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VIII
Fidelity
The next morning Severus woke up to find himself alone in the bed. He frowned; Juliana normally fell asleep before him and woke up after. He went to the bathroom expecting to find it occupied by her, but it was empty. He got dressed quickly and decided to look for her downstairs.
The absolute silence in the house was a bit unsettling, but he just kept on moving towards the kitchen. A loud scream of Surprise! was heard once he walked through the door, and he was greeted by a big poster hanging on the wall that said "HAPPY EARLY BIRTHDAY SEVERUS". On the table was a big cake with the same words written on it. Thankfully, this time Juliana's entire family wasn't there to greet him; instead there was only her, her mother, her aunt Laura with her husband Henry, and little Teresa.
He quickly realized he'd been just standing there, not moving and completely silent. He opened his mouth but no words would come out, no matter how hard he wanted to speak. He just didn't know what to say, he didn't know how to act. The situation was overwhelming; he wouldn't have expected something like this in a million years. Juliana noticed how anxious he was feeling and walked to stand in front of him, making sure he only focused on her. She pecked his lips and hugged him tightly, her mouth moving to his right ear. He returned the hug and buried his head on her shoulder, closing his eyes tightly.
"You know we leave tomorrow, so this was our last chance to celebrate your birthday properly. I thought that we should do this and surprise you. Are you feeling okay? If you're not, you don't have to stay. Just tell me." She whispered gently.
"It's perfect. I love you so much." He answered, his voice a bit muffled because of his position. They pulled away and were greeted by Juliana's family looking at them like they were two cute puppies. Juliana held his hand and squeezed, showing her support. He took a deep breath and started talking.
"I—" He struggled to speak so she held his hand tighter. "I really don't know what to say. Thank you so much, no one ever did something like this for me." Just as he said this, he felt something poking his leg. When he looked down, he realized that something was actually someone, and that someone was Teresa.
She motioned him to come down with her little hand and he kneeled. She grabbed his hand and pulled something from her pocket. It was a bracelet, and it looked like she'd made it herself.
"Happy birthday." She said as put it on his hand before hugging him. He was taken by surprise so he didn't know what to do, but after a moment he reacted and hugged her back. He saw a bright light and when he looked up, Juliana was smiling wide with her camera on her hands.
"Can you tell her I love it?" Severus told her with a smile. She grinned wide and nodded, leaning down to speak to Teresa.
"Severus says he loves it, and thank you." The little girl beamed at him and scurried away.
"She's head over heels in love with you." Juliana said in a singsong voice, laughing when he rolled his eyes at her.
…
Severus had an amazing last day at Juliana's house, and once they were lying in bed together ready to get a full night's rest for tomorrow, he decided he needed to talk to her.
"Juliana?" He whispered, careful to not wake her in case she was sleeping. She had her back pressed against his chest, so she turned around to see his face.
"Yeah?" She whispered, and he noticed she'd been on the verge of falling asleep.
"I've been thinking a lot about this, and I've decided that I have to tell you what's on my mind because you need to know it." She raised one eyebrow and nodded, motioning him to go on. "I wanted to thank you for doing all of this for me, for us. I know there are days when I have a hard time showing you how I feel but you need to know that I love you. I love you so much that sometimes I wonder if all of this is really happening; if it's true that you're in love with me and we're together. And you need to know that I have never felt what I feel for you for anyone else." Juliana was already tearing up but with that she looked at him surprised. His last words held an extremely heavy meaning for her.
"Are— are you sure?" She asked, her voice shaking with emotion. He nodded seriously.
"Merlin, yes. I love you more than anything." He replied. She held his gaze for a few moments before pulling him to her, kissing him with passion before moving to straddle him.
"I love you even more." She whispered in his ear enjoying the way his body tensed with arousal, before joining their lips in a hungry kiss.
...
The goodbye was a warm one, with Isabel telling him how much she loved to meet him and how much she expected him to come back; with Teresa trying to hide her tears, which earned her a kiss on the cheek by Severus that made her smile, and her parents telling him it had been a pleasure to know him.
Before they realized it, they were already back on the cottage. It was very cold, and reality hit Severus on the face like a ton of bricks. The past two weeks had been a gift from heaven, but now everything would be the same again. Juliana noticed the change on his mood immediately as usual, so she walked to him and hugged him tightly.
"We will be back." She assured. He just smiled sadly and kissed her hair. "Now, how about a bath? And before you ask, that's definitely an invitation."
...
"Okay." Juliana said as she put her coat on. "I will call two cabs. I will get down on Kings Cross and you wherever you want. Just make sure it's a wizard free place." He nodded and she grabbed the phone.
Twenty minutes later, two cars were waiting for them outside.
"I'll see you soon. I love you." She said kissing him with all she had before opening the door and walking to her car. He closed it behind him and did the same.
...
This time he didn't have the bad luck to see Black, and boarded the train with no problems. He found an empty compartment and sat with a sigh. Hours later, he was joined by someone.
"Avery." He said with a nod.
"Severus." He said suspiciously. "Have you been under the sun? You don't look so pale." Severus inner alarms went off immediately, but his face did not betray him.
"I had work to do this holiday." He said without implying anything, but Avery— being the Dark Lord fanatic he was— instantly thought he was talking about Voldemort.
"I understand. I had work to do, too." He said with a dark smile. Then he chose to remain silent for a while, apparently thinking about what he was going to say next. "You already know what you are doing after school, right Severus? I mean... potions are always needed, and with a skill like yours... Many doors could be opened if you knew the right people to talk to. I, myself, have many connections." Severus narrowed his eyes at him.
"What are you looking for here, Avery?" He asked impatiently but carefully.
"Ah! I believe we both know the answer to that question. I know you are good, I can imagine how pleased He would be if I brought to him someone as skilled as you to serve his cause." The hair on Severus' neck stood up. "You do know where your loyalties lay, don't you, Severus? It would be a shame for the Slytherin house if someone betrayed us, and everyone knows you had quite the relationship with that disgusting mudblood before. We wouldn't want you to make any mistakes like that again, wouldn't we?" He asked, playing with the wand on his hands. Severus jaw was set, but he knew he couldn't say anything. Evil things were said about Avery and about his father, and all of them were true. If he decided to murder Severus right there, he was probably going to get away with it. So he just nodded and answered with the truth.
"I always know where my loyalties lay."
...
Severus was having a tough week. Exams were coming up and both he and Juliana were studying hard, so they didn't see each other as much as they wanted to.
The night before his birthday he went to bed early. He was moody and didn't want to be disturbed. No one but Juliana (and her) knew it was his birthday, and even if they did, they wouldn't even bother to say anything to him.
He fell asleep remembering the surprise party Juliana had given him, wishing she was there to keep him company.
At some point during the night, he turned on his bed only to be awoken by something hard on his back. He rose immediately and lit up the bed with his wand. He didn't care about anyone seeing, his drapes where always closed and had a charm on them.
On his bed was a box with a small envelope on top that read Severus. He recognized the handwriting in a second. He opened it to find a little letter inside.
I hope you like it. Don't worry about anyone seeing it; it's heavily enchanted, like this letter. Don't destroy it.
Happy birthday
I love you more
J.
He opened the box to find a rather fat brown photo album, with an S and a J written on silver letters. He already knew what was inside, but that didn't keep him from being surprised.
There were so many pictures he didn't even know she had taken, and they were all amazing. This was the best gift she could give him. This was a way to make him see that everything that had happened wasn't a dream.
The good memories were all real.
No... I love you more, he thought.
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