Undaunted Choices

I owe a great deal of gratitude to my beta, Southern_Witch_69, for all her help and support. Thanks for all your infinite patience with me. I appreciate it far more than you could possibly know.

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Undaunted Choices

~Spring 1977~

Avery, Mulciber and Rosier were still fuming over some misfired hexes they'd been hit with in Defense class. Severus sat on the end of the couch, listening to his friends complain about Potter and Black with nearly the same venom in their voices as he felt toward them most of the time.

"...and just to protect those little Mudbloods, Evans, Fitzwater and Wallace," Avery snarled.

Rosier sat in the chair across from Avery with his feet propped up on the coffee table. "Why they even let Mud like that in the school, I'll never know."

"They let in anyone with magical talent," Severus stated off-handily. "It's to teach them how to use their magic properly, and the importance of keeping their magic from the Muggle world."

"Lot of good it does," Mulciber said, turning to face Severus. "I mean look at all the families these Mudbloods come from, and not just their parents and brothers and sisters neither, but all the others, too: their aunts, uncles, cousins, and the lot. They learn about our world, too, don't they?"

"That's the point," Avery stated, leaning around Mulciber's shoulder. "We get exposed by them all anyway. They're a nuisance."

"So, if someone is born into a Muggle family, and they develop magical talent, should we just leave them unchecked out there?" Severus asked, setting his book down and turning to face his friends. "Just let them make random acts of magic that the Ministry has to go clean up? Come on, isn't it best to rein them in, teach them control, and segregate them into our world?"

"Geeze, Severus, you sound like bloody Dumbledore!" Rosier stated, smirking. "I know you've a thing for that Evans girl, but really!"

"Evans bested you in class today, again," Severus stated. "For Mud she can really do some strong magic."

"You're just infatuated with her," Avery said, laughing. "You should just shag her and get it over with."

"She's a powerful witch and intelligent," Severus stated, ignoring Avery's crude remark. "I think power and intelligence is what matters most."

Rosier snorted in disgust. "I think power and prestige is what's important."

"Just give me a nice, rich, little pureblood," Avery stated, indicating Karaleen Ridgeon and her friends conversing in a circle across the common room with a nod of his head. "I don't really care if she can think as long as she satisfies me."

"You're thick. You would honestly want just any witch as long as her blood is pure?" Severus asked, shaking his head.

"Well, yeah, and she has money," Avery said, sounding put off. "Well, what do you want in a mate, then?"

Severus picked up his book and set his foot on the coffee table. "I want intelligence, wit, a good sense of humor, capable and gifted..."

Rosier started to laugh at him. "You don't even care if her blood is dirty just so long as she can hold a conversation about interactive potion ingredients."

"Well, yeah. I like someone who can actually understand what happens during the combination of ingredients in a cauldron," Severus admitted. "I want someone who appreciates the subtle reactions when the ingredients are blended together and understands what the chemical rearrangement undergoes when brewing. I want someone who can converse about what results are achieved during the interconversion of the ingredients, the syntheses and decompositions ordinarily impossible unless it's within a cauldron, and the probable outcome of varying or adding ingredients during experimentation. Yeah... Beats shagging a dunderhead."

"Severus, you're the one that's thick!" Mulciber said, giving Severus a friendly shove on the shoulder. "That's what mates are for – not girls."

"Yes, I'm so lucky to have you to discuss these things with, mate," Severus replied, his smirk carefully hiding his innuendo. "Besides, you didn't even get into Potions this year. You only pulled an Acceptable O.W.L., if I recall, and that was simply because I helped you all last year."

"Well, Dad was right pleased with an Acceptable," Mulciber stated defensively. "Besides, I got into Transfiguration, didn't I?"

"I don't suppose you care to converse about the elemental conversions of the organic properties of an object during Transfiguration?" Severus asked, grinning. "Or debate the transreloaction and matter redistribution versus disembursement of matter during Transfiguration manipulation into disportionate objects?"

"Ah, no..." Mulciber said, his brow furrowed. He turned to Rosier as if to ask him what Severus was on about.

"Severus, mate, you're talking over his head again," Rosier kidded, laughing as Mulciber scowled. "Hey, did you know that the Malfoys are hosting Walpurgis Night! My dad told me that loads of influential wizards are going to be there."

