The next morning, Leah woke up chilly. She had wriggled out of her blankets a bit during the night, and realized upon looking down that she was showing quite a bit of leg. She wondered whether Snape had noticed on his way out... and was equally disgusted at herself for hoping he had.
The day passed normally enough. It was well into March now, and Quidditch season was in full swing. There had been several injuries, and Madam Pomfrey had a few meetings to attend, leaving Leah in charge of the infirmary. She had to intervene in several instances of "too many visitors," including several rowdy Quidditch team members, which wore on her by the end of the day.
She lay on her bed to rest for a few minutes, not leaving for Snape's office until the time was close, and upon arriving saw that he had a lot of work to do.
"So I guess we're out here tonight?" she asked, as 6 o'clock hit and the enchantment bumped her a little closer to his desk.
"Yes," he said. He seemed harried. "I also have a detention to supervise tonight around 8, so I'd like to get most of this done before then." Leah was so tired. She didn't even feel like reading. She just curled up in the chair and closed her eyes for a while.
Eventually she brought out her book. She had finished Gottlieb, and was reading a classic novel as a change of pace. It was a nice distraction from the sound of flobberworms that the unfortunate detainee was forced to sort through during his stay in Snape's office. Finally, she heard Snape dismiss the student, and begin cleaning up the various ingredients in the room. When it was satisfactory, he began heading for the sitting room. Despite her tiredness, Leah practically jumped up to follow him.
She walked into the room, and noticed that something was different. She couldn't see her bed. Instead its corner of the room was covered in a long, dark, floor-to-ceiling curtain.
She stared at it. "What on earth is that?"
"A curtain," Snape answered.
"Yes, I can see that," she replied, annoyed. "But what is it for?"
"Privacy. Now you can have privacy while you sleep. And also," he added, "it stretches far enough toward the doors that you should be able to get changed regardless of which room I'm in, eliminating the need for us to take tedious turns at getting ready for bed."
Leah didn't know what to think. She knew she didn't like it. She just couldn't articulate why.
"But... why?"
"Why not?"
"Severus," she said, getting more agitated against her will, "What's the deal here? Did you see something that... offended you?"
Snape whirled around. "Of course not. What's that supposed to mean?"
"I don't know... I just don't understand why- what was wrong with the old arrangement."
"If you don't see the advantage of being able to avoid much of the going-to-bed waiting time, then I'd be wasting my time explaining it to you."
Leah stood sullenly and stubbornly outside the curtain while he took his turn in the bathroom, and headed to his bedroom. He didn't say anything else to her, and the door shut behind him. Leah stood there for several more minutes, and then methodically went to the bathroom and brushed her teeth. Then she gingerly opened the curtain. Her bed was there and everything was as normal. She was just hidden from the rest of the room, sequestered away and shut in. She couldn't bring herself to close the curtain all the way, knowing it would get far too stuffy by morning. She opened it a crack near the head of her bed so breathing would be easier.
Why am I so angry? she asked herself as she lay on her bed, tossing and turning. Last night she felt as if something had been opened, and now it had been shut back in her face even harder than before. That was it. She cried into her pillow, trying to be quiet, knowing he'd never hear anyway, sniffling, blowing her nose, crying again, wanting to get out, wanting to stay.
She had buried her head in the pillow and her sobs were winding down, when she heard a noise close by. She looked up quickly. She saw Marley the house elf standing right by her bed, looking sad but also a bit timid.
"Oh, Marley," she said in a husky voice. "You startled me."
"Sorry Mistress Leah, Marley heard sadness and came to see you."
"Oh, thank you, Marley," Leah replied in a whisper, sitting up a bit in the bed.
"Is there anything Marley can do to help you be better, Mistress Leah?"
"No, no, thank you so much for checking on me, Marley. But I'm afraid it's not something anyone can help me with. It's... it's a long story. I think I'll feel better after I have a good sleep."
"Okay, Mistress Leah. Marley is sad to see you sad. Marley wishes she could make Mistress better."
"I'm very grateful that you're looking out for me, Marley." Leah managed a smile.
Marley said goodbye, and vanished.
Leah woke up groggily the next morning. Her eyes felt sleepy, but as often happened, she felt more at peace upon waking than she had before she slept. She lay half-awake, and listened as the footsteps behind the curtain walked out of the bathroom and into the office. She heard the tea kettle boiling, and the other familiar morning sounds. She wondered if she should get up, but then remembered it was Saturday. Snape didn't seem to be one for sleeping in.
Leah closed her eyes again and rested on the pillow. After a few moments, she heard footsteps again, coming back into the sitting room. Suddenly, she heard the curtain being pulled aside, and saw Snape standing right there, looking at her. What could he want? she thought.
"Good morning," he said, softly. His voice sounded almost kind.
"Oh, good morning," she said, sitting up quickly in the bed.
"How did you sleep?"
"Er, fine." She wanted to ask him what he was doing, but didn't want to sound like she was upset with him. He entered through the curtain and sat down next to her on the bed. Leah just stared at him, dazed. What on earth? She wasn't used to being so close to him. She caught a whiff of his scent, and also of tea. Before she even realized it was happening, he had slipped his arm around her waist.
"W-what are you doing?" she decided to ask.
"Just sitting with you. Is that okay?"
"Sure, I mean, it's fine, I... just... "
He was looking into her eyes. She looked back. His dark, piercing eyes somehow seemed to show care and concern.
"I just want to make sure you're okay. I do worry about you sometimes, you know."
"Oh. Okay. Well..." Now he was holding her hand with his other hand. She felt his warm touch on hers and butterflies began fluttering in her stomach. She couldn't believe it. All of a sudden, he wanted her? She decided to be bold and leaned her head up against his chest. She felt his cheek rest against the top of her head. The butterflies went crazy again. It was quiet as they sat for several moments, with no sound but relaxed breathing.
