The Name in Red **COMPLETE**

Hello everyone! I sincerely apologize for the long delay in getting another chapter to you. As I stated at the end of chapter 16, I have been extremely busy this month. This weekend, however, I've finally had some time to buckle down, so here is chapter 17! Thank you so much for all the lovely reviews I have gotten. They definitely help to spur me on to write as much as possible as quickly as possible!

Enjoy chapter 17! I warn you again, it gets lemony ahead!


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Name in Red.

Chapter 17: Things Out of the Norm.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


Late in the afternoon, a tall young man with white-blonde hair and a pointed face was slowly making his way toward the hospital wing. He was still dressed in his green and silver practice robes. He appeared to be fairly uncertain of himself; he glanced around warily as he went and seemed to be somewhat nervous. In his right hand he was holding several long-stemmed roses. It had taken all of his concentration and the best of his transfiguration ability to transform a few of his writing quills. He was going to see the girl who had been hit by the Bludger earlier in the afternoon.

He was uncertain of himself. It wasn't as if he made a gesture like this every day. Before he had seen the American girl down at the Quidditch pitch, he had heard tell of the American student around the school. Something inside him was secretly longing to try and befriend whoever this new person might be. Even though he was a Hogwarts student once again, he felt like an outsider, and in truth, he was. He did not endure the verbal or physical punishments of his peers for his past crimes, but the terrible isolation he faced was bad enough. He had no friends anymore. Truthfully, he hadn't even had any real friends to begin with. He was now completely alone in the school, and although most of his fellow students never said anything to him, he knew he was being looked down upon for his involvement in what had happened in the past. He went on with his own business quietly, never bothering anyone or going out of his way to say anything. He understood how everyone must feel about him, and resigned himself to being completely alone for the remainder of his time at school.

Upon hearing that a new student had come to the school from very far away, he had regained a shred of hope. Here was someone who would have no prior knowledge of his past misdeeds, no preformed conceptions of what he must be like, no ingrained distaste for the name of 'Malfoy'. Here was someone with whom he might be able to have a blank-slated beginning with. He didn't know much about who this person was, but his lonely mind began desperately forming ideas of how he might befriend them and start anew. This was how he had brought himself to smile at her earlier in the afternoon. Unfortunately, having her get attacked by a Bludger from his Quidditch team probably wasn't anyone's idea of starting off on the right foot.

Draco sighed to himself.

She probably already disliked Slytherin and anything or anyone having to do with it because she had been adopted into Gryffindor, and the Bludger incident definitely hadn't helped. Potter and all her new Gryffindor pals must have already taught her how to hate Slytherin

Nervously, he pressed on toward the hospital wing, hoping that he was wrong.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


When it was nearing supper time, Sarah knew that she could soon leave the hospital wing. She no longer felt any pain whatsoever, but she remained in bed as Madam Pomfrey continued fussing over her. The watchful woman absolutely would not let her leave until half past five. Earlier in the afternoon, the entire Gryffindor Quidditch team had come to visit her and make sure that she was alright. They praised how well she had taken her first Bludger hit and her first fall from a broom, and regaled her with stories of retaliatory Bludgers aimed toward the Slytherin team. All-in-all, aside from being hit by a flying iron ball and free-falling about ten feet to the ground, it had been a pretty good day so far. As she lay back and relaxed in bed, she was looking forward to only one thing: this evening's lesson with Snape.

Thinking about Snape, Sarah looked up hopefully when one of the hospital wing's doors creaked open and someone stepped inside. Madam Pomfrey, who had busied herself inside her cabinet of potions, immediately hurried over to him. Sarah recognized him as the young blonde-haired man from the Slytherin Quidditch team who had smiled at her earlier. He looked startled when Madam Pomfrey accosted him, and Sarah could not hear what they were saying as they conversed.

When a moment of silence fell, Madam Pomfrey seemed to nod, and then walked away to continue on with whatever business she was taking care of. The young man let out a large sigh of relief, and Sarah sat up in bed to regard him.

She recalled how the entire Slytherin team had been gearing up for a fight, all except for one: this young man who had smiled at her. His demeanor had made him appear out-of-place among his team of hooligans, and he had even looked thoroughly embarrassed at his captain's brutish behavior toward Harry and the Gryffindor team. Still standing in the doorway, Sarah gave him a small smile when she saw him turn to look at her.

Draco swallowed hard when he saw that the girl on the bed was looking in his direction, but it felt as if a tremendous weight was lifted off of his shoulders when he saw that she was smiling. Surely she must have already recognized him from earlier, if not for his appearance, than for his green and silver robes. If she was going to be hostile to the entire Slytherin Quidditch team, or even the entire House, she probably would have glared at him or resolutely ignored him all together. Instead, she was looking straight at him, her head slightly tilted as if wondering what he was up to, and smiling.

Returning her smile with a small smile of his own, (he wasn't quite used to that particular function of his facial muscles yet), he strode over to where the girl sat. Shifting his roses over into his left hand, he extended his right hand out to the girl as he approached. When he drew close to her, she took his hand in her own and shook it.

"Draco Malfoy," he said quietly, "These are for you."

Sarah's eyes widened and she looked a little startled when the young man introduced himself as Draco Malfoy. Harry had, of course, told her all about him and what he had been involved with in the past. She had not yet met him, however, and hadn't recognized him as the Slytherin Quidditch player who had smiled at her earlier in the afternoon. From what Harry had told her about him, that seemed like a highly uncharacteristic gesture.

Sarah's expression softened, however, when her eyes fell upon the roses that Draco was holding out to her. This too seemed highly uncharacteristic, yet here he was, visiting her in the hospital wing and bringing her flowers. Somehow, at that moment, she knew that Harry would probably never believe her in a million years if she told him about this.