"Yeah, my parents are going. I was told that they were going to have an honored guest," Mulciber said. "I wonder who? I got an owl from Lucius Malfoy. He and Rabastan Lestrange are hosting a party at the Hogshead on Beltane. It's a Saturday this year, and the Headmaster added the date to the Hogsmeade weekends list."

"Everyone in Slytherin got the invitation," Avery said excitedly, "even ole Severus here. From what I heard, several of the guys who left are comin' back to see us. Like a reunion party." Avery turned to look at Severus. "You are going, aren't you, mate?"

All three guys were now looking at him with expectant faces. Severus knew that this was a rare opportunity, and that many of the wizards in the house he'd looked up to during his early years at school were going to be there. Besides, his invitation had an additional note from Lucius, telling him that he was looking forward to seeing him again. "Yes, I've already sent my return owl. I'm going to get my Charms book and get started on my essay," he said, getting up to go to his room. How could I not go? If wizards like Lucius Malfoy and Rabastan Lestrange want to see me again, and they obviously want to maintain a friendship as Lucius implied in his note, who am I to decline? They're both from very well connected, influential families. Knowing them, and counting them as friends, could open loads of doors after school.

~Spring 1997~

Hermione wasn't getting anywhere with her charts. She was certain that she'd labeled the spells correctly, but she knew that there was something she was missing. Her search for the elusive Prince person wasn't proving fruitful either, but truthfully, she'd been busy these last few days and hadn't devoted as much time to it.

Hermione rose early, stretching to wake up. The dark grey skies out her window suggested rain today, which meant that the library would be crowded. She dressed, gathered a quill and her parchments, and left the room as quietly as she could so as not to wake her dorm mates.

She walked down the corridor, thinking about the tower room, and was soon standing in the lower chamber. Ron, Harry and I came in from there, she thought as she pointed to the entrance she'd used the first time she'd gone when the room was full of flying keys. The brooms were floating in the middle of the room... Ron and I backed up to the wall to see if we could spot the key, which would go with the lock... Hermione backed up to the wall as she'd done that day, surprised when she realized she was standing at the edge of the barrier.

The desire to move away was greater this time, but still the sense of longing to go up to the tower room was stronger. I must have backed into the portal for the stairs that day, but I hadn't actually pushed through the barrier – I only leaned into it. 'You can only pass the barrier if you are meant to be together,' the Grey Lady had said. Severus wasn't with me the first time I came here; I was with Harry and Ron... However, I'm clearly being drawn to this room to be with Severus. I've never seen Ron come back here, and he's never mentioned the room. Could just touching the barrier, leaning against it have been enough for the spells of the tower to affect me? Then why didn't they affect Ron? Could the Grey Lady have been mistaken about spell? She shook her head. No, the Grey Lady had been so certain.

Which possibly meant that her first time in the room the magic on the barrier would have let her pass through. Could there be some prophecies or destiny I don't know about yet, which connected me with Harry and Ron, something that fated us to be friends – best mates? All the talk about prophecies, fates, destiny, karma and astrology ... but I always thought all that was nonsense.

She pushed her way through the barrier to the stairs, lured by the now familiar pull of the room above her. She knew without a doubt it was Severus she wanted to see in their secret hideaway, not Ron. She entered the room and heard the door close behind her just as Professor Snape let out a deep growling sigh.

"Miss Granger, how nice to see that you have once again defied my wishes and have returned to this room. Have you no self-control?"

Hermione spun around, her heart beating wildly. It was one thing to want to see him, to know exactly what being here with him meant, but quite another to be so confronted. "I was just checking the effects of the spells," she replied lamely. "Documenting my research with the effects I sense – perceived..."

"They have not changed nor dissipated," he said, walking up to her. "And you do know what we will have to do in order to leave?" His fingers were already deftly unfastening the buttons of his coat and cuffs.

"Progress our relationship further," she stated automatically as she stared at his fingers.

"Yes, progress our sexual relationship further," he replied as his black coat and waistcoat were unceremoniously tossed on the floor, and he began to unbutton his shirt. "But this is why you came here, isn't it?"

