Author's Note: Here's the next chapter! Hopefully, you"ll enjoy reading it. Please let me know what you think. Constructive criticism is greatly appreciated.
Disclaimer: J.K. Rowling still owns everything.
2
Three weeks had now passed since Haleh had dragged her trunk down to the dungeons to move in with Severus. He'd shown her the room he'd had readied for her, had shown her where she could find everything she could need. Things had been tense at first, and that only became better very slowly. But needless to say, things were now beginning to fall into some sort of routine.
Severus was up at six thirty every morning, despite the fact breakfast only started at ten to eight. That way, he could wash up a little, check on his potions and make sure he had everything he would need for that day's classes.
Haleh would get out of bed at seven every morning so she could clean up before starting her day. After that, she would have more than enough time to get dressed, make sure she had all of her books and even go over her homework before heading for the Great Hall.
Severus would meet her back in their chambers at around quarter to eight to greet her with a stiff "good morning". He would then wait until about five to eight before heading to the Great Hall himself so no one would see them together.
Haleh would spend the rest of the day in Marianne's company, as Severus would spend his lunch break with the rest of the staff. During their free period, the girls would walk around the lake so they could talk, or hide in the library so no one could ask questions as to who Haleh was married to, which everyone was well aware of because as she was no longer sleeping in the dormitories. Because the married couples had been given rooms in the western part of the castle.
At around seven, Haleh and Severus would both be in their chambers. Every night, Haleh would instigate a conversation, always by asking him about his day. He would answer honestly, saying it had been well or not, although he would never truly tell her why. He would then offer her the same courtesy before heading for the bathroom to take a bath.
Unfortunately, that was pretty much as civil as it got. Severus was still very private, as was she. There were things in both of their pasts that they were not proud of, that were simply too difficult to share with anyone else. But in spite of that, they had managed to refrain from getting onto each other last nerve, albeit barely.
At that moment, though, Haleh was staring at Severus with her eyes widened to an almost comical extent.
"Say that again?" she asked, certain she had misheard him before.
Rolling his eyes and being just as patient as he was when teaching, he did as he was told.
"I wanted to know if you have thought about what will happen if people find out about us being married," he said.
She definitely had not misheard him, then. Come to think of it, it was a very good question. She pulled her feet up and tucked them underneath her so she would be seated more comfortably to continue this conversation.
"I had been hoping to be able to keep it quiet for a very long time," she admitted. At seeing Severus open his mouth, she quickly continued. "Not forever, I am not naïve. Just long enough to give us both the time to deal with all of this ourselves."
Severus nodded, indicating he was with her so far. He was also looking a little less irritated now that she was humouring him. Gathering the rest of her thoughts, she attempted to put them into words.
"As to people's reactions… Well there'll be positive ones as well as negative ones, I assume," she said.
Severus laughed humourlessly. Haleh cringed a little as he did that, as it was a rather ominous sound.
"Do you seriously think there'll be anyone out there who's happy for us?" he mocked, contempt dripping from his every word.
Haleh groaned, bringing her hand up to rub it across her face rather angrily. She sure as hell hadn't been expecting a nice, warm conversation, but she had hoped he would at least leave behind some of the broodiness that had been clinging to him for the past few days.
She shook her head almost imperceptibly before glaring at him nearly as darkly as he had done at her mere seconds ago. She was done playing nice. She had put up with his muttering and anger about having to share his quarters, she had respected his wish to not be disturbed unless it was really necessary when he was working, she had barely breathed without contemplating the consequences for the past three weeks, and she had had enough of it.
"Maybe they'll just be happy it isn't their little girl who's married to you," she snapped, pushing herself off of the sofa.
If he wasn't about to make adapting to the situation any easier on her, then why should she attempt to do just that for him? She should let him find out this game could not be won by a soloist the hard way.
Before she managed to turn away, her hand was caught in a firm grasp. Because there was no one else in the room, she knew Severus was holding her. She slowly spun around, bracing herself for the tirade she was sure would follow the action. But he did not speak a single word. Angered, she broke the silence.
"What? Did I hurt your feelings? Let go of me," she snapped.
Severus did not release his grip at all. Instead, he pulled her down onto the sofa so she found herself right next to him. Haleh instantly put as much distance between them as she could, seeing as he was in a rather horrendous mood and every chance of them having a normal conversation was now lost.
