Luna swirled her wand in the air with her eyes focused on the long strokes that brought an image to life in the air in front of her. She was neither bored, nor was she particularly amused by her current situation. If she was asked she would likely respond that she just was. She was existing in the same time and space as ever but her mind was far from the reality that closed in around her.
As with most true seers she not only had prophetic moments that left her drained and forgetting what had happened, but she also had vividly descriptive dreams of the future. Dreams that sometimes made her heart clench with hope and others that made her feel weighed down by stress and pressure.
Currently on air in front of her was a boy, a boy with shaggy black hair and soft blue eyes. He was sharp featured with high cheekbones and an almost pointed chin. He was roundabouts her age but the shocker about him was the shift.
He would change from soft and almost kind looking with pretty blue eyes to ugly and cruel with glowing red eyes.
This was him- the young man her prophecy had told of- she just knew it somewhere deep inside.
"Your talents never cease to amaze me." A silken voice from behind her. His deep timbre flowed over her and soothed her right down to her bones. She tucked her wand behind her left ear- for safe keeping- and left the image drifting in front of them.
"I think this is him, Severus, the boy in my prophecy." She could feel him step closer, his chest against the back of her head and his abdomen against her back. "Someone might see…" She breathed out, tipping her head back so she could look up into his face. He cocked an eyebrow at her.
"Does the idea bother you, little one? Certainly you've not cared in the past for the opinions of others." She could see the lingering of doubt, uncertainty in the depths of his dark eyes. He made to step back but she let her weight rest against him forcing him to stay or drop her to the ground.
"I had rather thought it would bother you sir. I could never be upset to be seen with you." She gave him a soft smile and he braced her by the shoulders, lifting her off of him so she would steady herself on her feet. He came to stand beside her with his eyes locked on her portrait suspended on air.
"You think this is him?" He clenched his teeth and Luna could see his jaw working.
"Yes, is it burning again?" Her melodic voice drifted across to him and she could see him tense. It was obvious to her it was, even if he wouldn't admit it. "May I see?" she held out her hand expectantly and he sighed.
"You will not take no for an answer, I presume." Black hair was shielding his face from her as his head dipped and she tipped herself so she was looking up at him from below. There was a soft smile set on her face and good nature written in her eyes.
"If you would prefer to show me in the dungeons, or perhaps your room I would be happy to come with you." His eyes flashed momentarily and she nodded before taking his hand in hers. She tugged her wand free and dropped the image from the air. Both watched as the colors swirled away and faded before their eyes before she led him to the castle with her fingers twined in his.
The halls were deserted as she led him, rather stoically behind her through the castle. It was lunch on a Saturday, of course he had not expected to come across many students. There was also the tiny detail that it was Luna Lovegood tugging him by his hand- not a stretch of the imagination for anyone he did not think.
She had never been afraid of him. As far as he knew she had never been afraid of anyone who crossed her path in a threatening manner. She had handled even the Carrows in his days as Headmaster with grace, bravery, and poise. She truly was a miraculous woman.
They descended to the dungeons and he came to walk closer to her as they grew closer to the areas of the castle he was most comfortable with. When they stepped through his classroom to his office which held the door to his chambers she turned and gave him an expectant look. Her small fingers still grasped his, holding on as if for dear life.
"Dulcis luna." She gave him the most brilliant of smiles and he really thought his life may be complete with that one smile.
"Would you prefer here or up to the room, Severus?" She asked when they stepped into his small, stifling sitting room. Her voice was a melody that washed over him and drew out all the years of darkness, of sadness, and loneliness. He felt resurrected on her voice alone. He glanced to the door that lead to the room she had created for him with the help of the castle and the doorknocker awoke to stare back.
"The room." This time he pulled her behind him through the heavy wood door and up the winding iron stairs. When they came to the stop and stepped into the warm comfort of the room she had gifted him he could breathe a little easier. He turned his eyes to her to see her staring up at him with soft silvery eyes.
She released his hand much to his displeasure and unfastened the front of her robes. His breath stalled in his chest. Of course he'd seen her out of her robes- many times in fact- but it still felt like such a comfortably intimate action that he couldn't quite wrap his mind around the idea.
She tossed the black school robes onto a chair and tossed the loose tendrils of pale blonde hair behind her shoulders before she tipped her head at him. She was wearing a lovely beige dress beneath that fell mid-thigh and lay off her shoulders- exposing the smooth flesh of her neck, chest, and collarbones beautifully. The sleeves were long and flowy, as was the fabric that flowed around her and it suited her in airy personality while accenting her physical qualities quite nicely.
In a word, she was beautiful.
The burn in his forearm was forgotten for a long moment as he took her in from the root of her flowing blonde hair to the tips of her perfect bare feet. Her shoes sat discarded beside the chair that held her robes- he had not even noticed her taking them off.
"Merlin Luna, how is it possible you are so real, and so lovely?" She tipped her head a little and smiled at him, drifting to stand in front of him and bringing her fingers up to catch the collar of his robes.
"You'll be more comfortable without these." Her voice was the tinkling of bells, the soft breeze across a field of flowers and he was lost in her soothing presence. He allowed her with much less hesitation than one would expect to pull the robes from his shoulders and slide them down until they left him completely. She lay them beside her own, another intimate act with which he was unfamiliar- another that stirred him.
