Roiling, black clouds gathered on the northern horizon and threatened to pour any minute. They were large, fat storm clouds, bringing with them gusty winds, sprinkles and none of the comfort Hermione had gone up to the Astronomy Tower for. Lightning forked the oppressive air and thunder boomed in the distance. The air was so heavy it smothered her. No birds twitted and chirped -- all the animals were hidden away. The musty, humid smell that comes just before a storm kept her prisoner in its might. Wind tore through her hair and picked at her clothes with searching fingers, loosening the gold ribbon she had there. It tangled in her curls and swept past her face, caressed her curvy form and ripped at the hem of her cloak. The air itself was electrical, bringing a sense of uneasiness from deep within her.

She frowned at the assembling storm as she walked over to a stone bench and restlessly sat. Yanking up the hood of her cloak to block out any invading gusts, she pulled herself together and settled her thoughts to her graduation from Hogwarts. Within a week she would have completed seven years of education at the Wizarding School of Hogwarts. It was hard to believe that she would have to let everything go. Her juvenile thought of safety at Hogwarts was no longer a reality. In recent days, troubling news, raids and attacks around Hogwarts had made the professors wary and the students anxious. She could no longer pretend that everyone was safe at Hogwarts. To do so was utterly foolish. The castle had provided some security, but now she was grown up, an adult. She would have to face the real world sooner than later and be able to defend herself. Her decision to become a Healer had been greeted by enthusiasm and she would begin studying for her new job once the summer holidays ended. She would have to fend for herself now; no one was going to protect her anymore. The training would be rigorous.

She couldn't afford to be distracted from her work.

A sudden burst of wind made her hood fall. Before she could pull it back up, the breeze tore at her brown locks and released the gold ribbon to its fate. She scrambled up to her feet, walking as quickly as she could to retrieve it. The wind was now in its element, as if it enjoyed teasing her. It continued assaulting her, making it hard to see, for her hair had blown in her face. She growled in frustration, cursed herself for not tying it tauter.

"Looking for this?" a low voice asked. She glanced up. The Potions teacher stood before her and held up her ribbon between two long fingers. She didn't want to act like a child, stuttering and stumbling over speech. She was an adult now and should act in an adult manner.

"Y-yes." She cleared her throat. "Thank you."

He didn't hand it over, but merely gazed at her with an amused expression on his face. After a moment, he asked: "What are doing here, Miss Granger? Why aren’t you in the Great Hall eating lunch with the rest of your peers?" His fist had closed over the golden strip, hiding it from her view.

Back to last names again, are we? All right, I'll play your game. I'll pretend like nothing ever happened.

She swallowed and averted her eyes. Taking a breath, she answered as calmly as possible.

"I wanted to be up here to sort out my thoughts, Professor Snape. Surely that isn't against the rules?" Her tone was spiteful, full of unleashed anger and disappointment.

She wondered where her courage came from to talk to him like that. She felt like an alien in her own body; as if someone else was speaking, not her.

"No, it isn't. But you should be with your friends." He paused, his voice betraying no emotion. "After all, you're graduating in a week. It's unlikely that you'll see them as frequently as you would want to after you leave."

She turned away from him and faced the lake shimmering down below. "Thank you for your concern, Professor, but I have other matters that are more important at this moment."

"Really? What might those be?"

"I'm afraid that that is none of your business."

"It is my business to know about the well-being of each of my pupils, Miss Granger. Would you would be so kind to tell me what is troubling you?"

"Nothing's troubling me," she snapped and faced him. "May I have my ribbon back now?"

He cocked an eyebrow, his eyes fixed on her face. "How impatient we are." Holding the ribbon, stretched between his fingers, he looked at it. "Tell me, where did you get it?"

She bristled, but answered nonetheless. The quicker she got him out, the faster she would be able to think again. An odd fury raced through her body and she barely kept it under control. It pained her to see that he carried so on, after what had occurred during the night they had spent together. "It was a gift for Christmas."

"And who did you get it from?"

"These questions are pointless, Professor Snape. They aren't acceptable between a student and a teacher."

"A student and a teacher, is that all we are?" He looked up into her face and locked her eyes with his.

Her breath hitched as warmth filled her core. She held his gaze as she gave a vague reply.

"You are my Potions teacher and I am one of the students in your class. Surely you remember that?"

"And surely you remember," he drawled, walking ever closer, "what happened around the holidays last year?"

