Winter's Ice

As always, I would like to thank my two wonderful betas, JENGEORGE and NervousAboutAngels, for their perseverance on this rather lengthy project. And the staff here at The Petulant Poetess deserves much of the credit for final polishing and finishing touches. Thanks, gang. I couldn't manage this without all of you.

The following chapter has several quotes directly from Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, by J. K. Rowling. These direct quotes are shown in italics to set them off from the rest of the text.

J. K. Rowling gets all of the credit and the money. I'm only in this for fun.

Chapter 26

"Winter's Ice Brings the Shivers

And Gryffindor's Sword the Doe Delivers"

As the Christmas break approached, Severus couldn't help but wonder how many of the students would not be returning. He half expected the staff to vacate the place and leave him alone with the bloody Carrows for Christmas, but to his surprise, the Carrows decided to go visit their mother for the holiday. The ancient Mrs. Carrow was rumored to be swimming in Galleons and not long for this world. Severus envisioned her two greedy children doting over her at every turn in hopes of inheriting her fortune.

For the first time since he could remember, not a single student stayed in the castle for the Christmas holiday. But, save the Carrows, the staff remained. He figured as much as they all hated him, the nicest gift he could give them all would be his absence at meal times. It also gave him more quality time with Sienna. They treated the break like the Honeymoon they never got to go on.

On Christmas morning, Severus woke to find Sienna lying beside him with wide eyes, studying his thick black lashes and the sandpaper stubble on his cheeks.

"Merry Christmas." She beamed. Nestled beside him, atop the down comforter, were two small packages. He grabbed the first to find it round and squishy. He tore into it, discovering a pair of black socks.

"Albus insisted I get those for you, so I sent Winky."

His lip curled. The next package was a small box – the same small box... Inside he discovered that same troublesome locket. He pushed the button to reveal Lily's photo, restored to its previous location, but now with Sienna's photo across from it. And unlike Lily, who was laughing at a no longer visible James and Harry, Sienna's photo only had eyes for Severus as she blew him a kiss.

"Thank you," he whispered, swallowing hard to keep his voice steady. He leaned over and gave her a long, leisurely kiss, then grabbed his wand and flicked it towards the archway to his quarters. "Accio gifts."

In flew a box large enough to house a quart jar of pickles and another moderately sized box. They landed lightly on the bed between them.

Sienna reached for the moderately sized box first and uncovered a pound of her favorite chocolate truffles from Honeydukes. The pickle-jar sized package yielded a large, fat candle with three wicks.

"It's enchanted to smell like anything you tell it to when it's lit. I thought you might like it to meditate with."

"It's wonderful. Thanks."

After a playful morning bath for two, they enjoyed coffee and Danish pastry for breakfast at the little table in their secret room.

When Winky brought them their food, Sienna presented her with a new pillowcase tunic and some non-skid socks to keep her feet warm on the hard stone floors of the castle.

"Remember, you are already a free elf, Winky," Sienna reminded her as she gasped in horror at the clothes. "We give you these to honor your service to us, not to send you away."

"We hope you never want to leave us," Severus added sincerely.

Those words made Winky feel much better about the gifts, which she then graciously accepted.

Lunchtime came, and with it a desire for Severus to wish the staff a happy holiday, so Sienna meditated in his absence. Once lunch was over, he headed to the Hog's Head to see Aberforth and have a drink.

Thankfully, the place appeared deserted as he and Aberforth stood at the bar and enjoyed a glass of oak mead. But they spoke in low voices just in case.

"Anything I need to know about?"

"Haven't got wind of any plans. I'll let you know if that changes."

They stared into each other's eyes. Severus couldn't get over how much Aberforth resembled his brother, especially his eyes. Presently, a thought occurred to him.

"Did your brother ever mention a girl to you – a student named Sienna Kaolin?"

"No, never mentioned her."

"They were very close. I'm surprised he wouldn't have said something."

"Albus loved his secrets... The name does sound familiar, though. Kaolin?"

"Yes."

"Didn't I see in the Prophet where her house burned down with her in it?"

"Yes, I read it too." Severus' mind began to race. What if something happened to Winky, and Sienna was trapped inside the castle? How would she escape if she needed to? Having a friend on the outside might not be such a bad idea.

"You know, when school is in session, all of its secret passages are guarded by Death Eaters."

"Yeah, I know."

"But people are smuggling dung bombs and other paraphernalia in somehow.

Aberforth gave him a look of mock innocence.

