I had probably never felt so happy to see Severus. For the past several hours I had thought that I would never see him again. Now, he looked like an angel to me... I smiled softly, though, it was difficult.

"Good to see you," I mumbled.

"Shirley, do you really need to get in trouble so often? I think I'll have to cast the Permanent Sticking Charm on you and walk around with you everywhere," he sighed, but his irritation was lined with relief.

He walked over to me, then gently tapped first the chains, then the binds, which had been making me feel numb, with his wand. As soon as the chains and the ropes fell, I slipped down from the chair, completely unable to control my body. I was so weak that even something as easy as standing on my feet seemed to be unforceable to me. Before I hit the floor, though, Snape caught me and picked me up. I sighed deeply, resting my head on his shoulder.

"Once again you're saving my life," I whispered. "Thank you."

"You'll thank me once everything's over," he answered quietly, looking around, then briskly left the dark room.

Even now I hardly knew where we were, but it was not something I would really care about. Maybe later on, when I came back to my senses, I would ask Snape about that... Right now, though, I only wanted to get to a place where we were safe.

It was completely dark outside now, as we had left the building. Severus's face was still full of seriousness and focus, that was perhaps why I tried to ask no questions. I had a feeling that we could still not be safe. After all, someone might have heard us and now was following us... I only hoped that it was not the case.

Finally, Snape came to a halt and pressed my body close to his. I closed my eyes as I felt him twist at the spot, and nothingness sucked us in.

Later on, I was ashamed of that, but apparently Apparition had exhausted me completely. Next thing I remembered was waking up in a clean, bright room. Soft, warm sunlight danced upon my face, slipping thorugh the slit between the curtains, but it did not bother me at all.

I groaned quietly. My whole body still hurt, but not as much as back then, when Snape had carried me out of that terrible place. I hoped that not too much time had passed since that had happened.

When I finally opened my eyes, I propped my hands on the soft mattress, so that I could finally get up, but that was when some invisible force pushed me back into my bed. I blinked in surprise.

"Were I you, I wouldn't be trying this, Shirley," I heard a familiar voice, and tears of happiness gathered beneath my eyelids.

"Severus!" I said joyfully, immediately finding the pale, scarred face of the man.

"I think I'm already used to staying by your bed, Shirley. I even wonder if I won't be missing it once everything's over," he replied emotionlessly, but I knew he was just making fun of me.

Severus Snape was making fun of me. And no, it was not sarcasm. I did not think I had ever witnessed such a situation. I had a feeling that there were many other things I still did not know about him, and I wanted to learn as much about him as possible even more now. Now, that I had finally realised how little was needed to part us forever.

"You need to rest," he whispered gently, putting his hand on my head. "When I found you, you were in a horrid state."

"How much time..."

"Don't worry. You've only slept a dozen hours or so," he answered quickly, seeing me begin to get anxious that I might have slept for many days again. That vision truly terrified me, therefore his response managed to calm me down a lot. "Though, I would rather like you to sleep some more. Your body needs rest."

"I feel wonderful," I retorted, frowning.

Snape raised his brows, then leant back in his chair. It was a gesture that let me know that the man would not allow me to leave the bed so soon, even though I could really beg for it. Yet I knew that as long as he would stay there with me, I would not try to resist. However, truth be told, I would rather like to have at least a little walk.

"How did you know where to look for me?" I asked after a moment, obediently pulling the quilt up to my chin.

Snape, who had been reading something, sighed, and put the book aside. Then, he looked at me, his eyes full of compassion, as though I were a child who demanded a fairytale, while he had no idea how to tell one.

"You thought I didn't expect someone to try to hurt you, Shirley?" he asked, frowning. "Oh no, I was well aware of the fact that someone had been hunting for you for a long time. When I was still at school... I was somewhat interested... in spells." He stopped, then stood up, walking over to the window. After a moment of thought, he opened the curtains, so more sunlight could get into the room. "I knew how the Trace worked... It was not a problem for me to create something... something similar to that spell."

I blinked, feeling myself blush. On one hand, the fact that Snape had gone so far as to really following my every step terrified me. On the other, though, if not for his creativity, I would have probably been dead by now.

"Now... whenever anyone wants to hurt you, I'll know about that," he explained calmly, but he still refused to look at me; I was certain that it was because he was not sure how I would react to the information that he had been following me. I only wondered for how long.

For a moment I felt a strange urge to ask about that, but then I understood that it would not be the best idea. I did not want to provoke another quarrel right now... especially because there were so many other things I was very curious about.

"But... but why did they abduct me, if you were just a couple of feet away?" I asked, my voice trembling. "After all, it's you they want..."

"No," he answered, shaking his head a bit. "You're still too naive to understand how the Death Eaters work. A Death Eater won't just kill. What they care about is causing as much suffering as possible."

I still did not understand. Unconsciously, I sat up, but once Snape saw that, he sighed and once again waved his wand to push me back into the bed.

"I've already told you, Shirley, that you were not supposed to move," he snapped irritably. "The Death Eaters wanted to abduct you, because they knew that if they hurt you, it would hurt me the most. Besides, they wanted to get to know everything about me... and you know much more about me than anyone else. That's why they wanted you so desperately."

"I swear I have told them nothing," I whispered immediately, with the strange impression that Snape was suspecting me. I did not want him to treat me like a traitor, especially since I would have never dared to betray him.

