The Adventures of The Misfit Professors
Chapter 15 Part 1
"The Man Named Sev"
By: Deep Shadows and Eckostalker
Alexis rolled over in her bed, struggling to find her pillow in her bed. She sat up and found that her head was at the bottom of the bed and her feet at the top. She groaned tiredly, thinking that she'd go back to bed, but then spotted her clock, which read in big blinking numbers. 7:55 am. She sighed, knowing that if she went back to sleep, she wouldn't get up in time to meet Severus for breakfast and Hoggesmeade. That, or she'd wake up to him carrying her again, which was too weird for her to let that happen again. She got up, stumbling to her bathroom for a quick shower.
She finished and dressed into dark blue jeans and a long sleeved blue camoflauge shirt, tying on her boots and grabbing her cloaks, dragging them behind her as she left her room with a huge yawn. She stumbled down the hall towards Severus's quarters, wondering what she wanted for breakfast. It was time like these she wished she could cook, then wouldn't have to worry about a set time to eat. She'd eat whenever she wanted to then. But the last time someone had tried to teach her to cook, the household had to buy a new stove and counter top. No, she hadn't had many lessons since then.
She found Severus's quarters, knocking on them, thinking that he was already up and halfway through making breakfast. She looked around her curiously, then heard shuffling footsteps, and the door being unlocked, and the portrait swung open to reveal a wearied looking Severus Snape dressed only in pajama pants.
Alexis raised her eyebrow in surprise, and he stared at her incredulously. "Do you not know the meaning of 8:30 am Alexis?"
"It's almost 8:30..." She complained, her gaze involuntarily traveling to the markings on his shirtless chest. Sprawling across them were two black, tribal wing tattoos. Alexis spoke quietly before realizing it. "Dude... you have a tattoo?"
Severus cocked his head in confusion, then looked down at himself. He sighed, rubbing her temples and shaking his head as he mumbled something under his breath.
He then looked up at Alexis, stepping out of the doorway and gesturing inside resignedly. "Just, get in here..."
Alexis shrugged, entering his room, glancing at the tattoo once more, surprised that he'd have one. Well, besides the one he had when under the leadership of a certain Dark Wizard, but that was in the past.
Severus closed the door behind her, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes and grumbling. "Wait in the Kitchen and don't dump anything out. I'm going to get dressed." He turned, heading towards his room. Alexis looked after him, and her eyes widened at the other tattoo that took up most of his bare back. It was a huge, snarling, black lion, tattooed on to where it seemed to be ripping out of his skin.
"Whoa! How long did that one take?! When did you get it?!" Alexis exclaimed with genuine interest, and Severus looked at her, then over his shoulder. He pinched the bridge of his nose and shook his head, quickly disappearing into his room and locking the door behind him. She was still surprised that he risked letting her see them, knowing that she was coming this moring.
Alexis shook her own head, wondering about the markings as she walked into his Kitchen, sitting in one of the chairs at the Kitchen table and finding the Daily Prophet from the day before laying on it. She shrugged, flipping through it for anything of interset.
Severus then appeared in the Kitchen, noe clothed more fully, and walked to his refrigerator as he asked her while looking in it. "what do you want to eat?"
Alexis rubbed her chin in thought, then smiled and replied. "An omelette. With bacon, sausage, ham... and cheese. And extra bacon on the side... please." Alexis added with a smile. Severus rolled his eyes, taking out the desired ingreidients and mumbling to himself as he set them on the counter. "You have got to learn to cook..."
"You see her?"
"Yeah, she's leaving right now. Oh crap! Duck in the classroom!"
There was a scrambling of feet, and four figures scampered into the nearest classroom as Professor Weasley trudged past, yawning widely.
As soon as she was barely out of earshot, the four figures sneaked out of the classroom, one asking in a harsh whisper. "Are you sure she's going to Snape's room?"
"Michelle, quit with the denial. My sources are trustworthy. They said they heard Severus asking her to meet him in his room at eight thirty. Wasn't this your idea to find out if it was true or not?" Stephen asked, looking around the corner.
"Yeah... I was in the middle of a nice dream when you woke my butt up..." Ethan grumbled, yawning widely.
"Come on! She'll be there before we get there if we don't leave now. Let's confirm this and report back to The Lair. I'm hungry." Peter grumbled, leading the way out of the shadowy doorway and creeping down the hall after their Care of Magical Creatures professor. The other three Gryffindors followed, careful to be as as silent as possible as they made their way to the Potion's Master's quarters. They turned a corner, and immedaitely dove back upon seeing Alexis knocking on Severus's door. The woman looked around curiuosly, and the four held their breaths until they heard the door unlock. Watching quietly, they saw Professor Snape standing in the doorway, dressed in only pants as he looked at Alexis. Michelle's eyes widened, and she leaned out further, almost falling as she looked at the shirtless professor with surprise. Ethan frowned, grabbing her arm and dragging her back against the wall.
