Destiny of Souls

Chapter 15: A Proposal

The school was humming with rumors over the next few weeks. Apparently some of the Slytherin children had been told about the events of Kara and Voldemort coming face to face. The stories became wildly creative.

"I heard she is You-Know-Who's personal assistant. I can't believe they let her teach here," she heard one Hufflepuff student say in the hall.

"Is she really an Oracle?" was the one she heard most often.

Her classes had become more difficult. The students, although afraid of crossing her in class, were also afraid to answer questions or look her in the eye. They avoided speaking to her in the hallways. It was turning out to be worse than Kara had expected.

Hermione, Harry and Ron knocked on her door late one Friday evening. She was surprised to see them.

"Come in," Ron and Hermione wore timid faces and looked positively frightened. "Is anything wrong?"

"Uh -- Professor we were just wondering - and we know it's none of our business..." Hermione began.

"Sit, and out with it. What were you wondering?" Kara asked.

They sat, quite reluctantly. Kara could read Hermione's mind "How do I ask this? You don't just come out and ask for a demonstration Hermione. Ease into it somehow."

"Tea? " She asked them.

"Yes," they all responded.

She knew just how to answer Hermione's question. The tea made itself. Their eyes bulged in wonderment as the teacups and teapot all moved of their own accord. No wand waving involved.

"Yes I suppose there is no easy way to ask for things like that Ms. Granger," she said. Hermione's face wore a look of horror.

"So you can read minds?" Hermione asked.

"I can read most. I cannot read Mr. Potter's, but I have found that I often don't need to as long as you and Mr. Weasley are around," Kara replied as she gave them a grave look. The three students had a lack of discretion at times.

"What? Why cant you read mine?" Harry asked.

"Well, its sort of complicated Mr. Potter. Voldemort, in anticipation of someone like me coming along performed Contrification on himself, and I'm guessing he passed it to you along with some of his other gifts. It essentially prevents me from reading you. I cannot read your mind and I cannot see your aura," she said as she sipped her tea.

"Aura?" Ron asked. "Trelawney talks a lot about auras."

"Professor Trelawney, I can assure you, does not see auras," Kara replied as she smiled to herself.

There was an awkward silence. Hermione didn't see Snape silently glide to stand in the doorway.

"Professor, I'm really sorry Ron and I overheard you and Snape. We didn't mean to, and if you wanted to perform an Obliviate charm on us, we would be willing to let you," Hermione said quickly as Ron and Harry shook their heads in agreement.

"Hermione I have no intention of doing that. Just remember what you heard between Professor Snape and I was private. Both he and I would appreciate it if you could keep it between the three of you," she said sternly as she looked at Snape. Little did the three students know, but Snape had actually suggested using Obliviate. Kara had refused to go along with the idea.

Hermione turned around, saw Snape and bit her tongue. Kara could read her mind saying loudly "Oh no Oh no. He is going to kill us."

Kara dismissed the three students and Snape came in to sit down. He closed the door behind him and locked it.

"Avoiding me?" she asked. It had been several weeks since the episode near the kitchens. He hadn't been attending her classes and he had avoided her at all other times.

He simply raised his eyes to meet hers. "No. Not intentionally. I have been debating with Dumbledore how this is to be dealt with." His voice was firm, but there was no hint of regret.

"I understand," she said. "Have you come to any conclusions?"

"None that agree with me. Dumbledore believes I should no longer continue to interact with Voldemort. He says it is too dangerous now. However, if I leave him, I become a target. Many of the Death Eaters have children in the school."

"And you want to stay with him..." she said. It wasn't a question.

"I need to continue to appear loyal to him," he retorted.

Kara put her elbows on her knees and rested her head in her hands. It had been a long few weeks. The last thing she wanted to deal with was Snape attempting to get her to go along with his plans against Dumbledore's advice.

Before she realized what happened she was being lifted through the air and settled on Snape's lap. He put his arms around her and looked up into her eyes. He was just as tired as she was.

"I often wonder if everything that is happening is part of Dumbledore's plan. I don't know how he discovered I had applied to the Ministry for an Auror position, he simply refused to let me turn this position down, and he knew about your powers and mine. There is no way any of this is coincidence."