"Sarah Garrend. Nice to meet you, Draco," she replied sincerely. "They're beautiful, thank you."

Luckily, because Draco was so nervous, he hadn't noticed the slight change in Sarah's expression when he had told her his name. Instead, he looked very satisfied with himself, and was now setting down the roses on the small cabinet next to Sarah's bed. Smiling again, he took a seat on the bed opposite her. Looking her over quickly, he spoke up again.

"How are you doing?" he asked, his voice still sounding about as uncertain as he looked. "I wanted to make sure you weren't badly hurt. I'll wager none of the other Slytherin players have come to see you," he said, sounding ashamed.

"You'd be right," Sarah replied, but she was still smiling, and she even laughed a little. "I'm just fine, I was just bruised up a bit is all. No harm done."

Draco smiled back at her, looking relieved.

"I knew they might start trying to do something like that," he said. "I actually tried to throw myself in the Bludger's path but I couldn't get there fast enough."

Sarah's eyes widened again. Here was Draco Malfoy, the same young man that Harry had told her about; he had come to see her in the hospital wing, brought her flowers, and had even tried to throw himself in front of the Bludger that hit her? Harry was never going to believe this.

"Wow, that's brave," Sarah said. "That thing didn't exactly feel very nice."

"Don't I know it," Draco replied. "I've had my fair share. The Gryffindor Beaters have never liked me much, really," he murmured.

Sarah nodded a couple of times, content to let him believe that she thought this dislike was based purely on the Gryffindor-Slytherin animosity. She did not let on that she pretty much knew most of his life's story from Harry. Judging from his gestures toward her thus far, she assumed that he wanted to let that part of his past be just that; the past. It appeared to Sarah as if he was trying to turn over a new leaf, and trying very sincerely. She wouldn't let her prior knowledge of him ruin it.

"That was actually my first time on a broom," Sarah added. "It wasn't exactly the dismount I imagined."

It was now Draco's turn to widen his eyes.

"First time on a broom?" he repeated, sounding surprised. Young witches and wizards not learning to fly a broom was practically equivalent to a Muggle child not learning to ride a bicycle.

"Er...," I've only actually been a witch for a little while, actually. "Yeah, Quidditch wasn't very big where I came from, you could say. It's obviously a lot bigger here."

"It's huge business here at school," said Draco.

"I can tell," said Sarah, grimacing and rubbing her side for emphasis. "The teams looked like they were about ready to tear each other apart."

"They would have, if not for Madam Hooch and Professor Snape coming down. We probably would have had a full-blown brawl," he said. He then looked around at all the empty beds in the wing. "There would probably be a lot more people in here if that had happened."

"We should be glad I was the only casualty then," Sarah laughed.

Draco gave her a faint smile.

"Slytherin won't make you feel very welcome here, I'm afraid. I'm sure you can tell already," he said.

"I don't think that's entirely true," said Sarah, smiling brightly at him. "Here you are visiting me in the hospital wing and bringing me flowers," she continued. "I think that counts as welcoming, don't you?"

Draco took the compliment and smiled faintly again.

"The rest of them, anyway," he clarified, smiling grimly at her.

"Yeah, you're probably right, from what I've seen so far," said Sarah. "Apparently putting on some Gryffindor things made me a target."

"That's about right," said Draco. "Keep a look out while you're walking through the halls, I bet a few members of the team will still be out to get you."

"I'll keep that in mind," said Sarah. "Speaking of which, aren't they going to be kind of unhappy with you for all this?" she said, motioning to the roses and then to him.

Draco sighed. He was already effectively alienated from his House, as well as the rest of the school. If the Slytherin students were to find out about this, he would probably become the object of much of their scorn. After a gesture like this, he might as well be a Gryffindor to them. He might have rushed over and helped her where she had fallen on the pitch if not for that looming threat above his head. Fortunately, Snape had gone to help her instead, something which he had not really put a lot of thought into yet.

"Hopefully they won't know," he said. "If they find out I bet I'll be in for some Bludgers myself."

"Secret's safe with me," said Sarah.

"Good to know," Draco smiled at her.

Their conversation was interrupted by Madam Pomfrey who had just bustled over to Sarah's bedside.

"It is half past five," Madam Pomfrey stated. "You may go now, Miss Garrend."

"Alright, thank you," Sarah replied.

Before leaving the bedside, Madam Pomfrey's gaze lingered for a few moments on Draco, and then on the roses resting beside Sarah's bed. She raised in eyebrow curiously and then walked away. Draco looked both slightly startled and embarrassed. Sarah knew that Madam Pomfrey's curiosity must come from the fact that an act like this was highly uncharacteristic of the young man sitting across from her, but she pretended not to notice.

Looking back to Sarah, Draco rose to his feet.

"Well, I better leave before you," he said, "Just in case."

"Good idea," said Sarah, taking the roses from the bedside table and getting to her feet as well. "Thank you so much for these, Draco. It was really nice of you to come here and see me."

Draco smiled again, looking very satisfied with himself.

"No trouble at all, I'm glad you're alright," he said politely. "I didn't want you getting the impression that all of Slytherin are a bunch of prats. Gryffindor tends to hold that mindset," he said, motioning to the scarlet and gold emblem on her robes.

"Well you've definitely sold me that at least one of them isn't," she smiled back at him.

Draco felt proud of himself. Mission accomplished.

"Nice to meet you, Sarah," he said, giving her a polite wave as he turned to leave. "I'll see you around."

"You too, Draco. See you," she waved back.