"No, sir! I wanted to – to clarify the spells on the tower and this room," she stated, backing up toward the wall.

Snape simply smiled at her as he pulled his shirt off and tossed it on his coat. "By coming here when you knew I would be here?" He reached out, caught her by the waist, and pulled her body tightly against his.

"I didn't," she protested, staring up at him. His eyes narrowed and she swallowed nervously. "I might have unconsciously, but I just sort of woke up thinking about the room, and you, and just started walking... and I just ended up here. It was sort of unintentional."

"Now it's too late. Whether you intended to or not is now irrelevant," he said before his mouth landed on hers firmly with a deeply sensual kiss, making her senses swim.

When he broke the kiss, her knees felt weak. Only his embrace kept her from stumbling. "Tell me you want this," he said softly, his tone making it sound like a question.

"Yes," she replied, nodding in anticipation.

A small smile softened his face as he slowly removed her robe, letting it slide from her shoulders to the floor. Slowly and deliberately, he removed her light jumper and then opened her blouse, his fingers sliding over her breasts as he pulled the garment off her. Being undressed by him under his intense stare gave her goose bumps, made her breathing heavy, and her heart race. His fingers traced her sides before he stepped closer to her, wrapped his arms around her waist, and unzipped her skirt. Hermione swallowed as he pulled her skirt and knickers off, his nose bumping into her stomach before she felt him try to lift her foot. Hermione quickly unhooked and removed her bra as she lifted each foot to let him free her ankles from her clothes.

When he stood up, he was frowning. "I wanted to do that," he said, indicating her bra. His fingers slid on her skin, encircling her breasts. "Next time, you will let me do it, understand?"

Hermione swallowed. "Yes, sir," she answered, nodding in assent as his mouth brushed hers.

His hands slid down to her waist, pushing her gently, making her walk backwards until she felt the wall at her back, and he leaned over her. "Do you trust me?"

"Yes," she replied honestly. He pulled her arms up above her head and secured them to the stone with a softly spoken spell. "Hey!"

"So much for trust," he said with an amused smile. "You wanted to know how far we could go, didn't you?"

"Uh-huh," was all she could say. Hermione tried to watch him, as Severus knelt, placed her legs over his shoulders, and lowered his head to her groin. With gentle fingers, he parted her folds, stroking her as his tongue began making little circles around her sensitive spot. Her head fell back against the wall, and she closed her eyes, losing herself in the sensations he created. Within minutes, she was straining against the spell holding her wrists, crying out his name, pleading with him not to stop as she climaxed.

He stood up, keeping her legs around him as he positioned himself at her opening and eased himself into her while he watched her face. "Please, my hands – I want to touch you," she pleaded.

"No," he said as he moved. He grasped her hips as he thrust into her, watching, apparently amused, as she struggled, trying to twist and squirm.

Hermione curled her legs around him and tried to lean forward, but she couldn't move much with her wrists stuck to the wall. "Let me down, please," she pleaded again. She felt helpless and frustrated, wanting very much to touch him, and unable to do so.

With a smug smile, he pulled back, nearly withdrawing from her, then plunged deeply into her, repeating the same maddening withdrawal as he watched her.

She tried to push herself down on him with each plunge, but could barely move her hips from the wall. "Oh, gods, you feel good," she moaned.

"Good," he replied, his breath as ragged as hers. "Merlin, you're tight," he groaned, and Hermione smiled, trying to tighten herself on him again, pleased when he groaned. Snape positioned his hand on her, pressing her against the wall as he rolled his thumb on her nub.

The sensations were too much and she fought her restraints. "Free my hands, please," she begged as her body began to climax again.

"No," he said with a crooked smile, and his movements quickened, driving into her as her body began to spasm from the inside out. He didn't stop, but continued to grind against her, making the orgasmic sensation increase instead of decrease.

"No, stop – too much," she was saying with each thrust. "Ohmygods, ohmygods, Severusss, please, no, too much..."

"No, come for me, Hermione," he said, nearly a feral purr, plunging himself into her roughly. "I want to see you come again."

The second wave crashed over her, making tears roll from her eyes as she screamed his name over and over. "Oh, my gods, Severuss, oh, Severuss!"

