10.
The house was just as quiet as it was when she left at the end of June. Kreacher was there of course, somewhere, snivelling over that Half-Bloods and Muggleborns were constant guests in the ancient house of the Pureblood Blacks. Emily didn't like Kreacher, nobody did and since her mother was a Muggle, it meant that the elf didn't respect her very much. Emily never looked for Kreacher's company, she only summoned him if she didn't have any other choice. During the time she lived at Grimmauld Place, she cooked herself and cleaned the rooms she used.
After Dumbledore told her that Harry Potter allowed the Order to use Grimmauld Place as their headquarter, she went back in an instant. It was nice to spend some time at home with her parents but their constant fussing – even if it was because they loved her – made her going crazy. During the day she won't have company but there'll be Order-meetings in the evenings and she won't have to feel alone. And of course, she couldn't wait to continue her work with Severus Snape. She had time to think about her feelings about him and she had to accept that she had a crush on him. Emily didn't understand it at first because Snape wasn't nice or attractive. While working in the solitude of the lab, once or twice he showed that he had a dark sense of humour and Emily liked it very much. And naturally, he was very intelligent, a living and breathing library. But what she really found mesmerizing, it was his deep, silky baritone which made her feel relaxed and – she didn't want to confess to herself – turned on at the same time.
On her first night back, Emily wasn't able to fall asleep. She didn't tell Severus when she was coming back, she planned to owl him the next day. She didn't dare to hope that he was also happy to see her again. The witch turned to her left side praying that sleep will finally come when she heard a noise: closing of the front door.
Strange, she thought, no one told her that they will come tonight. It was well past midnight. Emily grabbed her wand and listened. The person was walking very slowly in the hall towards the kitchen. It can't be a Death Eater, the house is warded. Yet, she felt her heartbeat quickening. She left her room and crept downstairs. The visitor was in the kitchen, the door slightly open. The witch lifted her wand, took a deep breath and practically jumped through the doorway.
'What are you doing here?' she asked the man sitting at the table with his back towards her. She pointed her wand at him wanted to tell him to turn around when she realized who it was.
'Severus!'
She stepped closer to him. The wizard sat hunched on a chair, breathing heavy, and his face hidden behind his black lank hair.
'You okay?' she asked sitting down beside him. He nodded slightly.
It was then when she realized that he was bleeding. There at least a dozen small gashes all over his torso, some of them still bleeding. His clothes were torn and bloody.
'Merlin, what happened to you?'
'Death Eater meeting,' he replied with a groan.
'You're bleeding.'
'That's not uncommon. It will stop. Go back to bed.'
'I won't go back to bed! Not before I helped you.'
'There's no need to help,' he snapped at her though his voice was weak. 'This is not the first time I was injured and I am completely capable of tending my wounds. Now, leave.'
'You can be really such an asshole,' Emily murmured before she realized what she had said. Snape finally looked at her with what seemed a ghost of a smile.
'It was time for you to realize it.'
The witch rolled her eyes.
'Come, let's get you upstairs,' she said and motioned to help him up.
'I can walk. Alone.' Slowly he got up. 'And I can go home.'
'I know you can but you don't have to.'
He was standing now, his hands grasping the table.
'I don't need –'
'My pity, I know. I'm not pitying you, I just want to help you,' she said with a soft voice. 'Please…'
He sighed and nodded. She smiled at him.
'I'm going to fetch some potions for you. The first room on the right on the first floor is cleaned and there are fresh sheets on the bed.'
'I won't stay here for the night,' he said and left the kitchen.
Five minutes later Emily joined him in the room. He was sitting on the bed, clearly in pain. She put down two vials on the nightstand and held a third one.
'Pain-relief Potion, Dreamless Sleep, and' she held up the salve in her hand, 'Dittany.'
'I can manage it from here. Thank you. Good night,' Severus said not looking at her.
'There are wounds on your back. You can't reach them.'
'Emily, enough!' He wanted to stand up but suddenly a seizure shook his body and he groaned.
'Severus?'
His skin glistened from sweat.
'It's the… the Cruciatus. Aftereffect.'
'Is there –'
'No, it needs a special potion. We don't have it here.' His voice was weak again and he was panting.
She sat down next to him.
'Then at least let me help you with your wounds.'
After several long seconds, when he didn't say anything, Emily put down the Dittany on the bed and reached for his cloak. Snape looked at her with a shock.
'What the hell are you doing?'
'I help you to take of your clothes. I can't use the Dittany when I can't see the wounds fully.'
Snape wanted to retort but another seizure stopped him. It was shorter than the previous one but just as unpleasant. Emily touched him again and this time he didn't pull away. Carefully they removed his cloak, frock coat, and shirt. The witch dropped them on the floor, later she would clean them. Severus didn't look at her, his head was down, his hair hiding his face again.
'I'll start with your back,' she said in a low voice, fully aware of the intimacy of the situation. Severus moved a little so his back was towards her. Emily was glad he didn't see her face when she looked at his back. It was full of scars, old ones, silvery lines crisscrossing on his skin. It didn't repulse her.
After using a cleansing charm she saw that the bleeding stopped. With cautious movements she applied the Dittany on the wounds. He hissed. A minute later she finished with his back and told him to turn around. She hoped that he won't notice that her face was flushed and her breathing erratic. His head wasn't hung low anymore yet he didn't look at her. His torso was thin and lean but those billowing robes hid muscles too. There were fewer wounds on his pale, slightly hairy chest but they were deep. While Emily worked on them, leaning close to Severus, she could feel his breath on her face. Touching his chest was more intimate than touching his back. For a fraction of a second she imagined how his skin would feel against her naked body.
'I'm finished,' she said and lifted her head. He was looking at her, his face only inches from hers. Until now, she didn't saw his eyes so closely. They weren't really black, they were in fact very dark brown. His gaze was so intense, it burned. Emily looked at his lips. She always thought they were thin but now that his mouth wasn't tightened, they looked full. The witch opened slightly her mouth and lifted her eyes. He was looking at her lips.
Abruptly a third, slight spasm shook Severus' body and Emily realised that her hand was still on his chest. She pulled back her hand and stood up with a jump.
'I'll clean your clothes so you… you can… wear them tomorrow,' she said without looking at him. 'Drink you potions and if you need anything, I'll be in the room just right across the hall. Good night,' she spluttered and left the room in a hurry.
When she went back to his room half an hour later his now clean clothes in her hand, Severus was asleep. When she woke up in the morning, he already left without a word.