Author Notes: Thank you to aigooism and miss_morland for the beta!

... halfway into the forest.

The forest was her friend; it had been ever since she was a child. Ever since Luna had first wandered wide-eyed into the gates of Hogwarts, she had been drawn towards it. She was mesmerised by the rustling leaves and shining blinking eyes that terrified others. It was beautiful and terrible, just like life itself. And, of course, the centaurs lived in the forest. It thrilled her to see those majestic creatures galloping through the trees, leaves brushing their bare chests, and forever fiercely protective of everything they called their own.

Luna couldn't help brushing the tips of her fingers against the bark of the trees she passed. She lifted her fingers to her nose and breathed in the smell that was so unique to the forest. There was something about this place, about its creatures that seemed almost part of her. If she reached out her arms and spun around, Luna thought that she could almost feel a connection with every owl, every possum, and of course, every centaur. Impulsively, Luna did just that and almost crashed into Bane.

"Hello, Bane," she said conversationally as she steadied herself.

Bane gave a start. She could see his muscles ripple before they relaxed again. "Welcome, young Lovegood," he said, his voice a deep rumble. "What brings you into our territory?"

Luna smiled cheerfully up at him. "I thought I'd come for a visit."

Bane raised an eyebrow and crossed his arms over his chest. He tapped one hoof on the ground impatiently. "I would have thought better of you."

"I'd heard that you had a human here," Luna said. "And I thought I'd come for a visit." She looked up reproachfully at him. "I know better than to lie to you." She loved it around the centaurs. There was something about them that made more sense than the humans she spent the rest of her time with.

"I suppose you do," Bane conceded. "And you're right, we do have a human in our midst. We have had so for many seasons now."

Luna looked up at him expectantly. "I should like to see him," she said. "But first, I would like to drink from your well. I have never had such sweet water before."

Bane inclined his head. "Very well," he said. "Follow me."

With that, he turned around and began walking slowly towards their main clearing. Luna walked after him, half trotting to keep up with his quick pace. She breathed in deeply and could feel her eyes and her very soul opening up to the surroundings. "It's beautiful here," she said quietly. Dark leaves hung heavily overhead and slivers of sunlight filtered through the trees. She could see a meandering stream by her feet and hear birds chirping softly in the trees.

Bane nodded. "Few humans like it here, though."

Luna couldn't see why not. It was so peaceful. The few times she had been here, she had never wanted to ever leave. Squinting, she could spot the dark grey stone of the well through the trees. With Bane trotting several metres in front of her, she half-jogged to the well. There was a cup sitting next to the well filled to the brim with water. When she looked over, Bane nodded. She walked over and drank deeply.

"What is she doing there?" An acerbic voice sliced through the silence.

Luna froze, her cup half-drained. She knew that voice. When she had first heard rumours, which had filtered through the Hogwarts rumour mill, of a human living here, she had wondered who it could be. Now she knew. Turning around slowly, she smiled brightly up at the wild-haired man. "Severus Snape." She put her cup down on the edge of the well. Just because she was surprised, there was no need to be rude. "Fancy meeting you here." She held out her hand. "My name's Luna Lovegood. I was one of your students once."

Snape didn't take her hand. He gave her the same flat look of surprise everybody else seemed to give her. It was odd on his face. He had such an expressive face, one made for frowns and sneers. The look of surprise seemed unusual for him.

"You look funny," she told him.

He sneered at her.

"That's better," Luna said with a smile. "Your face isn't made for the other look." She was disappointed when his face swapped to that look of surprise again.

"She is my guest," Bane said calmly. "She has always been a welcome guest here."

Snape's eyes narrowed. Luna could tell that he was suspicious. Any fool could tell that. It was in the sudden clenching of his hand, the furrows in his brow, and the quickening of the tiny pulse point in his neck. "Tell me when she's gone," he said sourly and spun around.

Luna almost expected to see a cloak swirl around his feet, but instead he simply turned and started to walk away.

"Stop," Bane said in a commanding tone. "Snape, you have been here for many seasons."

Snape turned around. "Perhaps," he said slowly.

"You've been here for over three years," Luna said quietly. She still remembered the day The Daily Prophet ran the article: "Severus Snape Disappears from Hogwarts!" The Quibbler had run an article the same day on "The Appearance of a Snow Leopard in London".

Snape's eyes looked funny as he wheeled around in surprise. "Three years?" he said, his voice sounding strangled. "That's impossible."