He growled in response. He slammed into her as his body convulsed, sweat beading on his forehead, his eyes closed for a few seconds before looking at her with a contented grin. He stayed deep inside her until his breathing slowed to normal and withdrew from her, the extraction almost painful.

"Oh, no, no, don't," she whimpered.

"I'm afraid I have no choice. Scourgify," he said, cleaning her first, then himself, in one sweeping flourish of his wand. He released her wrists, and Hermione nearly crumpled to the floor, but he caught her in his arms. He had a smug expression on his face as he held her up to steady her until she found her footing.

Hermione hugged him and kissed him fervently, trying to pull him back into her arms.

"No," he said, drawing back away from her. "Merlin, girl, you're insatiable."

"And you're incredible."

~Spring 1977~

Severus hung his head. Shite, I forgot! "I can't go with you to Hogsmeade this weekend. Most of the guys from my year are going to the Hog's Head for a party, and my friends want me to join them. "

"Avery, Mulciber and Rosier? Why am I not surprised?" Lily asked angrily.

"And what does that mean exactly? Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy and Rabastan and Rodolphus Lestrange will be there, and the Malfoys are hosting the party," Severus said, surprised that she was so against him attending a simple party. "Lucius sent my invitation personally!"

Lily looked at him as if he'd lost his mind and betrayed her. "Malfoy and Lestrange? They hang around with the very worst witches and wizards, and from what I've been told, they're in league with You-Know-Who!"

"Lily, the Malfoys are rich and well connected, and the Lestranges are a very old, well-respected wizarding family. They were nice to me when they were at school," he tried to explain. "It's just a party, and I've been invited."

"Yes, well connected... with the Death Eaters! Black said his brother Regulus goes to these parties Lestrange and Nott give, and if this is anything like those, it'll be a recruitment party! Sev, you don't want to be associated with them. This Death Lord as they call him – he's You-Know-Who. He seeks to destroy anyone with Muggle lineage – like me! The Death Eaters want to eliminate all the dirty blood from wizard society. They want to gain complete power and control over the entire wizarding world and bring Muggles to their knees. They talk about elevating and restoring the magical community, but only for the purebloods," she ranted. He was astounded by the fear and worry in both her eyes and her voice. "And you want to associate with them? Why? I thought you liked me?"

"Yes, I do! But, Lily, it's not like that. This is just a party," he tried to reassure her. "No Death Eaters or Knights of Walpurgis – just some friends of Malfoy and Lestrange. I think Thanes, Blackburn and Wilkes will be there. It's just a party to celebrate Beltane."

Lily crossed her arms. "Beltane, falls right after Walpurgis night, Sev. Those revels for Walpurgis go well on through Beltane, and you know it. You don't think it's a coincidence that this party has been set to celebrate the day after Walpurgis night, especially when You-Know-Who's followers call themselves the Knights of Walpurgis?" she said, trying convince him that there was an ulterior motivation behind a simple party hosted by Lucius Malfoy.

Geeze, why does she automatically think that anything that involves my friends is all about You-Know-Who? "Lily, Lucius was my House prefect. Lucius and Narcissa liked me, and he wrote to tell me he's looking forward to seeing me again – me! From what I understand, it's just a party to help us unwind and have some fun. A break from revising. Nearly all the Slytherins in seventh year are going and most of mine. It's just a circle of friends," Severus explained. "Besides, I already said I'd go."

"It's the wrong circle of friends," Lily said, clearly deeply disappointed and upset.

"It's just a party! A few guys from Slytherin coming back to see old friends," he said, exasperated.

"I can't believe you want to go," she said angrily. "Fine! Your mind is made up. But I don't like it, Sev. These people you call your friends are Muggle-born haters, and they hex and curse us every chance they get. You-Know-Who is having Malfoy try and seduce as many more recruits as he can, and the best place to get them is from here," she said with a sweep of her arm to emphasize her words. "I don't like it. Avery, Mulciber and Rosier are always saying anti-Muggle-born trash to anyone who will listen to them and spouting pureblood mantra all over the school. I just know they are all going to be Death Eaters."

Severus hung his head and sighed deeply. "Lily, it's not like that..."