He watched the fine bones and delicate muscles of her shoulders as she reached up to pull his cravat free. He stood stalk still when her fingers grazed beneath his chin and her eyes flashed up to meet his.
"Trust me…" She exhaled and he relaxed however minutely as she pulled the silken fabric free and smiled to herself at the feel of it sliding through her fingers. "I have a soft spot for silk ties, I'm afraid sir." She twitched and eyebrow and smiled playfully. He could not help the twitch of interest from his cock.
Merlin that had sounded wonderfully naughty. He could think of many ways he could entertain her with silk ties. He shook his head, shaking away the burn of those thoughts as she began to undo the buttons of his frockcoat. He stopped her with one hand catching both of her smaller ones and stared down at her. Deep into her eyes.
"Luna, surely this isn't appropriate." He managed but his voice was a husky rasp and he could not get command of his breathing. She freed one of her hands and smoothed it down the front of his frockcoat.
"I've always wondered how many there are, may I count them?" She gave him that dreamy eyed look and he felt his resolve breaking, slowly he freed her other hand and she reached up to refasten the two buttons she had managed to release already. "Best to start at the beginning, I always thought."
"One…" She pushed the button free her eyes fixated on her task. He could not help but watch as she worked the next two free, mouthing the numbers two and three.
"Four…" She continued in much the same way until she reached the very last button- the frockcoat hung open on his skinny frame. It was prepared to release him and free even more of him to this witch's eyes.
"Ten…" The last button freed she took one of his hands and averted her eyes to undo the three buttons up his sleeve.
"You believe those apply?" He felt the smirk fight its way onto his face as she focused on the last button of his other sleeve. She glanced up at him from her concentrated pose and tipped her head allowing blonde hair to fall into her face. He pushed it away and his fingers skimmed the warm skin of her shoulder she shivered and closed her eyes for the briefest of seconds.
"I believe you are far too buttoned up, and that they all apply. Sixteen fastened buttons on your frockcoat alone, Severus." She shook her head and those starlight locks bounced around her face. "I think you could set a record if we counted the ones beneath this." She pushed it from his shoulders and caught it deftly, laying it delicately over his robes. Reverently.
He could not help but to appreciate her care- those clothes were as much a part of him as his hands and feet. It was relieving to see she cared enough to take such care with his attire.
"Such a gentle soul, sweet Luna." He brought a hand up to stroke her cheek. His thumb drew along her cheekbone and she closed her eyes as a breathy sigh dropped from her lips. They stood like that for some time. One across from the other both dressed down to comfort with his hand on her cheek and her eyes closed as she reveled in his touch.
The moment was unfortunately broken when he withdrew with a hiss and grasped his forearm. The burn was back and more powerful than he could recall in moments passed and he glanced up to see her worried eyes on him.
"I'm sorry, I let myself be sidetracked." He was kneeling on the floor now- unable to stand as the pain radiated down through his body- seeming to assault his very bones. "Let me see, Severus." She coaxed his fingers away and he realized she was on her knees in front of him. Her feet were pushed into the carpet behind her as she gently guided his arm toward her. She undid the buttons that held his white shirt sleeve closed, crisp and perfect and pushed it up past his dark mark. The skin spasmed and writhed beneath the black scar that marred his once smooth alabaster arm.
She muttered words, Latin he was certain, that he was unfamiliar with and a soft white glow seemed to emanate from her. It was almost unnoticeable and would have been had he not been staring at her, taking her in from the moment he'd laid eyes on her that day.
He wanted to wrench himself away from her when her palm fell flat against the writhing skin but the coolness that immediately seeped straight into him from her hand was enough to allow him a deep breath. He sank the rest of the way onto the floor and nearly sobbed for the relief in his burning arm.
"How?" He managed on a gasp as he stretched his cramping legs out on either side of her. The remained there in the floor, him unable to move and she shifted closer.
"I've been doing a bit of my own research on the marks masters leave on their servants, Hermione has been more than happy to help. This one is complex black magic, but even complex black magic has a counter." She spoke quietly and her melodic voice went a step further to soothe him.
"Come here." He managed to grab her around the shoulders with his free arm and tug her to him. She caught herself with her own free hand, her palm flat on his thigh as she stared into his face with wide silvery eyes.
He could not help himself, whether it was the relief at the loss of pain or something deeper he was not sure. His lips sought hers with a desperation he had never felt before. Her warm body pressed against his was like heaven and he pressed his tongue against the seam of her marvelous lips opening her mouth to him. She sighed, and hooked her arms around his neck while shimmying closer. The burn in his arm did not return, instead it remained blissfully cool as he moved his insistent, demanding mouth against hers.
Her nails played across his scalp as her tongue stroked his poking delicately into his mouth before allowing his own to chase it back into hers. Her taste sweet and earthy was searing its way onto his memory to forever burn as desire inside his mind.
When they broke apart gasping for breath she took a few moments to sit with her eyes closed leaning against his chest and he stroked her hair. Her fingers parted through his own black locks and he sighed to himself as their moment changed from heated and passionate to calm and soothing.