When All is Lost One is Found

Chapter 44: Snowy Closeness

When All is Lost, One is Found

Author: Rinoaebastel

Chapter 44: Snowy Closeness

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter and gain no profit from this fanfiction other than writing practice. JK Rowling owns Harry Potter.

AN: This story may contain scenes taken from the Harry Potter movies and books, but it's not exact dialogue, just rewording of dialogue or omission. It is not marked.

November, 1996

A layer of snow covered everything around him, and it was the most calming view he'd had in some time.

He took a deep breath, tasting one of the firsts weeks of November. The first and weak rays of the sun blinded him for a moment as it rose. Raising his hand to protect his eyes from the light, he took a step forward, feeling and hearing the snow crunch beneath his feet.

He took a deep breath and adjusted his cloak before continuing his quiet pace; enjoying the silence and the brief time he could relax as he walked around Hogwarts' domains. He wanted to take his time, but knew he couldn't. He had to complete his task before the students noticed the new snow and potential damage they could do with the cold substance.

When he reached the line of trees that marked the entrance to the forbidden forest, he began to study the roots, removing some of the snow with his bare hands as he checked each one, not caring if his skin burned in the extreme cold. The headmaster was lucky that the herbs he was seeking didn't grow in the winter, but could still be found. The effort the purchase them would be bothersome.

The herbs were in a common place, but they were hard to find. Fortunately, this magic imbued forest provided plenty of roots to check. Roots plagued by unicorn's urine were essential for these types of plants to grow. He just hoped he didn't have to go too far into the forest. The centaurs were still furious from the previous year's events, and he didn't want to deal with them.

He spotted another root, and after cleaning it off, noticed it was rising from the land. A good sign. He crouched and removed more snow to check if there was a trace of the plant.

He frowned when he didn't spot any. He would be too lucky if he found them on his first attempt.

Putting his hand on the stem, he raised himself from the ground and went to the next tree, repeating the process.

More failure.

Severus let a sigh escape from his lips and closed his eyes. If it wasn't so important, he would've used this as a detention punishment, but he didn't trust them to remove this root. The pull had to be precise.

Feeling a warm pressure on his leg, he opened his eyes and his body tensed, reacting with instinct at a possible attack. His hand was already grabbing his wand, pointing at his side.

But his lips parted as soon as he was greeted with a soft meow. He looked down and saw a ginger furball nuzzling him. Where in Merlin did this cat come from? Normally the student's cats didn't wander this far from the castle. They tended to be stupid if they did since they were supposed to sense the danger coming from this area.

Then the cat with yellow defying eyes looked at him. A smirk crossed his features. No, this cat wasn't stupid. He knew exactly where he was.