, so we were discussing how certain idiotic romance novels usually have some scene of the romantic interests falling into one another's arms at some point. Well, Hannah and Luna convinced us that we should try it with Snape and Sinistra. So the plan is that we somehow get Snape on steps and either bump into Sinistra or something, but get her to fall so he'd catch her."

"What if he doesn't?"

"Well, her arse is going to hurt then," responded Draco snidely. He then shook his head. "If they ever find out what we did, well, then we're dead. But trust me, guys. Snape will catch her."

"Ooh, could we have a dance sometime? That's always romantic."

"That's a wonderful idea, Miss Weasley," Dumbledore responded with a wide grin.

"Albus," McGonagall warned with a mild glare.

"Oh, come now, Professor," Dumbledore said with a chuckle. "It is by far the best way to get them to be near one another." His eyes then twinkled. "After all, it was a dance that brought us together, Minerva."

"There is a big difference between you and Severus Snape, Albus."

"Why thank you, my dear," Dumbledore replied.

"Perhaps you're forgetting, though, Albus. The Minister is convinced that you're out to get him."

"See, yet another reason it'd be perfect, Minerva. It'd give me the perfect reason to invite him."

"And yet another reason for Aurora to bring Scrimgeour to Hogwarts," Vector grumbled.

"Alas, that would be an issue, yes, but I'm sure we could all overcome it." Dumbledore then stood up. "All in favor of a dance?" he asked. Nearly every student hand shot up. "Then that's then, I shall make an announcement tomorrow morning at breakfast."

"And just what kind of dance would this be, Albus Dumbledore?" McGonagall asked snippily.

"Dear Merlin, not another Yule Ball," Flitwick muttered.

"Oh, dear heavens no, nothing so extravagant, Filius," Dumbledore replied. "I believe Muggles sometimes refer to it as Snowflake Formal. Dresses would be required for the ladies, and men would be expected to wear their dress robes."

"Great, I'll look like my Great-Aunt again," Ron grumbled.

"Perhaps I could speak with your parents, Mister Weasley," Dumbledore cheerfully replied. He then clapped his hands and grinned. "I do love it when a plan comes together."

"Aurora always did love Severus in his dress robes," Vector said with a shrug. "It might work."

"Then comes the part of when we would do this."

"Well, my dear, there's no time like the present. We shall have it the night after tomorrow." Mouths dropped. "I know it is sudden, but I have a feeling the longer we wait, the more we risk the chance of failing."

"And just how do we get all the students formal wear on such short notice?"

"Madam Malkin would be more than happy to oblige if I just asked," Dumbledore coolly replied.

"Snape would smell it as a set up a mile away."

"Not if I tell him that I'm throwing it as a morale booster," Dumbledore responded in singsong.

"You have an answer for everything, don't you, Albus?"

"Just this, my dear," he replied, smiling. "I have only been planning this entire event since their second year of working together." He then laughed. "I am a hopeless romantic, you know."

"And a scheming manipulative old man also," McGonagall replied.

"But if it works, then you will be happy, my dear."

"I'll be happy for them, but I won't be happy per say."

"Whatever you say, Minerva," Dumbledore responded. "Hmm . . . I will have to bring out my best robes for this event." He caught McGonagall's eyes rolling. "Now, dear, there's no need for that."

"There's every need for that," she drawled. She then glanced at Harry. "If there isn't anything more that you'd like from us, I believe we'll put the Headmaster to bed before he comes up with another crazy idea."

"Ah, I have just the one too," added Dumbledore.

"Oh, but of course you do, Albus," she said, rolling her eyes again.

"No, we don't have anything else," Harry quietly said, trying desperately to keep a straight face. When they came up with this idea, they never thought they'd see this side of Dumbledore. It was rather hilarious at times. It was as if the old wizard was a little kid again. He watched the staff slowly filter out of the room. He then glanced towards Draco, and the two shared the look of amusement. Poor Snape didn't have a chance.

The afternoon of the dance, Aurora Sinistra walked into the staff room with her best friend Septima Vector following close behind. Both witches had just finished with their lesson plans for the next week and had planned to meet up earlier. It had been a tradition that they had observed since they first struck up their friendship fourteen years earlier.

"I must admit that it's rather odd that Dumbledore would just decide out of the blue to throw a dance for the students," Aurora said with a soft smile. "I've already talked to Rufus, though, so I won't have to worry about getting a date this year."

"How nice for you," Septima drawled as she grabbed the hot steaming cup of coffee that she had desperately been craving ever since Aurora first started talking about her fiancé.

"Oh, come on, Septima. I'm sure if you asked nicely, Filch would go with you."

"And I'm sure they'd find your dead body in the forest the next day," Septima softly replied.

"Oh, did I tell you? Rufus told me that I—"

"Will you just shut up about him already? Hon, I'm happy for you. I really am, but I don't need to hear every damn thing he does all the time."

"You're just cranky because you're alone," Aurora drawled before walking towards the window to look out. The silence was semi-stifling, but neither witch paid that much attention to it. "Fine, I won't talk about him. You know that I didn't mean that as an insult before . . . about you being alone, you know?"

"Yeah, I got that," Septima replied before taking another sip of her coffee. "So, what are you going to wear anyway?"

"Well, I wasn't really sure. I mean, he didn't give us many details for this dance, did he? What do you think about my blue ruffled dress? I've just been dying to wear that."

"Nah, blue isn't really your color, Aura. How about that dress you wore last year for the Yule Ball?"

"Definitely not, I'm trying to forget everything about that horrid night."

"Everything?" asked Septima. "But I thought you enjoyed yourself."

"Well, I did until I realized what a snarky bastard he was."

Septima's head snapped towards Aurora. She had been talking about the dance her friend shared with the Moody imposter. She hadn't heard anything about Snape and Aurora at the Yule Ball. She drew in a quick breath and slowly walked towards Aurora.

"Well, he wasn't himself that night, Aura."

"Oh, no, Severus was definitely himself that night. He got so angry with me because I shared that dance with Moody. Well, at least whom I thought was Moody. Oh, we got into such a row that night. Do you know what that snarky bastard told me? That I throw myself at any man walking past because I'm shallow . . . me, Septima, he called me shallow!"

Septima wisely kept her mouth shut. She desperately wished someone else was in the room with her to hear this, but she knew everyone else was either working on lesson plans or escorting the students to Hogsmeade. Maybe Dumbledore had spies in here that would report all this to him. It would explain some things if that were true.

"And then do you know what he did? The stupid ass kissed me. He just pushed me against the wall and kissed me. I'm not talking about a peck on the cheek either. His cold lifeless lips were against mine, and-and his kiss was hungry . . . like it had been awhile for him."

Septima had to bite her cheek to keep from laughing. Here the staff and students were trying to set them up, and they had nearly done it all on their own. However, she knew that she had to be there for Aurora, not thinking of how close her friend had been to true happiness unlike the fabricated one she had with Scrimgeour.

"So . . . um . . . then what happened?"

"Karkoff happened, that son of a bitch, interrupted us by walking by, and Severus acted like his typical self and shoved me away as if he hadn't been caught snogging me. Well, I hadn't been paying attention so guess who fell in the rose bush outside. I grabbed that son of a bitch and brought him down with me, though. Oh, was he spitting fire when Karkoff caught us then. I mean, what was I supposed to do, Septima?" Aurora then released an angry exhale. "It would have been a perfect night, but no . . . I just couldn't have that. Do you know what that son of a bitch told Karkoff to cover up for being the reason I fell into the bushes? That I was drunk and had forced myself on him."

Septima couldn't hold back the laughter any longer. She burst out laughing while holding her side when it started to hurt too badly. She could hear Aurora's angry ranting at her, but she was too far into her laughing fit to stop. She could picture the entire scene. In the bushes with Aurora, Snape trying to tell Karkoff that it was Aurora's fault why he was in the bushes with her. Those two were in such denial that it was ridiculous.

"Aura, sweetie, I'm sorry," Septima said, still laughing as she caught the silver wand now pointed at her. She knew without a doubt that Aurora would hex her to oblivion, but she couldn't stop laughing. So in self-defense, she lunged for Aurora's wand. However, she had put too much power behind her leap. Both witches fell to the ground, struggling for the silver wand.

"Dear Merlin, should I even ask?" a silky voice spoke from the door several moments later. That stopped the witches instantly. Snape then slowly walked past them towards the magically charmed coffee maker.

Septima watched him as he did this. She had to admit that there was elegance with the way he walked. His long flowing robes gracefully moved with him. He held his head up high, not arrogant like Scrimgeour, but humble. When she felt his eyes on her, she felt a chill run down her spine. However, his eyes didn't remain on her very long before he glanced at Aurora. She noticed how his eyes remained trained on Aurora for a while.

"I regret if I was interrupting," he drawled in a very low voice. "However, someone should perhaps inform our favorite Auror that his fiancée is rather fickle." He then chuckled very softly as he stared at the two witches. "I must admit, though, that I never saw this one coming. You are certainly full of surprises, aren't you, Sinistra?" he said, crossing his arms and leaning against the counter with an amused smirk.

"What the hell are you talking about?" Aurora growled before standing up.

Septima glanced back at Snape and caught his eyebrow rising slightly in response to Aurora's question. However, his eyes were what she noticed the most, though. The amusement was still there, but there was a different emotion in the sparkling obsidian eyes too. She couldn't quite identify the emotion since it was always rare to see on him, but her best guess was that it was hunger. When she finally noticed what he was looking at, her mouth nearly dropped.

In their brief scuffle, somehow a piece from the broken coffee cup that Septima had been holding had caught on Aurora's black dress and had torn it in spots. It had ripped her left sleeve clean off, and there was a large diagonal tear that went from her right shoulder to her left. She had another tear that went across her midsection, which revealed a long laceration that bleed.

"Aura, sweetie, you're bleeding," Septima said, pointing towards the wound to her stomach.

"I am not," Aurora snapped, glaring at her. "You're seeing things."

Septima was about to retort back to her best friend, but when she caught Snape moving towards Aurora her mouth shut. Aurora didn't seem to notice him until his fingers gently ran across the wound, closing and healing the laceration. Septima watched him as he did this and noticed he was being extremely careful not to hurt Aurora. As soon as the wound had disappeared, he took a step back and inclined his head politely before leaving. The door quietly closed behind him.

"Did he just—"

"Yes," Septima replied with her mouth hanging open. She wouldn't consider herself an expert on Severus Snape, but she knew that was the closest she would ever see him caring for another ever again.

"Bastard," Aurora growled before storming out of the staff room.

Septima shook her head a few seconds later before deciding she needed another cup of coffee. She cleaned up her previous mess with a simple wave of her hand then walked over to the counter. Her eyes narrowed on the cup of coffee that Snape had gotten for himself earlier. It was still full. She then glanced towards the door and scoffed. He hadn't even taken a drink from it. She wouldn't put it past him if he just walked in and used the coffee as his excuse.

"What happened to you?"

"Aurora," Septima responded before glancing at McGonagall. "She was telling me something interesting that I think one of your little lions needs to hear. Any chance he's out to play today?"

"If it's the lion that I'm thinking about, then he should be over in Gryffindor Tower."

Septima nodded slowly before sighing. She glanced at the elderly witch and felt the smile spread across her face. She knew Aurora had told her everything strictly in confidence, but she couldn't help it. She needed someone to know.

"They kissed!" Septima blurted out. "I'm sorry. I know. I know, Minerva, but they kissed."

"And just whom are we talking about here?"

"Slytherin's soon to be newest couple," Septima replied before walking over to the Gryffindor witch.

"Oh my, it's working already?"

"No. Last year at the Yule Ball," Septima explained. "After she danced with that guy posing as Mad-Eye, Snape pulled her out into the gardens. They got into a fight, and long story short, Minerva, they kissed."

"Well, what happened after that?"

"Karkoff interrupted them, but I think our plan's going to work tonight. We just need to make sure that Snape gets jealous as hell. It shouldn't be a problem since she's already going to be with Scummgeour." At the glance from Minerva, Septima laughed softly. "Slip of the tongue, my dear, I swear."

"Uh huh, you Slytherins are always alike."

"Hey, I was only in Slytherin for a year before my parents made me go to Beauxbatons."

"Oh, I remember. We were all glad the day you left," joked Minerva before starting to walk out of the staff room. She heard Septima following her, which was just what she had expected the witch to do. "I'm sure Horace, wherever he is, still has flashbacks of that year."

"You know, we could always try and find him. I bet Horace could help us. At the very least he could tell us something about them when they were here."

"The only thing I remember about those two was that they both seemed like oddballs out. Aurora was always chasing after Severus, and Severus was either hexing James or Sirius or he'd be with Lily Evans."

"Lovely day isn't it, ladies?" a wizard wearing shabby looking robes pleasantly said.

"Oh, quite, Remus," Septima replied with a grin. She then laughed. "So, which witch asked you?"

"Asked me what exactly?"

"You mean, you don't know?" At the questioning look directed at McGonagall, Septima's eyes widened. "Oh, Remus, please, say yes."

"To what exactly, Septima?" he replied with a puzzled look.

"Albus is throwing a dance for the students, and, well, I'm in need of a date. So I was just wondering if I could borrow you for the event."

"I suppose I could come."

"Oh, thank you, Remus. I'll make this up to you somehow." Septima's eyes then narrowed on him. "Wait, why are you here?"

"To see Severus about my special potion," he answered politely. "So, I take it that there's another reason why we're having this dance?"

"Well, yeah, um . . . we're trying to set them up, Severus and Aurora, I mean." He nodded slowly before glancing at McGonagall.

"I take it this was Harry's idea?"

"If not his, then it smells of a Weasley. I must admit that I am also one of the one's helping."

"I see," he laughed softly. "And what about this Auror she's supposedly with? What does he think?"

"He's just a minor detail, Remus. She doesn't really love him. She's just pinning all her hopes and dreams on him. Trust me. That girl has been after Severus Snape for years, and by Merlin I'm going to make sure it happens for her."

"Hmm, that would explain our fifth year," Remus said with a laugh.

"I don't understand."

"Well, I'm not one to share secrets or anything, but this was common knowledge. She and Sirius briefly were together, and I mean, briefly. I think they were only together for a few hours before she broke it off. I understood why Sirius dated her, but I never understood why she said yes. It makes sense now, I guess."

"She's been trying to make him jealous for years," Septima said with a laugh. "Wow, suddenly I can see why they bicker constantly, all the muttered bastards and twit comments. It's part of their game with one another." Her smile widened. "Well, we're going to make sure together that their game ends and that they confront their feelings head on."

"Good luck with that," Remus said, chuckling. "I'll see you tonight then, Septima." He then walked off, leaving the two ladies back to their conversation.

"You do realize that Harry only wanted us to start pushing them in the right direction, right?"

"Sometimes you have to use a knife to peel an onion," Septima responded. "Well, I have to go talk to Aurora and get her ready for the dance. Knowing her, she'll wear some funeral dirge thing again." Septima quickly walked off in the direction of the Astronomy Tower. So far, everything was working beautifully.

Snape sighed heavily as he stood in front of the mirror in his bedroom. He hated formal occasions with a passion, but this year he knew he'd hate it even more. Potter's punishment essay had struck a chord with him. The following sentences kept echoing in the back of his mind. A witch prefers the tall, dark, and handsome type, but that combination is extremely rare. Witches also are increasingly liking bad boy wizard types so the eviler the wizard the more the witch likes. Love should be the ultimate ingredient in any relationship. Lust runs out rather quickly after the age of thirty-five. He knew Potter couldn't have known that he was thirty-five, but that stupid phrase kept repeating. It was as if that one sentence was taunting him.

Snape knew lust wasn't what he felt towards Aurora. He wished it was because then he could just ignore the feeling, but those attempts would fail in vain. No matter how many times he'd tell himself at night that he still loved Lily and always would, his dreams lately always contained the dark haired Slytherin witch. He knew it was because of that stupid kiss they shared last year at the Yule Ball. If he had just controlled himself as he had always done before, he wouldn't be in this situation now. But no, for one millisecond he lowered his barriers, and look where that got him. He could barely control himself around her now, hence, why he had earlier touched her soft skin in the staff room.

Angrily, Snape slammed his hand against the mirror before he lost control of his emotions again. He snarled at the pain as the shattered glass cut into his hand. However, he had to admit that the pain was better than what he had felt earlier. He knew he was being absurd, but he stared at his hand before healing it. He then waved a hand at the broken mirror, which instantly repaired itself again.

