"You are a foul hypocrite! If I catch any students cheating on their school work, there should and will be consequences, no matter the house. But, no, your precious students can do no wrong in your eyes!"
Aurora Sinistra's voice was rising; she just couldn't help it. And so what if she was standing in the center of the staff room having a row with the Potions Master? He was a cantankerous old git (for lack of a better term), and she would not cower. The other professors could stare all they liked. Aurora had had enough.
"My students do not cheat," Snape said in a low voice, his dark eyes flashing dangerously.
"I caught him bullying another student into doing his work for him, Severus. And it is my duty as a professor to-"
"Your duty?" Snape interjected. "Your duty is to leave disciplinary action to the Head of House."
"If we all did that, your students would be running rampant, unchecked, doing Merlin-knows-what-"
"My students are not the ones causing trouble. No one ever blinks an eye when a Gryffindor student-"
Suddenly Professor McGonagall stepped forward. "Do not bring my students into this!" Her gaze was severe as she looked from one professor to the other, then she suddenly turned. "Oh, Albus-"
The headmaster had just entered the staff room. He easily stepped through the circle of professors that had formed around Snape and Aurora. "What is the matter?" he asked in a gentle, quiet way.
Aurora and Snape immediately began speaking at once.
"Sinistra is accusing one of my students of-"
"Severus is being ridiculous-"
"I am being ridiculous?!"
"Yes, you insufferable git, you—you-"
"You cannot even insult me properly-"
"Enough!" Dumbledore had his hands raised. The room went quiet almost in an instant. However, Aurora and Snape continued to shoot daggers at each other with their eyes.
"Now," Dumbledore continued. "As I understand it, Aurora deducted house points and gave detention to the young Mr. Harrison for cheating. Severus, you seem to have a problem with this."
"Yes. I do, Headmaster," Severus replied. "Sinistra-"
"'Professor Sinistra' or 'Aurora', Severus," Dumbledore interrupted. "We have worked together long enough to be cordial and amiable."
Aurora crossed her arms across her chest and shot Snape a pointed glare.
"Aurora, my dear," Dumbledore looked at her over his half-moon glasses, his blue eyes mildly stern. "Perhaps we could forget the detention, hm?"
McGonagall scoffed and muttered, "If you ask me, Harrison deserves a detention for once. This isn't the first time he's broken the rules."
"Thank you, Minerva," Aurora nodded at her while Dumbledore shook his head.
Aurora nervously ran a hand through her long dark hair. She hated to see the disappointed look in the headmaster's eyes.
"Mr. Harrison is now exempt from detention," Dumbledore said. "Are you satisfied, Severus?"
"No, Headmaster," Snape replied after shooting Aurora a dark look. "Aurora deducted a severe amount of house points, too severe for such mild misconduct-"
"Oh, please," Aurora exclaimed. "It would take you only five seconds to award fifty points to a Slytherin who managed to wipe his nose properly."
Before Snape could give a response, Dumbledore insisted, "I stand by my decision. Mr. Harrison will not be serving detention. Now, Aurora, Severus—let us put this misunderstanding behind us."
Aurora set her jaw and folded her arms across her chest. She knew Dumbledore wanted them to shake hands and reconciliate, but Snape was not going to do it judging by the look on his face, so why the hell should she?
Snape cast one final dark glare at Aurora and swept out of the room. The staff room door shut behind him with a terrifyingly soft click. A slam would have been less foreboding.
"Oh dear..." Professor Flitwick muttered from somewhere in the corner of the room.
Aurora and McGonagall exchanged looks. Minerva raised her eyebrow at the Astronomy professor and moved to stand by the fireplace with Professor Sprout and Madam Pomfrey. Aurora felt very much alone in the crowded room. The other professors were whispering to each other about what had just past, glancing at Aurora standing by herself. Being too uncomfortable in such surroundings, she did not stay long. She crept out quietly and made way for the Astronomy tower.
It was hard to believe that just a month ago Aurora and Severus had such heated, passionate love-making in the Astronomy Tower. Of course, it had been uncomfortable between them ever since. Aurora knew it would be difficult for Snape to come to terms with what he had felt that night. She was sure not to talk to him about it either. She herself did not quite understand what she had felt. She preferred to think of it as meaningless sex. Although, something nagged at the back of her mind, telling her that it was anything but meaningless.
Perhaps it was all the pent up feelings that made them both explode moments ago. Aurora found herself infuriated with him, but at the same time, she wanted to rip his frock coat open and have her way with him.
As she walked, Aurora absentmindedly pulled all her long hair over her shoulder and began to braid it. She couldn't forget the image of Snape hovering above her, between her legs, and thrusting into her over and over. A chill went down her spine and warmth pooled in her stomach at the thought of the pleasure she had felt then.
She heard quiet footsteps behind her. The stride and smoothness of them were familiar enough to her that she knew who it was.
"What do you want, Severus?" she finally asked, tossing her braided hair back over her shoulder so it fell down her back and turned to face him.
"I would like to give you a chance to insult me properly, since you were so appalling at it in the staff room," Snape replied, silkily.
He was very tall, several inches taller than she. And he stood with his back straight and his arms folded across his chest. Aurora looked at the buttons down his front and envisioned her own hands unbuttoning them to reveal the flesh beneath. She blinked and felt the urge to shake her head to make the image vanish from her mind.
Aurora sighed. "I have no wish to insult you, Severus. Good night." She turned back around and continued walking.
"I know what you would rather do," Severus said, his voice dangerously soft.
Aurora froze in her tracks. "Reading my mind again, Severus?"
"You are easier to read when you are distracted by emotions, Aurora."
Aurora turned back around to find him standing very close to her. She looked up into his eyes and saw the same hunger she had seen a month ago in the Astronomy tower.
"So," she said softly, pausing to lick her lips, "my emotions make me vulnerable."
"They expose you," he said, raising a hand to her neck and sliding his thumb down her throat.
He bent his head down, not breaking eye contact. She felt him inside her mind, reading the most intimate thoughts she had of him. In an instant, he knew just how sexually tormented she had been for the past month.
Aurora crashed her mouth against his, hard and demanding. Their tongues sliding against each other and thrusting into each other's mouths. Her body was pressed against his, one armed wrapped across his shoulders to keep him close and the other hand wandered down his torso. Severus' breath grew hot and heavy. He ran his hand down her back and gripped her ass, pressing her pelvis against his. She took in a sharp breath. Feeling particularly daring, she slid her hand below his waist and discovered the thickening, lengthening evidence of his arousal.
They were moving fast, but it had felt like an eternity since the Astronomy tower and they needed it badly. His mouth grazed along her jawline and reached her ear. So badly...
"Severus," she breathed when she felt a hand between her legs. She moaned when she felt the pressure of his fingers through her clothing. Severus covered her mouth with his and hungrily devoured her for a brief moment.
He then whispered against her lips, "We had best find a private place if I am to have you mewling like a cat."
"Really? Like a cat, Severus?" Aurora asked, nipping at his lower lip and looking up at him through her eyelashes. "Very well, where do you suggest?"
"Room of Requirement?"
"For a quick 'come and go'," she winked at the pun, "or a nice," she stood on tiptoe and slid her tongue into his mouth and tasted him thoroughly, "long," she placed an open-mouth kiss on his Adam's apple, "fuck?" She finished her question by gripping his cock through his clothes.
Severus growled deep in his throat, dipping his head close to hers. "The latter sounds quite... delectable."
A/N: Obviously, part two has quite a scandalous lemon, but I'm warning you just the same. Proceed at your own risk.