"Do you know how they're doing it?"

"Maybe. But if no one's life is in danger, isn't it best that you don't know?"

"What if someone's life were in danger? Is there a way I could smuggle her out?"

"Is this the woman from the broom cupboard?"

"Maybe."

They both grinned at each other.

"How'd you get her in?"

"A house-elf transported her."

"Brilliant! The Kaolin girl?"

"Her name is Mrs. Snape now."

Aberforth's jaw dropped.

Severus pulled out his new locket from under his black shirt and popped it open. "The one on the right."

Aberforth studied the tiny photo. As he did, his face lost most of its color. "Those eyes," he finally stammered.

"Beautiful, isn't she?"

"Just like my sister!" Aberforth looked back up at Severus with astonishment.

"Like your sister?"

"I never thought I'd see eyes like those again if I lived to be 200!"

"The painting in the room upstairs?"

Aberforth nodded, still somewhat dazed.

"Yes, her eyes definitely looked familiar the first time I saw that painting. Now I know why."

"May I meet her? In person?" His look was pleading, his voice desperate.

"The Dark Lord thinks he killed her."

"And he won't learn otherwise from me. Death Eaters don't pay me any mind. They all think I'm a senile old coot. And none of them know Albus was my brother. Please, let me see her, let me talk to her."

"Very well." Severus motioned to Aberforth, and they retreated into the back room and closed the door.

"Winky."

She appeared and bowed with the usual greeting.

"Can you take us directly to my office, please?"

"Certainly, Headmaster Snape, sir," and she took them both by the hand.

Aberforth laughed and shook his head. "Right under the arrogant S.O.B.'s nose!"

Once there, Severus checked to make sure Sienna wasn't still meditating while Aberforth traded barbs with his brother's portrait. Severus came back shortly and led Aberforth by the arm into the secret room. It was quite obvious by the look on his face that he had never been in there before. But as his gaze found Sienna, his face flooded with emotion.

"Children of Merlin!" he exclaimed softly. "If your hair was blond, you'd be my sister back from the dead."

"Aberforth Dumbledore, it's an honor to meet you," she smiled broadly.

He took her hand gently in his and stepped closer to her. Their eyes locked with such intensity that Severus could only imagine what kind of experience they might be sharing. Each mirrored the other's expressions as they changed from joy to fear, then anger to sorrow. This went on for several minutes, as if they were both in a trance.

Aberforth finally broke the link and looked at Severus, his eyes glistening with tears. "There's a way out." He looked back at Sienna. "What's your Patronus look like?"

"A mongoose."

"Killer of snakes." He nodded his approval.

"Even King Cobras!" she announced proudly.

"Good choice. If you get stuck here with no way out, send me your Patronus. It'll take some doing, but I can get you out."

"Thank you, Aberforth." Severus shook his hand vigorously. "And Merry Christmas."

Sienna reached up and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. He patted her arm gently. "No wonder he never talked about you," he admitted with a chuckle. "My brother always kept the most important things to himself.

"Well, I'd better get back. Some of those derelicts don't have families. You never know when one of them might wander in, even on Christmas Day!"

The instant Winky left with Aberforth, Severus turned to Sienna. "What was all that about?"

"I'm not sure." A distant look invaded her face. "I witnessed a series of flashbacks from his sister's life..."

"Were you reading his mind?"

"I don't think so. Sometimes he was in the flashback, sometimes he wasn't. But I didn't just watch, I lived it, as if I were his sister, Ariana!"

Shock took over Severus' face as he stared at her in disbelief. His concern grew as she told him what she had learned from the encounter: the cruel Muggle boys who created Ariana's delicate condition and what her father did to them, the way she and Aberforth interacted and enjoyed the goats, the fits of unexplained rage she would have where magic exploded from her hands and radiated from her body, causing damage to the house and furniture. Sienna even relived the day Ariana experienced one of those fits and accidentally killed her own mother. This made Severus gasp in horror, but it paled in comparison to the rest of her tale, of Albus' friendship with Grindelwald and her subsequent death. Severus wasn't sure which was more disturbing, that Ariana was killed because of Grindelwald, or that Albus had been so close to him in the first place.

"Can you imagine if she wasn't killed and he went off with Grindelwald to conquer the world? Those two were so gifted... They would have been invincible. They would have made the Dark Lord look tame."

"Perhaps that's why I felt such peace in her death... It brought Albus back to his senses, to the good side. She accomplished what she came here to do."