"I have often pondered the same thing," Snape replied.

"He has a blue aura. An elf aura," she said.

His eyebrows raised but his only reply was "Interesting." It was as if he was already aware of this surprising news.

She raised a hand and pushed the dark hair out of his eyes and kissed his forehead.

"I need to get to bed Severus. It is late."

"Stay with me tonight," he said. It was almost a demand.

"Severus - I don't think -" she paused. Kara was internally fighting with herself. She wanted badly to remain in his company, but knew it was improper.

"Dumbledore, if he knew we were seeing each other in this way would not approve. We are at a school with young children Severus."

He gave her a wicked smile; he was amused by her self-control.

"Dumbledore already knows. There is little that goes on here that he is not aware of. In fact he came to me and asked what was wrong between us before. He knew we had not been spending time together. You forget where you were the night of the Prelation," he replied.

"How can he possibly approve?" she asked rhetorically.

"He knows you and I are discreet. It is our nature. Besides, he probably planned everything in advance and had already assumed this would happen."

"I wonder what that means to Dumbledore," she said out loud without thinking. "What is 'this'? What does he expect from this?"

"Does it matter?" he asked. His tone was slightly less amused.

"I wouldn't say it matters. I would say it would be interesting to know. Think about it. He put us in a situation where we would meet, discover one another and then allowed me to make Voldemort remove your Mark. It was as if he knew what I would feel. Does he expect something more to come of that?" she said.

"I don't see what he could possibly expect."

"Does he expect us to fall in love?" she asked point blank. "Does he expect to use me as a means to control you? He must have some indication you're here of your own will and not as a loyal follower of his."

"He knows precisely why I am here, as do you. He knows by now that I will not let anyone control me, not even you." He said as he looked deep into her eyes. There was a hint of anger there, but it was repressed.

"And I would never try," she said.

"I know," he said as she kissed his forehead again. "I am exhausted Kara. Will you stay with me tonight or not?"

She nodded and they rose to leave.

They found a few students lingering slightly past curfew as they wandered towards his quarters near the dungeons. After ensuring they made it back to their dorms safely they entered his private rooms. She took off her outer robes and settled under the thick warm covers in the pants and shirt she was wearing underneath. She reached a hand under the pillow to discover Snape had placed her book there. He crawled into bed beside her.

Kara was laying on her back with her hands to her side. The first few moments they were alone together like this were always uncomfortable for them both. After so many years of solitude, being with someone in this manner was against both of their natures. Hearing the sounds of another person in the room while she slept was unnerving and it threw off her natural sense of comfort.

He reached over and put his hand on top of hers. They lay in silence until she decided she couldn't sleep.

"Does Voldemort ever talk about his goals?" she probed.

"No, at least not with the majority of his Death Eaters. He is too cautious. He knows they are weak and will betray him. Many have. Very few went to Azkaban instead of giving in to the Ministry," he said.

"I have often wondered what his true intentions are. Just from reading about the acts he has carried out, he seems random and unorganized."

"Quite the contrary. His technique is to confuse the enemy and use the panic that ensues as a means to obtain what he wants."

"So by ensuring chaos, he can assume that people will work against one another."

"Yes. He nearly took over the Ministry before the Potter incident," he said. There was malice in his voice. "A lot of top people were willing to work with Him because they were afraid."

"Effective."

He squeezed her hand and rolled over near her. She could feel the breath in her ear. It made her shiver.

"Are you ok?" he asked sensing this.

"I'm fine, why?"

"You're shivering. You can't possibly be cold, there are three layers of blankets on top of you," he said suspiciously in a cold tone.

"I'm fine," she said.

"No you're not, you shivered when I came close to you. What is wrong?" he demanded.

"Severus, nothing is wrong," she snapped. She could see his unconvinced look in the light of the few candles that were burning. She looked into his eyes and heard "Is she afraid of me? Why does she shake when I come near her? Is she repulsed?"

"How could you possibly think that?" she asked in a hurtful tone.

He was taken aback by this question, obviously unaware she had been reading him.

"I shivered - because..." But Kara had trouble finishing the sentence and admitting what she was feeling.

"When you come near me, Severus - I -" she couldn't finish. She just sighed.

He was still looking at her, expecting an answer.

"When you touch me, or come near me - I - " she couldn't say it. She pulled the covers off and got out of bed. She grabbed her robes and headed for the door of the bedroom intent on leaving to avoid this inane conversation. The door slammed before she could get to it.

He had climbed out of bed and stood directly behind her.

"If it's not true, then why wont you tell me what's wrong?" Snape asked.

She didn't face him. She couldn't. How could she admit this feeling? It was one thing to say she cared about him. It was another to admit to him he had this uncontrollable force over her. Her heart was racing and she could hardly breathe. How is it she could face the likes of Voldemort and Polishnikov with a clear and calm mind, but she couldn't tell Severus what he wanted to know?

She took a deep breath in an attempt to muster up courage. She continued not to face him. She didn't want to see the look on his face.

"When you are in a room, I can feel your presence, even when I cannot see you. I felt it the very first time I saw you. When you touch me, or get near me - it gets stronger. "

Snape put a hand on her shoulder and moved in to hug her from behind.

"I shivered because I felt your breath in my ear," she finished, her voice nearly a whisper now.

He had his arms folded across her chest and his chin resting gently on her head.

"Marry me, Kara," he said.

She pushed him off.

"What?" she asked in an angry tone. What was he playing at? Was this a joke?

"When Voldemort is dead and all of this is over. Marry me."

She just stared at him. "You can't be serious."

"You know me better than anyone has ever known me and I would venture to guess the same is true of how well I know you. We have practically lived parallel lives Kara. It cannot be coincidence."

"No, which is precisely the point!" Kara said as she waved a hand in the air. She looked deranged.

"Nabokov and Dumbledore both know you and I. Both have played a hand in our destinies. We are not here because of minor coincidences, we are here because of those two men," she said as her voice rose. "It has stricken me more recently since we went to Durmstrang. You meeting Polishnikov, the meeting with Voldemort, and the casualness of Dumbledore about our behavior. It's as if they want this to happen."

He simply tilted his head a little bit as if he was pondering this.

"There is another way to think about this," he began in a calm non-threatening tone. "You and I are practically one in the same. We have had the same training, the same interests academically, the same family problems. We practically had the same substitute father in Nabokov. We are compatible because of this. Dumbledore knew you were an Oracle and he knew I had the ability to perform Prelation with you. He may have seen the coincidences in our backgrounds - and thought..."

His voice trailed off. He was beginning to see her point.

He began pacing in a small portion of the room. His feet were bare on the stone floor and silent. She could hear the gentle thrashing of his clothes. He was a very docile creature, appearance wise, without his billowing robes. His thin but sturdy frame glided gracefully in the room. His arms were crossed in front of him and he had tucked his dark locks behind his ears. He looked like a troubled schoolboy.

He stopped and looked back at her. They stood in silence for several minutes.

"I will never find a more suitable companion Severus. You said so yourself that first evening you came to my room. I knew then that logically you were what I wanted. Now, after everything that has happened I know that I want you in more ways than that. But I will not marry you unless you can concede that you are making this decision for the same reasons, and not because we've both been led here by two very clever wizards," she said.

He moved towards her and looked down at her. His presence was as menacing as it was the night he gave her the tour of the school.

"I am doing this because you have brought more joy to my life than I have ever known. Even when I have had close friends, no one has been able to relate to my experiences. I have never been able to share with anyone what I have gone through and what I have missed in my life. And none of them would have ever done for me what you did. There could never be anyone to replace you and that is how I know what I am doing is right."

She nodded and put her arms around his waist and hugged him. He hugged her back. She looked up into his black eyes and could feel his cold feet touching hers.

"Then yes. I will marry you," she said as she began shivering. He levitated her off the ground and looked her straight in the eyes and then kissed her. They both kept their eyes open and she could see the thoughts running through his mind. She knew at that moment that they both hoped Voldemort would die soon so they could get on with their lives.

They climbed back into the bed under the covers and she nestled up next to his chest. Kara fell asleep in his arms. Any other questions they had about their futures would wait. They had plenty of time.