Chapter Ten – Back To Hogwarts
On New Year's Day Lyra shared breakfast with her old friends and they made promises that they would remain in contact in the months to come. They parted ways, all of them leaving via the Floo Network. Their visit had spurred on Narcissa's encouragement towards finding a husband with a strong suggestion that Ilya would be great for her. He was a strong, well mannered man from an affluent family with a job similar to her Uncle's, if they ended up together she wouldn't have to a work a day in her life much like Narcissa. Lyra was amused at her Aunt's suggestion knowing that Ilya was in fact with Feliks and that she was more career driven.
The remaining four days of Lyra's holidays went by quickly and without incident. She still hadn't heard back from Severus which at that point in time was more unnerving than disappointing. What if he just wanted to end it all and they would just lose the friendship they had built over the past four months? Lyra didn't allow herself to dwell on these negative thoughts, instead she focused on spending time with her family, even listening to the rubbish her Uncle spouted about recent rumours.
When the time finally came for her departure Draco began to weep. His display of emotions was scolded by his parents, "Men that are pure simply do not cry." Draco settled as Lyra gave him a tight hug and a kiss with promises that she would come back soon and write to him whenever it was possible.
Hogwarts was as empty as Lyra had left it. She expected for some of the students to have returned by now with the majority arriving back over the weekend but she was incorrect. She made her way back to her classroom with the want to prepare for the classes to come. As she walked around the Serpentine corridor she bumped into the Potions Master.
"Ah, Severus," she said, "How has your holidays been?"
"Dull," he said plainly. "Would you like me to help you carry your things?"
"Sure," she replied.
The two walked around, passing by a few students on the way. She suspected this was his reasoning behind the offer but she still found it strange that she needed to justify her public appearances with Severus. They arrived at her classroom and entered, going up the stairs to her office. Severus set her suitcase down and she leaned on her desk, watching on.
"So," she said rather dramatically. Severus' brows rose, prompting her to continue. "What's the plan?"
"The plan?"
"The plan," she emphasised. "Do you want me or not, Severus?"
"More than you know," he said.
"Was I right?" she asked, her tongue darting out from between her lips.
He smirked, "Why don't you tell me?" He approached her and grabbed her hand, sliding it to the front of pants. She felt his erection straining against the material. Her stomach filled with warmth as she knew that she was the one responsible for his arousal.
Lyra pulled out her wand, directing it at the door and locking it. Severus leaned over the witch who was sitting on her desk and kissed her. Lyra returned the kiss with the same passion and ferocity that her partner was portraying. She melted into his embrace as his hands began fidgeting with her clothing, desperate to undress her.
"Are you going to fuck me over my own desk?" she asked.
"It's payback for making me think about fucking you every night that's passed," he said as he pulled her top off. "Now every time you're grading papers you can think of me bringing you to orgasm."
Severus kissed the newly revealed skin which was covered in goosebumps as it was exposed to the cold air in her office. Lyra's eyes drifted closed as she savoured his touch, his mouth exploring the tops of her breasts whilst his hands sat on her waist. One hand moved delicately up her back and undid the clasp of her bra, freeing her breasts. Her erect nipples were warmed by the heat of his mouth, his tongue and teeth teasing one whilst the other was fondled by his hand.
Severus attempted to undo her pants with the free one but required two. He pulled both her pants and underwear off in one simple movement. Lyra was at the mercy of her old Potions Professor as she found herself completely exposed whilst he was still dressed. The thought aroused her slightly which he discovered as he removed himself from his kisses and dipped his fingers between her folds. Severus smirked as she watched her blush from the revelation that she was already completely soaked.
Severus knelt down, wanting to taste the wanton witch. Lyra moaned as his head buried itself between her legs, his tongue lapping up her arousal. It darted in and out briefly before moving up and licking around her clitoris. Lyra leaned back, finding it difficult to hold her body up. She surrendered to his touch. Severus' fingers found their way inside her and began to pump in and out, driving the young witch insane. He smirked in amusement against her sex, continuing to tongue her clitoris.
It felt like she was on fire, the heat spreading from her pussy all the way through her body. The sensations just got more intense as time went on. Her hips edged closer towards him, arching her back off the table, desperate for more. Severus moved his fingers in and out of her at a faster and steadier tempo triggering her unravelling. Lyra unconsciously bucked her hips back against his face and fingers to drive herself closer to her orgasm.
With a loud moan, Lyra fell apart at the work of his hands and mouth. Her body twitched slightly as she came down. Severus stood up and admired the aftermath of her orgasm, her beauty as she was splayed out on her desk. A few moments passed before she regained her senses and sat up on her desk.
"Severus Snape on his knees for a witch," she teased.
"Don't tease me," he said, "Or I'll be relentless."
"How so?" she said, her hand drifted towards his unattended erection.
Wordlessly, Severus undid his trousers, unleashing his cock that had been waiting for Lyra. He pushed her legs back open and pressed it into her with one swift movement. He fucked her hard, ignoring her wants and instead focusing on the way she felt around him. Lyra quickly fell back, gripping the desk above her head as he drilled her into it. She had been surprised at his entrance but the dominance he asserted over her was welcomed as she found herself getting close to another orgasm. Severus reached down and pinched her nipples, enjoying how she looked as she writhed underneath him.