Staring at his reflection, Snape sighed heavily again. He wore his black frockcoat over the white undershirt and black slacks. He looked like he always did for formal occasions. However, he unfortunately remembered Dumbledore's parting order from this morning's meeting. He was not to wear his regular outfit, but instead wear his best robes. Snape knew precisely what robes the wizard was talking about, and he had to admit that he had always wanted a reason to wear them again. Long ago, before the fiasco with Lily their fifth year, Snape had thought he'd save those robes for his and Lily's wedding, but when she married Potter, it dashed those dreams.

Snape glanced at his wardrobe. Black upon black stared back, except for the way back where brilliant emerald and silver robes hung. He could see the soft material glisten in what little light he had. Drawing in a breath, he pulled the majestic robes out, shook the dust off that collected on them, and undid his frockcoat. As soon as the velvety material touched his skin, he felt the magic coming off the emerald robes. He knew just by the mere magical aura around it that his mother had infused her magic into the material. He closed his dark eyes as he remembered the day she gave it to him. He had just received his Hogwarts letter a week earlier.

"Stand still, Severus. Severus, stand still now! Severus Tobias Snape, you stand still right now before I stick you to the floor," his mother had chided as she motioned with her wand. She softly laughed when he did as she instructed him. "Now, you must remember never to let your father catch you wearing these."

"Yes, Mother," drawled his eleven-year-old self. Some days he swore she thought he was an imbecile.

"Don't be snippy with me, Severus. These robes are very important."

"They're just robes, Mother," he replied with a slight growl. He had already put up with her fussing for nearly an hour. He did have other things to be doing than having her fuss over him.

"Excuse me, young man, what did you just say?" Eileen replied while forcing him to look at her. "They're just robes? Oh, young man, you are in serious need of grounding for that comment. They are much more than robes. Every member of the Prince family has added a bit of their magic to these robes. When you wear these, young Severus, you will never be alone. We will always be with you."

He scoffed at her before rolling his eyes. They were just robes. He didn't know what she was talking about by saying his dead relatives would always be with him. If his mother's family honestly was with him always, then he knew he wouldn't be sporting his lovely marks that his dear sweet father left for him. When he felt the slight sting on his backside, his eyes widened before he glanced at his mother.

"Give me any more of that attitude of yours, and you'll learn how purebloods punish their children, Severus," Eileen threatened while motioning with her black wand again.

"Fine, Mother, I apologize."

"Oh, what am I going to do with you, Severus?" she replied exasperatedly, throwing her arms in the air.

The thirty-five-year-old, almost thirty-six, Snape sighed before walking out of his quarters. It was time.

Harry grinned widely as he caught Snape slinking into the Great Hall. He had to admit that he hadn't thought Dumbledore's plan would work. He thought Snape at the very least would only add a Slytherin pin, not wear brand-new robes. He glanced towards Hermione who looked lovely as ever. In fact, everyone so far looked amazing, even Ron, thanks to Dumbledore.

"Wow," Hermione, Luna, and Ginny whispered as Snape walked past them.

"Wow what?" Ron asked a few seconds later.

"Honestly, Ronald, sometimes I think you're blind," Hermione drawled. She then pointed at Snape.

Apart from the new robes, Harry noticed that Snape's hair looked freshly washed. In fact, as much as it would kill Snape and Sirius both to hear it, Snape's hair had a bit of a wavy look to it like Sirius's hair. The stray strands actually seemed to give his hair a bit more edgy look to it. In Harry's opinion, Snape didn't look half-bad right then. In fact, there even seemed to be a bit more color to his face so he didn't look so much like a ghost.

"Now, we just need the bride," Ron whispered.

"It shouldn't be long," Luna mystically said. "She's only waiting right outside the doors."

The Gryffindors glanced at the young dishwater blonde Ravenclaw before shaking their heads. There were times when Luna seemed so far in her own world that it was scary. When the Gryffindors started to hear gasps around them, they all whirled around. Their mouths dropped at the sight of their Astronomy professor walking in.

"Whoa," Ron and Harry exclaimed.

"Lucky bastard," Draco mumbled as he walked up behind the Gryffindors. Crabbe and Goyle flanked him on either side, but he also had the Weasley twins walking near him.

"I second that," Fred muttered in pure shock.

Aurora Sinistra wore a baby blue halter-style dress that went to her knees. The dressmaker had cut the dress in such a way that it had diagonal ruffles that swished softly as she walked. She wore thin black heels that clicked lightly against the floor. Whoever had done her hair had swept it up and coiled it around the now hidden bun. On either side of her face were two stray curls that she had tucked behind her ear. However, the most noticeable thing of all was the Lily of the Nile flower tucked into the left side of her coiled hair.

"Isn't that the same hairstyle you had last year, Granger?" Draco asked softly as if not to draw attention.

"Yeah," Hermione replied just as soft. "It looks better on her, though."

"Nah, I thought you looked just as amazing as her," Draco responded before Pansy Parkinson, who wore a long flowing black dress, smacked him in the shoulder. "What? I'm just saying she looked nice last year. I'm not saying I want to date her or anything."

"You better not have been saying that, Malfoy," Ron growled.

"As if I'd ever date a Muggleborn, Weasel," Draco said. "I'm hurting my reputation enough by hanging out with you losers."

"Guys, focus," Harry snapped. He was starting to get tired of Malfoy and his snide little comments to Ron every two seconds. Harry then glanced towards Dumbledore who only bowed his head in return. "All right, so everything's set. Now, we just need to focus on getting those two to dance. Hermione, give Vector the signal. Malfoy, do your thing with Snape." When he caught the glare from the blond, he sighed. "What is it, Malfoy?"

"And just what are you doing while I'm risking my arse for your stupid band of rejects?"

"Well, someone needs to take care of Scrimgeour, don't they?" Harry replied snottily.

"Hey, Mate, leave that to us," Fred said before glancing at his brother. "We got something all cooked up for our supreme leader." He then laughed loudly before the twins walked off towards the center stage.

"Do we even want to know?"

"Probably not," Malfoy responded before sighing. "How about you and I go over to Snape?"

"Not scared, are you, Malfoy?"

"Course I'm not scared of Snape, Potter. The only one who should be scared is you. If Snape ever learns what you and your gang has been up to," Draco said before making an 'off with the head' signal.

"Let's go, Malfoy, before you screw this whole operation up."

"Hell, Potter, your group can't even come up with a proper name. Least I gave you WAND."

"Oh, yeah, well, I still have some hope this entire thing will work."

"That's it!" Hermione exclaimed, whirling towards Draco and Harry. Her eyes were wide with excitement. "Hope," she said laughing before glancing at Ron.

"Uh, Hermione, is everything all right?"

"Oh, why didn't I think of it before?" the smartest Gryffindor witch asked rhetorically as she shook her head. "HOPE, Helping Our Professors Engage," she explained in a soft whisper. "It's perfect."

"I still think WAND was better," Draco replied with a hint of a whine.

"Fine, then we'll tell everyone that we've narrowed it down to those two choices," Harry said annoyed.

"What if the Slytherins use WAND, and you and your band of sore losers use HOPE?"

"And what if your pet toad asks you why you changed her little name of the Inquisitorial Squad to WAND?" Ron asked smartly.

"Then we tell her that it's tougher sounding, Weasel," Draco responded before scoffing. "Oh, why am I even talking to you still? Come on, Scarhead. We have to go see our residential bat before he flees." Draco then glanced towards Snape who was doing his best to blend into the background. "And by the looks of it that doesn't look too far away from now," he drawled prior to sighing. "You do still want to get Snape off your back, don't you, Potter?"

"Of course I do," Harry snapped.

"Well, then move your fat arse and follow me, Potter," Draco growled before angrily walking away from the band of Gryffindors. He could only guess how his father would react if he ever learned that his only son had consorted with a Mudblood, Blood Traitor, and sworn enemy of the Dark Lord. He shuddered slightly as he imagined it. He knew without a doubt that he'd be sporting some more lovely marks that his father gave him. If not that, then someone would find his dead body in a shallow grave.

Draco wasn't even going to start thinking if his Aunt Bella found out. Draco thanked Merlin every day for the Ministry locking her up in Azkaban. Without a doubt, if she were around, he knew he wouldn't be getting along with the other Houses as well as he was. As they made their way across the Great Hall towards Snape, he glanced towards Harry. Potter wasn't too bad. However, Draco knew he had to keep up his mask with the Gryffindor if he was to survive the war. Potter might be an asset, but he was also a very dangerous liability.

Moments later, Snape still stood off to the side near the table. He could feel the students' eyes on him, and he desperately wished he could just curse all the little brats. Didn't they know it was rude to stare? He made sure to avoid the green eyes that glanced at him every now and then. He didn't know what Potter was waiting for, but he didn't want to either. The boy would lose interest soon enough.

"She certainly looks beautiful, doesn't she?" a voice said to his left.

"I wouldn't know," Snape replied, glancing at Dumbledore. He wished that meddling fool would stay out of things that didn't concern him and just stick to sucking lemon drops.

"Oh, I must apologize, Severus. I hadn't seen you there," Dumbledore replied with a chuckle. "Filius and I were just discussing how lovely Professor Sinistra looks this evening."

Snape's eyes narrowed on the infernal old man before noticing the small man in dark blue robes standing next to Dumbledore. He sighed heavily and shook his head. Leave it to him to think Dumbledore was speaking to him of all people.

"Yes, I had gathered that much, Headmaster," Snape replied politely before inclining his head to Flitwick. "As I said before, I wouldn't know. I regret I have yet to see her."

"Oh my, well then we must fix that," Dumbledore responded with a smile. His blue eyes twinkled mischievously. It was never a good sign when he did that. "Ah, here she is, in fact."

Snape instantly took a step back as if to slink away. However, he ended up bumping into someone instead. He groaned loudly in his head. He hated it when Dumbledore did this to him. He didn't need the wizard to keep trying to set them up.

"Good evening, Professor," Dumbledore pleasantly said with a bow of his head.

"Evening, Headmaster," Sinistra replied softly. "You haven't seen my fiancé around, have you?"

"I believe the Ministry called for him, my dear," Dumbledore responded.

"Oh," she said with a heavy sigh. The soft song slowly died in the background.

"Would you care for a dance, my dear?"

"All right, Albus," she replied with a smile. "You talked me into it."

Dumbledore held his hand out and gently led her towards the dance floor. As any gentleman would do, he bowed slightly towards her before holding his arm out for her. She softly laughed, but put her hand on his shoulder and held her other palm against his. The song had just started when a man tapped Dumbledore on the back. He instantly released her and stepped back to hear what the man had to report. He sighed after hearing the news before glancing at the younger witch.

"I'm afraid that I must leave, my dear," Dumbledore quietly said. However, he glanced towards Severus who stood near them. "Severus will take over for me, though. A woman as lovely as you really shouldn't be left alone on the dance floor." Dumbledore didn't even allow Snape the option of backing out of it. Instead, he gently grabbed the other wizard's hand and put his hand in Aurora's hand. "Again, my dear, I offer my sincerest apologies for this." He then whirled around and left.

"It's all right, Severus. You don't have to," Aurora replied softly before pulling her hand back from his. "I won't tell the Headmaster tomorrow if he asks. I promise." However, she found that he wouldn't release her. Her dark eyes narrowed at this realization. What was he doing? Severus had always refused to dance before, especially since the infamous incident where Rolanda Hooch's hand went a little lower than was necessary years back. "Severus?" she asked hesitantly. When he gently pulled her closer in response, she felt her heart race. What was he doing?

"It is only one dance, Sinistra. It will not kill me."

"Oh, I wouldn't be so sure about that, Severus," she retorted. She then nearly jumped when he put his hand against her side. She figured she'd humor the Headmaster and share the dance with Snape. What was the worst that could happen anyway? She gently placed her left hand atop of his shoulder and held her right palm against his. They were about an arm's length apart, which was a comfortable distance in her opinion.

The song was slow and soft. It didn't take long before she swayed to the music. Her eyes had closed as she attempted to live in this moment forever. She had to admit that he was a rather great dancer. Soon, she forgot everything. She forgot the silver band on her left ring finger. She forgot that the man she was dancing with wasn't Rufus. She even forgot that all of Hogwarts was at the dance. In that moment, it was just her and Severus dancing to the gentle song.

When Aurora reopened her eyes, a few moments later, she noticed that sometime during their dance she had pressed her face against his soft emerald robes. The scent of cloves and other herbs rushed to her senses. She felt the urge to pull back from him rise, but she didn't for some reason. She then noticed that the hand that once had been on her side was now on the small of her back. It was a gentle tender touch, but it sent her chills.

Aurora could feel his heart beating in his chest. Also, from what she heard, it sounded like he was relaxed. She felt her lips slightly curl at the thought. Wasn't this the exact moment she had dreamt of ever since she was a first-year? She could still remember the dream along with how peaceful she always felt afterwards. She was rather convinced this was her exact dream. However, she knew something wasn't right about it.

Thinking with her heart instead of her head, Aurora lifted her head up and gently brushed her lips against his. She didn't know why she did it, but it had felt right. When she felt their kiss deepen in a gentle way, she felt her chest tighten instantly. It was perfect. The kiss, the dance, it was all perfect. Only she knew this man wasn't the man she was currently engaged to marry.

Within seconds, Aurora violently pulled herself back from Snape's arms. She caught the momentary flicker of something in his eyes before he expertly covered it up again. She could feel herself panting horribly. However, she didn't know if that was due to their amazing kiss or her oncoming panic attack. She whirled around and briskly walked towards the doors of the Great Hall. She had to leave. She had to get as far away from him as possible before . . . Soon, she found herself in a dead sprint towards the doors. She couldn't tell if anyone was following her, but she guessed Septima would.

The stale air of the Entrance Hall didn't help Aurora calm down any. So, she quickly raced towards the moving staircases. She knew without a doubt that she needed to hide in her tower for the rest of the night or for the rest of her life, depending on how a person looked at it. However, luck just wasn't on her side.

After the second set of moving staircases, Aurora's left heel snapped just as she stepped down. She screamed out as she felt herself falling backwards due to the staircases moving. However, the crash against the floor never occurred. Strong arms wrapped around her midsection to prevent her fall. The arms held her, and she couldn't help herself. She didn't care if he did call her an emotional Hufflepuff later. She burst into tears in the arms of the man that she truly and would only ever love. She wrapped her arms around his neck, burying her head into his shoulder as she cried. She didn't even notice that the scent of cloves and other pleasant herbs weren't hovering around the man holding her.

A day later, Harry looked around at everyone in the group. He sighed softly. He had to admit that he himself was confused what happened last night. He had seen the kiss, which nearly made everyone cheer aloud. However, he had also seen Professor Sinistra run out of the Great Hall and leaving Snape there. Harry remembered thinking to himself that Snape should run after her. That's how the telly always showed these things. However, Snape remained fully rooted to the floor until he briskly walked out of the side door.

Harry sighed. He had followed Snape, wanting to make sure that the man followed Professor Sinistra. However, Snape only returned to his dungeons and disappeared behind the large portrait of Salazar Slytherin that guarded the door to his rooms. Harry remembered standing there staring at the portrait and thinking 'what the hell' for nearly two minutes before leaving. After the night's fiasco, he slowly walked up the stairs and towards the moving staircases. He instantly stopped dead in his tracks when he saw Professor Sinistra sitting on the step sobbing hysterically as Remus held her. Harry hadn't known what to do then.

When Remus's amber eyes caught Harry's, he glanced down ashamed of himself. He had ruined everything. Harry opened his mouth to say he was sorry to do anything, but his mouth wouldn't open. Remus only glanced at him and motioned with his eyes that Harry should return to the party. The young Gryffindor silently turned around and headed back to the Great Hall. However, the dance had taken a rather somber mood.

"All right, so we all saw what happened last night." Harry watched several students nod. "I talked it over with Malfoy, Luna, and Hannah this morning, and we've decided that we should just leave them alone." Harry then sighed heavily. "Instead of getting Snape off our backs, we've only managed to infuriate him more. I don't think I need to tell you how many points some of us have already lost." Harry watched a few students inwardly wince. Nearly every house (even Slytherin) was in the single digits for House points now. "I'm sorry, guys. I shouldn't have gotten you involved in this. It was a stupid idea."

"No. It wasn't, Harry," Hermione said. "You saw them last night."

"Yeah, Harry, that kiss last night, well, that wasn't no innocent kiss," Ron continued. A few of the other students shouted in agreement.

