Enchanted Discovery

I simply cannot forget to say thank you to my beta, Southern_Witch_69. I owe a great deal of gratitude to her for all her help and support. Thanks to her infinite patience with me, I actually have something readable for you.

Disclaimer: I was crazy one day and decided to borrow a few charatcters for a romp. I hope JK doesn't mind.

~Spring 1997~

Hermione remembered this room from her first year. So much had happened that day that actually, at the time, she'd paid little attention to the room itself other than to try and find a way out. What she did remember was the high arched ceiling and the rock walls that looked as if they had been sandblasted smooth. The room had seemed remarkably bright and well lit even though there were no windows and no torches for illumination. True, it's usually Harry and Ron, or when they had been here, Fred and George, who were the curious explorers of the castle, but some of their curiosity was bound to have rubbed off on me, right? Actually, she wanted to see the flying keys, and since Fluffy had been let lose in the Forbidden Forest at the end of her fist year, entrance to the room would be safe. Well, safer at least... except possibly the drop from the trap door in the floor. She fingered the Fizzing Whizbee wrapper in her pocket, pleased that the sweet had eased her descent from the trap door.

What escaped her notice was the fact that the lure of the room had begun to plague her shortly after her seventeenth birthday. The room was as she remembered it, the keys still floating in the air like hundreds of tiny, golden birds. However, the brooms were gone. Beyond the door into the next room of the maze, she assumed. Right where Harry, Ron and I left them. She doubted it, but it was a nice thought.

There was a staircase that began halfway up the wall. It simply came out of the wall, curving along the walls of the room, spiraling up to disappear up into the high-arched ceiling. It was an odd place to begin a stairwell, even odder that it ended going nowhere. Hermione stared at the staircase, her desire to climb it growing, just to see where it would lead. It was as if it had intrigued her for years.

Hermione walked around the curve of the wall, running her fingers along the smooth stone, passing the familiar heavy wooden door, looking up and trying to discern where the stairwell went. Her eyes followed the curve of the stone steps, tracing them as they curled around and up the wall disappearing into the ceiling above. "Somewhere up there," she sighed. It begins halfway up and ends just under the topmost arch with no apparent reason... It beguiled her curiosity, taunted her need to know, her desire to find out. Suddenly. her hand disappeared into the stone as a magically obscured opening gave way. Although she couldn't see it, she knew it was the passageway, and she eagerly entered, feeling the cold, sandy texture of the rock as she slipped through, finding herself standing on the stairs.

Quickly, she climbed up to see where it went, going round and round up the tower. The stairs ended at an arched doorway, which was in fact tucked between the juncture of the topmost curves of the arches that created the ceiling of the vaulted room below her. The door opened easily with the slightest touch of Hermione's hand, revealing a room, obviously the very top of the tower. The room was round with a steeply slanted, conical shape ceiling and very little adornment except for a few corbels spaced along the wall and one large window inset in the stone. The three-paned glass, two thin panes beside one large pane, was pristine and clear, beveled slightly on the edges. The view from the window took her breath away. She could see the forest from here, the vast stretch of treetops, and the rise of the mountains creating the horizon. It was beautiful and peaceful, quiet and serene.

Watching the sunrise from here would be amazing, she thought, crossing her arms. If only there was a way here that didn't rely on falling through Fluffy's trap door. Although, thankfully, someone – probably Professor Sprout – had kindly removed the Devil's Snare from under the door. If it weren't for the Fizzing Whizbee, that drop would've broken my legs.

Back in the room at the base of the tower, Hermione slid her hand on the smooth stone again. "If only there was another way out," she said with a sigh. A door shimmered slightly and faded. She quickly walked to where the door had vanished, examining the wall again. "A way out," she tried saying, then added, "another way out." Nothing. "Please let me out," she said, and the door quickly reappeared and vanished again. "Please let me out," she repeated, grabbing the door latch before the door vanished. It opened and Hermione passed through. She was standing on the third floor corridor, several paces past the door to Fluffy's room. She turned around, and only a fragmented, sliver of a line could be seen of the door, a barely discernable outline in the rock. "Please let me in," she tried asking the corridor, and the latch appeared momentarily, then vanished again. Hermione smiled. She knew the way in. She counted her steps until she stood in front of Fluffy's door. Eleven. I'll be back at dawn.

~Spring 1977~

"I want to show you something!" Lily said, running ahead of him.

"What is it?" he asked, although he would have followed her anywhere in the castle just to be alone with her.

"It' s right... wait..." She slowed down, running her delicate hand along the stone. "Please let me in," she asked.

"Sure, just tell me where?" he asked, breathing slightly heavier from the run.

Her fingers had caught on a latch, pushing open a stone door. "No, silly, in here." They entered a tower. The room was large and the walls smooth. Lily lit her wand and gazed up the walls. "Isn't this great? That door leads to a steep tunnel that goes for kilometers, and... ah... this one ends just under a trap door on the ceiling; however, it's really rusted and locked. But this is what I wanted to show you! Look, stairs, halfway up on the wall... How are you supposed to reach them?"