"You seem to have forgotten that I have no feelings that you could possibly have hurt. So no. I will, however, admit that you have a point in saying many a father will be grateful that I am no longer one of the men in search of a wife," he said.
Though he was still speaking in the same snarling, unpleasant tone there was at least some progress being made. Therefore, she sighed and sat back down. Before she spoke again, she pushed her hair back roughly, searching for the right words to say.
"Look, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that. It's just... You're not an easy person to live with," she eventually said, her voice still a little more harsh than she'd intended to be.
To her surprise, Severus simply gave her a wide eyed look and a half chuckle instead of calling her out on what she'd said. That made her feel somewhat more at ease, so she waited patiently for him to speak.
"Well, you're not the easiest yourself. You're happy than angry, hard to read. But I'll admit you have a point. I've lived on my own for what feels like forever, and I think I'll need time to get accustomed to sharing my living space. Which is why I'm grateful you're not intrusive," he complimented her.
She hadn't been expecting that. She had to admit it was nice to hear something positive leave Severus's mouth. Sometimes it seemed he was a black hole of unhappiness, it was a good change. But she kept her face neutral; too much emotion and Severus would no doubt turn back to being very unpleasant again.
"You're right, I can be a pain in the ass. And yes, the entire situation hasn't made me any more emotionally stable than I was before… But I'll try not to bother you too much with it," she promised.
Severus cocked his head to one side, staring at her intently. His black eyes bored into her green ones. The scrutiny was almost unbearable, but because she didn't want to make things worse she did hest to hide that. She succeeded, and slowly the tension drained a little bit.
"Haleh, you're not bothering me with it. I just want you to know I've noticed. And that I get it. You're young and you've been pushed into an adult situation you wouldn't have been in for years if things had gone normally. And I wanted to say that you can call me out on it if I'm making life harder than it should be for you," Severus said.
This was unexpected. It seemed Severus was making the first effort to improve their relationship. She figured it'd be best not to mention anything about it and see how long it took for him to show her a sign of good fate again. And of course, she should extend him the same courtesy and do everything she could to make life as easy as possible.
"Well, thank you for not treating me like I'm incapable or stupid. I've had enough of that in my life. And yeah, you're right that being young and forced into this aren't making things easier. But… as hard as it is to admit it, I've dealt with things that might be harder than being married to you," she softly said.
The fatigue she'd felt ever since that first week of being married was taking its toll. She couldn't have suppressed the yawn that escaped her even if she'd tried. But for some reason she didn't mind as much as she would've before this conversation.
"I think it's about time for you to turn in for the night, don't you agree? It's almost eleven, after all. And I've heard you walk around your room more nights than I care to count," Severus said, with a note that sounded oddly like concern in his voice.
Knowing Severus was right, she nodded. There'd be more than enough to do the next day, and she had important classes to attend. And she wanted to meet op with Haleh that weekend, so she could do with a bit more sleep.
She turned towards the door, feeling quite happy with the unexpected evening she'd had. It seemed surprised mightn't all be bad, as she'd believed all of her life. She might have to change her mind about that if Severus gave her another occasion to believe it in the weeks to come.
But it seemed he wasn't ready to stop surprising her for the evening though. For the second time that evening, he took her hand in his. However, there was no pressure behind his grasp this time around.
"I can tell you don't want to talk about it now. But if you ever change your mind… I will listen, even if I might not be the best at that. I am your husband, after all, your wellbeing should have a high place on my priority list," Severus said.
In an ordinary marriage it was costume to care for each other very much. But this wasn't like that. They'd need to get to know one another, and there were too many secrets in both of their lives to see them making any sort of deeper connection soon. But that didn't mean they shouldn't try.
"Shouldn't we watch out for each other's wellbeing, Severus? Try to be on the best of terms possible and help each other if the need arises?" she said . It wasn't that she didn't want to try and be friends so this wouldn't be so awkward, but she wasn't going to push him into anything.
"Well then. Here's to agreeing to not argue every time we see each other. How does that sound? Peaceful and polite enough for you to begin with?" Severus said.
Some of the old bite was back, but it wasn't as bad as before. So she didn't speak but simply nodded. This would take time and effort, more from his side than hers she was certain. And there'd probably be too many hurdles to count before things finally settled down. But she'd be patient and see where it all lead.
After all, Rome hadn't been built in a day either, now, had it?