"Guys, look around. It's just us students in here. Hell, the professors aren't even here."

"Maybe that was the problem," Fred spoke up. "Dumbledore's tried and failed for years. Yet we all agreed with his idea. I mean, sure Ginny came up with the ball idea, but Dumbledore did the scheming of all the details." He then sighed. "Harry, we've come this far."

"You guys didn't see her last night," Harry responded angrily. "I can't do it, guys, and I won't."

"Do you honestly believe that Sinistra loves Scrimgeour, Potter?" Malfoy asked with a look of disgust.

"Yeah, I think she does," he answered. "Why else would she have been so upset last night?"

"Because she kissed the one guy she truly loves, but she knows that he's not ever going to allow himself to love her back," George replied. "Hell, we saw a bit of emotion from Snape last night, but it was only a bit. Sinistra gave herself to him last night. He gave her a miniscule part in return." He then shook his head before glancing at Fred.

"Yeah, and you saw how the greasy git acted last night after she left. He didn't even run after her. He just let her go."

"But forcing them together isn't the way to go, though, guys," Harry argued. "I mean, we only ended up making things worse these past few weeks. Hell, we've never seen Snape this peeved before."

"So what are you saying then, Harry? That we give up and allow them to continue to drift apart?" Ginny countered. "I can't do that. Harry, my brother was right. That kiss wasn't any innocent kiss they shared last night. They do both have feelings for one another."

"Why didn't he go after her then?"

"Fear maybe," answered Hermione.

"Since when have we ever seen Snape scared of anything?"

"Since when have we ever seen two of our professors sharing a kiss on a dance floor?" she retorted. She then sighed softly. "There's a first time for everything, Harry."

"I would have thought you of all people would agree with me disbanding it, Hermione," Harry said.

"Normally, you'd be right. This group started out for the sole reason of getting Professor Snape off everyone's back. However, somehow down the line, probably because of last night, we have now decided that we have just reasons for getting Professors Snape and Sinistra together that go beyond losing points."

"Oh, and just what are those just reasons?"

"Because we saw last night how our actions deeply affected them," Hermione responded softly. "If they didn't love each other, they'd only be taking their anger out on each other. However, they do love each other, though." She then sighed. "My mother always used to tell me that we sometimes hurt the people around us because we're afraid to lose. Maybe Snape's afraid to lose her. There certainly are plenty of reasons for that."

"Hermione, I can't do it. You didn't see after she left last night."

"No. I didn't, but I saw her on the dance floor with Snape. Harry, we all saw that kiss. They were relaxed, and if I had to say it, Snape was content." Hermione then inhaled. "However, I'm not saying that we keep gathering in here in secret behind closed doors plotting." She then glanced around before taking another deep breath. "Scheming is what got us into this mess in the first place. Keeping them in the dark why we come up with ways to force them together didn't work. You're right. It only made things worse. Therefore, we should perhaps come clean and tell them . . . all of us."

"They'd kill us," someone shouted from the back.

"No they wouldn't. We possibly would have to serve detentions that we deserved mind you. However, at least they'd know."

"Wait a minute. You want us to tell Snape and Sinistra that we've been trying to set them up. Are you insane?" Ron squawked indignantly.

Harry inhaled deeply before glancing at the floor. While he didn't like the idea of coming clean to them, he knew someone needed to do it. He glanced at all the students in the group that was either WAND if you were a Slytherin or HOPE if you were any other House. He couldn't allow any of them to enter that snake pit. It had been his fault. He had been angry with Snape giving him a detention so he thought it was a good idea to force Snape towards Professor Sinistra. However, last night, seeing his Astronomy professor on the steps crying, well, it definitely put things into perspective for Harry. He needed to make this right again. He drew in a breath before nodding slowly.

"I'll think about it, Hermione," Harry said, having already made up his mind. "Go on, guys. Go to your common rooms." He watched them slowly filter out until he was the last one. He had to make this right.

After having Remus walk her to her quarters and make sure she wouldn't throw herself off the Astronomy Tower by secretly dosing her with Dreamless Sleep, Aurora slept. In the morning, however, she woke up to realize everything of the prior night wasn't part of a nightmare. She couldn't believe herself. Honestly, kissing Severus in front of everyone like that, she couldn't believe she had done that. While she knew in her heart that everything with Severus was perfect, she knew in her head that she was wrong to think that. She was a pureblood witch. She had certain family expectations, which she was fulfilling with her engagement.

When she and Scrimgeour first started dating, Aurora had to admit that it wasn't so bad. Not at all bad as it could be considering he was older than she was by quite a few years and was a bit like Mad-Eye Moody at times with always feeling paranoid. He was a gentleman to her, though. He opened doors and other such chivalrous things. He even took her on a date once where they could see the Aurora Borealis. Honestly, how could it be any more romantic than that? He was a pureblood, so that'd get her mother off her back. He wasn't a Slytherin by any means (another requirement of her mother), but he was a pureblood. In fact, she had already told her mother about their engagement, and her mother had expressed her approval. He seemed to be perfect.

However, after Scrimgeour asked Aurora to marry him, that's when the not so nice stuff started to happen. That's when his mask came off, and she saw the real Rufus Scrimgeour. A person that she knew most people never saw. He was definitely no Severus Snape by any regards. Perhaps he was closer to Severus's father, but not the man she truly loved.

Aurora had thought about going to Severus several times and telling him that she was breaking off her engagement to Scrimgeour. She knew he wouldn't mock her for something like this, not if he heard what Scrimgeour did. Severus knew the ugly side of people better than most and had witnessed it throughout his entire childhood. And she knew that if she told him, that he'd help her in any way he could. And if that meant killing Scrimgeour, well, then so be it.

Aurora Sinistra hated Rufus Scrimgeour. She hated him with a passion. However, she knew she had to keep up appearances with everyone. If Scrimgeour knew how much she disliked him, she knew precisely what he'd do to her. In fact, he had threatened her several times with the exact details of what he'd do. She hated keeping up the façade that she loved him. She hated lying to her best friend and telling Septima lie after lie about how she just loved her life now. She hated her life. She hated what she had become. She hated that she had lowered herself to a victim. She hated that she couldn't fight back against him. She had always been a fighter in her life. But she couldn't now. Not because she was worried about what Scrimgeour would do to her. No, she was worried because of what he said that he'd do to Severus.

There were numerous times when Aurora had thought about casting the ultimate Unforgiveable on Scrimgeour. She had come close once too . . . and paid dearly for it later. She had tried to steal from Severus's personal collection of poisons once, only to have him walk in and demand she tell him what she thought she was doing. She had come close to telling someone, anyone, about Scrimgeour, but the bastard had made a surprise appearance. She guessed it was because he knew what she was about to do. She had paid dearly for that too. She could still remember Pomfrey's looks of suspicion as she tended to Aurora's injuries. But Aurora lied like the Slytherin she was and said she tripped on the stairs, which in a way was the truth. She had tripped on the stairs, but she was trying to flee.

Aurora walked towards her balcony and stared out onto Black Lake. The water would be cold this morning. It always was, though. She could see the glistening fresh white powder that covered the grounds. It really was a beautiful sight.

Aurora then thought back on their kiss, Severus and hers. She brought her fingers to her lips and smiled softly. It was a gentle kiss, but one that had curled her toes. Her romantically filled mind raced at the feelings that one kiss gave her. However, soon she felt the tears stream down her cheeks. She tried to choke back her sobs, but she couldn't.

Aurora had always loved that socially awkward, lanky, hook-nosed Slytherin whose hair was always in thin greasy locks about his face. She softly laughed at her thoughts. One wouldn't know it by her description, but she truly did love Severus. He was her fearless dark clad protector. He was the one bad boy wizard she could never get over.

Reminiscing of their past together, Aurora remembered the day she first saw that ugly black mark on Severus's left forearm. She was a fifth-year and he was in his sixth year. She had followed Severus into his dormitory to finish their argument. He hadn't realized she was following and had thrown his robes against his bed, which allowed the black ugly Mark to show fiercely on his forearm. She had been so angry with him for taking the Dark Mark. She knew that he hated his Muggle father, but she never thought he'd join that evil. She had always thought he was wiser than that. In a fit of rage after seeing that mark on his soul, she sent a hex at him with such force behind it that his best shield couldn't block it. Secretly, she had always wondered if she had left a mark on his shoulder from where her hex hit him. She wasn't about to ask mind you. She just wondered.

Last night, the stars had aligned and allowed Aurora that one moment in her life that she'd cherish forever. She wanted desperately to go to Severus right then. She wanted to tell him everything. But she couldn't. She wouldn't let herself do what she knew was right. She knew she had to tell someone. Blackmail was a Slytherin tactic that she herself had used dozens of times in order to get her way. However, she couldn't find a way out. If she told anyone, Severus—

Aurora then angrily shook her head. She couldn't travel down that road. She couldn't tell anyone. Scrimgeour was the head of the Auror Office. If anyone could get away with murder, Scrimgeour could. If anyone could use a trumped charge and send someone to Azkaban, Scrimgeour could. And she knew he would if she told anyone.

So for now, Aurora would grin and bear her treatment. She was strong. She always had been. He was not going to break her. He was not going to win. She wouldn't let him. A fleeting thought then made her gasp. She had kissed Severus . . . at a dance . . . full of Ministry officials. She quickly whirled around, half expecting Scrimgeour to be standing in her bedroom with his wand pointed at her. He wasn't, but that didn't mean she wouldn't be hearing from her loving fiancé about her behavior.

Out of the corner of her eye, Aurora caught the glittering silver on her right ring finger. She glared at the engagement ring. Acting like a Hufflepuff, she angrily ripped the offensive thing off her finger and threw it as hard as she could off the Astronomy Tower. For the first time in a long time, she smiled widely to herself, feeling relieved. She would perhaps pay for that error too, but she would not wear anything binding her to that bastard anymore.

"Aurora," the Headmaster's quiet voice spoke from her fireplace. She turned around and walked over to it. "If you could step through," he asked. She sighed, but did as he asked. It was time to put her mask on again.

Returning to his rooms after the disaster in the Great Hall, Snape felt his anger coming off in waves. Anger was the one emotion that no amount of Occlumency barriers in the world would be able to hold back. As soon as the portrait shut behind him, he snarled loudly and yanked his emerald robes off before throwing them as far away from him as he could. He then angrily flicked his wrist. The bit of uncontrolled magic he released slammed against one of his massive bookshelves, exploding it and sending shredded papers into the air. However, that destruction didn't satisfy him enough.

It was extremely rare for him to be so violent with his things, but his temper that he inherited from his bastard father raged inside of him. He had only lost control of himself twice before, and both times were a result of Lily. After that day by the lake where he called her that foul name so long ago, he destroyed the Slytherin boys' dormitory in a fit of rage. The second time was when he had learned of Lily's death. He had destroyed the majority of his quarters then.

His rage blinded him. He grabbed objects from the mantel of his fireplace and threw them. Luckily, he knew in the back of his mind that as long as he stayed in the sitting room, his most prized possessions would remain safe. He faintly could hear the shattering of glass, but he ignored it. He sent more uncontrolled magic at his bookshelves. Confetti then flew around the room as the spell effortlessly shredded the massive books. He then closed his eyes before roaring a very loud expletive. Numbly, he was aware that he was releasing every ounce of his destructive magic with his yell, but he just wanted it to stop. He wanted everything he felt to stop, just stop. Suddenly, everything went black.

In the morning when Snape came to, he groaned loudly. His entire body ached now. He grimaced slightly before rolling over onto his side. He heard the crunching of glass as he did this. Slowly, he got to his feet and glanced around his sitting room. He scoffed slightly at the sight. Every single bookshelf that had lined his walls was now just splintered wood with tiny shredded pieces of paper. Large amounts of shattered glass littered his floor. He then glanced at his couch and chair. The glass had shredded both violently. No doubt, he guessed he looked similar to the furniture. He drew in a breath, only to gasp as a terrible sharp pain rippled through his abdomen. He touched the wound and felt the sharp edge of glass. He grimaced as he yanked it out.

This wasn't the first time his magic caused him to become a human pincushion. Snape remained holding a hand to his wound before slowly limping towards the bathroom. He decided that he might at least see how badly he had injured himself this time. It took a few moments before he finally reached his bathroom. He grimaced slightly before pulling the now badly soiled white undershirt off. He heard the twinkling of the glass shards as they hit the floor from this action. He continued to undress himself in silence before sitting on the edge of his bathtub. He could barely put any pressure on his leg. His dark eyes then glanced across from him at the full-length mirror. Again, he grimaced.

Snape looked as if he had just fought the Dark Lord. Various lacerations, some deep others not, covered his entire body. He could see the tiny bits of shards embedded in his pale skin. Slowly, he began the extracting process. Every now and then, he groaned as he pulled a piece of glass out, but he was silent for the most part. That was until he saw his Dark Mark. He chuckled softly as he noticed the deep jagged laceration. Blood had covered the entire black stain on his soul. A rather fitting picture if he had to say so himself. He, however, sighed and yanked a towel from next to him. He silently wrapped it around his wound to clot it.

In his mind, Snape mentally went down his checklist of all the potions that he'd need to take. He knew without a doubt that Blood Replenishing Potion was the most crucial potion he'd need. He also needed the orange paste to heal his various bruises and another potion to clean his wounds. He tried to heal his wounds without his wand, but his cuts remained open. He sighed heavily before coming to the conclusion that his little outburst had nearly drained all of his magic temporarily. As if I haven't done that twice before, he thought dryly.

Snape then glanced at his left leg and shook his head at how badly bruised his knee was. He carefully tried to flex his leg, only to groan from the shooting pain. Well, it wasn't broken, so he guessed that he had only twisted his knee. He tore off a strip of cloth and tied it around his knee in efforts not to damage it anymore. He grabbed another towel and wet it before trying to wipe the dried blood off himself. He knew that a shower would only aggravate his wounds even more.

"Eek . . . um . . . Mr. Dark Wizard?" a small voice squeaked after it had followed a soft pop.

"What?" Snape gruffly replied, not bothering to glance at the pitiful creature.

"Um . . . well . . . Headmaster Master Dumbledore asked Kali to tell Mr. Dark Wizard . . . that . . . um . . . Mr. Dark Wizard's presence is requested in Headmaster Master Dumbledore's office."

"Oh, did he?" Snape drawled before wincing at the cut to his abdomen. "Perhaps Kali should inform Headmaster Master Dumbledore that Mr. Dark Wizard is indisposed at the moment." At the sound of the soft pop, he glanced where the little house elf had been standing. He scoffed. Sarcasm was always lost on them. He continued wiping the blood from his wounds before hearing another pop.

"Headmaster Master Dumbledore says that Mr. Dark Wizard has no choice and that it is not a request. Kali is supposed to stay with Mr. Dark Wizard to make sure that Mr. Dark Wizard comes. And if Mr. Dark Wizard refuses, then Kali is expected to bring Mr. Dark Wizard no matter what."

Snape glanced at the house elf and sighed. Obviously, the house elf was using Albus's words now. Under his gaze, the poor thing's large ears drooped pitifully, and its large green eyes were wide in fear. He watched it twist its bony fingers into its clothes nervously. The poor thing acted as if he was going to murder it at any moment. If he had the heart, he'd inform the poor thing that he didn't harm house elves.

"Then perhaps Mr. Dark Wizard should get dressed, shouldn't he?" he said with a sigh. Silently, he wrapped a towel around his lower body as he stood up. Within seconds afterwards, he groaned again and grabbed his knee. This entire day was going to be murder. He slowly limped towards his sitting room to retrieve his wand, but at the sight of all the glass, he thought better of it. He glanced at the little house elf who was staring at him with big eyes. "Perhaps you could retrieve my wand for me?" he asked in a soft voice. Oh, how far he had come, lowering himself to ask a house elf for help.

"Kali can do that for Mr. Dark Wizard." She then squeaked somberly before glancing at his abdomen. "Perhaps Mr. Dark Wizard can sit down so he doesn't pass out on Kali?" she asked softly.

Snape scoffed, but nodded slowly. She did have a point. He was exerting himself unnecessarily. He did as she asked and sat down on the edge of his bed, still holding a towel around his left forearm. He glanced at the towel and sighed at the sight of the crimson bleeding through. His regular clothes would have to be out for today, and he'd have to ask Albus for the day off as he healed. No doubt, Albus would request him to see Madam Pomfrey after their meeting, but he did not intend to do that. He was the foolish person who lost control and hurt himself. There was no need to drag Madam Pomfrey into this whole mess and having her coddle him as she healed him. He'd just suffer through the day as penance for losing control. It wasn't the first time he did.