Lyra's eyes were squeezed tight as she became overwhelmed with the simultaneous stimulation of her nipples and her pussy. She felt her pussy tighten, gripping desperately onto Severus' cock as it rhythmically moved in and out. Her orgasm came once again and the pulsating sensation drove Severus to come deeply inside of her.
He lingered inside her for a moment, enjoying the feel of her around him and the look of bliss on Lyra's face. He pulled out, tucking his manhood away and zipped up his pants which stirred the witch from her peace. "I'll see you at the meeting," he said as he showed himself out.
The woman shook her head at her lover's remark as he left her naked on her desk with his semen spilling out of her. She got up and went through her discarded clothes looking for her wand. She found it on the floor and cleaned up the mess Severus had left her with. Lyra showered once she had finished, preparing to look somewhat decent for the staff meeting that had been scheduled for that evening.
On her way out Lyra ran into Septima Vector whose classroom resided next to hers. She hoped that the Arithmancer hadn't heard through the walls of what occurred just moments before but their conversation didn't show any indication that she did. They talked of what occurred over their break, Septima detailing her participation in the latest research into the magical properties of prime numbers. Lyra was thankful when they finally arrived at the staff room, taking a seat between Minerva and Severus.
The staff meetings held at Hogwarts tended to be more casual in nature, the staff members listening as the Headmaster detailed the plans for the year before carrying on merrily drinking and catching up with one another. This meeting seemed to be a bit more serious in nature as Madam Pomfrey was whispering in Dumbledore's ear as they awaited for the remainder if the teachers. Once they had arrived, Albus stood to address the teachers.
"Welcome back," he said with a smile, "I hope you all are well rested and ready to get back into teaching. We've received a draft timetable for both the OWLs and NEWTs that will take place in June so please bare this in mind. I hope our students will be well prepared for what is to come."
"Now, on a more serious matter, Madam Pomfrey has informed me that there have been a few cases of Psyrot in the wizarding community over the past few weeks so we must be prepared and vigilant as students may be affected. I will let Madam Pomfrey explain."
"Thank you, Headmaster," Poppy said before taking the stage. "Psyrot is an extremely contagious disease that can result in death. Thankfully it is easily managed by the standard cold treatment, Pepper-Up, during its initial stages. You must look out for the following symptoms."
Poppy raised her wand and a blackboard appeared, detailing the symptoms of Psyrot. "They have been split into three different stages. Stage One is when it is most contagious and is spread through the exchange of mucus so please prevent students from kissing and ensure proper hygiene is used when sneezing and coughing. Tiredness, nausea and irritability are all also symptoms of the disease. Stage Two may cause the affected to have diarrhoea, vomiting and sensitivity to light. They may also be confused and or pass out."
"Finally there is Stage Three, which I hope we will not see as these symptoms are untreatable and there is no cure for it. These symptoms include cold shivers, pale skin, headaches, rash and convulsions. I have already sent out information sheets to all parents and hopefully there will be no one bringing it into the school but we can only hope. I ask you all to stay aware of the condition of your students and send them to me if you see any sign that a student may even be the slightest bit sick. Also, Severus, Lyra, could you two please assist me with preparing some pepper up and sleeping draught? I don't want to run out."
Lyra nodded with a genuine look of concern, she spotted Severus' head nod curtly from the side of her vision. Once they had finished eating the two of them headed down to the dungeons in order to start preparing.
"Have you heard of Psyrot before?" Severus asked.
"Yeah," she said, her face strained as she thought back. "It was back in the healing history classes, I don't think a case has popped up since the 1890's and back then it was pretty debilitating. If you can stop it early on its fine but a lot of people who got to the second or third stage were left to die until they found that the sleeping draught actually helps the body recover during second stage. From memory kids and the elderly didn't usually develop past the first stage so the people most at risk are the older students and you and me. But the whole case was pretty well documented because it held likeness to the muggle Spanish flu which to only seemed to kill those with a well working immune system. It probably has something to do with the body's reaction to the disease."
"Any idea what causes it?"
"Honestly, it could be anything," she said, pondering for a moment. "I mean it'd have to be something small enough to not be noticed when you sneeze. It could be a bacterium or virus which denatures with the increase of temperature when you take the pepper up, much like the common cold but it could also be a parasite that was small and when it fully matures you can't kill it as easily."
"You'd be good at research," he commented, "Have you ever thought about pursuing it further?"
"Yeah," she said with a half frown, "It's just a matter of finding someone in research to take me on as an apprentice. My last name has been a major struggle, it deters anyone within the UK from taking me on, I'm guessing because they think I'll use the Dark Arts and create some fucked up disease and release it onto the world but yeah, I'm really interested in developing cures for diseases and curses."
"Why don't you just change your last name?"