"Looking into Aberforth's eyes brought you all this information? I wonder why it didn't happen with Albus?"

"Perhaps because by the time he died, I hadn't been killed and resuscitated yet. I get the feeling that these were my own memories I just experienced, not someone else's."

"Perhaps you were Ariana in your past life and that's why you felt so close to Dumbledore. In a way, you already knew him."

The rest of their Christmas together grew quiet and peaceful. They later stuffed themselves on a wonderful vegetarian dinner and relaxed in front of the crackling fire. After a long silence, Severus finally spoke.

"Something I've been meaning to ask you," he said, almost absent-mindedly. "After you came back to life, did you ever find Potter and explain the technique to him?"

Her look became one of concern as she shook her head slowly. "I haven't been able to find him. I searched for a while during my meditation, but England is a big place. I have a feeling he won't believe me anyway."

"Perhaps telling him flat-out is not the answer."

"What do you mean?"

"Could you plant an idea in his head while he's sleeping? In his dreams, perhaps?"

"I never thought of that. Good idea. But I still need to know where he is."

"Phineas Nigellus is working on that little problem for us, AREN'T YOU, PROFESSOR BLACK?" Severus shouted towards his office door so that the portrait could hear him from two rooms away.

"And why should I bother?" came the distant waspish reply, "when you can't even take the time to wish us all a Happy Christmas?"

Severus rolled his eyes. "Come on." He took Sienna by the hand and led her into his office. After some profuse apologizing and a sincere "Merry Christmas to all," Mr. and Mrs. Snape retired to their secret room.

Even though he had not cast any but the simplest spells all day, this had been, by far, the most "magical" Christmas that Severus could ever remember.

*****

The day after Christmas, Sienna went back to her pre-holiday routine of rising before dawn for her yoga and meditation practice. Severus lay in bed and watched in amazement as she stretched and contorted herself. She claimed that it was relaxing and helped to relieve stress, but he couldn't for the life of him see how.

As the sun began to shine into the lone window, he forced himself to get dressed and prepared to tackle the mountain of paperwork that was building up. Sienna had already begun to meditate, and he knew it would be a couple of hours at least before he could talk with her again, so he had Winky bring him some coffee and a bowl of hot oatmeal, which he ate in his quarters.

Expecting another tedious day of pushing parchment, he reluctantly meandered into his office and reached for the Carrows' lesson plans. As he stood there, he wondered with amusement what kind of ridiculous entertainment he would find within their pages, when suddenly Phineas Nigellus came hurrying into his empty frame.

"Headmaster! They are camping in the Forest of Dean! The Mudblood..."

"Do not use that word!" Severus snapped with irritation.

"...the Granger girl, then, mentioned the place as she opened her bag and I heard her!"

"Good. Very good!" cried the portrait of Dumbledore behind the headmaster's chair. "Now, Severus, the sword! Do not forget that it must be taken under conditions of need and valor – and he must not know that you give it! If Voldemort should read Harry's mind and see you acting for him--"

"I know," said Severus curtly. He approached the portrait of Dumbledore and pulled at its side. It swung forward, revealing the hidden cavity where the sword of Gryffindor had been kept since before school started.

"And you still aren't going to tell me why it's so important to give Potter the sword?" asked Severus with frustration as he swung a traveling cloak over his robes. He had begun to tire of taking blind orders from a portrait which could very well cost him his life.

"No, I don't think so," said Dumbledore's portrait. "He will know what to do with it. And Severus, be very careful, they may not take kindly to your appearance after George Weasley's mishap--"

"Don't worry, Dumbledore," he said coolly. "I have a plan..."

Severus swept from the room with sword in hand. As he descended the spiral staircase, he mumbled the Reducio Charm to shrink the sword to pocket size. Then he cast a Concealment Charm on himself. This trip would have to be made in complete secrecy. Only Sienna must know where he went and why. Once he arrived at the Forest of Dean, he could send her his Patronus. Once he found Potter, she could then zoom in on his location and hopefully plant the idea of surviving the Avada Kedavra curse in his mind.

After he slipped through the great oak doors, he took flight, uttering the counter curses to get him through all of the protective enchantments, and then he promptly Disapparated to the Forest of Dean. Once there, he took to the air again. He knew how skilled Hermione was at charms. Her concealments wouldn't be easy to detect. The tangle of branches made his search a tedious one. He kept airborne, so as to not disturb the crunchy leaves and snow on the forest floor, and alarm them to a possible intruder.