"Yes, Sev, it is," she stated as she turned and ran from him.

He hit the wall in frustration. It's a party – just a bloody party with some wizards and witches who used be in Slytherin House. Nothing more than that. It's not a big deal!

~Spring 1997~

She'd spent weeks of her free time both researching and comparing the spells she knew to be on the tower or trying to locate someone named Pince in any book or publication in the library. It gave her something to concentrate on besides her affair with Severus. One day, on her way back to the common room, Hermione got trapped on the moving staircases, and it took her an extra ten minutes to get to her dormitory. However, it also gave her an epiphany. The next morning, Hermione ran to the library to find any book to support her new theory and started on a new chart for the spells on the barrier, the tower and the upper tower room. Her new theory in fact had everything to do with the stairs, the moving stairs in the castle, and the towers and rooms that had been magically added or enlarged over the centuries. She couldn't wait to show her discovery to Severus.

Hermione arrived at Severus' office the next day during his office hours, struggling to balance her rolls of parchment, maps and books, so that they didn't fall in the floor.

"What are you doing here?" he asked. "And what is all that?"

"I think I made a discovery about the tower." She quickly explained the charts, which listed which spells she knew to be affecting each section of the tower, pointing out the color variations she used; the spells with shorter durations in lighter shades of blue to those with longer durations in dark blues. "Also most of the spells on the tower are usually cast on people – not objects."

So far Severus was not all that impressed, judging by the expression on his face. "Repelling Charms are cast on objects – not people."

"Well, yes, but the rest aren't," she pointed out. "Anyway, I was on my way back to my room yesterday when I got stuck on the stairs, the moving ones, and I realized that the spells on the stairs are in the stone itself. I had tried looking them up ages ago, to determine which would make the stairs move, but there are few references to them. Apparently, Rowena Ravenclaw created them herself in a way to make the castle change and expand with the needs of the school."

"Yes, I am very well aware of this," Severus said in a bored voice.

"So I think that these spells, the ones on the tower, are somehow in the stone itself," she said, watching his expression, "and not cast on a person whose life is limited, but on a castle designed to be timeless."

Severus regarded her for a few seconds in silence, then walked over to his bookshelf, and pulled out a green journal. He returned and handed it to Hermione opened to a diagram and chart. The writing was the same as in Harry's Potions book. The detailed sketch of the tower included the lower room, the stairs, the tower room, and the secret entrance, all labeled with the spells Severus thought was on each section, exactly as Hermione had done. Even his chart was similar. It was dated May 1977. "I had already considered your hypothesis."

She flipped the page back and was amazed to see a beautiful sketch of Hogwarts as it appeared in his time, noting that not much had changed, and then turned back to the page with the details of the tower. She looked up at him and smiled.

"What is so funny, Miss Granger? You've been showing me what I all ready know..."

"Did you draw both pictures?" she asked, scrutinizing both sides of the page.

"No, the castle was drawn by Karynna Arora. I drew the tower and labeled it," he stated.

Hermione looked up at him, beaming. "You drew the door to our tower," she said.

"Yes, I drew the door to the tower," he said, frowning.

Hermione handed Severus a book of poems, open to a marker. "Here is a poem of a magical tower. The tower has a magical door only the lovers can find. In fact, the author's poems are all of love lost, love's regrets, unrequited love, and his undying love being his eternal torment. They're really quite moving. Lavender reads them all the time."

"And why would I be interest of such dribble?" he asked, handing the book to her as if disgusted by the thought she would want him to read them.

"Because this is a book of Beaumont Smethyk's poems, and it was dedicated to Dorcus Wellbeloved, the love of his life. Not surprisingly, Beaumont Smethyk was rumored to have died of a broken heart in 1848. However, his first poem was written in 1829. His poems became so popular a new poem was printed in the Daily Prophet every week until his death, each one dedicated to his one true and unrequited love, Dorcus Wellbeloved. In 1848, the year he died, Obscurus Books published a collection of his poems in a book. It became a celebrated best seller, and the Daily Prophet started running his poems again. So twenty-one years after his first poem was in print, Obscurus Books published three more books of his poems on Valentine's Day in 1849, 1850, and 1851, each book carrying the same dedication, to my beautiful Dorcus, the love of my life, my one true and unrequited love. Ironically 1851 was the same year Dorcus Wellbeloved organized the Society for Distressed Witches.

