Severus had prepared himself for pain.
He knew that if she refused him, the hurt would be unbearable. No-it would be uncontrollable.
But no amount of mental conditioning could have ever prepared him for the curdling fire that was now licking at his heart. He felt as though he were burning, yet drowning at the same time.
But of course, he was still and motionless.
He sat like that, waves of agony and emotion washing over him. He could feel nothing; think of nothing…he was alone.
All he could hear were the three words, echoing. They reverberated through his head like a broken Wizard Wireless.
The problem was, the three words were not "I love you."
No, the sentence, "I'm sorry Sev" ran on and on through his mind, hitting him like a physical blow. He could not stand the pain any longer. He longed for escape.
The words "You are my night, you are my day" danced through his head as well. She hated him. She hated hated hated hated him. That was the only explanation. She thought that he was just a useless, obsessive, crazy, filthy, time-consuming…thing. He probably wasn't even a person to her! He was just so horrible…so unworthy of her…
Sev was so overwhelmed with emotion that he could actually feel his magic coursing through his veins. He was no longer in control of his powers. It was as if he were ten again. It was as if his feelings and moods could once again cause trees to twist and whither. It was as if he was untrained, raw, exposed…
The wave of emotion crested, reaching its highest point. All at once, Sev felt like sobbing and screaming.
He felt a white-hot ball of magic building up in his chest and expand until he could not contain it any longer. Within moments, he was free of the enchantment that had bound him. He cried aloud, longing for a release from the pain.
He felt along the side of his robes for the Felix Felicis, craving the warm feeling the lucky potion could provide. He briefly considered the fact that to take another gulp of the stuff within a twenty four hour period would be overdosing, but he needed it.
Finally, his hands brushed against something cold and smooth in the depths of his pocket.
Without looking, he whipped out the tiny glass vial and sucked down the contents. After a few seconds of waiting for the warm feeling that would never come, Severus slumped over-unconscious.