After several hours of searching, he took a break and summoned his Patronus to send a message to Sienna. "Speak only with Sienna," he said wearily. "I am in the Forest of Dean, searching for Potter. Try and use my location as a starting point to reach him. Perhaps you can communicate with him next time he sleeps if you know where he is." The silver doe bounded between the trees and out of sight.

A few moments later, Sienna's mongoose Patronus came like a flash of silent lightning through the tree tops and landed in front of him. "So you found him, this is wonderful news," it declared. "I'll begin my search right away."

He knew his own search was far from over as he took flight again, hovering just above the ground as he went. Lucky for Severus there was just enough breeze to swirl the leaves around. He watched them move in the wind as the gentle air danced with them, creating patterns between the trees. After about two hours he finally isolated a spot where the leaves did not move like the others, and the moving leaves seemed to bounce off of an invisible barrier. The occasional scampering squirrel also seemed to abruptly change direction when it got to this particular spot. He knew this must be them, so he made a mental note as to their location then continued to scout for the perfect place to let Harry "find" the sword.

A brook full of rushing water held possibilities, but he feared that the current might pull the sword from its hiding place and take it downstream to points unknown.

He thought of leaving it high in a tree, but he didn't want Potter to get hurt while trying to retrieve it.

Finally, he found a small frozen pool, just deep enough that Potter would have to completely immerse himself to reach it. And though the water would be icy cold and dangerous, a quick dip would not be life-threatening. Severus broke a small hole in the ice and carefully dropped the shrunken sword through it. Then he used the Engorgement Charm to bring it back to its normal size as it drifted slowly to the bottom of the pool.

He looked around for a place to watch the scene play out where he would not be detected. A pair of oaks grew close together; there was a gap of only a few inches between the trunks at eye level, an ideal place to see but not be seen.

He carefully retraced his path back to Potter's hidden camp, then turned and went carefully back to the pool, paying close attention to the location and size of trees and branches, as he would not try to lure Potter to the sword until well after dark. He had to know the way well so as not to get lost once daylight fled.

Finally satisfied that he could find the pool even in his sleep, Severus gently set himself down on the branches of a nearby large tree and waited.

The daylight had long since turned to dusk and the blackness of the overcast night engulfed the forest like a pillow intent on suffocating its victim. Unable to see who might be watching, Severus finally took the chance that, even if it were one of the others, they were all Gryffindors and all worthy of retrieving the sword. He silently cast the silver doe Patronus from his high perch and directed her towards the spot he remembered their protected hiding place to be. He watched cautiously as she stepped silently through the snow, leaving no prints since she existed only as light energy.

When she reached the edge of what he thought to be the protected area, he directed her to stand still for a few moments to be sure she would be noticed by someone. Then he directed her to turn and slowly come back towards him. As she did so, to Severus' relief, Harry emerged from the protective charmed area with a curious look on his face. He hurried to keep up with the doe as Severus directed her graceful body through the trees towards the frozen pool. He took flight so as not to make any noise and floated along above and behind Harry.

Severus brought the doe to a halt beside the frozen pool and made her turn to look at him one last time. Severus had reached the twin oaks he planned to hide behind, and as Harry broke out into a run to reach the doe, he extinguished her image. He knew that Harry would feel a temporary blindness that would allow him to settle in behind the trees undetected.

Severus watched as Harry lit Hermione's wand and adjusted to the oppressive darkness. Although he could hear a slight rustling in the underbrush nearby, he attributed that to the abundant fauna that he had seen earlier in the daylight.

Harry finally turned his attention to the pool and became excited when he eventually saw the glint of Gryffindor's sword. Severus waited patiently as Harry paced around the pool, trying different spells to retrieve it without immersing himself in the icy water, but all attempts failed. Finally, he began to disrobe but stopped short of removing his underwear. Thank you, Merlin, for sparing me that sight! thought Severus. But why on earth is he still wearing that dreadful locket? The chain could get caught on a root and he could drown.

Severus decided to stay until he saw Harry safely back on dry land with the sword in his hand. He hadn't gone through hell for the last 14 years to let the boy die in a hole of frozen water.

"Diffindo." Harry's voice cut through the quiet. But the cracking ice seemed like a clap of close thunder by comparison. The ice sheet covering broke up, sending shards sliding across the surface. Finally, Harry jumped in.

Better you than me, thought Severus as he shivered at the thought of what Harry must be going through.

