Veronica's POV

Even though by dinner I was starving, I couldn't eat. I felt horrid that Snape had to break up a fight between me and a girl who wasn't even in my dormroom. I could tell that my two best friends and my brother wanted to ask me something, but they wisely kept their mouths shut.

Tonight, I felt no black gaze on me. Obviously, he was disappointed, and I probably buggered any chance I'd had to be with him...and it hurt.

"Eat something. You didn't eat any lunch." I knew my brother was just trying to help, but my nerves were shot. I snapped and stalked out of the Great Hall. Probably every pair of eyes were on me now, but I didn't care at that moment.

Jayden's POV

My jaw just about hit the table at Veronica's exit. When she slammed through the Great Hall doors, almost every head turned in that direction. I felt a mixture of protectiveness and anger towards her. Did she get detention with Snape on purpose? Gods, if only I had the testicular fortitude to ask her what was wrong.

"You okay Jayden?" Hawthorne's voice caught me by surprise. I nodded and leaned in to kiss him.

"Just worried. I'm not used to us not talking." Hawthorne nodded and kissed me again. Smiling, I hugged him close, but I had a nagging suspiscion that something bad was going to happen soon. (Note: Foreshadowing?)

I was quiet through dinner, and when the plates cleared away, I made my way slowly to the commonroom. I knew Vee would be waiting there to do her detention. Jenna and Hawthorne walked next to me. When we got to the portrait, I distractedly said the password.

The commonroom door opened, and to my surprise, Veronica wasn't there. She had a habit of running when things got bad, and apparently Jenna and Hawthorne knew it too.

"I'll go to her dormroom." I nodded, and Jenna rushed off. I started to pace, thinking about a place Vince used to sit, out on the grounds.

"Hawthorne? I think she might have gone outside." Hawthorne swore. Jenna came back looking depressed.

"She's not in her dorm." I sighed, then told them to follow me. As we were walking out of the door, Snape was walking towards us. He said nothing, though I wish he'd mentioned my sister. Bloody hell... Hawthorne spoke up.

"Come on, maybe Veronica's out by the Womping Willow. She told me she sat there before." I smirked. If Snape was listening, he would have heard that we were looking for Veronica. He'd go to her if he was...involved...with her.

Veronica's POV

At around 7:55, I walked to the castle again. After spending an hour walking aimlessly around the grounds, I decided making Snape angrier with me would be pushing my luck. I kept my head down as I made my way to the dungeons, not wanting to draw even more attention to myself.

At 7:59, I knocked on the door to Snape's classroom. Just like before, silence greeted me. Slightly annoyed this time, I didn't go into the classroom. I squatted down and leaned against the castle wall. About two minutes later, Snape came sweeping down the corridor. I scrambled up, rearranging my robes.

"Did you decide to respect my privacy?" I frowned, but didn't say anything. "Well, come in." I followed him and sat at a desk. Looking up, I saw that the room was lit by small dark candles.

"S...sir?" He smirked at my inability to speak. "What's my punishment?" That sounded dirty... Snape cleared his throat and took two teacups out of his robes. Soon after, Snape was fixing tea over a small burner. I set my chin on the heal of my hand and watched him. My punishment is to drink tea?

We sat in silence, just watching each other watch each other. Snape went into the back room for a few moments, and came back with a jug of pumpkin juice. I grinned widely and stood up, but Snape held up a hand. I stopped and leaned against the desk.

"For the first 30 minutes, you will start to alphabatize the class potion ingrediants. Then, you will clean all of the chalkboards...without magic." My eyes widened. So much for our "date"... I must have had some look on my face, because Snape stood up and walked right up to me.

He gripped my chin in his hand and kissed me softly. It left me wanting more, but Snape walked away. He sat behind his desk and raised an eyebrow.

"I have to make it look as if I am actually punishing you." I nodded, but remembered that the potion ingrediants were already in ABC order.

"Sir-" Snape interupted me.

"When we are alone, would you call me Severus? It seems we are past formailities." I blushed a deep red and continued my sentence.

"Severus, I noticed that the ingrediants were already in order..." I saw his smirk. Of course! "So... I'll just start on the boards." I walked over to the back room to grab a bucket and cloth. (Note: Sound familiar?) As I reached up to fill the bucket, a thought crossed my mind. My promise...

Grinning, I set the bucket down and took off my school robes, revealing once again, the neon green and black outfit. Lugging the bucket into the classroom, I smiled softly at the sharp intake of breath from Severus. It's nice to be on a first name basis with him.

Since I'd never done anything so...impulsive, I didn't know how to act sexy. I wasn't like my brother or Vince...mainly because I was still...a virgin.

Snape's POV

Merlin's balls! Veronica Richards was nothing like her cousin, Vince. She was…more innocent. Though, she had a temper on her that rivaled my own. I felt my prick harden, once again, when Veronica stepped out of my back room with a bucket of water.

Her skirt was deliciously short, paired with a matching corset. I felt like a pervert, thinking about a student the way I did; it was nothing like my short relationship with Vincent Richard, which was mostly buggering. Veronica was softer, like...she had never done this...

I swallowed as Veronica reached up to wash the boards. Bloody hell... Closing my eyes, I tried to will away my erection. I did not want to scare her so early in the game.

"Veronica...come here." My voice sounded deeper than I wanted it to be. Gods, do not fuck this up.