Two days had passed. Flora spent as much time as she could in her potion master's bed. She needed him to distract herself from her own hardships.
She was walking to the Great Hall for lunch when she felt someone grab the back of her sweater. Flora gasped and stopped.
"Miss Winterstead, you are coming with me." Professor Umbridge said, letting go and then roughly grabbing her wrist and dragged Flora to her office. She handed Flora a small bottle, parchment, and a quill. "Drink it."
Flora obeyed, drinking the bottle's contents. It was veritaserum, she was going to be investigated under the use of veritaserum. Not this, not with her new beliefs, not with her suffering because of her mother's sentence.
"Good girl." Dolores said. "Where are the Order of the Phoenix's headquarters?"
"I don't know." Flora answered.
"Write your responses down on the parchment." Professor Umbridge demanded. Flora obeyed, taking the quill and writing her reply. "Do you feel any negative emotions towards Helen Winterstead's five year sentence to Azkaban?"
"No, professor." Flora said before writing down her quote.
"Do you believe that he who must not be named has returned?" Dolores inquired.
"No." Flora said before writing her response down, starting to feel the sharp ache in her hand.
She watched as her hand slowly became cut with her responses. Flora finally saw the results.
"You are excused." Dolores Umbridge said, chuckling as Flora left the room, her assaulted hand resting in the other.
Flora pulled her sweater sleeve down so it covered her cut up hand when she entered the Great Hall. It was strange seeing it so vacant, there couldn't have been more than ten students other than herself. She ate a small bowl of soup and left promptly after she finished.
Flora was almost back to the Slytherin common room when she saw Severus. She stared at him and burst into tears.
"How did you fake the Veritaserum?" Flora asked. Severus didn't answer. He wrapped his arm around her and guided her into his office, sitting her down at the chair in front of his desk.
"Show me your hand." Severus said after noticing Flora doing the best she could to hide her left hand. She revealed it before Severus took it in his own hands. He grabbed his wand and silently summoned a healing potion he specifically designed for black quill injuries. He spread a few drops of the potion onto Flora's sensitive hand. Within a few moments, the scratches were gone before they could progress into worse.
"Thank you, I owe you." Flora said. "I could have been expelled."
"She told me that you were to be interrogated and that she required a bottle of veritaserum, I gave her a false draught. She said if you were to reveal answers the Ministry found unsavory, you would have joined your mother in Azkaban." Severus explained.
"I owe you more than I thought." Flora said.
"Perhaps we can discuss repayment later." Severus said. "But for now, I believe it is time for you to know something."
Flora looked at him, unsure of what he meant.
"I was originally instructed by Albus Dumbledore to keep this secret, but I am not keen to abide by his wishes. You have the right to know." Severus said. "With your mother in Azkaban, and the threat he who must not be named presents is growing, your father has been lead to believe that the Death Eaters will come out the winners when all is said and done." Severus had Flora's small hand in both of his, she could feel a little sweat on his palms. "The default plan is that after you are finished with your schooling, your father will take you to the Malfoy Manor, where you will marry Amelio Dolohov. Just as a way to prove his loyalty to you know who."
Flora was confused. Unsure of what to make of all of this. She couldn't imagine her father taking such a big gamble. She needed proof, and she knew just how to get it.
"I'll be in the Slytherin common room if you need me." Flora said with a dainty, defeated voice.
"Flora-" But Severus was interrupted when Flora pulled out her wand at an unnerving speed and pointed it right at him.
"Legilimens!" Flora shouted.
She found what she needed quickly enough. He was truthful, that was what he was told. She broke her concentration and saw that Severus Snape, at this very moment, was an incredibly unhappy man.
"Be angry with me all you want." Flora said permissively. "I apologize for not trusting you."
"You will never use legilimency on me again." Severus snarled.
"If you were in my position you would have done the same! I've lost a safe place to go to school, my mother is in Azkaban, and now, my father wants to marry me off to Amelio bloody Dolohov to cover his ass!" Flora shouted.
She never shouted.
Especially not at him.
"My life has been turned upside down, and royally fucked!" Flora continued, now cussing out of anger, another rarity. "I have no ability to comprehend the fucked things in life because they've never happened to me before this year! I'll leave if you-"
"Flora, don't be ridiculous." Severus. "My intention was not to give you news and show you the door, my intention was to ask you if you would like to hear the alternative decision."
"Of course I would like to hear the alternative decision! I was a first year when a towering, seventh year Amelio came up to me and started calling my mum a mudblood and shouting that I was too impure to be in Slytherin! He is vile, pretentious, narcissistic, abusive-"
"Stop rambling and you might be able to hear your alternative!" Severus raised his voice, not by much, but enough that Flora was shocked enough to shut her panicked, rambling mouth. "I am acting as a spy for Dumbledore and I will be getting in contact with the Dark Lord soon enough." Severus pulled his left sleeve up, revealing the dark mark. It was blackened, alive, and thriving. "Flora, I am of a higher status among the Death Eaters than Amelio Dolohov. I can keep you safe when he cannot, and he will not."
"Severus." Flora said out of gentle shock. She watched him pull something out of his pocket. She gasped when she saw that it was a small, black velvet box. He opened it, revealing a modestly beautiful pearl ring with a silver setting.
"Flora, please, be my wife." Severus said, the slightest hint of begging in his voice. "When the year is done, wear this ring on your left hand, let me keep you safe."
Flora burst into tears before putting her hands on the sides of Severus' face and kissed him long and deep, when she broke the kiss, she nodded, the muscles in her cheeks tight from her sweet, unwavering smile.
"Yes." Flora said, blubbering behind tears of joy. She was immeasurably thankful that despite the tragedy of the world around her, she had Severus. A man not known for his nobility, chivalry, or even basic human decency, felt the need to give her that and more.