She trembled; the heat of his body warmed her against the cold breeze that had subsided. She wrenched herself away, walked to the edge of the stone barrier and looked down upon the Forbidden Forest. The branches of the trees were swaying lightly in the diminished wind, but the storm clouds were blacker than ever and nearly overhead now. She swallowed hard, unsure how to answer.

"If it interests you, I sent you this ribbon."

"That explains why there was no card," she said matter-of-factly, suspiciously staring at the sullen sky. Inside, a mental battle was going on, leaving her weak both emotionally and physically.

"What puzzles me," he continued, ignoring her comment, "is why you continue to wear it, months after we parted?"

She remained silent and fingered her sleeve. Finally she retorted, "I have to ask you to return the ribbon and leave, Professor. Lunch hour is almost over and I have not yet completed what I set out to do, thanks to you." Her voice was cold and her speech clipped.

"Neither have I and will I leave until my questions are answered," he responded, walking over to stand by her. She did not look at him.

"I do not have to reply to your questions," she told him scornfully and directed her gaze to a statue below.

"Then I'm afraid that I will simply have to stay here," his even voice answered.

A twinge of annoyance rippled through her and she bit her tongue from unleashing any angry words. "I can always leave."

"But didn't you choose this spot because it was the quietest? The students are boisterous celebrating. You wouldn't find any silence there."

"Nor do I find any silence here!" She nearly yelled in frustration. She turned back to him, held out her hand and said angrily, "please give me my ribbon and leave."

"Why do you want the ribbon?" He unflinchingly met her enraged eyes.

"Because it's mine, Professor. I already told you that."

"But I gave it to you. Here you are, plainly showing me that you dislike me, yet you ask for the ribbon. That doesn't make any sense."

She breathed and closed her eyes. As suddenly as it had appeared, her anger vanished. It was replaced by overwhelming sorrow and sadness. A cool gust chilled her hot cheeks and carried the last angry thought out of her head. Letting her guard down, she whispered slowly. "Because I want something to remember you by."

She didn't dare to open her eyes and the silence that followed rushed in her ears.

"Then you do feel something." His voice was faint.

She did not grace him with a response, but kept her eyes closed lightly. "I have answered your question. Please give the ribbon back to me."

"Do you love me?" He asked.

She knew he wanted to get to the point quickly, for their time was running short. She hesitated only a second.

"Yes."

She had not yet opened her eyes.

"Why won't you let me near you?" He pressed on.

"I’m graduating in eight days. Then I have to study to become a Healer. There is no time. We all know that he will attack soon. It's been over a year since Dumbledore died. V-Voldemort has been biding his time, getting ready. People will die on both sides." She finally opened her eyes and looked up to his. His face hadn't changed - it still was the same as before. His brown, almost black eyes were deeper, more emotional, perhaps. Something had altered, but she couldn't figure out what.

"There is always time. You and I both know that is not why you remain so distant."

A breeze picked her locks up and blew them towards him. The sky seemed to be pressuring, bearing down on her. He knew her so well. A sense of helplessness that threatened to spill the tears that brimmed behind her lids fell over her.

"I don't want to lose you," she said, letting a few stray tears fall. He moved closer, his thumb wiping away the teardrops that had gathered on her cheeks.

"You will never lose me," he whispered. Before she could utter a single word, his mouth was on hers.

It was different than last time. More passionate, desperate. She felt his tongue on her lips, seeking entrance and she gave it, wallowing into the variety of emotion that took her. Warm ripples stirred within her lower abdomen and spread up to her fingers. Her hands found his silky hair and she began to sift through it, slowly and then faster. But her conscience got the better of her and she wrenched herself from him. She stared into his eyes for only a moment, but then turned her gaze elsewhere.

"I-I can't do this." She swallowed hard and turned back to him, repeating her words more forcefully. "I can't do this."

She hadn't noticed that it had begun to rain. Fat droplets fell down on them. She ignored all this, lost in his piercing gaze that made her feel whole and yet so shattered.

He walked over to the shadowed entrance. He gave her one last glance and let the golden ribbon fall from his hand. It fluttered before the wind picked it up and carried it over her head. She jumped up, trying to catch it, but it soared higher, twisting as the wind claimed possession of it. She watched it spin away, becoming lost in the breeze that carried it so far from her.

When she wheeled around, he was gone.