"Mr. Dark Wizard," Kali quietly said, a few seconds later.

"Yes, Kali?" he replied, glancing at her. He sighed softly as he took his wand from her. "Thank you, Kali." He then silently casted various healing spells that he knew didn't require too much magic. Unfortunately, the spell only managed to close his wound to his abdomen. This day was definitely going to be murder.

"Perhaps Kali can assist Mr. Dark Wizard like she assists Ms. Astronomy Mistress?"

"What?" Snape exclaimed, glancing at the house elf. "What do you mean 'assist Ms. Astronomy Mistress'?" Kali instantly whimpered as she stared at him. He then drew in a calming breath and forced his voice to become a bit softer and gentler. "Kali, what did you mean?"

"Kali must not say," she replied tearfully. "Ms. Astronomy Mistress made Kali promise not to say. Please, Mr. Dark Wizard, don't make Kali say. Kali does not wish Ms. Astronomy Mistress to cry again."

"Kali, if she's hurting herself, I need to know, though," Snape said quietly. He was surprised with how gentle his voice was. Perhaps deep down he wasn't the bastard he thought he was. He could see her struggling with herself. Luckily, he was the Head of Slytherin and a master manipulator. "Kali, please tell me. She's my friend." The poor thing was now whimpering and pressing her lips together tightly. "What if you showed me? Technically, you wouldn't be telling me then, Kali. You'd still be keeping your promise to her."

"You'll help Ms. Astronomy Mistress?"

"If I can, then yes, Kali," Snape responded. He nearly sighed in relief when she nodded slowly. He drew in a breath thinking if he should or should not tell Kali that he was going to view her memories. He decided against it in the end. "Kali, look in my eyes." Almost at once, he entered her mind. It didn't take long to find the memories she had referred. After viewing the last memory, he closed his eyes, ending his spell. His magic reserves were nearly gone now. "Thank you, Kali." The small house elf then magically wrapped bandages on his wounds. As soon as the bandages covered all of his deep lacerations, Snape quietly dressed.

In his mind, though, Snape was anything but quiet. You foolish witch, he snarled in his head. I can take care of myself. I do not need you trying to protect me while he—oh, you and I are so going to have a chat soon, Sinistra. I cannot believe how foolish you are. You're a Slytherin for Merlin's sake! How could you allow him to do that? Since when are you that weak! He glanced at Kali. "Take me to Albus." With a pop, he was gone.

"Thought I'd find you here, Potter," Malfoy drawled as he leaned against the statue guarding Professor Dumbledore's office. "You honestly think it's wise to tell them? They'll kill you, Potter. You do realize that, right?" The blond Slytherin then shook his head as he stared at him. "Come on, Potter. Don't do this. Just let it go. Let them continue to think that it was a fluke. You'll only end up making things worse."

"If you're worried about me mentioning you, then don't. I'm taking full blame for this."

"Oh, how brave of you, Potter," Malfoy drawled.

"Shove off, Malfoy," Harry growled. "Acid pops," he said towards the statue. As the phoenix slowly spiraled up with the staircase leading to the office, he briskly pushed past Malfoy and entered the Headmaster's office. Here goes nothing, he thought.

"Ah, Harry, my boy, what brings you here this early in the morning?" Professor Dumbledore said with a pleasant smile on his face as he sat behind his desk in his office.

"I was just wondering if it'd be possible if you could have Professors Snape and Sinistra come here."

"For what reason, my boy?" he asked with his eyebrows furrowing slightly.

"I think they need to hear the truth about what I did."

"I see, and you've thought this out?"

"Yeah, and they need to hear it. I hurt them both, and I just want to fix it now."

"Ah, it takes a great deal of courage to admit the truth, Harry. I myself would like to speak with them about a most troubling matter. Very well, but know that I will remain in here with you."

"Why?"

"My dear boy, you are admitting to two Slytherins that you tried to set them up together."

"Yeah, I guess you're right," Harry said with a soft smile. He watched Professor Dumbledore throw some of the Floo powder into his fireplace before calling out for the Astronomy Tower. A few seconds later, Professor Sinistra walked out of the emerald flames. Her dark eyes narrowed on Harry, but otherwise she said nothing before walking towards the desk. Harry kept his eyes on Professor Dumbledore, though. It seemed as if Snape wasn't answering.

"Hmm . . . Kali," Professor Dumbledore suddenly said as he stood back up. A little house elf popped in. "Please go to the dungeons and inform Severus that I wish him to come to my office at once." The house elf disappeared with a soft pop. However, she returned a few seconds later.

"Mr. Dark Wizard wishes Kali to inform Headmaster Master Dumbledore that Mr. Dark Wizard is indisposed at the moment," the small house elf squeaked.

"Indeed," Professor Dumbledore said with a faint smile. "Then inform Severus that it is not a request. If he still refuses, then bring him here, Kali, no matter what he says." The house elf was gone again.

"Forgive me, Headmaster, but I am to see Rufus this morning. Perhaps you could inform me as to why I am here and why we need Snape."

"I am afraid, my dear, that I will have to intrude upon your time."

"Albus, surely you can inform me of this later. I must be heading off to see—"

"Sit, Professor," he replied, glancing over his spectacles at her.

Harry then watched Professor Sinistra follow the Headmaster's order grudgingly. A soft pop then drew his attention once more. Harry's green eyes glanced towards the sound and widened at the sight of his potions professor. Snape wasn't wearing his familiar black robes. Instead, he wore a loose black t-shirt and black pants without his usual black boots. He had gauze wrapped around his left forearm, and Harry could see spots of blood leaking through. Snape also had numerous cuts to his face. As the older wizard limped towards the desk, Harry couldn't help but think that something bad had happened to Snape last night.

"He did this to you, didn't he?" Professor Sinistra growled from next to Harry.

"No. I had an unfortunate accident this morning in my quarters," Snape drawled, glancing at Harry.

"You're lying, Severus," she snarled.

"Then I'm in good company it seems," he replied with a curt bow of his head towards her.

"What on earth are you talking about?"

"You know precisely what I'm talking about, Sinistra," he growled, folding his arms across his chest. "You'll have to forgive me for my state of dress, Headmaster. I did not realize that Potter would be in attendance." His dark eyes then glanced towards Harry again. "What? Never seen blood before, Potter?"

"Yes, sir, I have. It's just . . . never mind," Harry said, shaking his head.

"Your concern is overwhelming, Mr. Potter," Snape drawled with a smirk.

"You appear to be in a good mood today, Severus," Professor Dumbledore said with a knowing look.

"Appearances can be deceiving, can't they, Professor Sinistra?"

"I wouldn't know anything about that. Now, perhaps you can tell us why we're all here?"

"You're both here because of me," Harry replied. "A few weeks ago, Snape gave me a detention because of something Ron had said."

"You deserved that detention, Potter," Snape responded, narrowing his eyes on him.

"Yeah, okay, fine, I deserved it, but I was later in the common room and thought that Professor Snape needed to fixate his attention on someone else for a change. Well, I started to think of various ways I could get him to do that, and I came up with the plan that he needed someone in his life."

"Why on earth am I here to hear this garbage, Headmaster?" Professor Sinistra interrupted. "As if I care about Snape and his non-existent personal life," she drawled. "I do have better things to do."

"What? Tripping down the stairs?" Snape replied, glancing at her.

Harry started to get the feeling that something else was going on, and that Snape wasn't paying attention to him. By now, he thought the man should have at least been snarling at him. However, Snape was rather calm with Harry. However, he was being a bear to Professor Sinistra, though. He glanced at Professor Sinistra and saw the anger in her face. Maybe Malfoy was right. Maybe this wasn't a good idea.

"You bastard," Professor Sinistra snarled. "I don't know what game you're playing, but shut up."

"Or you'll do what, Sinistra? Turn the other cheek?"

Seconds later, Professor Sinistra whipped her long silver wand out and shoved Snape against the wall. Her wand instantly went to his throat as she held him against it. She looked downright murderous. Harry watched the sight with a dropped mouth. He had never seen his Astronomy professor so angry before. Obviously, Snape had pushed the right buttons. Oddly enough fearing for Snape's life, Harry admitted the truth.

"I tried to set you up with Professor Sinistra!" Harry blurted out. It was the strangest thing he had ever seen in all his years at Hogwarts. Snape and Professor Sinistra both glanced at him. The anger had just vanished from their faces. Drawing in a breath, Harry thought he'd finish as long as he had their attention and Professor Sinistra wasn't trying to kill Snape. "That's why you're both here. I was angry with Snape for the detention so I thought that if I set him up with a witch he'd leave me alone. You were the only witch that came to mind that could put up with his crap so I thought you were the best witch for the job. I wrote an essay on love potions to get him thinking about settling down or something. I then asked Professor Dumbledore if we could have a dance, which he agreed. I then had Remus ask someone to go up to Professor Dumbledore when he was dancing with Professor Sinistra so that he'd make up an excuse to leave you two alone. I'm the reason you two danced last night. I honestly didn't know that I'd end up hurting you both, though. I just wanted Snape off my back."

"Do you have any idea what you've done?" Professor Sinistra asked Harry in a low and deadly voice.

Harry glanced towards Professor Dumbledore. Yes, Malfoy was definitely right. This was a very stupid idea. However, Snape didn't seem to want to kill him yet. It was only Professor Sinistra, strangely enough.

"Of course he doesn't, Sinistra," Snape replied calmly.

"Shut up, Severus," she snarled, pressing her wand deep into his throat.

"Is this how you plan to protect me?"

Harry watched in utter puzzlement when Professor Sinistra backed up like a wounded animal from Snape. He glanced towards the Headmaster and noticed the sadness in the older man's blue eyes. Something definitely was going on, and he just wasn't catching it. He saw his Astronomy professor look around wildly at them. She looked afraid of something, but there was anger underneath her dark eyes.

"Of all the foolish things for you to do, Sinistra, this has to be the worst. You're a damn good duelist, and you know it! You could have made that bastard beg for your mercy! Instead you became the one begging and pleading, and for what? Do you honestly believe that I give a damn what he does to me?" Snape asked with a strange look in his eyes. He then grabbed her upper arms and forced her to look at him. "Dammit, Aurora!" he yelled in frustration. "You are better than this! You are better than he is! Look at me. Look at me! Do you honestly believe I'd ever want you to protect me like this? That I'd want you harmed like this just so he didn't throw me in Azkaban or do even worse. Is that what you think?" She didn't respond, though. "My mother used to do the same damn thing. She used to try to protect me the same goddamn way! She thought if she took all the abuse all the pain that she was saving me. Do you think that it protected me? Do you think all the blood that she spilt saved me from his abuse? It didn't. You know that, Aurora. You know that all her attempts didn't make a damn bit of difference in the end. So why would you do the same goddamn thing?"

"Because I love you," Professor Sinistra whispered.

Harry quickly glanced towards Professor Dumbledore. He wondered if they should step in or at least go after Scrimgeour. However, the Headmaster made no motion to do either. He only remained statue-like, staring at Snape and Professor Sinistra. Harry did see the anger in the man's normally twinkling blue eyes, though.

"My mother also loved me, Sinistra," Snape replied quietly. "Do you think that stopped my father? Do you think that stopped him from beating her? Do you think her love for me stopped him when he beat her so severely that he shattered her skull against the kitchen counter?"

Harry glanced at the floor. Hearing about Snape's childhood certainly made him feel worse. No wonder the man was so angry with Professor Sinistra. He then glanced up to his two professors. He saw the tears streaking her cheeks as she stared at Snape.

"That was very foolish of you, Sinistra. I can protect myself. If Scrimgeour truly wishes to throw me in Azkaban or kill me, I have all the reason to defend myself against him. Have you ever known me to be fearful of another?" She shook her head. "I've lost two women that I loved, Aurora. Do not add a third to that list."

"Severus, I . . . I know what Azkaban does to you, though," she cried.

"I'd rather spend an eternity in Azkaban, then to know that you died because of me."

Harry watched Snape gently grab Professor Sinistra's right hand. He noticed the same time Snape did that the silver ring was gone. A somber smile spread across his face. Good for you, Professor, Harry thought. Hermione and the others were right. They did love each other. Here was his proof.

"I couldn't stand the bloody goddamn thing," Professor Sinistra whispered as she stared at her hand.

"Neither could I," Snape replied. "Albus," he said, glancing towards Professor Dumbledore. The two wizards stared at each other before the Headmaster nodded solemnly. "Mr. Potter, if you didn't like your first detention you received, then I'm sure you'll just love the next four months," he drawled with a smirk.

"Yes, sir," Harry replied glumly. With that, Snape whirled around and limped out of the room.

Drawing in a deep breath, Rufus Scrimgeour glanced around the Great Hall. The first thing he noticed was that his oh so loving fiancée was nowhere to be found. He had heard all about her behavior last night at the dance. He was rather convinced that she was the reason that he had to return to the Ministry prior to the end of ball. And he knew precisely why that was. She wanted to be with her Severus. His cold eyes then glared at a couple of the students who were glaring back at him. He instantly recognized them by their fiery red hair. Weasleys, if ever there were a pathetic excuse of Wizarding families, they surely would be at the top.

"All right there, Rufus?" Cornelius Fudge asked, giving him a questioning look.

"Fine, just missing Aurora, sir," he lied smoothly.

"Ah, yes, of course you are, son," the Minister replied before patting him on the back.

Scrimgeour was about to reply once more when he heard the large doors to the Great Hall burst open. He whirled around to see who had stormed into the room. When his eyes rested on a familiar sallow hook-nosed man, he glared. However, his eyes narrowed as he watched the man walk with a considerable limp. He then noticed the numerous lacerations to Snape's face. His plan would work perfectly now.

Scrimgeour motioned with his hand towards his Aurors that stood on either side of the doors. He drew himself up since there was a considerable height difference between him and Snape. As soon as Snape was directly in front of him, Scrimgeour stepped in front of Fudge as if to guard him.

"Under the statute of 10.90 of the International Wizarding Law, I am placing you under arrest for crimes you committed in the willful service of You-Know-Who. You are a known Death Eater. It's about time you joined your brethren in Azkaban."

"What?" Snape replied with a fierce glower directed on the man.

"That's absurd!" McGonagall exclaimed, throwing down her napkin.

"Codswallop!" exclaimed Hagrid. "He's no more a Death Eater than yer, Scrimgeour!"

"Then he'll have no problem showing us his left forearm, will he?"

Snape gritted his teeth. He caught the looks from his students who all seemed to be on the edge of their seats. Not surprisingly, his Slytherins were staring with a look of sheer wonder in their eyes. His dark eyes then came to rest on the familiar messy black haired young man in Gryffindor. Potter nodded slowly to him in understanding of Snape's unspoken command.

"No," Snape coolly responded. "I believe you both know my record so you know exactly what you'd find. That proves nothing, Scrimgeour. Now, if you have evidence of any casting of—"

"Then give me your wand, Snape, and we'll sort this all out."

"As you wish," Snape replied. He slowly reached into his left pocket and pulled out a long ebony wand. He carefully handed it to Scrimgeour before glancing towards his students. Thanks to Albus, Scrimgeour wouldn't be able to find anything on that particular wand. He then watched Scrimgeour wave his wand down it revealing the spells Snape used with it. He recognized the majority of the cleaning spells he used before his eyes narrowed when Scrimgeour stopped. "Well, did you find your proof, Scrimgeour?"

"Take him into custody, Alastor."

"On what grounds?" he growled. "I gave you my wand, Scrimgeour."

"As if I would ever trust the Head of Slytherin," Scrimgeour responded.

Snape glanced at Harry before growling. This entire thing was Potter's fault, and after it was clear, that boy's hands would be bloody sore from scrubbing every last cauldron. However, as angry with Harry as he was, Scrimgeour was the one that really ticked him off. He nearly punched the man when he leaned in towards him.

"I heard all about what you did last night to my fiancée. An accident in your quarters?" he said, scoffing. "She informed me last night how you forced yourself on her." Scrimgeour nearly laughed when he saw the flash of rage in Snape's eyes. This was just too fun. "I've been with her all morning, trying to calm her down. You got used to having your Dark Lord telling you to rape innocent women, didn't you?" Snape looked down right murderous now. "Forgot where you were last night when you were with her, didn't you? Thought you were above the law, didn't you?" Snape's knuckles were ghostly white as he tightly clenched them against his sides. "Take him into custody, Alastor." He then leaned further towards Snape. "I'm going to recommend to the Wizengamot that you get an immediate Kiss for what you did to her."

Snape glanced towards Moody and Tonks. Both Aurors walked slowly towards him with looks of confusion on their face. He'd only have one chance at this. He wasn't normally a physically violent man, but Scrimgeour brought the worst out in him. He fished the long forgotten pendant out from underneath his shirt before leaping towards the head of the Auror agency. As soon as he connected with the wizard, they vanished with a harsh crack. However, they reappeared a few seconds later in the Entrance Hall.

Scrimgeour's face was badly bleeding, but Snape looked all right while he landed punch after punch against the man. Scrimgeour then violently shoved Snape backwards before scrambling as fast as he could towards the Great Hall. Snape caught him, though, and yanked him back from the doors. Sending a dozen or so spells towards the man, Snape skillfully ducked every single spell Scrimgeour casted. The head of the Auror agency was starting to panic. He hadn't thought this might happen. He had thought when he confronted Snape that the man would come quietly. He didn't realize that Snape would physically attack him.

Scrimgeour yelled for help, knowing that he could spin this tale any which way he wanted. However, when nobody came a few moments later, he growled. Sending a nonverbal Incarcerous towards Snape, he grinned widely when the ropes latched around Snape effortlessly. He then tightened the ropes and chuckled as Snape battled against it. He could see Snape struggling as the rope around his neck tightened.

"And here I thought you were actually good at magic, Snape," Scrimgeour mocked. "She talked so much about how powerful you were, and how you'd kick my arse when you learned what I did to her. Do you want to hear what happened the first time I put her in her place? Of course you do. She wanted to run to you. Her big strong protector," he sneered down at Snape. "Oh, she tried to fight me. Oh, boy, did she fight against me," he said with a sickening grin. "I was stronger, though. Do you know why she refused to tell you? She wanted to protect you because she loves you. Her big strong protector who can't even banish—"

"STUPEFY!" More than two dozen jets of light then shot at Scrimgeour. Within mere seconds, the balls of light struck him and sent him flying with such velocity that he struck the opposite wall with a loud boom.

"Diffindo," Hermione casted as she pointed her wand at the ropes around Snape. The ropes instantly slashed to pieces. She then glanced down at the floor as Snape slowly got to his feet.

"Thank you, Miss Granger," he rasped quietly before gently resting a hand on her shoulder. He then glanced at the various students who had their wands drawn. The Weasley twins, Potter, Draco, Luna, Weasley, even Neville Longbottom had his wand drawn.

A few minutes later, a large gathering of witches and wizards burst into the hospital wing. Nearly all of them were glaring daggers at the unconscious man as Minerva unceremoniously dumped him off the stretcher onto a small cot. The bustling mediwitch briskly walked with her wand already drawn and running various tests on the unconscious man. Every now and then, she would glance towards the Head of Gryffindor House, but for the most part, she just tended to her patient as she always did. Even though, she knew what a lying son of a bitch the man was.

"I demand answers immediately, Dumbledore. Why is that man not being taken away by the finest Aurors I have at once?" Minister Fudge commanded, glancing towards the dark shrouded man who was glaring at the unconscious man. "Why must you continue to refute Scrimgeour's claims?"

"Respectfully speaking, Cornelius, it is because I know that Rufus Scrimgeour falsely accused Severus."

"Oh, you are just covering up for Snape like always," Fudge offhandedly said with a fierce shake of his head. "He's always been a soft spot in your heart, Dumbledore."

"Perhaps so, Cornelius, but I have evidence to back up my reasoning." Dumbledore then glanced towards Scrimgeour before shaking his own head. "Madam, I apologize for disturbing you, but perhaps you could allow him to regain consciousness."

"Albus, this man had—"

"I am well aware, Madam, but there is a troubling matter that must be resolved before he rests." Dumbledore instantly caught Madam Pomfrey's muttering under her breath that strangely sounded like 'crazy old coot' before he heard Scrimgeour's soft moans as he woke up. He waited, however, for the man to sit up.

"I apologize for this questioning, Rufus, but Dumbledore believes that you have falsely accused Severus of any misdoings on his part. Perhaps you could give your evidence for this matter," Fudge gently said.

"Just look at him, Minister. There's not a spot on his face that doesn't have cuts to it. She told me this morning how she tried to push him off her. She wasn't sure but she thought she had scratched him. Well, take a look at him, Minister," Scrimgeour replied calmly with a hint of somberness in his voice.

"Yes, I see exactly what you mean, Rufus. However, one could say it is pure coincidence."

"Then bring Aurora in here and ask her, Minister. She'll tell you what he did." Scrimgeour's eyes then widened as he caught the witch glaring at him. "Aurora, sweetheart, please tell them the truth."

"The truth?" she snarled. "You want me to tell the truth?"

"Aurora, don't. He can't hurt you anymore." Scrimgeour then glanced towards the Minister when her glare deepened. He has lost his control on her somehow. "Maybe it's not a good idea to ask her right now. It's probably still fresh—"

"The only thing fresh in my mind is the sight of the students defending Severus against you," she sneered, walking towards him. She then whirled around. "Rufus Scrimgeour is a self-righteous bastard that doesn't deserve to live. His claims that Severus hurt me are entirely inaccurate, Minister." Her dark eyes then wandered over to the familiar obsidian orbs staring at her. She drew in a deep breath to draw up the courage to say her next words since she knew numerous of her friends, colleagues, and students were in the room with them. "Because if Severus ever tried to force himself on me, I'd let him and I sure as hell would enjoy it too." Someone from the students' side whistled quietly, but mostly there were tons of gasps at her words. "So the truth is Rufus Scrimgeour physically assaulted me when I did not do exactly what he wanted me to do. If I didn't smile and tell everyone that I loved my life with him, he'd make damn sure I learned that night. He also used his power and influence of his office to claim that if I did not do what he said that either he'd murder Severus or he'd lock him up in Azkaban for the rest of his life on charges that were entirely false."

"Is this true?" Fudge asked outraged.

"No. Of course it's not true, Minister," he replied frantically. "Can't you see that Dumbledore and Snape are behind this entire thing in order to gain control of the Ministry, sir?" He nearly smiled when he saw Fudge's eyes glance towards both wizards with narrowing eyes. "All year, Minister, Dumbledore has claimed that You-Know-Who has returned in efforts to scare the public. We all know this. I mean, who better to rise to power and calm the public than the wizard who defeated Gellert Grindelwald?" He could see Fudge was falling for it. Then again, he was an excellent liar. "They're both somehow controlling this entire situation to make you seem weak. I mean, what will the public say when they hear that you terminated your head of the Auror office?"

"Perhaps they will say good riddance, Scrimgeour," Snape drawled with a nasty smirk on his face.

"Minister, listen to me. That man is a Death Eater. Dumbledore can claim it all he wants, but I have reports of sightings all over England proving that Severus Snape is in fact still in You-Know-Who's ranks. In fact, I have a very reliable source who would take Veritaserum just to testify that he saw Snape enter the home of a Wizarding family in Derbyshire two weeks ago. I believe you remember the case, Minister. We found the mother dead and tied to her bed with strong evidence of assault. In their rooms, we found her three children, ages 2, 5, and 10, brutally beaten to death while they slept in their beds. Lastly, we found the father slowly bleeding to death on the floor of his study with a curse that my source believes created by none other than Snape himself. Minister, what will the Prophet say if you take his word, a supposedly former Death Eater, over mine, a well-known and highly respected Auror?" Checkmate, Scrimgeour thought smugly.

"Yes, yes, you are right, Rufus. I have every reason to be inclined to listen to you, but—"

"Minister, you can't be serious," Scrimgeour exclaimed. "She's gone through a very traumatic event. I don't blame her at all for not taking my side. I understand her anger. She needs time to heal . . . to process. In response to the students, whatever lies Dumbledore feeds them they are going to believe. You cannot allow that man to be near the children. What would the parents say if they learned that you knowingly allowed a Death Eater to teach their sons and daughters?"

"Snape may be a git, but he wouldn't ever harm Sinistra. And you're an imbecile if you believe that."

"Ron," Hermione hissed as she dug her nails into his arm. "That's the Minister you're talking to."

"I'm with Ron," Neville exclaimed. He then lowered his head when Snape glanced at him.

"Scrimgeour hurt Professor Sinistra, so Snape just had to beat the hell out of him because he truly loves her. Who could blame him, though? Hell, we all wanted to join in, but Snape had him until the end."

"Be as it may, children, your professor—"

"Can do whatever the hell he wants, Minister," Harry quietly said, locking eyes with Fudge. "After all, if you can't protect the ones you love, then who the hell can you protect?" Loud laughter, however, drew everyone's attention to Scrimgeour.

"What's so funny, Scrimgeour?" Snape growled. He wished he had his magic back so he could hex the man to kingdom come. The Auror was sitting on his cot, grinning widely as if he was sure he won.

"Oh, you'll see, Snape. You'll see."

"What the hell does that mean, Scrimgeour?"

"Oh, this is going to be so much fun," Scrimgeour said, chuckling darkly.

"You mean the part where I throw you off the Astronomy Tower or the part where I push you into a vat of acid?" Snape replied, folding his arms across his chest.

"No. The part where I break you," Scrimgeour responded before throwing his head back and laughing.

"Many have tried, and many have lost their lives for it."

"Oh, how I wish I could see the look on your face when I break you. When I make you beg and plead, but it just won't be. That doesn't mean I won't enjoy it any less, though. I mean, just the knowledge that you will be in pure agony. That will last me a lifetime, Snape."

"Too bad your death won't," growled Snape. If Snape had his magic, Scrimgeour would already have blood pooling out of him. Snape couldn't keep his thoughts from turning dark. He badly wanted to kill this man, and each second was getting worse. If only the Death Eaters had captured Scrimgeour, then he'd beg the Dark Lord for the right to kill this monster. He'd first break all the bones in Scrimgeour's body, preferably very slowly. Then he'd cast the Cruciatus on him, just to hear him scream, and he wouldn't let up until Scrimgeour was left nothing but a shell. Finally, he'd cast his special spell and let him soak the earth with his blood.

"I take it that I won't be getting a kiss from you anytime soon?"

"I hope you choke to death on your own vomit," she snarled back.

"You'll pay for that one, my dear."

"No. I don't think I will." She then whirled around to leave.

As if he had watched a train wreck occur in slow motion, Snape watched Scrimgeour leap towards Aurora. Scrimgeour's hand painfully latched onto her wrist before he yanked her back. He then wrapped his arms around her chest to hold her in place, just as Snape stormed towards them. Snape was the closest to them. At first, the sound didn't even register in his ears as Scrimgeour said the word 'Death'. However, the widening of Aurora's eyes before she screamed 'Severus' registered clearly. It was too late, though. The portkey had already whisked her and Scrimgeour away to Merlin knew where, leaving Snape to stare at the empty cot.

As soon as they appeared at their destination, Scrimgeour threw her towards the wall. Aurora, luckily, caught herself and whirled around with every intention of fighting back. She hadn't noticed his fist swinging towards her, though, until it slammed against her face. She tried to stay upright, but he roughly pushed her down to the floor. He then grabbed a hold of her thick dark curly hair and yanked her head back so she looked up at him. His other hand held her hands back. She could see the hatred in his eyes, but she could bide her time. She knew he wouldn't kill her outright. He'd want to teach her a lesson first, but she had one too.

"Did you see the look on his face?"

"Yes," she grounded out. "And I can't wait until he finds us and slaughters you like the pig you are."

"Funny that you should mention pigs," he whispered. His eyes trailed down her body before he chuckled in a low growl. "Oh, this is going to be so much fun. You're much better looking than my last fiancée." His hand then latched around her throat before he jerked her into standing.

"Your last fiancée?" she sneered. "Let me guess. You killed her."

"Not the way you think," he replied back, tightening his grip on her throat and wrists.

"Well, don't keep me waiting," she snarled sarcastically. Her eyes then quickly darted around the room, trying to find something that would give a hint to where he was holding her. However, she didn't recognize the design at all. It looked somewhat like Azkaban, but she didn't feel the usual cold fear of dread with the Dementors. She then noticed the pool of blood in the far corner of the wall. She closed her eyes when she saw the bloody scratches in the cement wall as if someone was trying to escape in his or her final moments.

"It's funny what you can get away with when you join Him." Her stomach lurched instantly. She had to have heard him wrong. "I'm sure your sweet dear Severus knows all about that." He then chuckled in her ear. "All I had to do was turn the other way, and I wouldn't ever have to worry about Him killing me."

Deciding that she was not going to spend another moment listening to that lunatic, Aurora glanced down at her boots. She then closed her eyes in efforts to brace herself for the horrific pain that she knew she'd feel in a few moments. In one swift motion, she picked her left foot up and kicked as hard as she could behind her. She heard the simultaneous crack from behind her when her foot connected with his knee. Biting her bottom lip to keep from screaming, her shoulder wrenched out of its socket as he fell backwards towards the floor, bringing her down with him. His grip loosened for a split second, which truthfully was all she needed. She quickly rolled onto her side, reaching into her robes and pulling her long silver wand out concurrently. When she caught him trying to leap towards her, she pointed her wand at him.

"SECTUMSEMPRA!" she screamed as loud as she could.

She truly didn't know why she had casted Severus's spell against Scrimgeour. She had dozens of other spells she could have casted that would have incapacitated Scrimgeour like Incarcerous or Petrificus Totalus. However, for some reason or another, she casted Severus's trademark spell. She wouldn't be naïve and think that Severus didn't know that she had learned the majority of his spell creations when they were in school together. After all, she didn't hide the fact that she had stolen his Advanced Potions book from him. It was rather stupid at the time, but she had stolen it for the sheer pleasure that it irked him greatly that she had it.

She wasn't ever worried that he'd attack her physically. Over their years in school, she had noticed that when she upset him to the point of him wanting to throttle her, he always made sure that he never touched her and stayed at least a few steps away. She took his verbal hatred spewed at her, but she wasn't at all like Lily Evans. She knew that his words were just his way to vent his frustration. And unlike Lily, who had always cried and ran to her common room whenever he said something spiteful, Aurora dished it right back at him. In fact, the first time she ever retorted back, she nearly laughed when his mouth instantly snapped shut. It was odd, but she guessed that it was part of the attraction. Their constant spewing of creative insults towards each other was much like how normal and cute couples would whisper amorous words in one another's ears.

Getting back to her situation, though, after casting that spell, she felt the warm sticky blood spatter against her face. Her stomach lurched at the sight of the limp body slamming into the ground. She had killed before, but never someone she had known. Closing her eyes, she tried to focus on something else, anything else, other than Scrimgeour's body. Her mind started to play tricks on her. It tried to convince her he wasn't really dead. It tried to convince her he was only biding his time before he killed her. She shook her head at the thoughts and tried to calm herself down. However, the air was toxic and made that task next to impossible. It was her forcing herself to remember her kiss with Severus that finally broke her panic ridden mind.

A few moments later, Aurora whirled around, making sure not to look back or down at herself towards the blood so she didn't lose her temporary control. She trembled slightly, though, as she tried to open the door to escape. However, the handle refused to turn. She tried to unlock it magically, but nothing happened. She even sent a blasting curse at the door, but still it refused her. Soon, she started to pound her hands against the door. She knew that she was acting emotional yet again. It was only a dead body that was behind her. She had seen plenty of those as a member of the Order unfortunately. However, she had always been an oddball in her House.

Much of the typical Slytherin characteristics were just frankly lost on her. Aurora couldn't brew a potion to save her life. She could barely control her emotions on a good day let alone on this day. When Severus briefly taught her Occlumency last year, she hadn't ever figured out how to create a mental barrier much to his extreme displeasure. Legilimency with him went even worse. In his own words, he had said that whenever she tried to use Legilimency on him, it felt like she was trying to claw her way into his mind. They had parted amicably after those failed attempts. While she had self-preservation skills usually, it typically went out the window when anything concerned Severus, which caused many of their fights. The only Slytherin traits she had were being a pureblood, ambitious, cunning, and a fierce determination.

The door suddenly burst open, knocking her flat on her back onto the ground instantly. Her silver wand flew out of her hand at the unexpected collision and rolled into the shadows. She quickly casted a nonverbal spell towards the black robed silver masked person walking into the room, but something slammed against the side of her head. She tried to focus on something, anything, rather than the pain. However, the darkness quickly settled into her mind. The last thing she heard before being unconscious was loud maniacal laughter.