"I know, Shirley, I know," he replied quietly, then sat down on the edge of my bed and patted me on the head. That gesture surprised me even more than anything else. "There's no-one I could trust as much as I trust you."

It sounded a bit like a compliment, but at the same time it made me feel a twinge of pain in my heart. It was as though Snape behind the mask of a cruel and cynical teacher hid a personality so delicate that I was afraid of crushing it. The better I knew him, the more ashamed I was of my hatred towards him from my school years... and I really wanted other people to notice what I could see in him.

"Did... did you see anyone else besides Avery? Did you hear any names?" he asked after a moment, moving away from me.

I closed my eyes. Once again, was struck by what I could remember... a familiar face... a person I would have never suspected to be a Death Eater. But now, after all that had happened I had no doubts.

"Yes," I answered quietly, not opening my eyes. "Besides Avery, I saw three more... I didn't hear the name of one of them, but... but there was Nott." I remembered the young man's name with some difficulty.

"Nott...?" repeated Snape, apparently astonished. "What did he look like?"

"He must've been my age, maybe a bit older," I said. "Dark hair, rather tall... he was supposed to apply the Veritaserum."

Grimacing softly, Snape pushed his hair away from his face, then stood up and began pacing around the room, as always keeping his hands crossed behind hi back. For a longer while, he stayed silent, but I knew that his mind was full of thoughts.

"Then the young Nott... I hoped he wouldn't follow in his father's footsteps," he muttered quietly, then finally looked at me. "You said there were three of them. So one whose name you didn't hear, Nott... and who else?"

I felt dryness in my mouth. Only then did I open my eyes, letting Snape look into them seriously. It did not help at all.

"Blade," I whispered at last.

Severus came to a halt, then approached me in a few fast steps, looking just as agitated as I felt.

"Morgan Blade?" His voice was no longer so calm, and I was not even surprised. I nodded.

"The very same," I muttered. "Now... now I finally know who cast the Imperius Curse on Neville. It must have been him, when he was still a teacher."

For a moment, complete silence fell. Snape stared at me, as though he could read anything at all from my face, but then, he just sighed and stood up, rubbing the bridge of his nose. When I said it out loud, it seemed to be impossible... and for a while, I hoped that Snape would believe the same. I would rather like him to laugh at me than agree with me. It would help me stop worrying with the fact that a Death Eater had been hired at Hogwarts. To which secrets had he had access...?

"When he got to know why he was going to be fired, he must have heard that I was alive," said Snape quietly. "That was when he cast the curse on Longbottom, because he knew that controlling him would not be difficult... Maybe that was why Longbottom wanted to get so close to you... it would also explain why he didn't try to help you when he accidentally hit you with a spell."

Somehow, Severus made it sound even worse. I could not hope that I had been wrong anymore; it all sounded way too plausible. As though the missing piece of a puzzle had finally been found.

"Do you think that Avery is... their leader?" I asked hesitantly, and Snape turned his head at once to look at me.

"Avery? Oh, no. I don't think that torturing you or me would be so important that their leader would need to do it. I think it's someone else... someone more brainy," answered Snape. After a while, he got back into his chair and leant close to me. I could see his eyes, full of emotion and piercing. "I'm quite surprised, though, that he's at large. He was said to be locked up at Azkaban... so it means that he has either avoided it, or he has somehow run away. Which might mean that other Death Eaters, who have been captured, might be on the loose, too."

"Then who might it be?"

Severus leant back in his chair, then joined his fingertips, as usual when he was thinking about something. I did not know the names of particular Death Eaters. I only knew them as a terrifying mass who existed to sow terror and death.

"I can only surmise," he replied at last, so quietly that I was hardly able to distinguish words. "But I... I have certain suspicions."

He did not allow me to ask yet another question; instead, he took his book and opened on the right page, then glared at me so menacingly that I knew I should not try to oppose to him, if I did not want to regret that.

"Rest... or I'll find some Sleeping Draught for you."

I was glad that after a few days I was well enough to return to school along with Severus. Until now, he had been taking care of me so solicitously that I had got almost completely used to his presence – and to the house in which we lived together.

Every morning and evening he gave me a dose of Strengthening Solution, which made me soon recover. After some time I realised also that Cokeworth was not such a terrible place. Snape took me on walks, showing me different places. Besides seedy streets and gloomy alleys, the town hid also beautiful parks, and behind the hill nearby was also a vast forest.

No wonder, then, that after some time I felt almost sorry that I needed to leave that place. Still, I was still happy that we were returning to Hogwarts.

Just like the previous time, Snape had not agreed to going by train or the Knight Bus, therefore, whether I wanted or not, I trod after him towards the meadow from which we could safely Apparate to Hogsmeade.

"Remember not to tell anyone about what's happened to you here," he said seriously. "We can't trust anybody now."

I nodded, yet could not help but gently slip my hand into his own. My gesture surprised him, however, after a moment a soft smile appeared on his face, and his hand tightened a little around mine.

"I'm sorry I'll have to share you with the rest of the school," he whispered, which made my heart flutter in my chest.

"I won't stop being yours," I promised.

"You must come here for the next holidays," he added, making use of the last moments during which he could talk to me completely openly. "Don't come back home... come here with me, and never leave."

I did not answer, but he probably was not awaiting my response. He only glanced at me with a gentle smile, then gripped my hand tightly and together, we spun at a spot, focusing our thoughts on Hogsmeade.