Whispered conversation took place between the two professors, then Severus stood back, gesturing for Alexis to enter his room. She did so, and the door closed quickly behind her. After a few silent minutes, Stephen burst out. "My god... you can't be in denail any more Michelle..."
"The famous Alexis Whyte... and Severus Snape! What is up with that!? That goes against every book she's ever been in!" Peter exclaimed, shaking his head.
"But, she's married!" Michelle exclaimed.
Ethan shook his head solemnly. "Yeah, but her husband's never here. And they could be fighting, or even getting a divorce. There can be many reasons she's going with Snape. Though, I think I've heard and seen enough..." he finished.
"Dude, this is freaky! The others' will want to know. Let's go before they come out here or something..." Stephen spoke, shuddering slightly in disgust of the thought of the two professors together.
The other three nodded enthusiastically, following Stephen away from the door. Michelle shook her head, then smirked as she commented quietly. "I didn't know Snape had tattoos..."
Severus was trying his hardest to ignore that voice in the back of his head that was screaming at him to get out of bed. He was tired, physically and mentally, and craved for more sleep. Even though he had spent most of the day before sleeping, he was still exhausted. He tossed in his bed, hiding his head under a pillow as he heard a quiet knocking at his quarter door.
"I pity the fool who is knocking at my door." Severus snarled, crawling out of bed tiredly. Glancing at his clock, the hands showed it to be 8:06am. He stumbled out of his room, nearly tripping on the carpet. He made it to the door and opened it slowly, taking his time in unlocking it. He swung it open tiredly, knowing he looked terrible and hoping that would scare who ever it was away. Alexis was standing there, looking almost as asleep as he was. He saw her raise an eyebrow at him and he groaned internally, staring at her in amazement. The one morning I wish she wouldn't wake up on time, she gets up EARLY!... Severus thought as he spoke to her.
"Do you not know the meaning of 8:30 am Alexis?" He asked, emphasising the thirty in his speech.
"It's almost 8:30..." Alexis defended and Severus snorted, knowing it was closer to eight o'clock than eight-thirty. He noticed her gaze had lowered to his chest and she spoke in what seemed to be amazement.
"Dude... you have a tattoo?" She asked and Severus cocked his head at her in his confusion. He looked down to where her gaze was and sighed. He had forgotten to put a shirt on and now she was staring at something he didn't want anyone to know he had. He rubbed his temples as he shook his head, not wanting to talk about it.
"Damnit." He mumbled under his breath, condemning himself for not dressing before opening the door. He looked at Alexis and stepped back into his quarters, clearing space for her to enter.
"Just, get in here..." He told her as he gestured for her to enter. She shrugged at him and walked in, him noticing her gaze fall over the black wings that covered something else on his chest. He closed the door and locked it as he tried to wipe the sleep from his eyes. He was dog tired and not in the mood for twenty questions. He grumbled at Alexis, deciding to go get dressed.
"Wait in the Kitchen and don't dump anything out. I'm going to get dressed." He told her as he turned, heading towards his bedroom. He was almost to the door when he heard Alexis's breath catch in her throat.
"Whoa! How long did that one take?! When did you get it?!" Alexis exclaimed at him in what seemed to be genuine interest and Severus wondered what the hell she was talking about. He then looked over his shoulder at the tattoo on his back. He reached up and pinched the bridge of his nose, wondering why she had to be so observant this early in the morning. He shook his head and walked into his room, closing and locking the door. He walked over to his dresser and pulled out his clothes, dressing with urgency. He didn't trust Alexis to follow his instructions. He walked out of the room, waiting for the soound of a loud crash or something. After hearing nothing he walked into the kitchen and saw her flipping distractedly through yesterday's newpaper. He walked over to the fridge, wondering what he wanted to eat as well as what he was going to be cooking for her.
"What do you want to eat?" He questioned her as he looked at his frigde with mild disgust. There were now more vegetables in it than normal food. That would be the last time he asked a houseelf to put someting in his fridge. He heard a pause from her and then she gave him her request.
"An omelette. With bacon, sausage, ham... and cheese. And extra bacon on the side... please." Alexis told him a bit too cheerily and he rolled his eyes as he pulled out what he would need to make breakfast. What got him was that what she wanted to eat sounded rather appealing to his grumbling stomach. He mumbled to himself as he set the milk on the counter.
"You have got to learn to cook..." He told her and she looked up at him with a smirk.
"I was thinking the same thing this morning, but then I remembered what happened during my 'lessons'." She told him and he rose an eyebrow, finding his frying pan.
"And what happened during these lessons?" He asked and Alexis looked at the floor in shame.
"Remember the time Artimis had to remodel the kitchen?" Alexis asked and Severus nodded as he began to cook.
"Well, that was my fault." She told him and he looked at her, wondering if she would elaborate, but she didn't seem to want to. He shook his head and went back to his cook. After a moment of silence, which was getting to him, he turned and looked at her.
"Can I trust you?" He asked and she looked at him in shock and questioning.
"Um... Yeah... Why?" She replied wearily and he snorted.
"Go into my room, turn on my steroe and push button number three. Do not touch ANYTHING else. Can you do that?" He asked and she exhaled, snickering.
"Yeah Sev, you had me thinking you were about to share some deep meaningful truth with me or something." She explianed and he laughed.
"With you? Are you sure you are awake?" He mused and Alexis looked at him indignantly.
"No, I am not sure." She told him and she walked out of the room into his bedroom. He heard the music come on, but it was so low that he could barely hear if it was the right CD.
"Turn it up!" He stated and he heard Alexis huff as she turned the volume up so that he could hear his Linkin Park Cd, Meteora come on. He went back to cooking as Alexis walked back in, looking at him in a curious nature.
"First the Tattoos, now Linkin Park, stop letting me know you are human ok!" Alexis told his back and he spun around to look at her in shock.
"What would you like me to act like? I am human and I have my moments. Leave me be. 'Take all your faithlessness with you... And don't stay...'" He told her as he turned back around and began singing lowly. He noticed she had silenced and he went back to cook, occasionally singing with the song. He was in the mood for the angry yelling, it fit his mood at the moment and it was better to take his frustartion out on the music and food than Alexis like he usually did. He finished cooking the omelettes and went digging for a coffee cup in his cupboard. He made his cup of coffee and poured Alexis some orange juice. He picked up the plates and walked to the table, singing to himself lowly.
"I will never know myself until I do this on my own..."
He set the plate in front of Alexis and she looked at him almost gratefully. He put his plate across the table and walked back to the counter, grabbing their beverages. He gave Alexis her cup and sat down with his. He just paid attention to his food and his breakfast until he looked at Alexis who was looking kind of green.
"Alexis, are you alright?" He asked her and Alexis shook her head 'no' and rushed out of the room to his bathroom. He heard her empty the contents of her stomach in the bathroom as he realized his mistake. He had acidentally given Alexis his plate and he was eating hers. He got up and walked in the direction that she had run and she was walking out, looking ill still.
"Don't tell me I can't eat vegetables either, what am I supposed to eat?!" She whined in fear and Severus put his hand up to stop her.
"No, I mixed up our plates. You were eating real meats... It's ok." He told her and her face brightened up again and then she smacked his arm.
"You bastard. Do you have any idea how much that hurts?" She asked him and he shook his head, walking back to the kitchen. He switched the plates to who they should have gone to and Alexis sat down, eyeing her food carefully.
"Weren't you just eating this?" She asked him and he nodded, ignoring his disgust for his hunger.
"And you didn't notice it was vegetables? Wow... " She thought aloud as she picked up her fork and began to eat. The music was still going and Severus held his hand up to Alexis.
"No talking during this song." He demanded, because this song was his song. Alexis eyed him curiously and nodded, obviously listeninging intently.
"It's easier to run, replacing this pain with something numb..." He began to sing softly, ignoring her staring at her.
"If I could change, I would, take the pain, I would, retrace every wrong move that I made, I would, If I could, stand up and take the blame, I would, if i could take all my shame to the grave, I would..." He sung the chorus, eating in between his words.
"Sometimes I remember the darkness of my past, bringing back these memories I wish I didn't hav-" He was cut off.
"Ok Severus, you are freaking me out... cut it out..." Alexis told him and he glared at her. You freak me out on a daily basis, you don't see me interupting you, do you?... Severus though to himself. His song had ended and Alexis suddenly began rocking her head with music.
"This is my song." She stated and he shrugged, drinking his coffee seeing as he had managed to finish his breakfast.
"I can't feel the way I did before, don't turn your back on me, I won't be ignored..." She sung and Severus scoffed at her. You? Be ignored? Any person who can manage that feat needs an Order of Merlin First Class... Severus thought incrediously and Alexis kept singing until the song was over. Severus picked up his dishes and set them in the sink. He walked into his bedroom and skipped ahead a couple of songs to the other song he wanted to hear this morning.
"HEY! You missed Breaking the Habit!" Alexis yelled at him and he shook his head. The song 'Nobody's Listening...' began with it's japanese flute mixed in with the rest of the rock instruments. The rap part of the song began and Severus sung with it, nodding his head as he walked back into see Alexis putting her plate into the sink. She was singing as well and they both looked at each other, pausing in their singing.
"Whyte, I don't need you singing my song..." He told her and she put her hands on her hips staring at him in disbelief.
"Your song? This is my song." She told him and he growled lowly, not heard over the music. Severus decided to ignore her and clean his kitchen.
"I got a heart full of pain, head full of stress, handful of anger, held in my chest, uphill struggle, blood, sweat, and tears, nothing to gain, everything to fear..." Severus sung and he heard Alexis singing as well. The song ended shortly after that and Severus walked into his room and turned his stereo off.
"Hey!" She exclaimed and Severus rose an eyebrow at her.
"Well, Are we going to sit around here all day, finding out Severus Snape is a human being, or are we going to head to Hoggesmeade to get the things we need and you can go see your friend?" Severus asked her, not forgetting that she was meeting with Kinsler today. This time Severus would be watching this meeting, just to make sure she was safe.
"Thats sounds like a plan to me. Come Batman, to Hoggesmeade!" Alexis spoke, going into one of her many dramatic poses.
"I am not Batman, and you are not Robin. Let's go." He stated, shaking his head in wonder on how this woman thought she could even think of pulling off the Boy Wonder. They exited his quarters and Severus let Alexis lead him to Hoggesmeade, dreading what she was going to do to him, most of all making him talk to Rosemerta.
"You have got to learn to cook..." Severus had stated, and Alexis smirked.
"I was thinking the same thing this morning, but then I remembered what happened during my 'lessons'." She left off, thinknig that would be all he needed to hear. Obviously not.
"And what happened during these lessons?" He asked and Alexis lowered her eyes a bit with embarassment as she recalled those lessons.
"Remember the time Artimis had to remodel the kitchen?" Alexis spoke, Severus nodding.
"Well, that was my fault." She told him quietly, Severus looking at her curiously, but Alexis didn' feel like explaining any further. She had gotten reamed out pretty bad for that one...
"Can I trust you?" Severus suddenly asked, catching Alexis totally off guard. She stared at him with shock, wondering what she would have to keep secret for him now.
"Um... Yeah... Why?" She replied warily, raising an eyebrow, ears practically perked up.
"Go into my room, turn on my steroe and push button number three. Do not touch ANYTHING else. Can you do that?" He asked and Alexis sighed deeply, shaking her head.
"Yeah Sev, you had me thinking you were about to share some deep meaningful truth with me or something." She joked, and surprisingly, Severus laughed.
"With you? Are you sure you are awake?"
Alexis glared half heartedly. She never really gave him a reason not to trust her, those other times she had spilled something about him was because he hadn't said she couldn't.
"No, I am not sure." She told him and she walked out of the Kitchen, heading to his room. She walked up to the stereo, sighing at it's general coolness, then turning it on and punching the number three button. Some music statred softly that she found familiar.
"Turn it up!" She heard Severus asked, and she huffed at him, turning it up, and immediately recognizing it as Linkin Park. She raised her eyebrows in surprise. "Sev listens to this? Dude... at least it's something I know..."
She shook her head in amazement, walking back into the Kitchen and looking at Severus curiously as she stated. "First the Tattoos, now Linkin Park, stop letting me know you are human ok!"
he looked at her with surprise, then replied calmly.
"What would you like me to act like? I am human and I have my moments. Leave me be. 'Take all your faithlessness with you... And don't stay...'" Severus stated, then sang the last part quietly as he turned back to cooking. He was actually singing. To Linkin Park. Alexis watched him with unconcealed surprise as he finished cooking their breakfast, his work punctuated as he sung select chords from the CD.
"I will never know myself until I do this on my own..." He sang quietly as he set a plate in front of Alexis, and she pushed the odd occurence aside as she smiled at him thankfully, feeling ravished. He set down his own plate, grabbing two drinks and settling himself to eat across the table from her. Alexis dug into the omelette hungrily, sighing happily at the array of psuedo-meats. Suddenly her stomach twisted sickeningly, and she dropped her fork on the plate, grabbing her stomach as she grimaced.
"Alexis, are you alright?" She heard Severus ask, and she quickly shook her head as she stumbled to his bathroom, dropping down throwing up into the toliet. She leaned back, wiping her mouth shakily as he stomach settled queasily. She pulled herself to her feet, trudging out of the bathroom and looking up with distress as Severus walked up to her, looking a bit worried.
"Don't tell me I can't eat vegetables either, what am I supposed to eat?!" She spoke in a trembling voice, scared that she wouldn't be able to eat a decent meal for a long while. Severus quickly calmed her as he explained in a low voice. "No, I mixed up our plates. You were eating real meats... It's ok."
Alexis sighed, feeling releived, then slapped his arm a bit angrily. "You bastard. Do you have any idea how much that hurts?" She grumbled and Severus shook his head, not replying as he walked back into the Kitchen, Alexis grumbling as she followed him, wondering if he had done that on purpose or not.
Once in the Kitchen, she looked at the plates after he had switched them, asking with confusion."Weren't you just eating this?" He nodded, and Alexis was surprised he didn't make them another plate, seeing as she had eaten off of his plate as well. Maybe he was just too tired to care. Instead she commented.
"And you didn't notice it was vegetables? Wow... " She thought aloud, impressed with his talent for cooking as she cautiously ate what was supposedly her omelette. After the first two bites and not getting sick, she ate more quickly and looked up as Severus stated oddly.
"No talking during this song." He demanded, and Alexis looked at him with surprise, but didn't question, curious to see what song it was.
"It's easier to run, replacing this pain with something numb..." He began to sing softly, and Alexis watched him, cocking her head curiously.
"If I could change, I would, take the pain, I would, retrace every wrong move that I made, I would, If I could, stand up and take the blame, I would, if i could take all my shame to the grave, I would..."
Alexis shook her head, never thinknig that Severus would know Linkin Park, let alone like it. And he wasn't too horrible a singer either...
"Sometimes I remember the darkness of my past, bringing back these memories I wish I didn't hav-"
Alexis shook her head, registering the depressing nature of the song, figring Severus would like this song. She spoke, weirded out at his apparent appreciation for the music.
"Ok Severus, you are freaking me out... cut it out..." Alexis told him and he glared at her as the song ended a few moments later. The music to one of her own favorites echoed into the room, and she nodded her head to the beat, informing him this time. "This is my song."
He merely shrugged as Alexis sang out with the CD after a while. "I can't feel the way I did before, don't turn your back on me, I won't be ignored..."
She sang, ignoring Severus's looks as she sang out the rest of the song, smiling once it ended. Severus didn't comment though as he cleaned up his dishes, which also surprised her since she though he had hated whenever she sang. He always yelled at her when they were at the Manor, why was now any different? Severus disappeared, and soon the music paused, and a different song palyed. Alexis frowned, realizing something.
"HEY! You missed Breaking the Habit!" Alexis yelled at him from the room, but she actually liked this song, so she didn't argue too much. She figured she should put up her own dishes today, and was doing so as she rapped out the beginnings of the song. She heard a voice join her own suddenly, and she turned around, he and Severus staring at each other oddly. Severus grumbled first.
"Whyte, I don't need you singing my song..."
Alexis put her hands on her hips indignantly as she argued. "Your song? This is my song."
Severus growled something, and decided to clean instead of arguing with her over a song. Alexis was fine with that, cleaning the rest of the plates in the sink as she sang aloud, not realizing she had an acoompanying voice.
"I got a heart full of pain, head full of stress, handful of anger, held in my chest, uphill struggle, blood, sweat, and tears, nothing to gain, everything to fear..."
Severus had disappeared once again, and Alexis started to put away the dishes. She stopped though, realizing she was cleaning Severus's Kitchen, and quickly replace the dish she held, shaking her head with a frown. The music had stopped then, and Alexis whined as Severus reappeared. "Hey!"
"Well, Are we going to sit around here all day, finding out Severus Snape is a human being, or are we going to head to Hoggesmeade to get the things we need and you can go see your friend?" He asked calmly, and Alexis saw his point. She didn't want to stay here and clean his rooms all day.
"Thats sounds like a plan to me. Come Batman, to Hoggesmeade!" Alexis dramaticized, posing and pointing towards the door with a smirk.
"I am not Batman, and you are not Robin. Let's go." He stated, and Alexis looked at him oddly, then shook her head as she exited the Kitchen, grabbing her cloaks off his couch and leaving his quarters, Severus closing the door behind them before strolling up to walk beside her as they left the school, heading to the wizarding town.
"Sooo... where are we going?" Alexis asked after a few moments of walking in silence. Severus looked down at her in confusion, replying. "Well, I thought we were following you."
"Oh okay. Except that I don't know where you're following me to..." Alexis trailed off, and Severus rolled his eyes.
Alexis smirked then at a thought, looking up at Severus and speaking. "You know, I'm thirsty."
Severus didn't catch on as he continued walking, hands in his pockets as he gazed around them. "That's nice..."
"No, I'm really thirsty." Alexis emphasized, and Severus looked down at her in confusion.
Though after a minute, he shook his head and spoke quickly. "Why don't we go to the Apothecary's..."
"But Sev, I'm like, dying of thirst here..." Alexis whined, hoping that he'd give in so they could head towards a certain tavern and just happen to meet a certain bartender...
"Well then, you'll just have to die then won't you. The apothercary's right there." Severus stated firmly, looking ahead of them.
"Sev, come on." Alexis asked, pouting a bit.
"I'm stopping here first, you can wait outside then." Severus replied to her comment, and Alexis sighed, grumbling under her breath. "Fine..."
Severus nodded, and Alexis followed him into the shop, looking around curiously as Severus walked towards a familiar section, looking through an array of bottles and such. Alexis found a shelf holding a multiple array of different colored dragonskin gloves, and flipped through them until she found a green pair, checking the price and pulling out the required amount of galleons. She gazed around at the different potions ingredients, grabbing some salve used for magical burns and a box of Doxy feed for Hagrid.
She met Severus up at the clerk's counter, seeing that he had bought a bottle of his cologne here. Alexis snickered, shaking her head as she commented. "You buy your cologne at the apothecary's? Dude, you are such a geek."