"Your point?" Severus said smoothly.

"He often alludes to or describes sunrises from the window of an east-facing tower. In fact, he even wrote several poems with the East Tower mentioned in the title: From The East Tower Window, The Lady Of The East Tower Room, Sorrow Of The East Tower, Regrets O The East Tower... I believe Beaumont Smethyk and Dorcus Wellbeloved were another of the six couples that the Grey Lady told me about. I believe they were under the spells of the tower, too," Hermione stated proudly.

"So you think you've found others affected by the curse of the tower room," he said coolly. "How does that answer the question of our problem?"

"I know I have. But because he called it the East Tower, I was reminded about something I saw in Hogwarts, A History. The East Tower is on the opposite side of the castle from Ravenclaw Tower. I didn't think too much about it until I recalled this." Hermione pulled out her copy of Hogwarts, A History and opened the book to the first sketch of Hogwarts. "This shows the original manor house, huge for its time, surrounded by a wall and four towers, one for each of the founders." She turned the page to an old sketch of Hogwarts dating back to 1086. "This next one shows two additional wings with an expansion of the original manor, and two more towers as does the next drawing dated 1159. I believe that this tower, shown on both drawings, is our tower, but it's labeled Raven's Roost and is next to Ravenclaw Tower in the 1086 sketch, but is simply labeled as East Tower in the one painted in 1159. Rowena Ravenclaw's tower was moved to the west side of the castle – to one of the new towers." She turned to another map. "Here is another diagram. The original manor is now a full six-story structure, another wing and two towers having been added, and there is the Astronomy Tower. However, our tower is indicated as being abandoned, same as in this painting from 1560. In fact, I think the tower hasn't been used since sometime before 1159."

She turned the page again and indicated another drawing dated in 1489. "This was painted by Wulfred Olins, a famous artist from a wealthy wizard family, who sketched the castle in 1484. He subsequently hung himself twelve years after he finished this painting. Surprisingly, he left his entire estate to Daisy Dodderidge, including this painting. The original hung in the Leaky Cauldron until April 1947 when the painting mysteriously disappeared. It was considered to be the most detailed magical rendition of the castle ever made. The viewer could supposedly see inside the castle, through every window on every floor as if looking into a dollhouse. The copies of this painting, it's said, loses the original's detail and only shows the outside. However, there is our tower."

"And how can you be sure he had actually been in the tower room?" Severus asked, although he finally sounded intrigued.

"Here is a book on the history of Diagon Alley," Hermione said, pulling another book for her pile, opening it to a page she'd marked. "Wulfred Olins painted a portrait of Daisy Dodderidge. Look behind her at the window. Look familiar?"

Severus's eyebrows rose in surprise at the recognition of the window in the background of the painting, showing the view of the forest and mountains, beautifully offset by a dramatic sunrise backlighting the comely young witch.

"I think the spells were cast on the tower sometime after 1086 and that there was something about the tower, something that happened there that was the reason Ravenclaw Tower was moved to the west side of the castle."

"You are talking about a seventy-three year difference," he stated. "If that was the case, the Ravenclaw Tower would have been relocated anytime between 1086 and 1159."

"Precisely," Hermione said, beaming. "What if something horrible happened in the tower sometime shortly after 1086, something so terrible that Rowena Ravenclaw had Ravenclaw Tower relocated to the opposite side of the castle? The next painting, depicting the castle and grounds was painted in 1159, seventy-three years later. This artist did not label the tower as Raven's Roost, but simply called it East Tower instead. Its association with Ravenclaw is disavowed, or unknown, and it's apparently unused. I think something happened in the tower, something awful, something not mentioned in the history books."

Severus had scanned through the book of poems as she'd been speaking. "Interesting conjecture, Miss Granger. But that doesn't tell us how to break the curse does it?"

"But now we know when the Grey Lady lived and possibly when the spells were cast on the tower," she said beaming. "And I think she knew Rowena Ravenclaw, and she might know why Ravenclaw Tower was moved."

~ T B C ~>

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Author's Notes: