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When Freddie woke up she was alone with Hemlock in her arms. She thought, for a moment, that it may have been a dream until she stretched and every inch of her body hurt, especially between her legs. She sat up, groaning slightly.
The small vial of her blood sat on the bedside table. There was no trace of Snape anywhere. She wrapped her quilt around herself and hugged Hemlock to her chest. Snape was gone.
She noticed the bruises on her chest, small bruises on her breasts. She smiled faintly but her heart ached. He had said he wouldn't regret it, but he was gone.
She stood, shedding the blanket, and placed Hemlock on her pillow. She pulled a clean nightgown out of the dresser and slipped it over her head, still not totally comfortable being naked in his house, even if she was alone. She crossed the hall to the bathroom, relieved herself, and started to go back to bed when she caught a glimpse of her reflection in the mirror.
There were bruises, red marks, all up and down her neck, across her collarbone. Hickeys. She smiled and touched them gingerly. He had been rough, rougher than she ever expected, but it had been...amazing. Undoubtedly so.
She sighed wistfully and left the bathroom. She was almost to her room when she caught the smell of something cooking. Curious, she followed her nose down the stairs to the kitchen where she found Snape standing at the stove.
He had eggs in the frying pan, a cup of tea in one hand and a spatula in the other. There was another cup of tea waiting for her at the table. She stared at the scene before her, trying to make sense of it.
"Are you okay?" he asked, glancing at her.
"I feel like I've stepped into an alternate universe or something," she said.
"Sit down," he said, smirking slightly. "I made you tea."
"I see," she said, sitting down at the table. "And breakfast."
"I told you I can cook."
Freddie sipped the tea. It tasted like peppermint and something else. As the soreness seeped from her muscles, she realized it was mixed with some sort of healing potion.
"You laced my tea?" she asked, looking over at him.
"I thought you might be a little...sore," he said, smirking at her.
"You-" she smiled and chuckled. "Thank you."
"For the tea?" he asked, still smirking.
"Among other things," she responded, sipping the tea.
There was a tap on the kitchen window and they both looked up, startled. There was a tawny owl at the window with a letter in its beak.
"Too soon for the Hogwarts supply list," Freddie said, standing up. "Must be for you."
"Get it," he said with a nod.
Freddie leaned over the sink and opened the window. She heard Snape's sharp intake of breath and glanced back at him.
"You are not wearing underwear," he said in a low voice and it was her turn to smirk before turning back to the owl and taking the letter from its beak.
"Hey, it's addressed to me," she observed, closing the window as the owl flew away.
"What is it?" Snape asked, taking the pan off the stove burner.
Freddie opened the letter and scanned it quickly.
"Some photographer wants to take my picture for Apothecary Now to go along with my recipe," she said, folding it up. "Tomorrow morning at Hogwarts. Apparently he's already spoken to Dumbledore."
"Hmm. I would've liked more than 24 hours notice," he said, sounding annoyed.
"I could write him back. Postpone," she offered.
"No, it's fine," he said dismissively. "We will make it work."
Freddie put the envelope on the table and turned to see he had crossed the kitchen and was standing quite close to her. He put his hands on the table on either side of her, effectively pinning her in place. She looked up at him, at his dark eyes, and swallowed heavily.
"What are you thinking about?" she asked, though she was pretty sure she already knew the answer.
"Breakfast," he growled in a low voice.
"I don't think breakfast is what's on your mind."
"No," he said and stepped back, clearing his throat. "But you should eat. Sit down."
Freddie sat, because he told her to, but she didn't want food. She wanted to know what he was thinking, if it was the same thing she was thinking. He put a plate of eggs and bacon down in front of her, then sat down across from her with his own plate.
His eyes were on her as they both ate and Freddie couldn't fight the blush that crept across her face. She nibbled her bacon and sipped her tea.
"Why are you blushing, Winifred?"
"Wh- I'm not," she protested, feeling her face grow warmer.
"Don't lie to me."
"I- the way you're looking at me," she admitted. "Like you've seen me naked."
"Ah but I have," he said, smirking. "Twice now in fact."
"When you pulled me from the bathtub? I thought you didn't notice?"
"While I was focused on saving your life...it is an image that will forever be ingrained in my memory," he said, picking up his teacup. "Speaking of memory... I think it prudent, for both our sake, that I teach you Occlumency."
"Another lesson? I can't wait," she said, smiling.
"Ah but you will. Finish your breakfast."
Snape stood and took his empty plate and cup to the sink. Freddie wolfed down the rest of her eggs. She finished off her tea and started to stand. Snape was on her in a second, grabbing her arms and pushing her face down over the table.
"I cannot wait," he whispered, leaning over her to talk in her ear.
"Then don't," she grunted, and a shiver of excitement went through her as he grabbed her nightgown and pulled it up. She heard him undo his pants and then he was inside of her.
She was more than ready for him, already wet from the anticipation. He growled softly as he began to thrust into her. The force of his thrusts shook the wooden table so hard her empty plate fell to the floor and she heard it shatter.
"Please," she panted as she felt her orgasm building rapidly. "Please, can I-?"
"No," he growled, grabbing her by the hair. He wrapped her hair around his fist and pulled hard. She let out a yelp and felt his cock twitch inside of her. "Now," he said, his voice sounding strained. "You may cum...now."
Freddie let go and so did he, forcing himself into her deeply with one last thrust as he came.
He released her and stood up, pulling her gown back down. Freddie clutched the table for support as she straightened up, her legs trembling.
"I could get used to that," she chuckled weakly.
He smirked and pulled something from his pocket. He handed her a small vial.
"What's this?" she asked.
"A contraceptive. Drink it," he ordered.
"Oo. Good call," she said, quickly downing the potion.
"From now on I expect you to brew your own," he said. "Now, go get dressed. We have less than 24 hours for me to teach you Occlumency."
Author's Note: So, after my last update I got a couple of not-so-positive reviews that was extremely disheartening to me and I wasn't sure I was going to update again. I've already written too far ahead for me to change things now, but if I am losing readers I may end up taking a break from this fic for a while and work on something else.
Yes, Freddie and Severus are having a 'physical relationship' per his words but do y'all really think he's not hiding his true feelings for her? He's a complicated man. And of course he still has feelings for Lily and I'm not trying to disrespect his love for her or to go too far from canon which means I have a lot of figuring out to do before the end of this story. I still have a ways to go, of course. I mean, what would y'all prefer? They end up together or I stay canon?