"Time passes differently here," Bane explained. "It has been twelve seasons already. It is time for you to leave, Snape. Young Lovegood will lead you out of the forest."

Luna blinked a few times in surprise. She hadn't expected this. She looked over at Snape and could see from the subtle twist of his lips and the widening of his eyes that he had not expected it either. She studied him through her lashes. It would be good for him, she decided. He looked very pale. Some proper sunlight would do him good. Possibly a few square meals as well. He was very thin, and looked rather anaemic.

"I will not go," Snape spat. "Especially not with her."

"We rescued you when you were dying," Bane said calmly. "We healed your wounds and we have allowed you to stay with us. Now, the only wounds you have left are inside you and we cannot heal those."

Snape sneered. "I'm perfectly happy here."

Bane raised one eyebrow. "I have heard your multiple complaints over the years about the darkness, the cold, and the wet."

"But it's just like your dungeon!" Luna exclaimed with surprise. "I would have thought you'd love it here."

Snape's upper lip curled and Luna itched to run her finger against it. It was such an interesting expression. She was going to try to copy it when she got home that night. It most likely wouldn't suit her, but she wanted to try it anyway. "I do not wish to go," he said icily. "There is nothing you can do to make me go."

"We sheltered you because of your protection of the foals," Bane said softly. Luna shivered from the undercurrent of power in his voice. Centaur magic smelled different to human magic. Not less powerful, like some thought. Nor was it more powerful, like some others believed. It was simply different. Sometimes she liked to think that it smelled like rustling leaves and slivers of sunlight, whereas human magic was like fire, water, and anger. "We promised to look after you until you had healed. You have healed, Severus Snape. We cannot help you further. She can." He pointed a slender finger towards Luna. "She will give you peace."

"The only thing she is giving me at the moment is a headache," Snape said through gritted teeth. "I did not ask you to heal me. I did not ask for you to help me. Just like, right now, I am not asking you to meddle in my life. I'm perfectly satisfied here."

Bane only looked mildly concerned, but Luna could sense anger in his stance. "You are human, Snape. No matter how much you deny it, you are human. You belong with your own kind."

"Fine," Snape said flatly. "But not with her. I'm not going with her."

"How else would you get out of the forest?" Luna asked mildly. The forest was full of traps for the overly-confident and the naive. If somebody wasn't careful they could easily walk into the lair of a giant spider. Or be beaten over the head by a gorilla wielding an axe. She reconsidered. Perhaps it was more likely that a fox would be wielding an axe here in Scotland. It was a dangerous place and sometimes even she felt lost in there. Not very often, though. It was difficult to get lost at home.

"I have my wand," Snape snapped.

"There are creatures in these parts that would not be scared off by that little stick of yours," Bane told him. He pawed almost-impatiently at the ground with one of his hooves. "You will leave with young Lovegood. It will be good for you."

"Is that a prophecy?" Luna asked curiously. It certainly felt like one. As he said the words, it felt as though a great wave was sliding through her. It was as though she was standing at the edge of a beach, facing the ocean, her toes just in the water, watching a giant wave crashing into the sand just metres away from her feet. It was beautiful and frightening.

Bane smiled mysteriously.

Snape grimaced. It was apparent to Luna what he thought of prophecies. "You can't force me to leave," he declared, his fingers curled around his wand. He held it up in front of him. Suddenly, his face took on that expression of surprise again.

Luna looked around. Bane had disappeared. And the forest around them had changed. They were still at the same place, still next to the well. Everything looked the same, yet nothing felt familiar any more. Luna sniffed the air. She couldn't sense anybody else around. It was just her and Snape who still had a bewildered expression on his face, although anger was beginning to creep in at the sides.

"Where did he go?" Snape demanded.

She shrugged. "I'm afraid I don't know," she said.

"Well, lead me back to the settlement!"

Luna stared at him. "You would rather spend the rest of your life with centaurs?" she asked bluntly. "You don't even like them. And you can't see the beauty in this place."

"I prefer this to the world outside the forest," Snape snapped.

Well, Luna could understand that. There had been many a day back when she was still a student at Hogwarts where she had wished she could just stay in the forest forever. She had wandered into the forest many a time and that was how she had made friends with the centaurs. But she always had to leave and go back to the outside world. "You can't run away from the world," she said gently. "It doesn't work that way."

Snape snorted. "Spare me your amateur psychiatry."

"Would you like me to get you professional help then?" Luna asked. "I'm sure we could find you some excellent doctors in St Mungo's." She began walking away from the small clearing. She had only gone a handful of steps before she heard Snape blundering through the trees behind her.