But as the seconds ticked by, Harry didn't pop up. Severus became concerned as he heard a disturbance in the water's surface that indicated a struggle. He felt sure that Harry would drown if he didn't act immediately, but just as he was about to run to the pool, he saw someone emerge from the trees and rush towards it. Was that Ron Weasley? The young man threw down his rucksack and jumped in fully clothed. After only a few moments, Harry was heaved up over the edge into the snow, and Ron crawled out behind him, holding the sword and that ridiculous locket with its broken chain still attached.

But had Ron seen him? Just in case, Severus cast a Concealment Charm and rose up into the air, making himself a seat among the branches. He listened intently as they conversed about who could have cast the doe Patronus. Idiots... He shook his head. He was only mildly surprised to learn that Ron had abandoned Harry and Hermione, picking a very opportune time to return. For this, Severus was grateful. And, sure enough, Harry investigated the two oaks for signs of the spy. Good thing I moved when I did, thought Severus.

But when they began to discuss the authenticity of the sword, it surprised him. How do they know a fake exists? And what do they plan to do to that locket?

As he watched, he became aware of a strange and evil energy emanating from the locket. It began to twitch as the sword grew nearer. He could tell that it must be overflowing with dark magic.

"I'm going to open it," said Harry, "and you stab it. Straightaway, okay? Because whatever's in there will put up a fight. The bit of Riddle in the diary tried to kill me."

Bit of Riddle? thought Severus. What on earth is he talking about?

"How are you going to open it?" asked Ron, looking terrified.

"I'm going to ask it to open, using Parseltongue," said Harry.

Severus began to put the pieces together as they argued about whether or not to open it and who should stab it once it was open. The ring... Dumbledore had stabbed it with the sword to destroy whatever was inside... Bit of Riddle... The diary... He racked his brain trying to remember some of the rare and most horrible of dark magic he had found once in an old book at his grandparents' house.

Then Harry made an odd hissing sound, and the locket opened. Severus watched with terror-stricken fascination as the scene played out in front of him. A voice that sounded just like Voldemort's emanated from the locket, torturing and tormenting Ron as he held the sword aloft, ready to strike. Severus saw images of Harry and Hermione intertwining as they attempted to taunt Ron into a jealous rage. Severus and Ron both looked on in disbelief, and the real Harry begged Ron not to listen, just to strike.

Then finally, the sword plunged, and even from his high perch, Severus could feel the release of icy cold evil energy as it dispersed into the black depths from whence it came.

As Harry approached Ron and they shared a tender moment of true, unconditional friendship, Severus suddenly felt like an intruder instead of an observer. His job was over. It was time for him to return to Hogwarts. As he watched the two friends wander back to their secret hideout, he rose above the trees and headed for home. Perhaps somewhere in Dumbledore's extensive private library was some old obscure book that would help him to figure out what that locket really was and why it took something as special as the sword of Gryffindor to destroy it.

*****

As Severus trudged wearily up the spiral staircase to his office, he could hear voices, which was not unusual since the portraits often engaged in conversation at all hours of the night. But Sienna's voice he did not expect to be among them.

"What are you doing in here?" he stormed in on her with alarm as he turned and cast the Muffliato spell on the door. "What if someone hears you?!"

She didn't seem to notice as she continued her heated conversation with Dumbledore's portrait. "How could you, Albus? He's just a boy!"

"He's of age and he knew what he was getting into."

"He may have thought he knew, but nothing you showed him could have prepared him for this – NOTHING!"

"You don't know him like I do. He is up to the challenge. His friends will help him. Together, the three of them will succeed."

"At what?" Severus refused to be ignored any longer.

Sienna turned as if she only just realized his presence in the room.

"And why are you in here?"

"When I confronted him in the locket, he tried to run away and come in here, so I followed him. I had to talk with him face to face," she said angrily. "I just couldn't believe it."

"Believe what?"

"HORCRUXES!!" she shouted. "Albus has him hunting the Dark Lord's Horcruxes!"

Severus stood in silence for a few moments as he racked his memory for the definition of the word. As realization slowly dawned in his mind, a look of horror spread across his face, but it was quickly replaced with calm.

"Well, they destroyed the Horcrux. I saw Weasley stab it with the sword of Gryffindor. So it's done. There's nothing to worry about."

"There are others," Dumbledore's portrait informed him quietly, looking almost embarrassed.

Severus and Sienna both glared accusingly at the portrait. "How many others?" he asked, almost afraid of the answer.

