A Little Night Music
Darkness surrounds me as I wake abruptly. Closing my eyes, I inhale deeply, ruing whatever interrupts my unusually dreamless sleep. Rolling over, I reach for Severus. He's not there.
I sit up. I am accustomed to his presence in my bed. . . His scent lingers. As I recall the night's events, the private dinner he prepared, the glorious love making, I recall something else as well: a melancholy look was in his eyes tonight. I had asked him about it, but he simply smiled and changer the subject, a rarity with him. A frown wrinkles my lips. Yes, he was here tonight, as he is always, but now he's gone. Is that what woke me?
I rub my weary eyes, willing them to wake fully. Brushing the graying hair from my face, I rise, straining to hear--to find some evidence of the cause of my wakefulness. My eyes now adjusted to the dim light, I see that the door to my chambers stands slightly ajar. Rising from the bed, I creep towards it and listen. Faint music assaults my keen ears, coaxing me to follow. Yielding to my curiosity, I grab my coarse, patched-up robes and leave the sanctuary of my bedroom, searching for the source of the music.
Everything remains silent and motionless as I slowly walk down the darkened corridors, the soft thud, thud of my feet on the cold stone floor the only disruption to the gentle music.
Shortly, I come upon a doorless room I've never seen before. Leaning against the stone frame, I take in the scene before me. The arched ceiling remains impenetrably dark, but gives an impression of height and depth, like a gothic cathedral. The floor appears to be marble, glistening like black water on a moonless night. The walls are undisturbed, barren of painting or tapestries. In fact, there only appears to be one entity in the room, a nameless shape in the shadows. The moon shifts from behind the clouds, illuminating the room from a single window, the iron grating of which breaks the moonlight into fragments on the floor. . . But not just the floor. There is a figure in the darkness, sliver strands of moonlight glimmering on his ebony hair and robes. Severus.
My hand involuntarily comes to my mouth as the music penetrates me deeper. I slide slightly down the frame of the door, watching Severus' hunched form intently. The moonlight on the glossy instrument before him echoes the shining streaks in his hair, but not enough to reveal his face.
I am entranced: unable to take my eyes from his hands as they glide over the keys, long, slim fingers rising and falling with the melody, although it is unfamiliar to me.
Powerless to resist, I move towards him, but do not alert him to my presence, the music climaxing and crashing back down to a resolution, like waves on a distant shore.
He tosses back his raven tresses, lifting his face as the music ends. His eyes, unreadable, lock with mine, searching for what I can not say. He does not move at first, but continues to sit, content sharing the moment with me.
He rises; a single tear stains his cheek, rolling from the corner of his eye and hanging on his thin lips. I do not brush it away, but run my hand through his oily, but soft, hair. I smile faintly, but I know my eyes betray the sadness that I feel.
"Come, love," I say gently, my hand dropping from his hair to his shaking hand. I glance up at the window, the silver crescent of the moon catching my eye. I turn without further comment, and Severus follows, not unwillingly. Our hands clasp tightly, as I lead him off into the darkness.