"Where are we going?" Snape asked, after they had been walking along in silence for a few minutes.

"Out of the forest," Luna said with surprise. "Where did you think we were going? We can't find the centaur settlement unless they let us. And I don't believe they're going to do that. They want you to leave with me."

Snape stopped abruptly in his tracks. "I'm not going."

"Would you prefer to sit here and starve?" Luna asked practically. "You know as well as I do that these forests are dangerous. Would you like to be attacked by an axe-wielding fox?"

Snape stared at her. "Foxes don't have fingers."

"Magic," Luna said simply. "Somebody could have created an axe-wielding fox." Almost on cue, there came a dangerous-sounding rumble from somewhere behind them. "Or would you prefer to let me drag you kicking and screaming? I can do that if you'd like."

There! It was an almost-smile. His lips had almost curved upwards but then at the last second had settled for a neutral line. "I'll walk," he said grudgingly. "I wish you'd never come."

Luna shrugged. She had heard that and worse before. "I wish that rainbows were made of fifty colours and filled up the sky," she said softly, looking up. Was it just her imagination or was the foliage less thick than before?

Snape snorted. "And they said that you would heal my mind."

"There are many types of healing," Luna said dreamily as she walked. There was a pathway beneath her feet now and the path was strewn with leaves. They were nearing the edge and she could feel it. The sound of creatures around them disappeared and was replaced by the more familiar sounds of children shrieking.

Overhead, the trees were thinning and they could see Hogwarts in the distance. Beams of sunlight hit the ground all around them as they walked. Luna breathed in the crisp air. The forest was her friend; it had been so ever since she was a child. She half-turned to take one last look at it before following Snape into the sunlight.

... and halfway out again.

Nothing prepared Snape for life in the outside world again. As much as he had hated the years – and he had accepted that yes, years had passed – in the forest with only centaurs for company, he thought that they were infinitely better than the babbling masses that crowded around his door asking for his secrets on how he had managed to tame centaurs.

The fools! Didn't they know anything about centaurs? Apparently not, Snape decided. Those outside his door were people who wittered their lives away, pecking at morsels of interest but never swallowing anything big enough to consume them from the inside.

There was another knock on his door. A sharp rat-a-tat sound that was markedly different from the banging that everybody else subjected the oak door to. With irritation, Snape threw the blanket off his legs and stood up. He stretched as he walked towards the door. "What do you want?" he snapped as he threw it open. He was ready to viciously tear apart any idiot who was stupid enough to visit him, when he suddenly realised who it was.

Luna Lovegood stood there, a wilting daffodil in her hair, with a bright smile on her face. She held out a bag with several containers in it. "I thought you might want some take-out," she offered.

Before Snape could respond, she had slid past him and into his house. Snape grimaced. There was something about Luna that unnerved him. Perhaps it was her unfazed attitude towards the world or her seemingly eternal sunny nature. Not that she was boring. She was anything but. Her mind made the strangest leaps and bounds that sometimes even Snape himself found hard to follow. She intrigued him. He admitted that much to himself.

Luna appeared from his living room, sans food. "Come and eat. It's getting cold!" she said and then disappeared again behind the door.

Snape shook his head as he followed her. "Need I remind you that I didn't invite you? Nor do I want take-out," he said acidly, fixing her with one of his best glares. "So get out!"

Luna looked at him reproachfully. "That was rude," she said mildly. "Besides, I'm sure you'll like this take-out." To Snape's horror, she began arranging small containers on the table. "It's Chinese food."

"I know it's Chinese food," Snape snapped. "I've had Chinese food before." He actually hadn't, but he remembered Lily talking about it. She used to have a fond look on her face as she described Mongolian beef, dumplings, and spring rolls. "Get out of here before I call the Aurors and have you arrested for trespassing!"

She gave him a knowing look as she handed him what looked like a small bun. "Try one of these," she offered. "It's a pork bun."

Snape gave it a doubtful look. It seemed to be leaking some sort of liquid.

Luna rolled her eyes and put it down on a plate. She took a teapot out of her bag and pointed her wand at it. Immediately it began steaming. "Want some jasmine tea?"

Snape wrinkled his nose. He really preferred pumpkin juice. "Do you normally carry around a teapot full of water in your bag?" he said. At the back of his mind, Snape couldn't help noticing that he had got soft over the years. Back before his years with the centaurs, he would have probably hexed her out his door already. Or perhaps not, Snape conceded, but he would have at least yelled at her to get out. Although, from what he had seen of Luna Lovegood, she was rather tenacious. He suspected she wouldn't have left.

She put a small cup in front of him.

He sniffed. It did smell like jasmine. "Why are you here?" he snapped, but it came out quieter than he had intended.

"The centaurs asked me to look after you," Luna said with a smile. "Dumpling?"

Snape took the dumpling from her fingers and stared at it. "Why?"

"Why what?" Luna asked, with a frown. "Why is a dumpling so delicious? I don't know but it doesn't really matter. It just is. I think it might have something to do with the soy sauce though."

Snape grimaced. "Why did the centaurs ask you to look after me, you dunderhead!"

"I think they're worried about you," Luna said in a confiding tone. "They told me that they thought I'd be good for you."

He snorted. "Meddling centaurs," he said, but there was no venom in his voice. After all, they had saved his life when they found him wandering in the forest, delirious and almost dying.

"They're just looking out for you," Luna said calmly. "They want to help. You haven't eaten the dumpling yet."

Snape blinked at the rapid change in topic. He was starting to feel the beginnings of a headache. No, scratch that, he thought. He already had one. There was something bewildering about Luna. She seemed to have the ability to brush off insults. She just let them flow off her like water off the back of a duck. It reminded him of Lily. She too had never let his insults hurt her, except that last time. Lily was optimistic too. It was strange, but Luna sort of reminded him of her. He picked up the dumpling and took a bite out of it. Juice flowed down his chin.

Luna gave a delighted laugh. "Isn't it delicious?"

Snape glared at her as he surreptitiously wiped his chin. If it wasn't for the innocent expression on her face, he would have thought that this was a deliberate set-up to make him look idiotic. He sighed. Suddenly he was very tired. It wasn't so taxing living with the centaurs. Although, looking back on it, he had spent most of the first year and a half recovering from Nagini's bite. Perhaps that was why he had found it relaxing. "If I eat this food, will you go away?"

"Certainly," Luna said as she popped a small bun into her mouth. "You should try these. They're wonderful."

Slowly, Snape reached forward and picked up a fork to try some of the strange food.

"I was going to bring chopsticks but I didn't think you would want to use those," Luna said with a grin. "I'll bring them around next time."

"There won't be a next time," Snape snapped. "I have a good mind to hex you out my front door now."

"But you won't," Luna said cheerfully.

Snape wasn't surprised when she appeared again on his doorstep two days later, this time toting a bag that smelled like grease. She really was a stubborn girl, he thought. He frowned and wondered if she had always been like that even when at Hogwarts, and then realised that he could barely remember what she'd been like back then. He could vaguely remember having taught a Lovegood, but he wasn't sure if it was her or not.

"May I come in?" she asked.

"I thought I told you to never come back," he snapped. "Are you hard of hearing?"

To his surprise, Luna frowned and tilted her head. "I'm not sure," she said, sounding thoughtful. "Do you think I should get a hearing test just to be positive? My grandmother is hard of hearing. It could be genetic."

Snape rolled his eyes.

"Whisper something," Luna said, still sounding concerned. "I'll see if I can hear it."

"Get off my porch," Snape said softly.

"I think I might be deaf," Luna said as she pushed past him. "I didn't hear a thing."

Snape was left with a distinct feeling that he might have just been played. He was somewhat glad that he didn't remember her from Hogwarts. He suspected she would have been one of the brats who made his teaching life hell. She probably wasn't as bad as Potter, but then again, most of them weren't as bad as Potter. He grimaced slightly. She was probably at least fifteen years younger than him if not more. It was highly inappropriate that she was coming to visit him here. After all, she had mentioned that she had been a student of his. "When did you graduate?" he asked abruptly as he sat down on the sofa opposite Luna.

She gave him a sly smile. "The year after Harry Potter."

Oh Merlin. She was even younger than he'd thought.

"I'm twenty," Luna said cheerfully. "Almost twenty-one."

"You're a child," Snape said flatly. She might have reminded him of Lily. She might have brought him back out of the forest, but there was no denying the fact she was more than twenty years younger than he was.

Luna shrugged. "You're being ridiculous," she said. "I've got food for you. I'm not asking for your virginity." She gave him a concerned look. "You aren't still a virgin, are you?"

Snape pursed his lips. He definitely wasn't going to answer that inappropriate question.

Luna opened the bag with a flourish. "I have McDonald's for you," she said happily. "It's a Muggle delicacy."

Snape sniffed. "It smells like fat, sugar, and salt."

She nodded. "That's exactly what it is."

Snape felt somewhat nauseated. To think he would have preferred it if she had brought dumplings again.

... into the sunlight

Luna wasn't sure why she kept on heading over to Snape's place. She thought about it for a few seconds before pushing it to the back of her mind. There was no reason questioning it, she thought. There must be a good reason. She was positive that, with time, she could figure out what that good reason was. In any case, Snape kept on letting her in. Every time, he was nasty and threatened to throw her out, but every time, he had relented. She had managed to give him a taste of at least seven types of Muggle food.

Some of her friends had thought it was quite odd of her to be visiting a former teacher who was over twenty years older than her, but she had brushed off their comments. After all, her friends always thought she was odd.

"Would you like to go out for a meal this time?" she asked as the door opened.

Snape glowered at her. "I told you, I don't want to see you again."

"You say that every time," Luna told him with a grin. "Come on, there's a nice restaurant that I want to show you."

He folded his arms across his chest and glared down at his nose at her.

Luna was delighted. "That expression really suits your face," she said. "Come on, you can try it on the restaurant owner."

She could see Snape's expression wavering before he finally nodded curtly. He reached behind the door, pulled a cloak from a cupboard and wrapped it around himself. "If you insist," he said, sounding grumpy. "Where is this restaurant?"

"Hogsmeade," she said.

"So a wizarding one this time," Snape said, with a raised eyebrow.

She grinned. "You'll be able to finally have pumpkin juice." He had told her about his preferences after the third time she had brought jasmine tea. Of course, the next time, she brought nettle tea instead. He had glared at her a lot after that.

Snape looked like he was about to say something rude or glare at her, but then, to her surprise, a small smile crossed his face. "Yes, I will," he said.

Luna decided to take advantage of his seemingly cheerful mood. "How about next time, we go to some place of your choosing?" she suggested as they walked. As they passed a large ramshackle wizarding residence, she spotted a Nargle sitting in the yard but decided not to point it out. Some people tended to think she was crazy when she pointed out creatures that they thought were invisible. It wasn't her fault that they simply weren't observant enough to see the creatures.

"You're, of course, imagining that I want to come," Snape said pointedly.

"Of course you do," Luna said, but she was suddenly unsure. She bit her lip.

They walked along in silence for several minutes. Luna occupied her mind by looking around for things that other people usually missed. After all, that was how she ended up being friends with so many creatures.

"There is a place in Diagon Alley I've always wanted to try," Snape finally said. "I suppose I wouldn't mind if you came along."

"Excellent," Luna said brightly. She skipped over several cracks in the road before twirling.

Snape gave her an astonished look.

"It's a date," she assured him.

Now his look was completely bewildered.

Immediately, Luna regretted her choice in words. It felt like a dam inside her mind had opened its floodgates and she suddenly realised why she enjoyed spending so much time with Snape. The first time she had gone over, it was because she wanted to see how he was and she had accidentally bought too much Chinese take-out. But a few nights later, she found herself over there again. It had become almost a habit.

She was about to open her mouth to assure him that it was only a turn of phrase and that she definitely didn't mean anything by it when Snape stopped abruptly. "What did you say?" His tone was tense.

"Nothing," Luna said quickly. A sudden thought occurred to her. "Do you know what the age difference between Minerva McGonagall and her husband was?" Luna asked lightly.

Snape raised an eyebrow. "Fifty years," he said after a short pause.

Luna nodded. "It's pretty common for large age gaps in the wizarding world." She gave him a bright smile. "Anyway," Luna added. "It was only a turn of phrase."

"Was it?" he asked softly. His voice was that silky smooth tone that made her skin tingle.

Luna stopped too. She turned around to look at him, her heart pounding. There was a strange look in his dark eyes as he reached forward to brush a strand of hair from her face. "Well then," she said, her voice slightly higher than normal. "It's settled." She bounced on the balls of her feet and gave him a bright smile.

A sharp breeze suddenly whistled past them and the mood was broken. "Well, come on then," Snape said grumpily. "You dragged me out this far. We can't stand here in the street all day."

They began walking towards Hogsmeade again, but the mood between them had changed. Luna shivered slightly. She could feel Snape looking at her out of the corner of his eyes. "See?" she said in a teasing tone. "The centaurs were right. I am good for you."

Snape snorted. "If you say so."

-fin