"Not sure. But I believe four."

"And they are...?"

"Helga Hufflepuff's Cup, something significant of Rowena Ravenclaw's, the snake, Nagini..."

"... And Potter himself," whispered Severus, remembering their fateful conversation in this very office.

"My God! Must he be destroyed, too?" asked Sienna in horror.

"To be rid of the last bit of Voldemort's soul that resides in him, I believe that he must sacrifice himself," Dumbledore informed her regretfully.

Severus became just as repulsed by those words as the first time he'd heard them.

"And you knew about this?" she turned angrily on Severus.

"I assumed you would have read my thoughts to find out," he said coldly.

"Since our counseling session with Babaji, I've fallen out of the habit," she answered with just a bit of irritation in her voice.

"And how did you find out about the Horcruxes before I got back? I wasn't even sure what that locket was until just now."

"When you told me where you were going, I immediately went into a meditative state and easily found Harry in the Forest of Dean. It was the all-consuming thought on his mind."

"I imagine so," Severus admitted.

"The ring was a Horcrux, wasn't it?" asked Sienna, turning back to Dumbledore. "And you placed it on your finger like a foolish child!" She was obviously very angry with him. "That single act took away the first, best person who could actually help Harry find and destroy the rest of them. Why, Albus?" She began to cry, as much from rage as sorrow, at the thought of losing her best friend to such a frivolous act.

"I was a fool, no doubt," he admitted sheepishly. "But I did my best to give Harry the necessary training and experience..."

"Oh, please!" responded Severus condescendingly. "Sienna's right – he's just a BOY! And without even a complete education!"

"Does he even know where to locate the other Horcruxes?" asked Sienna.

"Well, Harry himself and the snake are obvious. The cup I suspect is in the LeStrange vault at Gringotts. It's only a matter of time before he figures that out for himself. The Ravenclaw item... At the time of my death, we weren't even sure what to look for or where it might be. I can only hope that Harry's unique link to Voldemort's mind will give him some clues.

"And as for his age – he's an adult now. He can make his own decisions."

"And how wise were the decisions you made when you were his age?" Sienna asked through narrowed lids as she took a few menacing steps towards the portrait.

"To what are you referring?" Albus asked her cautiously.

"Getting so cozy with Gellert Grindelwald that you neglected your family!"

"Please don't tell me you've been reading Rita Skeeter?"

"Gushing over his grandiose schemes of 'the Greater Good.'"

"You leave Gellert out of this! What did he ever do to you?"

"He KILLED me, Albus, he killed me – I was your sister, Ariana in my last incarnation!"

"What?" the old man in the portrait stared in disbelief. Tears began forming in his eyes as he reached into a side pocket to retrieve his favorite lavender lace hanky. "I always knew you had her eyes, but I just thought it was a cruel coincidence. How do you know for sure?"

"When I met Aberforth yesterday I had a flood of flashbacks. When I meditated this morning, I saw that entire lifetime in detail." She hesitated, swallowing hard, then continued. "When Aberforth confronted you about abandoning your family to go off and conquer the world, the argument started and you finally began to see Gellert for what he truly was. He became so angry with you that he cast the Avada Kedavra at you, but your Protego Charm shielded you. Unfortunately, the curse bounced off your shield and hit me."

"My attempt at self preservation... cost you your life?" His words became faint and obviously choked a bit. "Sienna, my love... Ariana... How can you ever forgive me?"

"You didn't kill me, Gellert did. Don't you see? I did what I came to this earth to do. I brought you back to the right path. My death was a small price to pay for the saving of your soul, Albus. I was happy to make that sacrifice. I chose that life in advance, knowing what would happen to me if you got tangled up with Grindelwald." Sienna paused for a moment, and then continued. "We're soul mates, Albus, and, more often than not, we don't actually end up married to each other. But, lifetime after lifetime, our main mission is to help each other advance spiritually. My death helped you see the light and come back to the side of good."

Severus immediately thought of Lily and how her death brought him back to the side of good. Could she be his soul mate? He felt in his heart that the answer was most certainly "yes." He made a mental note to ask her the next time they were together in a dream.

Sienna glanced at Severus. She had been reading his mind and smiled. "Guess I'd better get in there and see if I can plant some ideas into Harry's dreams. If he has to sacrifice himself, perhaps I can convince him that he has the choice to come back if he wants to." With that remark, Sienna turned back to Dumbledore's portrait and reached up to touch it. "Don't worry, Albus, I'll always love you."

