AU, obviously. As ever, feedback is appreciated.

In rivers, the water that you touch is the last of what has passed and the first of that which comes; so with present time. -Leonardo da Vinci

She'd never forget that night, even years after it happened. Seventeen and more curious than was good for her, she'd stayed up late that night, lurking on the landing above the front door of the Burrow, hidden in the shadows. She'd nicked Harry's Invisibility Cloak, just in case, and was glad for it; her mother had been watching the stairs like a hawk, in case any of her inquisitive children were awaiting the opportunity to eavesdrop when he arrived.

Ginny would have laughed rudely in your face if you'd have suggested that he, that Severus Snape, could be anything but a slimy git. Cold, distant, and forever looking for little things to pin on her (or any of the Weasleys; he wasn't picky) so he could stick her with detention, it was safe to say that, excepting Umbridge, Snape was, by far, her least favored Professor.

So seeing him like this, with his hair tied back and his face free of the usual scowl, it really was like seeing a different person. He wore not the usual robes, but a pair of black slacks and a dark green sweater. The change in him was unmistakable, and Ginny would forever think of him on that night as, well, handsome.

The window behind him flashed with lightning, and Ginny saw the blue-black hue of his eyes glance, for a mere second, up to her hiding spot. He, like her mother, obviously didn't trust the Weasley children, nor Harry nor Hermione. Ginny supposed she couldn't blame him too much.

"Molly," Severus said, and the tone of his voice too was like Ginny had never heard. No longer biting and dripping with sarcasm, but friendly, and even, she thought, with a hint of a smile. "I need to speak with Harry before I leave." Ginny's stomach dropped. What did he need with Harry? Hadn't Harry done enough for the time being? He'd just returned for a brief stay, for Christmas, at the Burrow before he, Hermione, and Ron would be off again, continuing whatever mad mission Dumbledore had assigned them.

The Headmaster, still residing over Hogwarts to ensure its safety and the safety of its students, had forbade the three to give anybody, even the Order, details of their mission. They were gone for long periods of time, though they had, once in a great while, stayed at certain safehouses the Order had set up all around the country. Last Ginny had heard, they'd spent four days at Bill's, allowing Hermione, who was badly injured, to recover before they set off again. When they had Apparated onto the doorstep, Ginny had looked each of them over with discerning eyes, but they seemed like their normal selves, and dinner that evening was as enjoyable as normal as it ever had been when they were all together.

With her brothers and friends running all over doing things for the Order, it was, needless to say, difficult for Ginny to stay at school and be a good girl. While Voldemort's regime hadn't infiltrated the Ministry yet, it was still safe, as her parents said, for her to stay in school. But she was of age, and longed to be of some use to the cause her entire family was risking itself for. They, however, felt otherwise. If there could be even a shred of normalcy, they said, they needed to cling to it. And that meant, while it was possible, for Ginny to be attending Hogwarts.

But the magical school that had once held such sway over her just wasn't the same anymore. Sure, she had Luna, and Neville was even training under Professor Sprout, but the majority of Dumbledore's Army had left, most of them now having joined the Order themselves. Fred and George were still running their joke shop, but as they were living in London, Ginny only saw them at holidays. She felt alone, which was something she hated, though she was used to it. Being the only girl in a family of six boys often left her ample time by herself.

Truthfully, her only solace was her lessons. She immersed herself in her homework and as such her marks had greatly improved. Her frequent nightmares about waking up with bushy hair and lips set on a permanent know-it-all smirk were the only downside to this. She often sought a dreamless sleeping potion from the hospital wing.

Her father had backed into the kitchen for some tea, and her mother, having passed her on the landing, disappeared even farther up the twisting, slightly rickety stair cases to find Harry. Alone, Severus looked up once more. "I know you're there," He said softly, though loudly enough for her to hear, "I've got word for you. From Dumbledore."

After a moment of hesitation, Ginny descended the stairs.

A week later, Ginny was riding the Hogwarts Express, speeding along the snowy countryside. Luna was the only one in her compartment, stringing together a beaded necklace from the kit she'd gotten from her father for Christmas.

Sensing that her friend would quite like to be left alone with her thoughts, Luna had only made the perfunctory conversation, and Ginny was able to ponder on her own.

At first, Ginny had wondered if Severus was having her on. It seemed the kind of thing he would do, really. But Harry trusted him so, lately. Sparing any details, Harry had told the entire Order (or so Ginny had gleaned from what little Hermione would tell her afterward) that Severus was, in fact, on their side.

He'd had his doubts, he'd admitted, but then Snape had done something to prove those doubts all wrong. What he had done, Ginny hadn't the slightest clue, although Hermione said she was sure it had to do with Harry's mother, Lily.

Truth be told, it didn't matter all the much to Ginny, who was used to being left in the dark. Dumbledore, Lupin, and Harry all trusted Snape implicitly, so she would do the same. After all, she would gladly put her life in any of their hands.

"The Headmster senses your uneasiness, your restlessness," Severus had said, rubbing his chin as though mulling something over.

"I-"Ginny began, but Severus held up a silencing hand.

"You're of age now, Miss Weasley, but that doesn't mean that you're ready to be of use to the Order. It seems that Albus thinks you can be capable of rash decisions, particularly where your friends and family are concerned."

Ginny glared suspiciously at him. Was it possible that Dumbledore knew, somehow, that she had been planning to place a Tracking charm on Hermione while she slept, and when she, Harry, and Ron departed the Burrow, she had every intent of following them? Impossible! Wise as Dumbledore was, it wasn't possible that he had discovered this.

But now that he suspected...for why else would he send word with Severus, one of his most trusted members? If there was one thing Dumbledore didn't do, it was needless things.

Perhaps Snape sensed, though, what she was feeling, for he reached out, his hand finding her arm as though she wasn't invisible. "Though he may not accept it, I know you are no child, Ginerva. I, for one, trust you." And his hand brushed its way from her arm, trailing across her shoulder and collar bone, finally coming to rest on her cheek.

Ginny swallowed the lump in her throat. Her skin was on fire under his touch, and she could appreciate, now, how Severus looked ten years younger when he smiled, when his shoulders were no longer weighed down by whatever burden he had recently let go of.

His thumb brushed across her lips, and Ginny was sure, looking back now, that she'd let out some sort of moan, possibly a shiver that had nothing to do with the cold, but everything to do with how close Snape was to her. His black, black eyes looked heavily at her, until the kitchen door swung open and her father came through it with a tray of biscuits and three cups of tea.

Severus dropped his hand to his side, gave a final nod to Ginny, and turned to Arthur. As Ginny narrowly dodged Harry and her mother coming down the stairs, she rather felt that she would forever see Severus like this, gentle and smelling lightly of pine, and not as the dodgy, rude Potions master that had terrorized her life for nearly seven years.

Seeing people in a new light can be quite a shock. But Ginny was used to shocks. She may just not be all that fond of them, especially if this was the end result.