Leah finally decided to break the silence. She had to make sure this wasn't a dream. "Severus, I really had no idea you felt this way."
"I don't know why," he replied. "I just can't stop thinking about you."
At those words, Leah's stomach plummeted. She felt like ice water had been dumped over her insides. She had heard words like that before, and not from Snape - from poor 14-year-old boys who'd been duped into ingesting love potion.
No, no, this can't be! she said to herself. The realization was agony. She wanted to just stay here next to him for the rest of the day. But she knew she wouldn't be able to. She could already feel his hand stroking the strip of bare skin showing between her top and pajama shorts. He would keep going if she let him. She felt all tingly. She dared not look up at his face for fear that he'd take it as an invitation to kiss her. But oh, how she wanted that... But no, she couldn't do it. It wasn't right. It wasn't fair. He hadn't consented to this. She couldn't imagine how it had happened, but she was sure it wasn't his decision, and that meant she was taking something that wasn't hers by continuing.
As painful as it was, she withdrew and stood up. She knew she'd have to just get it done or she'd lose her mind.
"Where are you going?" he asked, in a concerned tone.
"I... just... I need to go check something in the office," she said, grabbing her wand and glasses, and slipping out. He followed her.
She spotted his mug on the desk as she entered the office, and quickly performed the spell to display the ingredients. Sure enough, his tea had love potion in it. Leah's heart sank. She had been holding out one small hope, but even that was gone. Suddenly, she felt him slip his arms around her waist from behind, and hold her there gently. She could feel his breath against her hair.
But I want this so badly! she screamed in her head. It took everything in her to peel his arms off and turn and face him.
"Severus, dear, do you keep antidotes somewhere around here?"
"What?" he asked, distractedly. "Oh, sure, right in that cabinet behind the desk." Leah opened it up, and was relieved to see that everything was clearly labeled. Of course he would be this prepared, being head of one of the Houses. That way she could just get it over with. She pulled out the bottle labeled "Love Potion," and poured a small amount into a goblet she had pulled out of the air.
"Here we go, why don't you drink this all down, darling."
"What is it?"
"It's just some medicine you need. Do it for me, please," she smiled up at him, hoping he wouldn't notice how pained her smile was.
"Oh, all right." He drank it down. Several moments passed, while he stood still, as if pondering something. Gradually, his face hardened, and his brow furrowed in an angry sort of way. Leah wanted to cry.
He sank into his desk chair and looked at her questioningly.
"What just happened?" he asked. His regular Snape tone was back with a vengeance.
"Well, somehow you had love potion in your tea. So I just gave you the antidote."
"What? Who put it in there?" he asked, threateningly.
"Well it certainly wasn't ME!" Leah almost shouted, annoyed that he'd even be considering such a thing.
"Who else would have had access to my mug? Or rather... the water. That must have been it. I don't usually change the water." With that, he confirmed with a flick of his wand that the kettle had been the source, and proceeded to clean it out.
"I'm so sorry, I can't imagine why anyone would do that," said Leah.
"You're sorry? I'm sorry! You're the one who was inflicted with the effects of all this."
"Do you remember what you did?"
"It's fuzzy. But anyway... I'm sorry you went through it all the same."
"It's okay. My real problem was that you hadn't consented to it."
"Knew it was out of character, did you?"
"No. What tipped me off was when you said you couldn't stop thinking about me. That's a classic love-potion-induced phrase. Although, honestly, I should have known from the beginning that something wasn't right."
"Indeed."
"But wouldn't you have gone after whoever put the love potion there? Can it be manipulated like that?"
"It can," said Snape. "Much like polyjuice potion. With a hair or something of the intended person, it can be done."
Suddenly, a thought dawned on Leah. "Marley," she moaned.
"What?"
"I... think it might have been Marley."
"Well... call her then!"
"Only if you promise you won't hurt her or yell at her!"
Snape rolled his eyes. "Oh fine."
"Marley!" Leah called. "Could you come here?"
Marley arrived with a pop. She was shrinking and twisting her hands together nervously. Guilt was written all over her face.
Leah stepped up to her. "Marley," she said gently. "I need you to tell me the truth. Did you put love potion in Professor Snape's tea kettle?"
"Oh Mistress Leah, Marley did, and Marley is so sorry!" she wailed. Large tears started falling down her face. "Marley is just wanting to make you happy, Mistress Leah."
Snape sneered at Leah. "What on earth have you been saying to her?"
"Nothing!" Leah snapped. "She did catch me crying last night when I was in bed, but I didn't tell her anything about why, and I've never said a word to her about you. But she did say she wanted to do something to fix it. That's not a fix anyone needs though."
"Indeed!"
"Marley," Leah said, returning to the elf. "I'm so glad that you were concerned about me. But you have to know, it's never okay to give love potion to someone else. That's because it makes the person do things they don't have control over, and it means they aren't able to consent to what they're doing. And that can cause problems." Leah wasn't sure how much was getting through to the elf, but her big eyes were watching Leah closely as she talked.
"Marley did not mean for that to be happening!" she began crying again.
"I know, Marley. And you know what? Professor Snape had the antidote right here, so it's all over now. We're okay. So thank you so much for wanting to help me. I'm not angry at you, I just want you to remember not to do that again, okay?"
"Okay, Mistress Leah. Marley will always do as Mistress Leah says."
"You may go now. Thank you, Marley." She disapparated with a pop, wiping her eyes, but not looking nearly as agitated as she had in the beginning.
Snape was watching with an incredulous look on his face. He looked over to Leah and saw how stricken she appeared.
"What's the matter?" he asked.
"Oh, it's just... how do you explain consent to someone who's never even had any to begin with?"