"Fly," he said, lighting his wand.

"We don't have a broom," she said cheekily. "I wonder where they go."

"Somewhere up there," he said offhandedly, and his hand sunk into the rock. He quickly grabbed her wrist, pulling her through the rock space with him, feeling the gritty stone slide over his skin, but not snagging on his clothes. A magical obscured passage... interesting.

They landed on the stairs. Severus stubbed his toe and warned Lily as he proceeded up the staircase. The stairs ended at an arched doorway, recessed between the conjectures of two of the arches in the ceiling. The door opened easily with the slightest touch of his hand, and he gallantly opened the door to let Lily pass. The room was small, obviously very high up in the castle with one sizable window. The glass was clear and pristine, beveled slightly at the edges, with a wide windowsill, just deep enough to sit upon and wood that framed the window in the thick stone walls. You could see across the tops of the trees from the window and the crests of the mountains beyond.

Lily walked straight for the window, placing both hands on the windowsill and leaned forward slightly. "Oh, this is breathtaking!" she said in awe of the view.

Yes, great view. "Yes, it is," he admitted, watching her eyes alight with happiness.

After staring out the window, Lily turned to leave. "The door, it won't open!" she exclaimed.

"There's Dark Magic on the door, I think," he said, examining the wood and doorframe. He could detect a nearly imperceptible shiver of magic.

Lily's eyes grew large. "Dark Magic? Are you sure?"

The words Arcanum Donec Amas subst Osculari were carved in the arch over the door. "We can't leave without kissing."

She turned to face him, her hand still on the wall beside the door. "You're kidding!" she exclaimed, looking at him first in shock, then in mild indignation. "You just want to kiss me!"

"Yes, I do," he said, stepping over to her and gently curling a strand of her hair around his finger. "But you know Latin as well as I do, and it translates into 'sealed until a lover's kiss.'"

Lily backed up until her heels hit the stone wall behind her. "This is a trick! It's just – you did this somehow to – so you could kiss me, didn't you?"

"No, I didn't. I don't know this magic," he said, letting his voice curl seductively around each word. "You'd like to think I would or that I did this to trap you, but it's just happy coincidence." He placed his hands on the wall on either side of her and leaned into her slightly until he could just barely brush her lips with his own. "So, Lily, now that you have me here, what are you going to do?"

"I didn't bring you here," she replied, her voice edged with a slight tremor. "I..."

He leaned in and kissed her lips, savoring the silky soft feel of them and the scent of her perfume. The door latch clicked after several heartbeats, and he swore softly as the door opened.

Lily was staring at him, her face flushed and her eyes wide.

~Spring 1997~

Hermione ran up the stairs in the key room, hoping she wasn't too late to watch the sun rise over the mountains. She'd been eagerly anticipating returning to the room again, really looking forward to spending the predawn hours to watch the change of light on the landscape from the window. She slipped into the room quickly and closed the door just as Professor Severus Snape turned around. Damn. "Ah... Good morning, sir."

"What are you doing here?" he asked, his tone icy.

"I – um... wanted to see the room – ah – view," she stammered, uncertain as to why she was there suddenly. "Because I wanted to..."

He stood aside, his face hard. "By all means, look," he said with a sweep of his hand.

Cautiously, Hermione approached the window and set both hands on the windowsill as she looked out the pristine glass at the view of the forest and rugged mountains, all the while extremely aware of the presence of Professor Snape looming behind her, just a little to her left. He was quiet, making no movement or sound as he stood there. Hermione kept her eyes on the window, her breathing becoming forced and even as she waited. As if on cue, the colors changed, the subtle variations of morning broke as she watched, acutely aware of the man behind her. He shifted and stepped up to the window silently, leaning against the side of the window frame next to her.

They didn't speak until the colors faded as the sun appeared over the mountains and the sky turned a bright sky blue.

Hermione turned and faced him finally. "Um, thank you. I – it's time I go, I suppose."

"Indeed," he said, his expression unfathomable to her. "By all means, go."

She walked to the door and tried the latch. It wouldn't open. She drew her wand and said, "Alohomora." Nothing happened.

He chuckled softly, standing closely beside her. "Your magic won't open the door, Miss Granger." He pointed above the door and Hermione's eyes followed his finger.

The words Arcanum Donec Amas subst Osculari appeared as if carved into the stone arch over the door. "But that means," she gasped.

"Yes, Miss Granger, as inappropriate as it is," he said as his hand slid into her hair and cupped the back of her head, drawing her closer to him until his face was barely an inch from hers. "Yes, I'm going to kiss you so that I can leave and have breakfast." His lips landed on hers in a soft, sensual kiss, his lips caressing hers, catching her lower lip briefly, then covering her mouth again, sending shivers down her spine and curling her toes. Hermione sucked in her breath, bringing with it his scent, which only affected her baffled mind further. His kiss ended as quickly as it had started when the door opened. "Thank you, Miss Granger, thirty-five points from Gryffindor if you mention this to anyone."