"Severus!" McGonagall yelled, two hours later, in Snape's office. "Sit down!" Bailing Severus out of Azkaban once was more than enough times for Albus Dumbledore. So Albus had put her in charge of watching Severus because Albus had been frankly concerned what the younger wizard would have done if Severus had caught up with Scrimgeour. Of course, she should have known that Severus wouldn't be thrilled about this idea. However, Severus's frantic pacing around the room as if a madman was starting to drive her insane. She understood that he was upset. Hell, she was upset. They had all been so naïve to think that Scrimgeour could barely walk after receiving so many stunners to the chest that no one thought to tie him to the bed. And then to find out that he could still walk properly and kidnap Aurora easily from the castle . . . oh, she wanted desperately to release Severus so he could find Aurora for that. However, Albus had locked them both in Severus's office.

"Don't you DARE tell me to calm down, Minerva!" Snape snarled, drawing his ebony wand. His dark eyes glistened with rage as he glared at her. Barely even registering the brief gasp from her, a package suddenly appeared in front of him. His eyes narrowed on it for a split second before he tore it open and spilt its contents on his desk. His stomach dropped instantly. There were numerous articles of ripped clothing soaked in blood. However, a leather-corded necklace that had been spattered crimson got his attention the most. His fingers gently traced the black onyx bat and silver shooting star pendants, smearing the blood onto his fingertips.

"Oh," McGonagall whispered next to him as she caught the bloody mess. She then gently rested a hand on his arm, which he violently shook off. "We need to get out of here, Severus," she said with a growl in her voice that she definitely did not direct at him.

"And go where, Minerva?" he sneered. "It's not as if any of this crap tells us where he's holding her."

"No, but he's toying with you as if he knew Albus would lock you in here."

Snape's hands gently curled around the pendants, ignoring McGonagall, though. He remembered clearly the night that he presented Aurora with the necklace. Well, it didn't have shooting stars on it when he gave it to her, which he knew was an addition she must have made sometime later. He was a sixth-year at the time, and she was in her fifth year. They had been arguing over something, but he couldn't remember it anymore. However, he remembered the reason why he gave that necklace to her. She had seen his Mark, and an argument ensued over that. Their argument hadn't lasted long, and she had won.

It had been a warm day out, so he hadn't felt the need to wear a long sleeve shirt underneath his robes. However, he knew better than to run around without covering up his Mark. There were too many students and professors who would stick their noses in things they shouldn't. When he walked into his dormitory, though, he knew most of his fellow dorm mates weren't around so he threw his robes against his bed in a fit of frustration. Then again, Aurora always did frustrate the hell of out him in a way that no one else could replicate.

"YOU BASTARD!" she suddenly screamed behind him, gaining his attention instantly.

He whirled around, just as she sent a hex at him. He quickly casted a shield, but had underestimated the sheer force and anger she had put behind her casting. Her hex slammed against him with such strength that he flew back against the wall. He instantly yelled out as he felt a sharp stabbing pain in his left shoulder. The pain was simply the thing he could feel the most. His right hand then slammed against his shoulder, only to connect with something protruding from him. He slowly turned his head towards his wound before his eyes widened at the knife sticking out of his shoulder.

"You don't deserve this kindness," she snarled before ending the spell, which made the knife vanish.

He slammed hard onto the floor and groaned softly as he pressed a hand to his wound. However, soon, her pale slender fingers shoved his hand away. If she was going to kill him, he'd let her. After all, if it got back to the Dark Lord or the others that he lost to a witch, well, he'd rather take death than that option. His eyes narrowed then when she silently whispered a spell that closed his wound. However, he knew just by looking at it that she hadn't healed him.

"How could you?" she snapped, glaring at him. "How could you join that . . . evil?"

"You wouldn't understand, Sinistra," he responded with a slight growl. He didn't need to explain his actions to anyone, especially not her. For the first time in a long time, he felt like he belonged somewhere and felt accepted by his fellow brothers. She should be happy for him, not angry and definitely not bloody emotional as she was as tears streaked her cheeks.

"You're right, Severus," she said, standing up and wiping his blood into her robes. "I wouldn't understand. I wouldn't understand why you of all people would want to become a murderer and a rapist."

"I gave this to her the night after she saw my Mark," Snape quietly spoke, staring at the pendants in his hand. He didn't know why he was planning to recite the complete sordid thing with the Head of Gryffindor of all people. However, the vivid memory that had just replayed in his head a few moments ago made him feel like he needed to tell someone if only for his sanity's sake.

"Severus, we'll—"

"Let me finish, Minerva," he interrupted gently. When he saw her incline her head slightly, he inhaled deeply. "Later that night after she had seen my Mark, the Dark Lord had requested my presence. I obviously couldn't Apparate directly to him, so one of the older boys had to take me there with him." If Snape had been watching McGonagall, he would have seen her shudder at his words. "I had thought that he had somehow learned about my fight with Aurora, but it wasn't anything like that. I was still very loyal to him at this point, so on the Dark Lord's orders I killed a six-year-old girl that night in West Sussex. He was very pleased with me for doing such a good job. I can still remember the girl's room. These glow-in-the-dark stars littered her entire bedroom. Her bedding even was full of stars. To this day, I can even remember the look on her face when she saw me standing above her. It wasn't fear. It was utter curiosity and pure innocence. She didn't even fight me as I smothered her with a pillow." He then hung his head and drew in a steadying breath. "Minerva, don't take my words as proof that I was proud of what I did because I wasn't."

"You made a terrible, terrible mistake, Severus, but you're trying to make up for it now." He scoffed.

"I made 234 mistakes during my years as a Death Eater, Minerva, and no matter how hard I try to atone for those mistakes, it won't bring back the dead I killed, the innocence I took, and the evil I left in my wake."

"But you are still trying, Severus," she argued.

"I could barely walk down those steps and out of that house that night, Minerva," he said, ignoring her last statement. "Lucius noticed how the girl's death had affected me, and he informed the others that he'd bring me back to the Dark Lord as soon as possible. He took us directly to a flat in London, so that I could clean myself up. For five hours, I vomited everything I had and dry heaved when I ran out. Towards the end, in fact, I started to vomit up my own blood before I passed out on the floor. In the meantime, Lucius had informed the Dark Lord while I was unconscious that I was not yet accustomed to murdering children yet. The Dark Lord did not see this as weakness on my part as he would if it were anyone else. Do you know why?" She shook her head. "I was His favorite, Minerva. He called me His son and treated me as such."

"Severus—"

"So, when I woke up the next morning, Lucius took me to get anything I wanted at the Apothecary free of charge before I returned to Hogwarts as a gesture of the Dark Lord's gratitude," he quickly said. "I felt so drained at this point that I didn't really care about anything. I did glance into the little shops that we passed, however, in hopes of escaping my living nightmares. I saw this necklace hanging in one of the shops. It only had a bat pendant on it at the time, though. I remember the look Lucius gave me, but he didn't say anything. I, however, told him that I didn't need him to buy it that I'd pay for it out of my own pocket. He wanted to raise a ruckus over it until I told him he could keep the money for himself. He liked that idea." He then gently rubbed his thumb against the pendant. "I paid five galleons for this necklace. I gave it to her later that night in the Astronomy Tower. I lied to her and told her that I regretted ever joining. I lied again and told her that as long as she wore it that I wouldn't ever be his loyal servant. Do you know what she said to me?"

"No. I don't, Severus."

"Then I'll never take it off," he recited. "She wasn't stupid, though. She knew I went to His side when he called me. I never told her what I did during any of the meetings. I doubt I ever had to tell her. I'd walk into the common room after returning, and she'd stand up from the couch she had been sitting on waiting for me to return. We'd sit down there until early dawn just watching the fire, and then she'd leave."

"Severus, we'll get her back."

"In how many pieces, Minerva?" he responded darkly. "Tobias murdered my mother. The Dark Lord killed Lily. Rufus Scrimgeour kidnapped Aurora and possibly might kill her too. Three women I love, Minerva, have had something terrible happen to them because of me."

"Aurora is a strong witch, Severus. We'll get her back."

A loud boom against his door turned their attention to it. Another boom followed that one, followed by more before his door burst open. His eyes instantly narrowed on the Weasley Twins, the Gryffindor Trio, Draco, Crabbe, Goyle, Pansy, and Blaise, and Luna who all had their wands drawn.

"Did someone—" George said with a large grin on his face.

"Order a rescue?" Fred finished with a similar grin.

"There's been a change in plans, sir," Draco said, walking in with Harry walking beside him. The two young wizards looked to be close comrades now instead of enemies. However, the most shocking thing of all besides them walking in together amicably was the fact that the Gryffindor patch was now green and silver rather than crimson and gold. Taking in Luna's Ravenclaw badge, the usual blue and bronze wasn't there, only green and silver.

"Dumbledore might think it's good for you to be locked up in here, but we don't, Snape," Harry spoke. "Now, according to Flitwick, Fudge and Umbridge have sealed off the Floo."

"Why?" McGonagall asked.

"They're still convinced that Scrimgeour was right about Snape being a loyal Death Eater."

"So since Dumbledore locked you two down here, they figured that they'd run the entire school into the ground because they're convinced that Dumbledore's after Fudge's job. That's why we're here. Now, the entrance to the North Tower is blocked by a few Aurors and they've locked the doors in the Entrance Hall, so the secret passage to the Astronomy Tower is our best bet," Draco coolly said.

"Unless you wish me to die, Mr. Malfoy, I fail to see the brilliance in this plan," Snape drawled.

"Ever thought about using a broom to fly, Snape?" Harry replied with a wide grin on his face.

"It's like a forty foot drop with hardly any clearance, Mr. Potter!" McGonagall screeched.

"My dad didn't ever try to pull this off," Harry said, smirking. "According to Hermione, it's going to take a hell of a damn good wizard and flier not to hit anything."

"Mr. Potter, are you trying to manipulate me?"

"Depends, if this works, do I still have detention every night for the next four months?"

"Yes," Snape drawled.

"Then no," Harry replied before holding out his Firebolt broomstick. "You're going to need a fast broom, Snape. Nothing's faster than my Firebolt."

Snape opened his mouth to respond when he felt a familiar searing pain in his left forearm. His right hand clenched painfully around it. He then glanced towards the elderly Gryffindor witch who was kneeling beside him. He hadn't even noticed that he fell to his knees. Then again, he hardly ever did notice anything when the Dark Lord called him. He could see the concern and sadness in her eyes.

"He's calling you, isn't he?" she asked. He only nodded, not trusting himself to keep from screaming. However, that didn't stop the screams that he heard, though. He turned his head slightly and saw Harry clutching his scar much as he clutched his forearm. The pain then stopped, which was the same time Harry stopped screaming. Both wizards panted heavily as they slowly recovered.

"He's . . . he's happy . . . happy about something," Harry panted, kneeling and still clutching his scar. Draco, Granger, and Weasley knelt beside Harry much like Minerva had done for him earlier.

Snape didn't want to hear anymore, though. He rose to his feet and stared at the Gryffindor. Maybe when he returned, he'd teach Harry proper Occlumency. He hadn't realized Harry felt the same pain he felt. He wouldn't wish that pain on anyone, not even James Potter. He slowly inclined his head towards Harry before quietly brushing past the young Gryffindor with the Firebolt in hand. However, Harry suddenly grabbed his leg, which almost caused Snape to fall face first into the floor.

"Snape, I think . . . I think he . . . he has her."

No, no . . . please . . . no, Snape thought as he stared at Harry. He had to force his mask to remain in place so he didn't breakdown at the moment. This was just the thing that filled his nightmares lately. He then drew in a breath. At least Harry gave him some warning, but there was still a chance Harry meant someone else . . . like Umbridge for example.

"I think Voldemort has Sinistra," the young man whispered, which made everyone gasp, except Snape and Harry. His green eyes locked with Snape's black.

Snape could see fear and regret in the boy's green eyes. His hand automatically clenched painfully around the necklace in his hand. In fact, he clenched it so tightly that the pendants dug into his palms drawing blood. He wouldn't lose yet another woman he loved. He just wouldn't. He drew in a calm steadying breath.

"Then perhaps it's high time that He learns He has a traitor in His midst," Snape drawled with silent rage behind his dark eyes.

"But, Professor Snape, He'll kill you," Hermione cried.

"As if I'd ever die before Potter took his O.W.Ls, Miss Granger," Snape replied with a slight smirk, glancing at the young green-eyed man. "After all, not even I would miss an opportunity to see the Golden Boy cry when he fails all his subjects and has to repeat. Then again, there might be some hope yet for you, Potter, but I sincerely doubt it." He then mounted the broom and zoomed off towards the Grand Staircases.

"We need to let the Order know about Voldemort!" Harry exclaimed as he and the others rushed towards where the other professors were. The young Gryffindor had noticed that many of them winced at his use of Voldemort's name, but he was going to be damned if he called him You-Know-Who.

"Unfortunately, Mr. Potter, we don't know where He is either," McGonagall replied moodily. However, she did send her Patronus off towards Albus. As the brilliant silver cat disappeared through the wall, she glanced towards her student. "However, I've still alerted Albus what you saw." She then threw a powerful spell towards one of the approaching Aurors who were sending various hexes at them. "Honestly, you'd think we were the Death Eaters," she growled before she stunned a few more of the Aurors.

"They might think that, Professor. There was a revolt when Fudge made Umbridge Headmistress."

"Albus has only been gone for two hours, though!" she snapped.

"Yes, but Fudge would never get another opportunity like this again, Professor," Draco responded before sending a Bat-Bogey hex at one of the approaching Aurors who would have hexed Harry. "I'm starting to wonder which one is barmier, Scrimgeour for kidnapping Sinistra or Fudge and Umbridge for ordering the Aurors to subdue us so we didn't run to help Dumbledore."

Meanwhile, as Aurora lay on the ground twitching after suffering yet another bout of the Cruciatus, she couldn't help but scoff at her luck. First, she finds out from Harry that the entire student body has been trying to set her and Severus up by using her in terms of a distraction for Severus. Then Severus finds out that she's been protecting him by silently taking the abuse from Scrimgeour, which Severus yells at her for in front of the Headmaster and Harry. She could understand why he'd be upset about that, though. It was rather stupid on her part. She should have thought about his past and told him about Scrimgeour weeks ago. Yet again, it was another instance of her not being the typical Slytherin and thinking only of herself. Though, one could make the case that most Slytherins loved to suffer in silence. She had learned that particular trait from Severus, which he'd probably rant and rave at her if she ever mentioned to that to him. Lastly, a complete psychopath Auror kidnaps her who ironically enough brought her to an even bigger psychopath.

If she had the chance to redo everything from the past few months, she would have ignored her stupid crush on Scrimgeour and just stuck to the shadows obsessing about Severus like she always did. Numbly, she felt the familiar searing pain flood her entire body, making her arch upwards again and scream in efforts to release the terrible feeling. However, she had to admit that she was starting to become numb to the excruciating pain. Then again, Voldemort and his lackeys had been torturing her for nearly two hours. She wasn't certain whose blood it was on her robes anymore if it was Scrimgeour's or hers. Dimly, she became aware that the pain had ended again, and someone had lifted her back up to her feet again.

"Before he met his untimely demise, Scrimgeour informed us of his suspicions concerning you. Would you like to hear them, Aurora?" Voldemort hissed as he magically held her upright.

"That I'm a damn good kisser?" she cheekily responded, feeling much too drained to be a good Slytherin. She heard rather than felt her bones cracking as he punished her, but it didn't last long.

"No, no, humor will get you nowhere, Aurora. Well, perhaps an early grave," he hissed before chuckling darkly. "No, Scrimgeour informed me that you are a member of Dumbledore's pathetic Order. I must admit that I was rather amazed to hear that from him. After all, I know that you ended up in my noble House, Aurora. It seems to me that it made a mistake with your Sorting, though. I'd think that no respectable Slytherin would join that pathetic group of Gryffindors and other undesirables . . . unless he lied. Well, Aurora, did he lie to me?"

"Sorry to disappoint," she said before spitting out some of the blood that had collected in her mouth.

"Hmm," Voldemort replied as he walked closer to her. His long fingers then roughly pushed her chin upwards so she stared into his dark red eyes. "I'll give you a choice, Aurora. Scrimgeour, for all his many faults, asked that of me. Did you know?"

"No, but then again I don't care what that bastard asked you." Voldemort painfully latched onto her jaw.

"He wished for me to offer you the chance to spare your life. All you need to do is—"

"Yeah, not really into selling my soul to the devil, sorry," she drawled. Within seconds, he threw her against a column of the old manor. Her back slammed hard against it, causing her to scream out. She then drew in a painful gasp of air before forcing herself to glance up at Voldemort. However, she noticed a Death Eater slowly slink from the shadows to join the rest of the group. Severus, she thought with a bit of hope.

"There must be a reason that Dumbledore kept you around, and I'm going to find that reason, Aurora," Voldemort growled before whirling around. It then became silent for a few moments as he made his way back to his followers. He stopped momentarily in front of who Aurora believed to be Severus. "Ah, yes, perfect," he hissed before turning back around. "Amycus, Lucius, bring our guest inside."

"Yes, my Lord," both replied as they roughly yanked her up on her feet and dragged her into the manor. As soon as they were in a large room, both wizards released her, causing her to slam face first against the marble floor. She remained lying face down in efforts to conserve her energy.

"Severus," Voldemort hissed, a few seconds later.

"Yes, my Lord?"

"Heal her," he responded with a sickening smirk while he sat on his skull throne.

"Of course, my Lord," drawled Severus.

Slowly, she felt someone tugging her up into a sitting stance. When she caught the dark robes next to her, her eyes flickered towards Severus. He still had his silver Death Eater mask on, which truthfully sent chills down her spine. She also noticed that he refused to meet her eyes. She could understand that. He focused solely on following Voldemort's order, which seemed to be a good thing for her presently, but she knew it wouldn't last. Severus gently touched her side, feeling for internal injuries. She winced slightly, but refused to scream from the horrible pain he was causing her to feel. His hand then roughly grabbed her neck before he yanked her forward slightly, which she guessed was him checking to see if she had any neck injuries. If he hadn't been that rough with her, her eyes would have widened when she felt the familiar cool touch of the pendants against her skin. She had to force the soft smile from reaching her lips. It was too dangerous right now for both of them. He then pulled back from her and drew his wand. Sighing softly, she could tell that she had fractured numerous bones. But she also knew that was the least of her worries.

It wasn't long before she felt her bones snap back into place. Unfortunately for her, Severus had casted it on every single bone that she had broken simultaneously. She couldn't hold back her piercing scream or even the tears that streamed down her cheeks. If they were anywhere else, she would have castrated him for that. But if she thought that was bad, then she was in for a real surprise when he suddenly wrenched open her mouth and poured in some foul tasting potion. She nearly spit it back at Severus, but he seemed to have thought of that because he painfully snapped her mouth shut before she could. Unfortunately, her tongue hadn't moved back from her teeth in time when he did this. She grimaced and groaned when she bit herself. The familiar metallic taste filled her mouth, which thanks to his rough ministrations she swallowed along with the potion. He waved his ebony wand down her before briskly pulling back from her and inclining his head towards Voldemort.

"Excellent, Severus, most excellent," Voldemort replied with that same smirk on his face. "Please, Aurora, do stand up for me."

She drew in a breath, but felt that she'd humor Voldemort. Her dark eyes stared into his red ones. She knew that for both Severus's and her sake she'd have to keep her mouth in check and cooperate with whatever the psychopath wanted. She didn't have to wait to learn that.

"Severus, she is your colleague at Hogwarts. Is she not?"

"Yes, my Lord," he replied instantly.

"What do you know about the skills she possesses?"

"She is an excellent duelist, my Lord. However, that is all she is good at doing."

"And did you know that she was in Dumbledore's group?"

"I had heard of the rumors, yes, my Lord, but I did not know it for certain. It seems as if the old coot keeps things from me also, my Lord."

"So it seems, so it seems, my son," Voldemort hissed. "What do you believe her odds to be of winning and surviving duels with every member of my Inner Circle, Severus?"

"I believe she would have no difficulty defeating Bella, my Lord," Severus replied truthfully.

"Indeed?" Voldemort said with a dark chuckle. "And what are her odds of beating you, Severus?"

"Dismal at best, my Lord," he drawled.

"Such confidence, Severus," Voldemort hissed.

"Distastefully, my Lord, the witch has for some time now been obsessed with me. If I just whispered to her that I loved her back, she would most likely do anything I ask of her. I do not doubt for a second that if I asked her to kill herself, that she would then only be too happy to do so for me. It is rather sickening, my Lord."

"Ah, but her blood is pure, Severus. You could enjoy her as Lucius enjoys Narcissa's company.

"I admit that I have given that some thought, my Lord," Severus replied lowering his voice in a low growl as he glanced towards Aurora. His dark eyes trailed down her body before he whirled back towards Voldemort. "I would definitely enjoy her very much. However, she is a blood traitor, my Lord."

"Yes, she is that, but if anyone can break her, it would be you, Severus." Voldemort then inhaled. "My faithful followers, you shall witness a wonderful event tonight. Inner Circle, each of you will duel Miss Sinistra in terms of rank and magical strength. However, do not kill her unless you wish for death also."

"My Lord," several of the Death Eaters shouted.

"She is to be Severus's prize when he wins."

"Such confidence, Lord Voldemort," Aurora drawled with a smirk. She nearly kicked herself when she heard her words. However, he only stared at her, which made her mouth foolishly open again. "What makes you think I can't kick Severus's ass, Lord Voldemort?"

"This," Voldemort replied before lazily flickering his wand towards Severus. Almost instantly, Severus dropped to his knees before screaming and arching his back as the Cruciatus surged through his veins.

"STOP, STOP, PLEASE STOP!" she shouted, which Voldemort did instantly. Stupid, stupid, you just showed your weakness to him, she angrily chastised herself. How in Merlin's name did I end up in Slytherin? "Then why even go through this farce if you know he'll win?"

"Because there's a reason Dumbledore kept you in the shadows, and I'm going to learn it, Aurora. Enough talking," he suddenly shouted. "Alecto, you're first."

Aurora watched the other witch slowly walk towards her. The woman was sneering as if she was certain she was going to win. When Aurora saw her silver wand flying towards her, she quickly grabbed it. Well, that improved her odds slightly. Both witches whipped their wands in front of their faces before going into their duel stances. Aurora had always modeled hers after Severus's stance. It was the most natural feeling one for her. She took in the witch's stance and smiled soon after.

"Begin," hissed Voldemort as his red eyes lit up with pure amusement.

"CRU—," yelled Alecto.

"PETRIFICUS TOTALUS," Aurora yelled just a hair bit faster. It hit, but Aurora knew she hadn't won. She quickly pointed towards the ceiling and shouted, "CONFRINGO!" Large chunks of plaster came toppling down on the other witch, which made Aurora relax just an inch. It seemed that she was going to instigate a bloodbath, but the old saying 'kill or be killed' kept popping up in her mind. She knew, however, that she'd have to keep from casting Unforgivables even though they were definitely going to be hurtled at her nonstop.

Aurora watched a scruffy looking wizard walk in next. She watched him tap his wand against the side of his leg and sneer at her with his large uneven teeth. She drew in a breath, though. They bowed to each other before she went back into her stance. Here, we go again, she thought bitterly.

An hour later, Dumbledore glanced at the silver cat racing towards them. He held up a hand instantly, which stopped the others. Minerva wouldn't have sent her Patronus to him unless something horrible had happened. Yet again, Dumbledore wasn't wrong.

"Snape called away by the one who has her, Albus!" Minerva's voice yelled from the Patronus cat. "We don't know where, but Potter saw it." The silver cat then vanished.

"Isn't that great? Potter gets a vision of where she's at only to find out that she's with You-Know-Who. The one place we can't go," growled Moody.

Dumbledore glanced towards the aging Auror before sighing. Unfortunately, Moody was right. It would be suicide to race into Riddle's lair to save her. He hung his head and thoughtfully stroked his long beard.

"We can't just stand here and do nothing, Dumbledore!" Sirius yelled. "He'll kill her."

"Yeah, and we can't just tiptoe quietly into You-Know-Who's camp either, Black," Moody growled. "Then we'd all be dead unless that's what you want."

"That's enough, both of you," Remus yelled, pointing his wand at both wizards. "Your constant arguing isn't helping anyone either."

"What are you thinking, Albus?" Arthur quietly asked as he walked beside Dumbledore.

"I'm thinking that as long as Severus is with her, she'll live."

"You're just giving up?" Sirius yelled, completely outraged. "Would you do the same if it were Harry?"

"Sirius, enough," Remus snapped. "Albus is right. As long as Snape is with her—"

"Oh, yes, because good old Snivellus always took care of others, didn't he, Remus?" Almost instantly, a hand slapped Sirius across the face with such force behind it that his head snapped to the side. "What the hell, Tonks?" he growled.

"Don't you ever insult him again," Nymphadora Tonks snarled as her hair turned fiery red. "Severus Snape is ten times the wizard you are, Sirius. You best remember that."

"On what planet?" he retorted.

"I know you weren't there in the hospital wing earlier, Sirius, but he loves her and she loves him just as much if not more back. He won't just stand by and let You-Know-Who kill her."

Snape watched the scene with utter distaste. Aurora was winning her duels. She had easily defeated the Carrows, Rookwood, Crabbe, Goyle, Nott, and McNair just as he thought she would. However, that was the only good news that he saw. Blood and dirt matted her dark curly hair. She had numerous gashes to her faces that bled profusely. Her left arm was shattered in two different places. He could see the intense pain in her face as she continued to duel for her life. Knowing that he couldn't do anything until their duel, he waited and stood by helplessly as she fought with Dolohov.

More than a dozen times already, Snape's heart had painfully constricted in his chest. Dolohov wasn't holding anything back in his duel, but Snape hadn't expected as much from the Death Eater. Dolohov had sent his powerful trademark curse towards Aurora numerous times, but somehow she always managed to escape the purple flames just before it hit her. Snape clenched his teeth once more as he saw the purple flames race towards Aurora. He then slowly released his controlled breath so that it looked as if he was just normally breathing. Yet again, she had leapt to the side, ensuring that Dolohov's curse missed her.

By Snape's count, Aurora had casted his specialized cutting curse over a hundred times so far. However, much like him nowadays, she aimed it in such a way that she didn't kill anyone. Throughout the majority of her duels, he had noticed that hesitation on her part. Many of her castings meant to incapacitate her opponent, not kill. It was a weakness that she clearly was showing the others, and he knew they would definitely exploit it.

Snape's dark eyes then glanced towards the three that she still had to duel yet. Rodolphus would be another Death Eater that she would have to stay moving from lest be tortured mercilessly. Bella would just be plain sadistic and crazy as always. However, at least with Bella, Snape knew that Aurora already had some prior knowledge of what would be in store for her. Out of all twelve Death Eaters in the Inner Circle, Lucius Malfoy was the one that concerned Snape the most in terms of Aurora's safety.

Lucius would toy with her as a cat would to a mouse. He'd seen it many times before, and it always sickened him. While at one time Snape looked up to Lucius with great respect, all that went away when he learned how truly sick Lucius really was. Lucius was always the first to 'prove his loyalties'. Forced to watch that too many times before, he shuddered secretly inside thinking that he would have to watch it again. Lucius had that sickening smirk on his face as he watched Aurora. It was a smirk that Snape knew all too well.

"You—" roared Dolohov suddenly.

Snape's dark eyes darted towards the grisly scene. Aurora had clipped Dolohov in the inner thigh with another successful casting of Snape's trademark curse. Snape waited for the Dark Lord to ask him to step in and heal Dolohov, but the Dark Lord remained strangely quiet.

"You're going to pay for that! AVADA—" Dolohov's casting, however, never finished. A bright green light struck him in the chest, and the man slammed against the floor with a thump. The long bone wand then slowly tucked back into the Dark Lord's robes again.

"Take out the garbage, Rodolphus," the Dark Lord hissed before chuckling.

"My Lord, forgive me, but I am to duel her next her."

"I am well aware of that, but I do not believe we need your expertise. I am certain that Severus can make up for the loss without risking any permanent injury to her." The Dark Lord then glanced at Bellatrix. "Bella, my dear, make her scream. I do miss her screams." Both witches bowed slightly to one another in their stance.

"Begin," hissed the Dark Lord a few moments later.

Snape forced himself not to show any outward appearance of hatred as Aurora screamed on her knees. Each moment was another that he screamed inside himself. It dragged on for minutes before Bella finally released her. In response, Aurora fell onto the marble floor face first shaking horribly from the aftereffects.

"Such a pretty scream you have, Sinistra," Bella drawled before yanking Aurora to her feet again. "Tell me. What makes you think that Severus would even want you?"

Snape clenched his teeth slightly, itching to whip his wand out and hex the crazy witch to hell and back. He knew, however, that Bella was only trying to get a rise out of her prey. For once, Aurora wasn't rising to the easy bait, which he thanked Merlin for profusely. Then again, he wasn't sure how long her self-preservation would last. He could see the extreme fatigue in Aurora's face. Unconsciously, his hand touched the spot where his black pendant rested underneath his robes and shirt against his pale skin. He hoped she lasted long enough for him to duel her. Everything was resting on that.

"Do you think because your blood is so pure that he's yearning for you, Sinistra? Because no matter how pure your blood is, he won't ever be yours. Do you know why?" Bella hissed.

Snape waited for Aurora to respond wittily. However, she remained quiet, which was starting to concern him slightly. She hardly ever stayed this silent for this long. His eyes narrowed on her just to ensure that she was in fact still alive. Her chest heaved heavily as she panted, but there was no emotion in her face.

"Because he belongs to the Dark Lord," Bella whispered harshly in Aurora's ear. "No matter how good you think you are, Sinistra. You won't ever be able to sway Severus from us. He loves us, not you, you filthy blood traitor! He doesn't love you!"

Aurora suddenly then went limp, which forced Bella to grab her. Bella instantly glanced towards the Dark Lord with an uncharacteristic look of shock on her face. Snape glanced from the sight to the Dark Lord and waited. If Aurora was playing dead, then he hoped she had a plan.

"Release her, Bella," the Dark Lord softly hissed before standing. "Sev—no—Lucius, examine her."

The change wasn't lost on Snape. He glanced towards the Dark Lord to see if there was any inclination for the reasoning behind the switch at the last moment. Snape knew his Occlumency barriers were firmly in place so there was no way the Dark Lord knew his plan. He had ensured that by drinking a special draught prior to arriving earlier. He even had his magic back, albeit also temporarily.

"Do not be disappointed, Severus. You'll be touching her soon enough," the Dark Lord whispered with a smirk. The Dark Lord's words didn't settle Snape's frayed nerves any, but at least he had his answer.

Meanwhile, at Hogwarts, the students were still fighting to regain control of Hogwarts much to the displeasure of one Dolores Umbridge. She and Cornelius were in the little entryway to Dumbledore's office, scrambling to find a way to break in. All throughout the term, she had reported to Cornelius about the gross misconduct of the professors and students at Hogwarts. While she had embellished certain elements, she was rather correct overall. She reported how Dumbledore had locked himself up in his office all term, barely coming out even for staff meetings. She reported her suspicions of impropriety between Dumbledore and his Deputy Headmistress after Dolores encountered the foul Gryffindor witch walking back to her quarters.

Had it been at two in the afternoon, Dolores wouldn't have thought anything of it. However, it had been two in the morning when she saw McGonagall walking out of Dumbledore's rooms with a slight smile on her face. There is only one reason a witch would be smiling at two in the morning after walking out of a wizard's quarters. After all, it would have been absurd to think that McGonagall left his quarters smiling because she had finally beat the old man at a game of wizard's chess and just won herself a very nice bottle of Scotch, which was what actually happened unbeknownst to Dolores.

Dolores also reported to Cornelius the mysterious comings and goings of Snape at all hours of the night. While she had conducted a review of his teaching methods and even sat in on his fifth-year Slytherin and Gryffindor potions class, she had some suspicions about the thoroughly unpleasant man. He seemed almost weary of her presence for some reason. However, she truly tried to think nothing of it because she had to admit that she rather enjoyed seeing his doling out of his punishments carelessly and easily to the imbecilic Gryffindors, especially the nasty little boy named Harry Potter. Oh, how her mouth salivated at watching Snape punish Potter. She could see in Snape's dark eyes that he hated the nasty little liar just as much as she did.

In addition, Dolores informed Cornelius about the numerous injuries that she had seen on Aurora Sinistra. Casually, Dolores once even tried to see if the witch had a Dark Mark, which only made Sinistra snarl at her to leave her the hell alone. Sinistra's review had not gone well at all. The witch had nearly hexed her when Dolores tried to sit in the Astronomy class. She informed Cornelius of that naturally, but he only responded that she was probably having a bad day and that she shouldn't worry about it.