When Draco had exited the hospital wing after glancing both ways out of the door, as if he was crossing a busy street, Sarah sat back down on the edge of her bed, examining the beautiful roses that Draco had given her. Surely the whole of Gryffindor would think that the world had turned upside down. She seemed to have a knack for bringing out uncharacteristic behavior in Slytherins.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


Unbeknownst to Sarah, a particular Slytherin's behavior toward her was to be the current topic of conversation back in the Gryffindor common room. Harry, Ginny, Hermione and Ron were all relaxing in front of the fire, waiting for supper time to roll around. Harry was seated in the large comfortable chair he usually sat in, Ginny in his lap, and Ron and Hermione were lounging against each other on the couch. The fire was burning brightly, helping to fend off the chill which had settled in on them over the course of a long afternoon outside.

"Blimey," Ron spoke up all of a sudden, sounding astonished as he reflected on the afternoon's events. "Did you see what Professor Snape did when he came back to the pitch?"

"What did he do?" asked Ginny. "I was too busy trying to get Peakes to lend me his bat so I could hit something at the Slytherins."

"Nearly killed the whole lot of them from the looks of it," said Ron. "He stormed out there and shouted at them. I don't think I've ever seen him so furious."

Seamus, who had just come back from having a shower, overheard the conversation in front of the fire. He plunked himself down on the couch next to Ron and Hermione, his hair still slightly damp.

"Yelling at them for not hitting Sarah hard enough, do you suppose?" he said jokingly.

Ron turned to Seamus, shaking his head back and forth quickly to dispel that idea.

"No, that's what's so weird about it," Ron said quickly. "He was angry with them because they hit her. He gave the bloke who did it an entire month's detention with Filch for it and threatened to do that to the lot of them if they did something like that again."

"What?" Seamus exclaimed, also sounding astonished. "We're constantly beatin' on each other, our teams are, and he's never done anything about it before. Probably encourages it, even, the git."

"Well she's not on the Gryffindor team, is she?" Ginny spoke up. "It might be a different story to him to have members of his team hitting random people on brooms with Bludgers when they're not on the opposing team."

"She's a Gryffindor, that should be good enough for him, shouldn't it?" Seamus countered, a sour expression on his face.

"I don't think so, mate," said Ron, "Did you see how fast he moved when she fell? It almost looked like he Apparated over there," he snapped his fingers once for emphasis. "Any other Gryffindor gets hurt, do you think he would have done that?"

Seamus blinked.

"Right," he said, "I wonder what made him do that. He even walked her back to the bloody castle, didn't he?" he said as it dawned on him.

Several moments of silence passed, during which all parties present who were unaware of the developing relationship between their Professor and Sarah were quietly processing the information of what they had just heard. None of it seemed to fit into a normal Gryffindor-Slytherin behavioral pattern. It wasn't quite adding up.

Harry and Hermione exchanged silent looks of concern; this situation would have to be diffused before anyone started jumping to conclusions, lest they be the correct ones.

"Look," said Hermione, speaking in her best 'I'm-extremely-serious' tone, "He probably just wanted to make sure she wasn't seriously injured. It would hurt the school's reputation as a whole if students who come here to study abroad from all over the world are getting roughed up by our Quidditch teams. As the only authority figure present when it happened, he probably could have gotten into trouble with the Headmistress if he didn't do anything for her."

Several more silent moments passed while everyone absorbed Hermione's conclusion of Snape's behavior.

"That sounds more like it," Ron said at last, "Probably just trying to make sure he doesn't get sacked."

Seamus nodded in agreement. Harry and Hermione exchanged a silent look of relief. Unfortunately, they did not notice Ginny watching their silent exchange with a raised eyebrow.

The group of friends continued relaxing together quietly in front of the fire. A short while later, Seamus had been called up to the boys dormitory by Dean for reasons unknown. The common room was mostly empty when the portrait hole swung open to reveal Sarah, looking completely unscathed from her fall earlier in the day. She looked a little dazed as she stepped into the common room, appearing to be preoccupied with examining the few long-stemmed roses she held in her hand. When she looked up, she saw her friends sitting before the fire, regarding her curiously. She smiled at them and moved over to where they sat, sitting herself down next to Ron and Hermione on the couch.

"Hey guys," she greeted them.

"See?" Ron quickly said to Hermione, motioning to Sarah. "She's just fine. Didn't I tell you? No worse for wear at all, she'll be ready to try again in no time."

Hermione rolled her eyes a little. After the incident, Harry and Ron had gotten quite a talking-to from her about what a poor idea it had been to plop Sarah atop a broom and have her learn to fly with a pack of bloodthirsty Slytherins at the other end of the pitch. Sarah saw her reaction to Ron's reassurance and laughed; she knew how much Hermione hated most anything having to do with flying.

"He's right, Hermione," she said, "I'm alright. My next flying lesson should be just fine as long as there aren't any Bludgers around."

"You can still get hurt pretty badly if you fall," Hermione cautioned her.

"So? If that happens, Madam Pomfrey will just fix her right up, no harm done," Ron contested.

Hermione rounded on Ron, shooting him a look.

"And I'm sure she could fix you right up too, Ronald, if I went and shoved you out of the window. Fancy giving it a try?" she asked.

"No thanks," Ron murmured.

"I thought not," Hermione huffed.

"Anyway," Sarah spoke up, hoping to break Ron and Hermione's bickering, "You'll never guess who brought me these," she said, raising up the roses so everyone could see them.

Harry and Hermione exchanged another look, both of them refraining from asking if it had been Snape to bring her the flowers. When they had gone to visit her with the rest of the Gryffindor team, Harry could not recall anyone having brought her roses. He couldn't fathom who else, beside Snape, might have done something like that for her.

