Ch. 7— These Dreams, Night One: part II
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Lucius came back to the side of the bed with a start. He glanced up to find Severus was studying the sleeping witch. Even as they both watched, she turned, until her back was to them, now facing the mound of pillows at her side, cuddling deeply into it.
The purpose of that mound now escaped neither of their notice.
They made their way to her sitting room, and Lucius sat with less than his usual grace on the settee. Severus sat in the wingback chair and hunched forward, his hands clasped together between his bent knees as he gazed into nothingness.
Neither spoke for a very long moment.
"What…" Severus began, "was your intention when you entered her dreams?"
Lucius looked mildly offended. "Why do you want to know that?"
Severus met his questioning gaze. "I'm trying to determine if we influenced Ms. Granger's dreams in some way. She… the nature of those dreams were… it can't be coincidence."
Lucius shook his head. "No, most certainly not." He gestured casually. "I wanted to find out if she ever had thought of pursuing a polyamorous relationship."
Severus nodded faintly. "It seems we were given more of a memory-recall than a dreamscape. At least, after the first dream shifted. Did you notice the change?"
Lucius nodded. "Yes, I gathered as much. Everything was much more tangible, less fluid. What was your intention, Severus?"
The sallow-skinned man colored up a bit at the question, but he spoke the truth evenly. "I wanted to find out how she felt about us; if she is at all romantically inclined to the suit of one or both of us."
Lucius nodded, his jaw grit tight. "It seems we are only allowed one scene at a time for I think it's safe to assume my objective was met."
"Quite." Severus responded tightly.
The both of them were alternately disturbed and intrigued by what they had seen, and sat in contemplative silence, trying to come to terms with it.
It was Severus who again broke the silence. "I would also like to know what became of the relationship between her and Potter. Weasley perished in the final battle, but as far as I can tell, he and Ms. Granger are no longer on speaking terms."
Glancing at his pocket watch, Lucius said, "We have three and a half more hours until the sun comes up. Ms. Granger may have entered into another dreaming sleep by now. Are you ready to try again?"
Severus shook his head. "What we're doing to her is unforgiveable." His voice was even, but his eyes were miserable as they met the silver of Lucius's.
Lucius rose and stood over him. "What we're doing to her is attempting to show her a far better mode of life, Severus, if she'll have us, than if she didn't. And let's not forget that we're trying to save her from that blackguard across the hall who has Gods know what in store for her."
He sighed. "The first dreaming sequence was jarring and invasive, I'll grant you that. But as we gain more experience, and Ms. Granger grows more accustomed at granting us access to her dreams, she will begin to allow us liberty in choosing the setting of her dreams, and as she grows more comfortable with the two of us, she will begin to trust us to guide her where we wish. We are all three of us learning, Severus. Have faith."
With a deep, calming breath, Severus rose and followed Lucius back into the bedroom, but he put a restraining hand on Lucius before he could reach out to 'touch' Ms. Granger again. "And what is our intention for this sequence?"
Lucius smiled, and for a moment, Severus could see a teasing light fill his eyes before his occlumency shields fell down once more. "Why, let's find out what our dear Ms. Granger thinks of you, Severus." So saying, Lucius touched her, and Severus watched as Lucius's posture shifted to lying prone beside her.
Feeling more than slightly foolish, he positioned himself prone on top of the pillow-mound beside her and bent until his breath was just close enough to mingle with her own. He breathed in deeply, cataloguing her scent, and let his breath out, closing his eyes as he was tossed once more into her dreams.
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"You are being extraordinarily obtuse about all of this, Severus."
"And you're being your usual know-it-all self, Ms. Granger."
"Just because my results are plain as the over-large nose on your face, doesn't give you the right…."
Severus blinked and looked around. He and Ms. Granger were in his lab at Lux Aeterna. And he was himself: he was Severus Snape, actively participating in her dream, not looking on. He was there interacting in her dream… or rather in her memory. For that is what this dreamscape was: a memory.
And one that had occurred just recently.
She was standing in front of him wearing her usual work uniform of dark slacks, tailored button-down shirt, and white lab coat. Her hair was only just managed by a clip that looked filled to capacity. She held a sheaf of papers in her hand, waving them in his face as she spoke; "If you'd only just sign off and let me begin testing…" her tone wheedled.
He hated it when she wheedled.
"Absolutely not!" he heard himself respond. It was the strangest sensation, being a part of her dream and not. It was almost as if he was compelled to act the way she wanted him or expected him to—a bit like the Imperius curse. "You are still leagues away from proving your initial hypothesis, Ms. Granger. And until that is proven, I cannot, in good faith, give a 'sign-off' as you put it to your testing of this experiment. It's protocol."
The papers fell to the floor, and Severus had a moment to register that this was not how the actual conversation had progressed, before his hands—and mouth—were filled to capacity with very angry, and very tasty, female.
She kissed him in a frenzy—all teeth and tongue—gnashing into his mouth as she battled him for dominance. He felt the dream-like compulsion to continue to kiss her, to clutch and tear at her clothes, to truly control, and thus, submit to her subconscious desire for him.
He broke away instead, looking down on her and breathing heavily.
Resting her bowed head on his sternum, she drew a ragged breath. "Why can't you, just once, Severus, let me have my way?" Her voice was small and plaintive.
He gulped and drew her chin gently up with his index finger so that her sherry-colored eyes met his. "And what way is that, Ms. Granger?" he asked softly.
She blinked as if not expecting this turn of events. "You denied my testing," she said.
"You didn't follow the proper sequence of protocol," he rejoined.
"You refused to look at my findings."
"Your findings are meaningless without testing to support them."
"You're holding me tightly to you."
"You're choosing to be held," he mumbled.
Minutely, she nodded, and once more laid her head on his chest, right near the area of his heart.
Severus closed his eyes and let the tide of emotion come— the elation, the amazed astonishment that there actually could be something between him and the witch he was holding in his arms. They stayed that way for minutes—possibly hours—he didn't know, but he did know that he never wanted this feeling to end.
Eventually, however, he felt eyes upon him, and he opened his own to find Lucius hovering in the doorway with a cat-that-lapped-the-cream expression on his face. He gestured to his watch, and nodded to the door. Ms. Granger had still, yet, to notice Lucius's presence.
Severus made to distance himself from her, but she held tighter still.
"No. You can't." She shook her head and burrowed deeper into his embrace. "You'll just go back to alternately hating and ignoring me, and calling me stupid little know-it-all," she gave a pitch-perfect imitation of him, "when we argue."
"Ms. Granger… Hermione."
She looked up, her eyes wide.
"I vow never to call you 'stupid little know-it-all' again. And as for the rest, I have neither hated you, nor found your presence something I could possibly ignore. Now, you must let me go. You need your rest. Dreams are not meant to last so long." So saying, Severus gently separated himself, and with a thought, was once more standing by her bed watching as she gave a quiet sigh and slept on.
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A/N: Do drop me a line to let me know what you think, won't you?
xxkattiaxx