"I did try once but someone ruined that," she laughed, "I want to change its reputation. I don't want people to think of what my parents did but instead what progress I can bring to the healing world. If that doesn't work then I suppose I'll be rid of it when I finally get married."
"Did Lucius speak to you about what happened?"
Lyra sighed, "Yeah, he did. He gave me a lecture about my obligations as a Lestrange, that I shouldn't be messing around with you and so on, which was obviously a very effective talk." Lyra smirked at her companion but he didn't seem amused by her comment "They seemed to back off from the topic of marriage when some of my old friends from Durmstrang came over."
"Durmstrang?" His eyebrows rose questioningly.
"Yeah, they were in the neighbourhood so they came around on New Year's," she said, "Don't worry, we didn't go around using the Dark Arts and killing every muggle in sight."
Lyra's humour seemed to be lost on Severus because he was more concerned at the prospect of losing what he had with her. It would be so easy for her to find a more appropriate man, both in age and heritage, to be with as she had those connections to Durmstrang. Why was she wasting her time with him? Was it merely because they were at Hogwarts and he was there? A witch that was as talented and gorgeous as Lyra wouldn't settle for a man like Severus. He thought that he may as well enjoy the time that he had with her and not dwell on the future too much.
Their conversation died out after Lyra's comment, she sensed that Severus just wasn't in the right mindset for jokes. When the two finally arrived at the potions classroom the pair set off to work, brewing large batches of Pepper Up and Sleeping Draught. Severus instructed Lyra on how to properly translate the recipe to a bigger size as merely multiplying the ingredients wouldn't work.
"I never knew you'd have to add stabilising ingredients if you wanted to increase the quantity drastically," she said, "I usually work with small batches."
"Usually we don't teach it because the shelf life of a potion is usually rather small so making such a big batch is only useful for commercial purposes," Severus explained.
"That's really interesting," she said as she stirred her potion. "I'd love to do some more training with a Potioneer. It'd be so useful with healing and creating antidotes."
"I can teach you, if you wish," he replied.
"I'll repay you in sex," she laughed.
"Seems like a fair deal," he smirked.
The hours it took to brew the potions seemed to tick by so quickly. It was past midnight by the time the two had finished brewing, then they had to bottle it all which took another hour despite having magic on their side. Lyra seemed to be struggling to keep her eyes open.
"You should go to bed," Severus suggested, "I can finish this up myself."
"I don't know if I can even make it to my room," she yawned.
"I know you're just trying to get in my bed," he said.
"Is it working?" she asked, sliding the sleeve of her dress down.
"I can't resist your shoulders," he said in a bored tone.
"No man can," she smiled, "How about you fuck me to sleep again?"
"Fine," he said, "But you need to help me clean up before then."
Severus had never seen a witch clean so quickly and efficiently all with a wave of her wand. Lyra's magic would rival a house elf's. The bottles were neatly aligned, the cauldrons were scrubbed clean and the ingredients used packed away nicely. If only his students had the ability to clean up as thoroughly after themselves.
"Where'd you learn how to do that?" he asked.
"As a pureblood witch," Lyra started mocking her Aunt's tone, "It is my duty to be a well trained wife, adept at cooking and cleaning. Now I know, you may be thinking, shouldn't my husband have a house elf, well yes but it is still important to learn the art of homemaking."
"Is that what Narcissa taught you?"
"Of course," she said as the pair exited the room. "Could imagine my mother passing that on to me? No, I think she'd be encouraging me to follow the Dark Lord and not worrying about marriage. I know she never wanted to get married, not even have me." They walked a short distance to his office and Lyra pushed the door open.
Severus sympathised with the girl, for he also knew what it was like to have parents that seemed to not have wanted you. He had felt as though he was a mistake, he suffered abuse at the hands of his father and much like Lyra struggled with the burden of his family name. Perhaps this was why he felt such a strong connection to Lyra, he felt as though she would be able to understand him. Though their lives seemed vastly different on the surface there were threads beneath that connected them.
"At least your parents love you," he said, the words had just slipped out.
Lyra found his statement saddening, understanding the implication behind his words that he may have not been loved fully by his parents. She felt curiousity overwhelm her as she found a question escaping her lips. "How about your parents?" Lyra cringed when she realised she had asked, Severus' face remained blank. "I'm sorry, I'm not entitled to know, you don't have to share anything you don't feel comfortable with."
"My mother died," he explained, "At the hands of my father. It happened while I was at school, during my sixth year. They used to fight a lot, I'm assuming it escalated when I wasn't there and she wound up dead. He was arrested and is now in prison."
"I'm sorry, Sev," she said, giving him a sympathetic look and squeeze on the shoulder.
"I didn't tell you so you could pity me," he snapped, "I'm not some puppy you can take care of, Lily." Lyra's hand drifted away as Severus realised what he said. "You can go."
"Sev-"
"Get out!" he yelled.
Lyra obeyed, not wishing to fight him or force the issue. It was obvious to her that she inadvertently touched upon a nerve, revealing issues that had been buried underneath the surface for a long time. She understood that he would require space to process what happened but what she didn't understand was why she was crying.