"I love you, too, my dear."

"This may take a while. Why don't you try and get some rest," she suggested to Severus. "You look exhausted."

*****

The next day Severus woke to find an empty pillow beside him. Sienna still sat in a peaceful trance on her meditation cushion in the corner of the secret room. Just as he stretched and sat up, her eyes opened, and she looked at him, beaming. She seemed to be quite pleased with herself.

"Well?" he asked tentatively.

"I recreated my near death experience as a dream inside his head. In a way, I planted my memory of the event into his mind as if it were his own. So he now feels that he lived through the experience as I did."

"The whole thing?"

"From start to finish."

"Even our first kiss?" Severus became alarmed.

Sienna grinned devilishly. "I thought about it, but no, don't worry. I stopped just short of the kiss. He experienced the hug, though, but more importantly, the expanding consciousness and the desire and needed concentration to make the transition back to the body."

Severus looked at her curiously. "So he feels as if he gave me a warm, loving embrace?"

"And he enjoyed every minute of it, just as I did – they were my memories, after all."

"Oh," his lip curled, "I wish I could have been a fly on the wall when he woke up and thought that one through!"

"You can. My consciousness lingered long enough to watch him tell Ron about it this morning. I'll pull my memory for the Pensieve if you'd like. Then you can see for yourself."

"This is going to be rich," he smirked. "Let me get dressed and get some coffee first."

About half an hour later, Severus watched with phial in hand as Sienna extracted the memory from her temple and gave it to him. Then, full of anticipation, he marched through his quarters to his office, where he opened the cabinet which contained the Pensieve and poured the silvery substance in.

"What's this?" asked Phineas Nigellus nosily. "Not another of Dumbledore's private memories, I hope. I can't stand any more of your bickering."

"What?" asked a bleary-eyed Dumbledore who had come back from a sound snooze at the mention of his name.

"No, no," Severus reassured both of them. "This is one of Sienna's memories, used by permission. She claims that Potter now knows what it feels like to love and appreciate me." He choked back a laugh. "I just had to see this for myself."

"Is that wise?" asked Dumbledore. "What if Voldemort sees into his mind?"

"Don't worry," Severus informed him. He thinks he dreamt the whole thing. The Dark Lord would simply assume it was a twisted nightmare, probably what Potter thinks as well."

Relieved, Dumbledore gave him a shrug. "Let me know how it goes, will you?"

"Perhaps, if you play your cards right." Severus eyed him slyly, then plunged his head in.

He found himself standing beside the very same pool where Ron saved Harry and retrieved the sword the night before. They both were kneeling down to scoop water into containers to levitate back to camp. Their conversation came in whispers with nervous glances back towards the campsite where a very angry Hermione remained, no doubt in a feeble attempt to cook breakfast.

"I had a really weird dream last night," Harry explained to a very attentive Ron.

"Not another vision from the mind of You-Know-Who?"

"No – not his mind... Someone else's. You remember Sienna Kaolin? A year ahead of us?"

"That mental case who was in love with Snape?"

"Yeah, last night I dreamt I was her!"

"You what?!"

"Yeah," Harry's look intensified as he stopped scooping water and faced Ron directly. "This was really weird. I was captured by You-Know-Who. Snape and Wormtail were there."

"Did Snape help capture her? What a back-stabbing, greasy git!"

"No...he didn't know anything about it. He was horrified actually. I think he really cares for her."

"SNAPE?" Ron became adamant. "He's a cruel, heartless murderer – he never cared about anyone but himself."

Harry's look gave Severus the impression that he was not so sure of that anymore. Ron's look became rebellious.

"No, wait! There's more," Harry insisted. He proceeded to recount the night Sienna died and came back to life as if he had lived through it. He had felt what she felt, including the depths of Severus' love and sorrow over the prospect of losing her. "So she must be an empath, apparently," exclaimed Harry, "because she could feel what everyone else in the room was feeling."

"Or maybe that's one of the advantages of being dead," Ron interjected sarcastically.

"Dunno," Harry shrugged. "Anyway, so I'm floating around up near the ceiling watching the three of them and feeling their feelings and hearing their thoughts, and You-Know-Who felt no remorse whatsoever. In fact, he found Snape's pain over the whole ordeal quite amusing. He's pure evil, that one – the lowest form of life! I almost feel sorry for him."

"So what happened next, mate?" Ron was now on the edge of his seat.