He left the room in a swirl of black robes that billowed behind him as he descended the stairs.

Oh, bloody Merlin! I just kissed Professor Snape!

~Spring 1977~

Lily was crying as she ran down the corridor, and he followed, his soft worn trainers making little sound on the hard stone floor. Avery and Mulciber had cornered her, taunting and threatening her, calling her a Mudblood, and then coated her new jumper and jeans with mud and quagmire from their wands, drenching her shoulder to knees in front of everyone. Some of the Slytherins surrounding her had started laughing and taunting her while some stood aside looking surly, but doing nothing. The few Ravenclaws and Gryffindors who stood watching were too stunned and bewildered to take immediate retaliation against the crowd of Slytherins.

Severus gave all outward appearances of being like one of his Slytherin housemates, standing aside as if doing nothing but scowling. His scowl was not at Lily, although his eyes were on her. Nevertheless, after years of dealing with Black and Potter, he'd learned the deception of covert movements while appearing disinterested and indifferent and honed his ability to utilize his peripheral vision. And it was Severus who quickly cast the three curses at Avery and Mulciber with enviable speed, watching his laughing dorm mates collapse on the floor with swelling, oozing tentacles and pustular boils, erupting everywhere on their bodies. Serves you right.

Lily had turned, shoving some of his snickering housemates aside as she'd pushed her way past them angrily, just before his curses had struck and both Avery and Mulciber fell to the floor. She obviously hadn't seen what he'd done since she'd fled, running up the stairs and down the third floor corridor. He quickly followed her, still scowling.

Her hand stopped on the wall, which would lead her to the hidden room high above the castle. "Please let me in," she said, nearly falling though the doorway into the room with the partially appearing staircase in her haste. Severus followed quickly and saw her cross the room swiftly, finding the hidden entry, disappearing, then reappearing as she ran up the stairs and up into their room. He found the entry for the stairs and ran after her quickly.

"Lily?" he asked, deeply concerned when he entered their private hideaway.

She was leaning against the window, her forehead on the cool pane of the pristine glass with one hand on either side of her head. "Go away," she mumbled against the window, crying angry, humiliated tears.

He walked over to her. "No," he said simply, his hand grasping her shoulder to turn her around and face him.

Tears streaked down her face. "I'm a mess," she said with a sniff.

He flicked his wand, cleaning her up the best he could and pulled her to him. "No, you're not." He kissed the side of her head before she leaned away from him.

"I'm covered in mud – from your friends and – and you just stood there! Scowling at me!" she stammered, her green eyes accusing him.

"I most certainly did not. I'm afraid you missed the show, running away like that," he said, caressing her soft hair as he looked into her beautiful green eyes, which were filled with tears. "It will take someone quite a while to reverse the curses I used on them."

"You didn't?"

"I surely did."

She hugged, him and Severus held her securely in his arms, a smile on his face as he breathed in her scent from her hair.

"Severus?"

He felt her shift and wiggle. "Yes, Lily?"

She leaned away from him, looking into his eyes. "Thank you," she said softly.

He leaned down and kissed her. "You're welcome," he murmured against her mouth. She returned his kisses, her hands pressing on his back as he tasted her lips, deepening their kiss. He felt euphoric kissing her, holding her against him, savoring her lips. Her hands moved first, gliding over him, so he reciprocated gladly. At first, he mimicked her and then became bolder. One hand gently slid up her side, his fingertips brushing the side of her breast, and he laughed in pleasure.

She stumbled a moment, and he tightened his embrace to keep her from falling, wondering if it was his kisses that had made her knees give like that. He hoped so.

Neither heard the latch of the door click, nor did they care.

When she finally pulled away, breathless and slightly disheveled, he couldn't contain the smug smirk on his face.

She saw the open door next to him, her green eyes jumping from his smug expression to the door and back. "Severus Snape! How – wipe that smirk off," she scolded at him teasingly as she adjusted her jumper.

~ T B C ~>

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Author's notes:

I know I shortchanged the scenes with Lily, but that is the difference between a man and a boy. As a man, Severus would know more and have more control than his seventeen-year-old self.

Latin words used are:

Arcanum, which means – closed

Donec, which means – until

Amas subst, which means – lover

Osculari, which means – kiss

The Potter Place Post DH Prompt Challenge Prompts used are:

#34. Teenage Severus Snape and Lily find a hidden part of the castle that even the Marauders don't know. What happens, if anything?

# 37. Teenage Severus is really distraught over the incident after O.W.L. exams. He and Lily have one encounter that we know about from the memories Severus gave Lily. What if there were other attempts to win her back. What were they?

Then nearly twenty (more or less) years later, Severus, who considered this place to be his own private little nook, finds (fill in the witch/wizard) in the room. Who is it? What did he find her/him doing? And what does Severus do? Or not do?