Severus looked at her in confusion as he finished his purchase, Alexis putting her stuff on the counter as he asked. "What is a geek? I've heard of a dork before..."
Alexis laughed, shaking her head as she paid the cashier, scooping her stuff into a bag. "Never mind Severus... you just take your cologne and hide in your room..."
Severus rolled his eyes, following Alexis as she left the shop. Alexis smiled, looking up at Severus and speaking. "Well, now we can go and get us something to drink."
Severus looked almost trapped for a moment, looking around. "I'm sure they have something in Honeydukes. And look it's right there. Lucky us..." Severus spoke, turning and heading to the shop. Alexis frowned, knowing he was just putting off the inevitable. She ran after him, snapping as they walked into the store.
"You dork, why can't you just- Hey! The new batch of fudged flavored lollipops is in..." She spoke with interest, her attention drawn to the new bin on the far counter. She bounced over to it, hearing Severus snicker, but ignored him as she grabbed a small bag, selecting the suckers carefully and filling her bag. She looked over at Severus, seeing him studying the different boxes of Bertie Botts Every Flavor Beans. She snickered at him, inspecting the bin of sugar quills and wondering how many she would need to give one to all her students. Everyone needed a little sugar now and then, especially when in the middle of Severus's class...
She decided to order about a hundred of them, making sure to tell them to deliver it by monday morning. Once that was squared away, she made sure she got her usual stash of chocolate, about two small bags full, and stalked up behind Severus, who was making his own selection of chocolate. She stood behind him, speaking loudly. "What're you looking at?"
Severus practically jumped out of his skin, turning to glare at her. Alexis laughed as he hissed. "Why do you have to do that..."
"Because I do. There's nothing to drink in here, let's go to the Three Broomsticks. I'm sick of you stalling." Alexis told him, bent on getting him there. For some reason she had this feeling that Severus wasn't going to let her go off on her own willingly. So what better way to get rid of him for lunch than trapping him in a conversation with Madame Rosmerta?
Severus grumbled under his breath, walking past to her to the cashier and making his purchase, then taking his time following her out the door. Alexis rolled her eyes, waiting for him with her hands on her hips at the doors of the tavern. He walked dejectedly almost and Alexis couldn't help but hum. "Dun, dun dun... Dun, dun dun..."
Severus looked up at her and snapped. "Will you stop it..."
"Well, it's like you're doing a death march or something." Alexis berated him, opening the door and entering into the comfortably warmer atmosphere, Severus trudging in behind her. She stopped, looking around curiously, and Severus brushed past her, quickly finding a table in the far dark corner of the tavern. Alexis rolled her eyes and joined him, Severus looking around a bit nervously and speaking lowly.
"Okay, order and try not to draw too much attenti-"
"Hey Rosmerta! How's it going? Come on over here, I brought a friend!" Alexis spoke loudly, waving at the jovial bartender who walked towards her with a smile and two Butterbeers. She strode up to the table, and upon seeing Severus, her grin lengthened twice it's size.
"Oh Severus! How are you? It's been a while since you've been in here..." She spoke happily.
Severus looked at the table, grumbling under his breath. "Yes, for good reason..."
Alexis heard him, smriking though and asking. "What was that Sev?"
Severus looked up at her, glaring as he replied. "Nothing at all. It is... nice seeing you again Rosmerta."
The woman smiled brightly, and Alexis looked up at her.
"Why don't you sit down and chat with us for a bit?"
Severus quickly spoke. "I don't know, she's got a tavern to manage and-"
"Oh, a few minutes wouldn't hurt, Boris can take over for a bit by himself." Rosmerta cut him off, setting down the drinks and scooting in next to Alexis on the bench. Alexis smiled at Severus, and he gave her a murderous glare before smiling politely to Rosmerta.
"So, how's it been going lately? Heard anything intersesting happening lately?" Alexis asked curiously, and Rosmerta looked at Severus as she replied.
"Oh, business has been good, try to keep it as calm in here as possible to not scare the customers away and such. Nothing too intense happening, from what I hear though. I think Hagrid's trying to order in a dragon for his class..."
"Oh yeah, me and him have been talking about it for our sixth and seventh years. Didn't think he was going to try so soon." Alexis answered, carrying on with the conversation while Severus remained silent, answering any questions as shortly as possible. After a while, Alexis looked up at the clock, seeing it read 11:15am. She looked to her two companions and spoke. "I'm sorry to cut my stay short, but I have a meeting I need to be getting to. I'll try to stop in soon Rosmerta."
"Oh, please do." She spoke, letting Alexis out of the seat. Severus made as if to follw her quickly, but Alexis spoke up.
"I'm sure Severus can stay for a little while longer, he said he didn't have much to do today."
Rosmerta looked at Severus hopefully, and Severus plopped back in his seat, trying to glare at Alexis discreetly. Alexis smiled sweetly, waving as she left the tavern, seeing Rosmerta sitting back down and talking animatedly to Severus, who nodded once or twice, looking extremely miffed.