Ron, impatient as ever, spoke up.

"Who was it, then?" he asked, oblivious as ever to the silent dialogues between Harry and Hermione.

"Draco Malfoy," Sarah stated.

"Malfoy?" Ron repeated incredulously. Everyone else looked equally shocked.

"He did," said Sarah. "He came to see me a little while ago in the hospital wing."

Everyone but Ron seemed to be at a loss for words.

"Wait, wait," he said. "Let me get this straight. Malfoy visited you in the hospital wing, and brought you flowers?"

"That's right," Sarah said, nodding a couple of times at her shocked friend. She looked a little startled when Ron suddenly leaned over in her direction and appeared to be checking her eyes for abnormalities.

"Are you sure that Bludger didn't hit you in the head? Maybe we should take you back to Madam Pomfrey," he said, sounding concerned.

"I'm fine, I'm serious," said Sarah, pushing Ron away playfully. "He really did. I just knew none of you would believe me about it."

"I believe you," said Hermione, pulling Ron away from Sarah. He had continued attempting to check her head for signs of trauma. "Haven't you all noticed how differently he's been acting? We haven't heard a peep out of him all year."

"You're right," said Ginny. "He's almost like a different person now."

"You think he's changed?" asked Ron, looking around at everyone's faces. "Have you forgotten about him being on You-Know-Who's side?"

"I don't think he really had much choice in the matter, Ron," said Harry. His eyes involuntarily closed as he remembered one of the vivid flashes of Voldemort's consciousness that he had experienced; a flash in which he had seen Draco being forced to torture another Death Eater. He could still clearly see the image of Draco's colorless face and fear-filled eyes. Harry could only imagine how traumatic being forced to do something like that must have been, or what else Draco may have been forced to do under Voldemort's command.

"He should be bringing us flowers, then," said Ron, puffing out his chest. "We're the ones who took out You-Know-Who for him."

"Don't you think maybe that's why he doesn't bother you all anymore?" Sarah asked.

"I'm sure that's a good part of it," said Harry. "He sure does seem different now. But it's not as if we were all expecting him to visit you and bring you flowers."

"That's not all," said Sarah, "He even said that he tried to throw himself in front of the Bludger that hit me."

"Malfoy? Taking a hit for somebody else? A Gryffindor, even?" Ron blurted out. "Are you sure we're talking about the same person, here?"

"Didn't you see how he was acting before practice?" asked Hermione. Having been watching from the sidelines with Sarah as the two teams squared up against each other, she had definitely noticed how Draco appeared to be the only member of the Slytherin team who did not seem eager to fight. "He didn't look like he wanted a fight, like the rest of them did. He probably saw his teammates trying to hit Sarah and didn't want her to get hurt. Maybe he thought it would start a fight."

"It almost did," said Ginny.

"You guys can't tell anyone though," said Sarah, "He said that the rest of his House would kill him if they found out about all this."

"He's got that right," said Ron.

Harry hugged the girl in his lap tightly as he thought about what Sarah had said. He knew that Draco had changed in some respects, but he had no idea of its apparent degree. Just a couple of years previously they were getting into vicious, bloody fights in the bathrooms, and now Draco was visiting people in the hospital wing and bringing them flowers. It seemed like a complete turnaround from what he had once been. Not long in the past, Draco would have probably been laughing and jeering along with his teammates. Things now were very different.

Through his terrible experiences, Draco had been forced to learn of the fragility of friendship, as well as the fragility of life itself. Surviving it all and emerging out of it only to realize one's mistaken path and complete isolation must have been a great blow to him. As Harry contemplated Draco's behavior, he correctly guessed that Draco was probably trying to start fresh with someone who had no prior knowledge of who he was and what he had done in the past.

"Did you tell him you knew about him, and knew who he was?" Harry asked.

Sarah shook her head in the negative.

"It seemed to me like he was trying to turn over a new leaf," she said quietly, looking back down at the roses in her hand. "I didn't want to ruin it for him by saying something like, 'oh, you're the jerk who tormented my friends, plotted to kill Dumbledore, and then ran off with the Death Eaters, nice to meet you'."

Ron burst out laughing, and Harry, Ginny, and Hermione could not help but smile.

"You should have," Ron said between laughs. "The prat deserves it."

"I think he's been through enough already," said Sarah, who was also smiling.

Harry, who had been just about to say something along those same lines, nodded in agreement.

"I think so too," he said.

"I'm hungry," Ron noted.

"You're always hungry," said Hermione, getting up off the couch and stretching. "But I am too, it's supper time. We should all go eat."

"Good idea," said Ginny, rising out of Harry's lap.

The small group of friends began filing out of the portrait hole, but Ginny hung back a small bit. Just as Harry was about to step through, she pulled him aside. The portrait hole closed, and Sarah, Ron, and Hermione were already out in the corridor. Harry looked startled, his eyes wide. He tilted his head slightly at his girlfriend, wondering what she was up to.

"Harry," Ginny stated flatly, "Is there something going on between Sarah and Professor Snape?"

"I don't--, I mean, I've got no clue what you're--," Harry stuttered, his eyes darting around the room and giving away his bluff. Ginny simply smirked at him and waited for a proper response. Harry swallowed hard.

"I saw the way you and Hermione were looking at each other about it," she said. "You aren't very inconspicuous. Well, at least inconspicuous enough for Ron not to notice, but I have."

Harry sighed in defeat. Ginny was too damned smart.

"What tipped you off?" he asked.