However, when Scrimgeour kidnapped Sinistra and Dumbledore promptly fled after her, Dolores and Cornelius decided to strike. Everyone in the world knew that as long as Dumbledore was in charge of Hogwarts that it was nearly impenetrable. Yes, Dumbledore had kowtow to the Ministry as much as possible, but Dolores and Cornelius were convinced that truthfully Dumbledore was gathering an army against the Ministry rather than saving his Astronomy professor. In fact, neither of the Ministry officials would put it behind the white wizard if everything they encountered were part of a rather elaborate ruse to keep Cornelius off his guard.

Cornelius had been up in the hospital wing when Dolores ordered the Aurors to subdue the students. She had expertly lied to them and said that Dumbledore had mounted an attack against the Ministry that very minute. It had taken a bit of coaxing, but soon the Aurors listened to her. She wasn't after all the Undersecretary to Cornelius Fudge for nothing. Let the little brats try to beat us, Dolores mused. The Ministry shall never fall.

A Strengthening draught later, Aurora was once again standing. She, however, swayed slightly and moaned in pain. She wasn't at all strong enough to survive yet another duel. Tightening her arms around herself, she tried to keep from screaming. Her entire body ached, but her abdomen hurt the most. She had a tremendous amount of excruciating pain rippling throughout her midsection, which she assumed was the result of massive internal bleeding.

"I must say that I have yet to see anything spectacular from you, Aurora," drawled Voldemort.

Aurora didn't respond. What was there for her to say anyway? Gee, sorry to disappoint you, Voldemort, but you see I'm just having an off day. She then slowly lifted her head up before stumbling and falling back onto her knees. She moaned again, desperately wishing that she could just lie down and die. No, no, I can't think like that. Get up. She hissed exhaling loudly as she slowly tried to push herself back up to her feet. She would continue her lovely and perfectly sane conversation with herself in her mind. That's a girl. Don't let Voldemort win. You're stronger than this, and you know it, Aurora. Just . . . just ignore the pain. Grumbling, she thought, Easier said than done, though.

"In fact, all I see is a pathetic witch. Perhaps I should just tell Bella to finish you."

"Go . . ." Aurora started to say before gasping as another sharp pain rippled in her chest. "Go ahead."

"You don't fear death?"

"She's right. No . . . no matter what I do. It won't make a damn bit of difference because he's still yours. Why would I want to live my life without him?" Aurora moaned before glancing at Severus. He hadn't even acted as if he heard her, but she knew he had. She was too beat down frankly to care what she was saying. She guessed that might be another symptom of the extreme amount of blood loss or it could be a result of her fatigue. Either way, though, she truly didn't care, which frightened her.

"Hmm . . . yes, I see your reasoning. Kill her, Bella. I grow tired of her presence."

Bellatrix grabbed Aurora's throat and sneered with a nasty smirk on her face. Her dark wand slowly trailed down the side of Aurora's face before she pulled it back. She then pointed it directly at Aurora's chest.

"My Lord," Severus's voice quickly interrupted. "You promised her to me."

"Yes, so I did, but there will be others, though, Severus. You will find another witch who is much worthier to be yours than this pathetic one. I am doing you a great favor, my son. Kill her, Bella."

"AVADA KEDAVRA!"

Two hundred miles away, Harry screamed as he fell to his knees screaming and clutching his scar. Numbly, he felt someone touch his shoulder, but he roughly pushed it off. His entire body was hypersensitive before the vision took over. To him, that one comforting touch felt like hell.

As the vision appeared, Harry found himself in a large marble room. He glanced around and saw numerous bleeding Death Eaters. His eyes then found Professor Sinistra lying flat on the floor with another witch who could have been her sister on top of her.

"Rise, Bella," Harry felt himself hiss. He hated it when he was Voldemort. Harry's eyes then narrowed when the woman lying on Professor Sinistra didn't move. "Lucius," he growled. Harry watched the tall blond Slytherin gracefully walk over and yank Bella upwards. However, Malfoy's dad dropped her a few seconds later and stepped backwards. "So . . . you casted the ultimate Unforgivable, did you, Aurora? Now what will you do, I wonder. Are you going to kill me?" He chuckled darkly.

"Actually, your . . . dearly beloved Bella casted it," Professor Sinistra snarled. "I just forced her to take it."

"Perhaps I was mistaken, Severus. Perhaps she is perfect for you," Harry snarled as Voldemort. "Now, what will you do with Lucius? You still have to defeat him before you can duel Severus." He then looked her over. "I wonder if your newfound strength will last. Lucius will not be as gentle as Bella was. You see, he enjoys his women. They are like a delicacy to him. And once he begins—"

Out of the corner of his eye, Harry watched a familiar black-handled switchblade suddenly dart out of a nearby Death Eater's robes. He had seen that same knife slice various ingredients effortlessly in his numerous detentions. He could recognize that switchblade anywhere. It belonged to none other than Severus Snape. Harry was in pure awe when the blade suddenly appeared before piercing the back of Lucius Malfoy.

"Controlled wandless magic, impressive," Harry hissed as Voldemort. "You've been holding out on me. Haven't you, Aurora? McNair, dispose of Bella and move Lucius." He then chuckled darkly. "Well, Severus, it seems that I have no choice. Take your place, my son." Harry watched the tall dark haired wizard slowly walk into the middle of the room. He noticed Professor Sinistra's wand hand shake slightly, but for the most part, she seemed perfectly in control. Silently, he wondered if he was going to witness the entire duel. However, he got his answer a few short moments later when something yanked him out of the vision violently just as Snape sent a hex towards Professor Sinistra.

"Potter, are you all right?" Draco asked, staring at him oddly.

"Yeah, I'm fine, Draco," Harry responded quietly before glancing at Dumbledore. "Sir, you're back."

"That I am, my boy," Dumbledore softly said. "I take you had another vision just now?"

"Yes, sir," Harry answered. "Professor Sinistra is dueling Snape right now. I can't be sure, but it's as if Voldemort is trying to find something out about her. He's making her duel numerous Death Eaters."

"I see. What else did you witness in your vision?"

"She . . . she killed Bella, whoever that is."

"Whoa! She killed Bellatrix Lestrange?" Ron and Neville exclaimed.

"What about my father, Potter?" Draco quietly asked. "Did you see him?"

"Yeah," Harry replied nodding slowly. He wasn't sure if Draco wanted to hear it.

"Is he dead?" When Harry shook his head, Draco muttered, "Dammit. That would've been nice to hear."

Snape dodged yet another curse flung his way. He tried several times to get closer, but Aurora only sent more curses his way. He could understand her reaction, though. It wasn't as if he'd given her any sort of hint of what he planned to do once he reached her. However, he thought that she'd at least trust him enough to allow him to get close to her just once.

Unfortunately, Aurora's lack of trust in him wasn't the most unsettling part. The potion Snape drank earlier was starting to wear off, meaning his magic levels were dwindling yet again. He could feel the levels slip drastically. It wouldn't be long before he was without his magic, which was dangerous for the both of them.

After minutes of silently weighing his options, Snape finally decided on his next course of action. If she weren't going to trust him, then he'd trust her. The curses she sent towards him were easy enough to recognize. Aurora sent Incarcerous a few times, Glacius, Rictusempra, even a minor blasting curse once. He was rather glad that she hadn't sent any of his specialized curses towards him. Had he not been trying to conserve his magic, he'd have effortlessly waved her spells away. However, since he was conserving his magic, he wouldn't have been able to fight any of them, unfortunately. He drew in a breath.

Snape didn't trust easily. Too many times, he ended up on his face after someone broke his trust. He had trusted his mother once when she told him that Tobias had changed. The next morning he found a bloody countertop and his mother's broken body lying on the floor. He had trusted Lily once when she said she'd never break his heart. Seven years later, she married the one man who made Snape's life an even more living hell than Tobias did. He had trusted Black once and nearly lost his life because of it. He had trusted the Dark Lord to keep his promise of not killing Lily, but Snape still lost her anyway. He had even trusted Dumbledore to keep Lily safe, but even Dumbledore couldn't save her. Here he was again, trusting yet another person that would probably end up hurting him. However, he'd trust Aurora. And if he ended up on his face again, well, sadly, what else was new in his horrid life?

Drawing in a deep breath, Snape centered himself. After five years of saving the foolish boy, this had to be the result of Potter finally rubbing off on him. His attempt had to be truly Gryffindor in origin. He knew that the only Slytherin trait he exhibited with this plan was the brief weighing of his options. If this attempt worked, then he'd rescind one of Harry's numerous detentions, but just one. There was no need for people to think he was getting soft. The boy still was a bloody freaking menace and pain in his ass. So he deserved the detentions.

Slowly, Snape glanced towards Aurora. He had to get her out of her now. She was losing too much blood, and he could tell by the way her curses were missing him now by at least five feet that she too was close to losing her magic. The frightening thought in the back of his mind stuck with him. He knew she had to be in shock with that much blood loss. In addition, by the way that she was sending the curses at him, he speculated that she wasn't sure whom she was dueling with anymore. Her successful castings were much more powerful and much more frantic, as if she truly thought she was in a life or death duel with him.

They both needed him to trust her now. He knew he should trust her. He knew that he would trust her. He knew that at one point in his pathetic horrid life that he could trust her because he had trusted her once before. Here and now, all of the 'should, would, and could' needed to vanish. So inhaling once more, he obliterated all of his doubts. He trusted her. He trusted her with his life, just as she always trusted him with hers.

More curses flew at him, but Snape sprinted towards her. Briefly, Aurora's eyes widened as she sent more spells at him frantically. He did his best to ignore the pain from the curse that slammed against his left forearm. He even tried to push the pain back as a curse smashed against his abdomen. He leapt up and wrapped his arm around her before latching onto his black pendant.

"HOME!" he shouted. Dozens of various spells flew towards them, but the pendant took over and yanked them away before any of the spells hit them. As if something had vomited up a rainbow and shoved it in a blender, the colors from the spells swirled around them. However, soon, the colors disappeared and left behind only darkness. Green slowly swirled below them into the black, and Snape released his hold on his pendant. Unfortunately, he miscalculated the green to be his quarters when instead it was Black Lake.

Falling from at least a forty-foot drop, Snape and Aurora plunged into the freezing lake. When they rose to the surface of the lake again, they were both shivering. He grabbed his pendant again to take them both to his quarters as what should have happened in the first place, but his magic levels had dropped to zilch. He closed his eyes and muttered under his breath. It was just his luck that he'd get them back to Hogwarts, only just a few hundreds of feet short of the castle.

Snape wrapped his arm tighter around Aurora's waist. He could tell that she was fading rather fast as the cold seeped into her body. However, the cold seemed to help her at least know that she was safe. In fact, with her back against his chest, she leaned further into him.

"Severus," she shivered.

"I know," he whispered in her ear. His dark eyes saw the shoreline in front of them. It was about a half-mile away from them. He tightened his hold around her once more before attempting to swim towards the dark shoreline. He was rather glad that she didn't try to fight him, but he didn't think she would have. She was much too tired for that. They both were, unfortunately. He glanced at her briefly. He had to keep her talking. Though, he wasn't much of a conversationalist normally, and most of the topics wouldn't be exactly great for her to talk about right now. "List the constellations in alphabetical order."

"What?" she whispered weakly.

"Just list them for me."

"Sev—"

"Come on, Aurora. Let me hear all of those constellations of yours." He felt her grip on his arm loosen slightly. He couldn't tell anymore if his trembling was because he was cold or because he was concerned. Not knowing what else to do, he decided that he'd use any means necessary to get her to talk. He hugged her even closer and tightened his left arm around her. "Please, Aurora," he whispered in her ear. "Let me hear those constellations that you're so fond of." He then gently pressed a kiss against her neck, which got an immediate response from her. She gasped softly, but he continued. "Your eyes always light up when you recite them. Please, Aurora. Let me hear you list all of those lovely constellations of yours."

"Andromeda," she said weakly.

"That's right," he replied quickening his pace towards the shoreline. He needed to get her up to the castle fast. "What's the next one?"

"Aqua . . . Aquarius and Aries," she whispered before shivering more violently. "Canis Major and Minor, Capricornus, Cassiopeia, um . . . Centaurus," she moaned. "Dammit, Cancer, I forgot Cancer."

"That's all right. I hadn't notice." He had noticed, though, but as long as she kept talking, he'd let her.

"There's . . . um . . . Cepheus, Cetus, and Corvus."

Snape nodded slowly before gently picking her up and carrying her out of the freezing cold water. He ignored the terrible pain that he felt in his left arm. The castle loomed ahead, and he felt his heart warm slightly. They were almost there. They just had a bit more to go. Then they'd be home.

"Crux, Cygnus, Draco, um . . . Equuleus and Eridanus," she whispered, shivering horribly in his arms. "There's Gemini and Hercules, Hydra, um . . . Leo and his minor. Libra, Lyra, Orion, and Pegasus, Perseus, Pisces, and Sagittarius," she recited. "Um . . . there's Scorpius, Taurus, Ursa Major and Minor . . . and Virgo."

The warmth from the castle's lights danced across his face. The entire walk from the edge of the lake to the castle hadn't really taken that long, thankfully. Though, that could have felt like it because it had taken her a few moments to recite the constellations or it could have been because he focused solely on getting her up to the castle. He gently pushed open the front doors and nearly collapsed when he entered the castle.

"Dear Merlin," Minerva exclaimed, a few moments later, when she quickly walked down the stairs towards the two drenched pale figures in the Entrance Hall. She summoned several blankets before she and Albus quickly wrapped them around Severus and Aurora once they reached the younger couple. Both looked extremely drained and bloodied. Their injuries didn't leave much to the imagination.

"It's all right. You're safe. You're both safe, my boy," Albus said as he gently cupped the younger wizard's chin. He flashed a brief reassuring smile when Severus released his hold on Aurora. The older wizard glanced towards Hagrid, who understood and picked Aurora up gently. Albus wrapped an arm around Severus and helped him as they followed Hagrid and Aurora up the Grand Staircases towards the hospital wing.

Once each had settled down on their respective cots, Albus turned his full attention on Severus since the man seemed to be the more alert of the two. He could tell that Severus didn't appear to be too badly injured. However, that didn't mean that he thought that Severus was all right either, though. No matter what Severus claimed otherwise, Albus knew that the man did at least partly have feelings for the young witch lying on the nearby cot. Just the mere look Severus was giving her spoke volumes of it.

"You will need to find yourself a new spy, Albus," Severus quietly spoke, still staring at Aurora.

"I understand. It is perhaps for the best in any case, Severus." Albus then glanced towards the bustling mediwitch who was quickly healing Aurora. "Madam, I apologize for disturbing you at this time, but perhaps you can inform us—"

"She has numerous broken bones. In fact, her arm is practically shattered, Albus." She then scoffed before spelling another potion into Aurora's stomach since the witch had succumbed to her exhaustion. "What in Merlin's name happened to her?"

"The Dark Lord wished to learn her secret," Severus softly answered.

"Wonderful, did he learn it?" Pomfrey grumbled as she wrapped heavy gauze around Aurora's arm.

"No. He only learned that she's skilled in wandless magic."

"She's going to need daily doses of Blood replenishing potion for a good month." Pomfrey then shook her head angrily. "We're lucky that girl's still alive after the day she's had."

"Dolohov then did hit her with his curse?"

"Well, I don't know if it was him, but it's definitely his curse." Pomfrey glanced towards Severus. "She'll heal. It'll just take awhile." She then walked over to him and waved her wand over him expertly. "What is it about you two?" Gently, she grabbed his left arm before casting a healing spell. She then started to wrap gauze around his arm until she caught the angry red blisters around his Dark Mark. Her eyes glanced up at him.

"He doesn't take kindly to those who leave before he's done being entertained," Severus responded.

"Would you like a Pain-Relieving Draught?"

"It wouldn't work. I'll put something on it when I get down to my labs, though."

"Well, you're going to need to rest to replenish your core, but other than that you should be fine." She then handed him a potion, which he silently took. "Now, Professor, I don't want to see you in here for at least twenty-four hours. Is that understood?"

"Perfectly," Severus replied, inclining his head. He pushed himself up off the cot he had been on before gently pressing a light kiss against Aurora's forehead. He then walked out of the hospital wing. She was safe yet again, which was all he could hope for now. He'd wait to see where life took him later. If that was him finally admitting his feelings for Aurora, then so be it.