Harry continued the tale, describing the deep concentration and determination it took to come back to life. Then he recounted Severus' initial suspicious reaction.

"Idiot," commented Ron.

Severus raised an irritated eyebrow at Ron's comment.

"What else could it be?"

"I don't know. Maybe he thought she'd been turned into an Inferi or something. I mean... Wouldn't you be skeptical?"

Severus could hardly believe his ears. Harry Potter was actually defending his actions!

"So how'd you – I mean she – convince him?"

"A combination of Legilimency and the fact that she knew where her mum kept the chocolate."

Ron laughed. "And then what happened?"

Harry turned beet red, but remained silent.

"What?" demanded Ron. "Oh, you know now you've GOT to tell me." The grin on his face spread from ear to ear.

Harry hesitated. Finally he said, "You've got to swear you won't tell a soul!"

"It's only a dream, mate, for Merlin's sake!"

"Swear!"

"Okay, okay. I swear I won't tell anyone."

More hesitation... Finally Harry took a deep breath and blurted it out. "He hugged me."

"Who?"

"SNAPE!"

The look that invaded Ron's face was one of horrible revulsion. His voice dropped to almost a whisper as if saying the words too loud would give him a taste of the experience. "Snape hugged you?"

"Well, he hugged Sienna, but since I saw the whole thing from her point of view, I felt like it was happening to me."

"That must have been horrible..."

"No, actually, that's what's so weird about it. I felt what she was feeling, and she felt only joy and something I've never experienced before... pure unconditional love... when his arms were around her... like she just wanted to stay there... forever... in his arms..." A far away look crept into Harry's eyes as he relived the moment. A slight smile turned up the corners of his mouth. Severus felt the same rush of peace and joy. It was as if Sienna had pulled them together and made them both realize what could have been if life had given them a kinder set of circumstances.

Ron's reaction snapped them both back to reality. "All right – that's enough – you're scaring me, now! This is Severus Snape we're talking about, remember? A.K.A. Greasy Git, Murderer of Dumbledore?"

Harry jerked back and glared at Ron for ruining his moment, then shook himself free of the memory's spell. "Sorry."

"Hey, it was only a dream, right?"

"But it seemed so real. More like when I see through You-Know-Who's eyes. I remember every detail of it... like it actually happened to me. I almost feel like I could come back from the Avada Kedavra Curse."

"Let's hope you never have to find out, eh?"

"I wonder if she was trying to send me a message?"

"I rather doubt it, Harry."

"You never know. Stranger things have happened."

"A message from the Great Beyond?"

"What do you mean? Haven't you been listening? She came back from the dead."

"Yeah, in your dream, but I forgot to tell you. I found out while I was home that her mum's house burned down with her in it. She's dead, Harry. There was no body for her to come back to."

Shock and horror spread across Harry's face as he shook his head in disbelief. He stood up abruptly and took a few steps towards the twin oaks that had so conveniently hidden their new anonymous ally from them just the night before. Severus watched him swallow hard and quickly wipe a tear from his cheek as he turned back to Ron.

"She can't be dead," Harry said with stubborn determination. "She's alive, I just know it." Then his face brightened. "What about her Patronus? Have you ever seen it?"

"Katie Bell said she saw her cast one in her OWL exams, like you did. It was a mongoose."

"She could already cast one when she sat for OWLs?" Harry seemed disappointed that he wasn't the only fifth year in a century who had managed it.

"Don't feel too bad. She was already 17 when she started at Hogwarts, so I think she had turned 18 by the time she sat for her OWLs."

"Oh yeah, she was a bit older. I'd forgotten."

"I'm tellin' you, mate, she's dead."

The look on Harry's face was obviously one of pain and sorrow, although he shed no more tears over the news.

"What are you so upset about? We barely knew her."

"I don't feel that way anymore, not after this dream. I feel like she's part of me. It's really weird. I knew in the dream the plan was for Snape and Wormtail to burn the house down with her in it, but Snape knew she wasn't dead and they decided that she would pretend to still be dead and leave right after they did. She could be in hiding somewhere." His look became hopeful. "Maybe we could find her..."

"Haven't we got enough to worry about? Come on, let's get this water back to Hermione before she gets pissed off and comes looking for us. I don't need another scene like last night!"

They gathered the containers and levitated them, guiding them through the trees as they marched back to the campsite.

The scene went black and Severus landed with a thud on his feet, back in his office. A rush of emotions confused his heart. The boy he loved to hate was beginning to grow on him.