"I've seen how nervous she gets about him at dinner," Ginny replied, "Almost as nervous as I used to get about you, remember? When I saw him rush over to her when she fell this afternoon I knew something must be up. He doesn't do things like that for anyone. The fact that he came back and shouted at the whole Slytherin team made me a bit more curious, and when I saw the looks you and Hermione were giving each other when she explained away his behavior, I knew for sure something must be going on."

"Alright, yes, there's something going on," Harry said quickly in a hushed voice, glancing around the common room to be certain of their solitude. "But you can't tell a soul. I sort of found out on accident, and Sarah knows that I know, but I accidentally told Hermione about it, and Sarah doesn't know that Hermione knows, and neither of them know that you know, and-,"

Ginny cut him off.

"Slow down! I won't tell anyone," Ginny assured him. "She can trust us."

"I know she can," said Harry, "She just didn't want us all to know because she thought we might not like her anymore if we found out about it."

"Well that is a legitimate concern," laughed Ginny. "She probably knows how big of a fit Ron would pitch if he found out."

"Just don't let it get out," said Harry.

"My lips are sealed," Ginny replied, making a motion of zipping her lips shut.

"So are mine," Harry smiled slyly at her, "Around yours," he said. He then leaned into her, kissing her deeply.

The two of them were entwined for several passionate moments before they heard Ron shouting for them on the other side of the portrait. Harry withdrew from Ginny, looking toward the portrait hole.

"We'll finish this later," he said, his voice silky. He winked at her.

"He's always interrupting us," Ginny sighed in frustration, but she was still smiling.

After another quick kiss, both of them joined their waiting friends out in the corridor.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


Dinner was mostly finished when a small, timid-looking first year Slytherin crept up toward the Gryffindor table where Harry and his friends were sitting. She was holding a small roll of parchment.

"Sarah?" the small girl squeaked, glancing around the table. "Sarah Garrend?"

Sarah, startled to hear her name from anyone other than her immediate friends, turned to the girl and regarded her curiously.

"That's me," Sarah said politely, smiling at the girl.

"This is for you," the girl said quickly, holding out the small piece of parchment. As soon as Sarah had taken it from her, she scurried away.

"Oh, thank...," the girl was already out of sight, "...you."

"What is it?" Harry asked casually, taking another bite of his treacle tart. Hermione was also watching Sarah curiously, as was Ginny out of the corner of her eye. Ron, who was still too absorbed in his seconds and thirds of the main course of the evening, did not notice.

"Let's see," said Sarah, unfurling the small scroll. As soon as she saw the spiky, cramped script, she immediately knew who it was from. Harry watched her as she read the note, already surmising who it must be from; Sarah's cheeks already had a bit of color in them.

Sarah,

Please dress warmly for this evening's lesson.

S.S.

"It's from Professor Snape," Sarah said quietly, careful not to accidentally refer to him by his given name in front of anyone again, as she had done with Harry. "He wants me to dress warmly for our lesson tonight."

Ron swallowed a large chunk of steak and potatoes.

"Probably extra cold down in the dungeons today," he said, before taking another scoop of potatoes.

"Or he's taking her outside," said Hermione. "Does it say why?"

"Nope," said Sarah, "Just says to dress warmly. I have no idea what he's planning." She blushed and swallowed hard at her own words.

Harry, Hermione, and Ginny pretended not to notice, and Ron genuinely did not. Thank goodness for the distraction of food, Harry thought. Without it, Ron probably would have become suspicious of something by now.

After leaving the Great Hall, Sarah had to quickly make her way back up to her room in order to bundle up as Snape had requested of her. After throwing on an extra layer, as well as her Gryffindor scarf, she made her way down to the dungeons. Reaching the door to Snape's office, she took a deep breath and knocked.

"Enter," called the deep voice from within.

Sarah slowly opened the door and stepped inside. She was greeted with the sight of him standing before his desk, watching her as she entered. He was wearing his usual teaching robes, but with the addition of the same heavy traveling cloak that he had worn on their trip to Diagon Alley. Sarah's heart jumped when she remembered just how soft and warm that cloak had been when he let her borrow it, and how wonderfully it had smelled of him.

When he saw that she was dressed suitably, he nodded.

"I see you received my missive," he said. "I was a bit concerned. First years are not always the best couriers."

"I got it at dinner," said Sarah, timidly approaching him. The closer she drew to him, the more her heart quickened and the hotter she felt.

"Good. If you would follow me please," he said, motioning back toward the door she had just come through.

Sarah turned about and started heading back toward the door. Before she could reach it, Snape strode past her, opening the door for her and stepping aside.

"Thank you," she said quietly, stepping past him. When he had closed the door behind them, he strode determinedly in the direction of the spiraling staircase. Sarah hurried after him, following him upward.

Hermione had been right; he was taking her outside. Once they had exited the castle and were safely cloaked in the darkness of the evening, Snape's pace slowed down considerably to the point where it seemed that they were enjoying a leisurely walk together. It was a clear night, cold and crisp. The wind was nonexistent, and there was not a cloud in the sky. The stars above were twinkling brightly, and the world around them was silent except for their muffled footsteps on the grass as they walked along. Sarah could barely see his black-clad form in the darkness, and she found herself drawing closer to where his body heat and intoxicating scent emanated from.

"I apologize for the behavior of my team earlier today," said Snape, satisfied that the girl was already drawing closer to him. He was still frightful that the incident could result in her becoming angry with him. "I assure you that the culprit has been properly and severely dealt with."

"What did you do to him?" asked Sarah, sounding surprised. She was completely unaware of how he had returned to the pitch after seeing her to the hospital wing, and how he had raged at the Slytherin team and handed out quite a punishment.