Alexis laughed upon exiting the tavern, turning down the street and heading to the Crying Dragon Cafe to meet up with her 'friend'.
Severus followed Alexis toward Hoggesmeade, checking around them curiously to see if they were being followed.
"Sooo... where are we going?" Alexis asked him as he looked over his shoulder. He looked athe in mild confusion, assuming that he would just follow her.
"Well, I thought we were following you." He told her and she nodded her head.
"Oh okay. Except that I don't know where you're following me to..." Severus heard Alexis go off on to her own little world and he rolled his eyes. He hated it when she didn't finish her sentences. He kept walking as he heard her speak lowly.
"You know, I'm thirsty." Severus had his hands in his pockets, which made his right hand right next to his wand in the chance that he needed it quickly. He continued to gaze around, answering her. "That's nice..." He spoke distractedly, swearing he saw a tree move to their left.
"No, I'm really thirsty." He heard her exaggerate and he looked down at her with confusion. But you just had orange juice... Oh wait a minute... She's trying to make me go see Rosmerta... Nuh uh... Not happening... Severus thought and he shook his head, speaking quickly to deter her.
"Why don't we go to the Apothecary's..."
"But Sev, I'm like, dying of thirst here..." Alexis whined at him and Severus rolled his eyes, peering over his shoulder again.
"Well then, you'll just have to die then won't you. The apothercary's right there." Severus told her firmly, trying to get the point across that he was not in the mood, looking ahead of them now. He had a distinct feeling he was being watched and he was just all around suspicious of this whole situation.
"Sev, come on." Alexis pleaded and Severus wasn't going to give in.
"I'm stopping here first, you can wait outside then." He told her and he walked in, hearing her grumble under her breath at him.
"Fine..."
He nodded at her and she followed him into the store, him holding the door open for her out of sheer politeness. Severus moved over to exactly where he wanted to go. Upon seeing his cologne he grabbed a bottle and then headed up the counter. He ordered a new stock of shrivelfigs to be delivered at Hogwarts that evening as he did not want to carry a box of it and paid for his purchases. He turned around to see Alexis, holding a pair of green dragonhide gloves along with some other items. She snickered at him and shook her head, commenting.
"You buy your cologne at the apothecary's? Dude, you are such a geek."
A what?... Severus asked himself as he looked at her in confusion. She put her stuff on the counter and he asked her.
"What is a geek? I've heard of a dork before..." He questioned and she laughed at him, shaking her head as she paid the cashier. She threw her stuff in a bag as she replied to him.
"Never mind Severus... you just take your cologne and hide in your room..."
He rolled his eyes at this comment, resigning himself to follow her out of the shop as he pocketed his cologne bottle. She stopped and smiled at him as she spoke.
"Well, now we can go and get us something to drink."
Severus froze, feeling trapt by that statement. He couldn't leave her on her own, but he didn't want to go to the Three Broomsticks. He looked around for an out and it appeared before him.
"I'm sure they have something in Honeydukes. And look it's right there. Lucky us..." Severus stated, turing on his heel and heading for the shop. She ran after him, as he had hoped, but she was yelling at him, for a moment at least.
"You dork, why can't you just- Hey! The new batch of fudged flavored lollipops is in..." She drifted off on her own conversation yet again and Severus snickered at her. Severus walked over to the Every Flavor Beans and was looking at a few as he heard Alexis snickering at something. Severus walked over to the Chocolate Frogs, getting enough to last him till next Hoggesmeade weekend, which was in two weeks. He was looking at the fudge pops when Alexis made her presence known behind him, yelling. "What're you looking at?"
Severus leapt in the air turned around, his hand already on his wand as he glared at her. She laughed at her as he hissed at her in distaste.
"Why do you have to do that..." He questioned and she shrugged.
"Because I do. There's nothing to drink in here, let's go to the Three Broomsticks. I'm sick of you stalling." Alexis demanded, obviously bent on getting him there. He didn't want to go because he knew two things, one was that Alexis would be able to sneak off with out him following her, and two, he would end up in an hour long 'polite' conversation full of innuendo with the barmaid.
"Bloody demanding women..." He mummbled so low that Alexis couldn't hear him as he bought his sweets. He put them in his other pockets, loving the fact that he had a million pockets and they were almost all invisible to the untrained eye. He took his time following Alexis out of the shop, trying to figure out how to get out of this and keep Alexis under observation. He had already thought of suggesting going to the Boar's Head, but that was on the other side of town and he wasn't exactly trusting of the place after the arsenic incident. He looked to see Alexis waiting at the door to the tavern with her hands on her hips. I could try lying to her and telling her that being AROUND alcohol would be bad for her baby... He was shuffling his feet, looking at the ground as Alexis decided to be annoying.
"Dun, dun dun... Dun, dun dun..." She started humming a death march and he glared at her.