"I gave him a month's very unpleasant detention," he stated simply, not bothering to explain all of the dreadful things that Filch would probably subject his victim to. "Behavior like that is not to be tolerated."

"I thought behavior like that was always tolerated between Gryffindor and Slytherin," said Sarah, looking up at him. He was looking straight ahead into the darkness.

"Not in this case," he said stubbornly.

"Just because it was me, or just because I'm not really a Gryffindor?" Sarah asked, smiling. The fact that he had severely punished the person who had hit the Bludger at her was somehow heartwarming.

"A bit of both," he admitted stiffly, still staring straight ahead and not daring to look down into the girl's smiling face, lest he be lost. Sarah laughed softly beside him.

"So where are we going?" Sarah asked, looking ahead into the darkness. She knew the castle's grounds well enough now to be able to get herself to Hagrid's or to the Quidditch pitch, but she could not tell where she was going without daylight.

"You shall see when we get there," Snape replied.

After only a minute or two, they arrived at their destination. They were at the Quidditch pitch.

"Why are we at the pitch?" Sarah asked loudly, her voice echoing through the empty field. The moon had risen higher in the sky, and she could now see better by its dim light. Snape was standing several yards away from her, facing her, his arms folded behind his back.

"I was observing you this afternoon while Potter attempted to give you a flying lesson," he told her. "Needless to say it did not turn out very well. Because of this, I felt obligated to give you a sort of flying lesson of my own. I daresay you will learn a great deal more from me than you will from Potter."

"But Potter--, I mean, Harry is a great Quidditch player, I'm sure he could teach me how to fly just fine," Sarah argued.

"Not like I can," Snape said confidently, smirking at her.

"What do you mean?" Sarah asked, stepping closer to him.

"Please come here, close to me," he instructed her, his voice a purr. Sarah timidly approached him. "Wrap your arms about my neck and hold on tight."

Sarah swallowed hard and did as she was instructed, wrapping her arms about his neck. As soon as she had, Snape wrapped his left arm around her body, holding her securely to him. Before Sarah could ask what he was going to do, he made a fluid motion with his right arm. In one sweep, his wand was out of his robes, and his spell was cast. Sarah gasped audibly when she felt them lift off of the ground and into the air, and she clung even tighter to him. He clung even tighter to her as well.

"What are we doing?" Sarah yelled, more than a little frightened with the sudden turn of events.

"Flying," he spoke simply, smiling inwardly at the girl's astonishment.

Together they soared easily around the pitch, Snape's robes and cloak billowing in the chilly evening air. When he slowly descended toward the ground and set them down again, the girl was still clinging tightly to him. After a few moments, when she finally realized that they were on solid ground, she unlocked her arms from his neck and stepped back from him, her mouth agape.

"You can fly without a broom," she said to him. She knew that flight was possible through the use of brooms, but she had never stopped to think that perhaps magic alone could make someone fly. If this had been the case, she probably would have seen people flying about everywhere instead of walking, but she had not.

"Yes," Snape replied. "I'm sure you can already tell that this is not a very common skill among witches and wizards."

"How do you know how, then?" Sarah asked.

Snape took a deep breath.

"It is, I am ashamed to say, something I learned from the Dark Lord," he admitted. "It was a skill of his that he coveted highly. As he thought I was his most trusted and worthy servant, he deemed it acceptable for me to learn, and taught me. To this day, if anyone else still living knows this skill, I am unaware of it."

"You're the only one who knows how?" asked Sarah, sounding floored.

"For the time being," Snape replied.

"Are you ever going to teach anyone else?" Sarah persisted.

"That, I believe, is why we are here," said Snape.

Sarah blinked at him, uncomprehending at first.

"What?" she asked, confused. "You want to teach me? I don't think I can-, I mean, I barely know how to fly a-,"

"Nonsense," Snape interrupted her. "You have already shown yourself to have quite the aptitude for magical learning. I admit this is very advanced magic, but the sooner you begin learning it, the more time you will have to practice."

"Are you sure about this?" Sarah pressed. "Knowing me I'll probably just end up hurting myself, or you--,"

"No one is going to get hurt. Now, do you want to try and learn this, or not?" he asked her. He was determined to eliminate the need for Potter to teach her to fly on a broom. She would not need Potter and his little brooms if she could learn this skill from him.

Sarah regarded him silently for a few moments, her thoughts racing. This certainly seemed dangerous, and it would be very advanced magic. She took a deep breath. She would just have to trust him that he wouldn't let her get hurt, and she did trust him. She decided she would try.

"Alright," she said at last. "What do I have to do?"

"First, take out your wand," Snape instructed her. "You will need to learn the verbal incantation. We will not move on to nonverbal spells for quite some time, so it would not do to have you start learning nonverbal casting on something this advanced and difficult."

Sarah drew her wand out from inside her robes and held it tightly in her right hand, looking back up at Snape and waiting for further instruction.

"The verbal incantation is pronounced Volo Absque Alatus," he said, careful to annunciate very clearly. "Watch."

Sarah watched him intently. Very slowly, he demonstrated the movement that she would need to make with her wand. His wand began at a point out to his left side, and he swept it down across his body in a downward arc ending with the wand pointing down at his right side. He repeated the movement several times.

"Volo Absque Alatus," Sarah whispered to herself as she watched her Professor demonstrating the proper wand pattern, trying to memorize the words as well as the movement.

"Now you try," he nodded at her.

Taking another deep breath, Sarah steadied herself.

"Volo Absque Alatus!" she shouted, sweeping her wand in the downward arc. What happened next was probably just about what she had been expecting to happen all along; she suddenly felt as if she had been hit by another Bludger and knocked off of a broom once again. She felt some powerful invisible force collide with her, knocking the air out of her lungs. She was lifted up off of her feet and thrown back a small distance, landing hard on the cold grass.