"Will you stop it..." He asked her incrediously.
"Well, it's like you're doing a death march or something." Alexis berated him, which he did not appreciate as she opened the door. Severus trudged in behind her as she paused, looking around. He, not wanting to draw attention to himself, brushed past her,quickly finding the table in the far dark corner of the tavern. He sat down as he watched Alexis roll her eyes at him and joined him. Severus looked around a bit nervously, knowing that they had been followed and that he didn't want to be here.
"Okay, order and try not to draw too much attenti-" He began quietly but Alexis cut him off with her yelling.
"Hey Rosmerta! How's it going? Come on over here, I brought a friend!" Alexis declared loudly, waving her arm at the overly friendly bartender. Madam Rosmerta began walking their way with a smile and two Butterbeers in hand. He watched as she noticed him, her grin growing to twice it's size.
"Oh Severus! How are you? It's been a while since you've been in here..." Rosmerta spoke happily to him.
Note to self: add real steak to Alexis's next meal... Severus thought as he mumbled lowly, trying to not be heard.
"Yes, for good reason..." He huffed under his breath. Alexis had obviously heard him and smirked, asking her in false sweet voice, the one that grated on his last nerve.
"What was that Sev?"
He looked up at her and glared, replying as politely as possible, even though he didn't mean it.
"Nothing at all. It is... nice seeing you again Rosmerta." He stated and watched as her smile grew almost off of her face. Severus thought he hated Alexis at this moment, but her next statement proved it.
"Why don't you sit down and chat with us for a bit?" Alexis asked and Severus quicky interjected.
"I don't know, she's got a tavern to manage and-" But Rosmerta cut him off before he could protest.
"Oh, a few minutes wouldn't hurt, Boris can take over for a bit by himself." The woman stated as she set down the drinks, one in front of him and one in front of herself. She set down next to Alexis. Alexis smiled at Severus and he glared at her with the intent of striking fear into her heart. He then turned and smiled politely at Rosmerta.
"So, how's it been going lately? Heard anything intersesting happening lately?" Alexis began with the polite conversation and Severus decided to remain quiet as possible. Thinking to himself, he decided that Alexis had thought he was going to follow her to her lunch, which she would be entirely right, and figured getting him in a conversation with Rosmerta would occupy him. He knew that Rosemerta was looking at him the whole time, but he tried to politely ignore her.
"Oh, business has been good, try to keep it as calm in here as possible to not scare the customers away and such. Nothing too intense happening, from what I hear though. I think Hagrid's trying to order in a dragon for his class..." The barkeep spoke and Alexis nodded, Severus wanting to beat the hell out of her.
"Oh yeah, me and him have been talking about it for our sixth and seventh years. Didn't think he was going to try so soon." Alexis answered, carrying on with the conversation. Severus answered questioned with short and to the point answers. He was formulating a plan to get out of here as Alexis spoke up.
"I'm sorry to cut my stay short, but I have a meeting I need to be getting to. I'll try to stop in soon Rosmerta." She apoligized and Severus rolled his eyes as the women got up. He saw this as an oppertunity to excuse himself as well.
"Oh, please do." Rosemerta spoke, letting Alexis out of the seat. Severus began to raise himself to get up, thinking of some item that demanded his immediate attention when Alexis shot that out of the water.
"I'm sure Severus can stay for a little while longer, he said he didn't have much to do today." Alexis told the woman and if Severus didn't have a enormous amount of self control, he would have strangled her. Severus saw Rosemerta look at him with a glimmer of hope and plopped back down in his seat, trying his hardest to glare at Alexis so that the other woman could not see it. Alexis smiled at him sweetly, making him want to smack the smile off of her face as Rosemerta sat back down and tried to make civil conversation with him. He nodded in a agreement with her a few times, very angry with Alexis. Madam Rosemerta was talking about the gentlemen that had been giving her some problems when Severus came up with a genius idea. He quickly grabbed his shoulder in a pained movement, making it look as if he were in an enormous amount of pain.
"Severus, are you ok?" The woman asked with concern. He put a hand up and nodded, wincing.
"I need to go see Madam Pomfrey, I have been having problems with my shoulder just going out of socket." He spoke lowly and she nodded, getitng up quickly, looking worried.
"You're sure your alright? I could take you up there." She stated and he shook his head.
"No, it's not that serious. I can walk up there and get it popped back in place in a fix. And I have a couple of detentions that I have to oversee." Severus lied and she nodded, following him as he walked out of the door. He held his shoulder and walked, nodding to Rosemerta as she waved at him. He waited till she entered the tavern, looking worried and then he dove into the nearest alleyway.
"Damn am I good." He told himself proudly as he braced himself to stalk and spy on Alexis. He walked down the back alley, taking his own route to The Crying Dragon, a route that very few people knew. He still had a distinct feeling he was being followed and he hoped they were after him and not Alexis as he made it to the back entrance of the Cafe.