She groaned and coughed, and Snape strode over to her side as she stirred.

"I thought you said no one was going to get hurt," she groused at him. He smirked and extended his hand toward her to help her up.

"You are fine," he said. When she took his hand, he pulled her to her feet and dusted her off. "I actually had a similar reaction on my first attempt, and I quickly learned that shouting the incantation is not necessary, and that the wand movement needs to be graceful rather than forceful. Try again with that knowledge."

Once Snape had stepped away from her again, she raised her wand.

"Volo Absque Alatus," she said calmly, sweeping her wand through the arc more slowly and smoothly. She immediately felt the same strange invisible force swirling and pooling around her in torrents instead of slamming into her. Even though she could feel its presence, she still lacked the skill to completely control it as Snape had. When she felt it beginning to dissipate, she clenched her teeth and furrowed her brow, focusing as hard as she could. This caused the invisible force to surge back, unexpectedly lifting her several inches off of the ground. Surprised at her momentary success, Sarah broke focus and was dropped back to the ground where she stumbled and fell.

"Very good. Progress already, you see? I told you that you could do it," said Snape, stepping forward to offer her his hand again. He helped her back onto her feet.

For the duration of the lesson, Sarah continued practicing the difficult spell under Snape's tutelage. It was immensely difficult to control, and Sarah had more than a few falls. Despite this, she did not get seriously hurt, as per Snape's promise. She continued patiently practicing, falling to the ground again and again.

Her last attempt of the evening was hugely successful. Sarah managed to get herself several feet off of the ground, even though she could not move any other way directionally quite yet. Snape was so pleased with her progress that he could not help himself when the side of his lips twitched into a tiny smile. Upon seeing this, Sarah's heart jumped and she lost her focus. Before she could fall to the ground, Snape rushed forward to catch her. Catching her in his arms, he too lost his balance, causing both of them to tumble onto the cold grass. The next thing Sarah knew, she was lying on her back with Snape atop her, and the cold grass beneath her suddenly seemed to heat up. Both of their chests wer heaving.

"Are you alright?" Snape asked her softly, scanning her eyes for any apparent discomfort.

"I'm fine," Sarah replied, her voice a whisper, "You?"

"Perfect," he breathed, lowering himself even closer to her. This newfound position was fast becoming irresistible.

Sarah felt her heart beating impossibly fast as he drew closer to her. She was now completely unaware of the fact that they were outdoors in the cold night air, in full view of the entire Quidditch pitch. After several more moments of agonizing closeness, Snape could no longer resist. He lowered himself to be flush with her and captured her lips with his own.

As soon as his tongue met hers, she arched up into him, bringing their hips into close contact. She sighed softly when she felt the building heat there. In response, he pushed his hips down hard into hers and was rewarded with another soft sigh. How easily and quickly he could make this attractive young witch overflow with desire for him, it seemed. While he deepened their kiss, his left hand found its way to her chest where he began gently caressing her breasts.

Ages might have passed while they lay there together, deeply kissing and caressing each other's bodies, and they would not have noticed. Snape was brought part way back to reality when he felt a hand on the huge bulge on his trousers.

"I want you," the girl underneath him whispered. With her hand squeezing his manhood, he could not easily mistake what she meant.

After giving her another deep kiss, he raised himself up and got to his feet, holding his hand out to her. Together they made their way back up to the castle at a very quick pace. Once inside, Snape had to greatly resist the urge to simply turn her into a darkened corner of some empty corridor and take her in whatever manner he pleased. Reaching the door to his office, he practically wrenched it open and followed her inside once she had passed. Desire overcoming him, he took a hold of her wrist and tugged her along with him as he dragged her back into his private quarters, into the room where his bed lay. Overcome with her own desire, she did not protest.

Once inside his room, he shut the door forcefully and flung off his traveling cloak and his robes, leaving him in a white shirt and trousers. The fireplace was lit and burning lowly, casting the room in its soft light. Sarah had been standing beside his bed, watching him. He approached her quickly, his pulse racing.

"You are wearing far too much clothing," he told her, his hands reaching for her scarf. Once he had taken it off of her and flung it aside, she followed suit and removed her robes, now leaving her in her Muggle t-shirt and jeans.

"Still far too much clothing," he complained, stepping even closer to her, his hands going to her waistband. His fingers slowly crept up under her shirt and he gently peeled it off of her body over her head, exposing her to him. When she was topless, he quickly unclasped her bra and flung it aside as well. He then pushed her down and back into the bed, settling himself on top of her once again and capturing her lips in another searing kiss.

"What about yourself?" she gasped from underneath him, taking in breath between their kisses. Her fingers went to his shirt, tugging the bottom of it out of his trousers and then going to the buttons on his collar. He aided her by shrugging out of his shirt and tossing it away once the buttons were undone.

Lowering himself back onto her, both of them sighed at the feel of skin-to-skin contact. Snape was painfully erect and he pressed his hips hard into her. He was consumed with a driving need to take her, and the next several minutes saw her completely undressed. She moaned in pleasure when his fingers began exploring her folds. She hadn't realized it until that moment, but it seemed as if some strange ache had developed there in his absence, an ache that made her miss and crave his touch.

Snape could not resist groaning softly when he found her to be extremely slick and wet; she had been ever since they lay together out on the pitch. He had been toying with the idea of pleasuring her orally, but she was extremely ready for him, and he literally ached to take the young, attractive witch beneath him. He raised himself up until he was in a kneeling position above her, his legs straddling her. Careful to be sure that she was watching him, he slowly undid his trousers and slid them down onto his thighs along with his undergarments. She sighed when she could see the proof of his arousal standing long, hard, and thick before her. It looked every bit as intimidating as it had before.

Wrapping his hand around his shaft, he stroked himself once, revealing his glans and the milky white liquid that he was slowly leaking.

"Do you still want me?" he purred down at her. He knew just how intimidating his organ was, but he knew that she could take it.

"Yes," she whispered back, her eyes still locked on his manhood. The ache she had felt apparently extended to somewhere deep inside her, and she knew that she needed all of him.

Standing quickly, Snape kicked off the rest of his clothing and looked down at the stunning girl's naked form sprawled out before him. It took a great deal of effort to turn away from the sight in order to retrieve what was necessary from his bathroom.

When he walked away, Sarah quickly sat up.

"Where are you going?" she groaned.

"The potion," he called back to her, already sifting through his cabinet for another dose.

Sarah's eyes widened. That's right; contraceptive potion. She had completely forgotten. If he had insisted on taking her right then and there, she would have let him. This man aroused her to a level that made it difficult for her to think straight. When he returned, he was holding out another small flask to her. She took it and immediately downed its contents without having to be told. It tasted unpleasant, but the sensation quickly faded when she again became aware of his daunting arousal.

After discarding the flask for her, he pushed her back into the bed, spreading her legs widely apart with his own and positioning his huge organ at her wet entrance. He lowered himself down onto her and kissed her deeply while using a hand to begin guiding himself in.

When she felt the hugeness of him pressing against her, she tensed up, recalling the pain she had first experienced. Snape noticed instantly and stilled himself.

"Relax," he whispered into her ear. "Don't remember the pain. Remember the pleasure."

He kissed the side of her neck, and she sighed and relaxed visibly. As soon as she had, he began gently easing himself into her tight heat, unable to help the sighs of pleasure that made their way out of him. When he reached a certain point, the girl tensed in pain for a moment, but quickly relaxed again as he filled her, soothing the ache that she had felt deep inside of her. The ache was now sated, and now she wanted more. She hooked her legs around his waist, squeezing him tightly and forcing him as deep as he could go.

"So tight," he whispered into her ear as he rested within her, fighting the urge to take her with abandon. "So good."

When he finally began tentatively moving within her, her moans were deep and loud. It seemed now that she was over the pain of her first time, the pleasure was even more sensational. Already she could feel a wonderful tingling ache coiling inside of her. He filled her completely, and the wonderful stretching sensation alone was almost enough to make her orgasm. Similarly, she was once again so exquisitely tight that Snape feared he would not last very long at all.

The two quickly established another rhythm together, and Snape dared to pull out more completely and plunge back in. This increased both of their pleasure to another level, and their bodies were fast covered in a slick sheen of sweat. It felt as if the lowly burning fire in the fireplace had completely consumed the entire room. When Snape's hand found its way between them to press down on the center of her pleasure, she could no longer take the building sensation. Her toes curled and she arched up into him, her legs squeezing him even tighter.

"Severus!" she moaned loudly, just before he brought her over the peak. He could feel as her inner muscles began squeezing him again and again, and her heat washed over him. He rode her through her orgasm, delighting in the feel of it, completely blind to everything but the pleasure they were taking in one another.

His own climax came up on him quickly, his pleasure pooling at the base of his spine. As she still arched up into him, he used one arm to support himself on the bed, and the other to wrap around the lower part of her body, helping to keep her hips raised flush to his. His lean abdominal muscles flexed and tensed. With a final hard thrust, he groaned in pleasure and pushed himself into her with as much force as he could, filling her with shot after shot of his seed. He released into her for even longer than he had the first time, his body having been driven into overdrive by his constant desire for the girl since then.

Letting out a satisfied sigh, he gently unwrapped his arm from her and set her to rest completely on the soft bed. Her breathing was slowing down. She was looking up at him, her eyes glazed.

"That was wonderful," she whispered. Her eyes closed of their own accord, having once again been exhausted by their lovemaking. She was again awash with overwhelming feelings of warmth, satisfaction, and security while she lay in his bed. Her breathing slowed and slowed until her world, which had only recently rematerialized around her, melted away again.

Snape, still atop her, looked down at her. Although he could hardly admit it to himself, he was awash with these same unfamiliar feelings as the girl beneath him drifted off to sleep. Recently, however, this girl had made these feelings somewhat commonplace in his world, when they had previously been so very foreign.

As he gently pushed a few strands of hair out of the sleeping girl's face, he sincerely hoped that he had managed to make up for her unpleasant afternoon.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


A/N: There you have chapter 17! I hope you enjoyed it.

This, again, is my idea of what Draco would be like after the events of Deathly Hallows. It's not as if he's going to suddenly be Harry's best friend or anything like that, but I imagine that he wants to almost completely start over in some way, and I think that he would see an opportunity like that being presented with having a new student at the school. This is why he is going out of his way to be friendly to her, in an attempt to end some of his painful isolation and perhaps make a real friend for the first time.

The flying spell was of my own design. I don't think any incantations for it were ever mentioned in canon, so I decided to invent something. It is Latin, of course, which seems to be the root of most of JKR's incantations. Being that I don't speak a word of Latin myself, I looked up some Latin dictionaries and put something together. "Volo Absque Alatus" means, I think, VERY ROUGHLY, "To fly without wings". If any of you actually speak Latin and could provide me with a more concise incantation, I would be very thankful! This will do for now, I hope.

Thank you so much for reading! Leave a review if you would be so kind :) More to come soon, stay tuned to The Name in Red!