Authors note: As you all know, I'm just along for the ride as this story takes on a life of its own, and while I try to reference the books and wiki sometimes details get away from me and things change a little. So bear with me on some of the changes, some not intentional, and know that I'm doing the best I can as the vessel for Petra's story.
Thank you Guest for the review, while I do not hate Sirius I am always taken aback at his behavior toward Severus, and feel that even if you hate someone over a school rivalry, its not an excuse to treat them like vermin. Especially when you trusted someone who was literally a rat.
Always appreciate reviews so keep them coming!
Returning to Hogwarts for the rest of Christmas break was relieving for Petra. The evening that Severus had arrived hung heavy over her and Sirius had retreated into the shadows anytime she had entered the downstairs. So when Molly returned her to the gates, she took a deep breath of the cold December air and steeled herself for the rest of the year.
Katey was surprised to see her return and the two had lunch once again, chatting about the presents they had received and the N.E.W.T.S. they were taking. Petra learned that Katey was a half blood, and wanted to run away to Paris and be an artist when she graduated. After lunch she brought out some of her paintings to the common area and Petra was impressed with Kateys impressionism style and unique use of colors.
It was odd to have a friend at school again, as she had always kept to acquaintances when it was anyone but the twins, but Katey and Petra flowed well together and had similar interests and ideals.
She was an oddly tall girl, with dark brown hair and eyes, and an easy smile that shined when she was discussing her interests, chiefly art. She moved with grace and seemed to know a little bit about everyone, despite being unpopular among the other slytherins. It was one of the reasons Petra had given her a chance; school got lonely without friends and Katey hadn't been as lucky as Petra to have had best ones.
December turned into January. Her studies were getting more laborious but Petra had always tried to stay ahead and it was rewarding her with less stress then some of her peers. Most were up well into the night every night, and spent extra time in classes they had fallen behind in. The only class that Petra had ever struggled in was runes, but professor Babbling was always willing to sit down with her and answer questions, and Petra always managed to keep her head above the water in her class.
A few days before her birthday on the 21st, Petra received a letter before bed informing her that she had another meeting with Severus on the 20th. Petra was thrilled but equally nervous, and was worried about what she would wear, which surprised her because she had never been this worried about not being dressed properly. All of her worry was vanquished the next morning when she received a package at breakfast from her grandma Penny with a letter saying she had sent the perfect dress as a present for her upcoming 18th birthday.
After classes, when Petra finally had a moment to unwind and look at the dress she found the most beautiful thing inside.
It was another princess style dress, but this one blew the emerald dress out of the water. It was in the softest of materials, sea-foam green, and shimmered like the stars in the night sky. She thought it looked like a warm ocean at night, under the moon. It had ¾ length sleeves of lace, and the bodice fit so perfectly it was like being embraced in a hug. The skirt fell down just above her ankles. Shoes were also included in charcoal grey with small heels attached.
On the 20th she carefully wrapped herself in the precious gift, clasped the shoes around her feet, and let a very excited Katey attend to her hair. Petra applied very light eyeliner around her eyes, a bit of mascara, and a subtle rose pink rouge to her cheeks and lips. Her mismatched eyes stood out well against the liner, and she looked like a woman, and not a girl, for the first time to herself. Katey had arranged her hair into a simple up-do, with a few hidden crystals placed well to match the shimmer of the dress.
The look on her fiance's face was worth the excessive time she had spent on the ensemble, and the time she could have been studying. It was priceless. He also seemed to think she looked like a woman that day if the way his lips parted and his eyes roamed was any indication. Again, she took her time walking down the path so that he had a couple minutes to admire her. It was a trick her grandmother had taught her when she was starting to hit puberty, and it was paying off well.
His gaze finally met her eyes, such a stark contrast to his own. She could see his breath hitch. As she got closer, in the faint light of the moon, she saw that his pupils were blown wide. She was unversed in this kind of interaction, but knew it was of a very adult nature, and that her virgin status was obvious in the way she blushed deeply, turning her rosy cheeks almost blood red. Her half smile curved her lips.
He offered his arm, and swept her away to the same narrow alley as before. She let her eyes wander a little more this time. A dress shop was closest to the apparition point, and next to it an apothecary. Across the street on the left was a book shop. He pulled her lightly towards it, and she followed eagerly.
Its name was "Bookworms Peril", a rather ominous name for such an inviting looking store. The front door was painted green with thin gold accents, and stained glass windows in purples and reds sat in the middle of it. A small bell rang as they entered. Petra was in awe of the thousands of books stacked neatly on shelves, in rows down the length of the large room. A small counter in the middle held a nice looking elderly woman who smiled politely as they entered.
Petra regretted not getting to peek at many of the titles they passed as they walked toward a chestnut door at the back, which Severus opened familiarly, and led her to a patio with tables arranged in as neat of rows as the books they had just left behind. Each table was unique, and most were filled with witches and wizards, who talked animatedly to each other.
As he sat her at a corner table, a middle aged woman came around to ask what they would like to drink. He ordered a bottle of red wine with a french name, and gave her a small but honest smile when she looked at him funny. She had never had wine at a restaurant, and rarely at parties and dinners, and was surprised he had ordered a bottle for them.
The waitress came back around with it and the tall stemmed glasses, and menus that looked old and worn. The name of the restaurant was printed in cursive at the top, "The Wonder of the Night".
"This is a very interesting kind of restaurant you have taken me to, Severus." her tone was polite, but with a hint of intrigue.
Once again his small smirk graced his lips, and he was looking at her in such an opposite manner as he did as her teacher that she felt very grown up. It seemed that after her outburst the month before he had gained a few ounces of respect for her.
"I heard of this restaurant a few years ago, and it quickly became a favorite of mine due to its seclusion and location behind a bookstore. After we eat I thought you might like to browse in there, and there's a trinket shop a few doors down you might like to see as well. As for the wine, I know that you turn 18 tomorrow and thought that a glass or two was in order to celebrate."
Petra couldn't help her half smile at the way he was so relaxed here, before she started to read the menu in front of her. Most of the items were Italian, with some french foods thrown in as well for good measure. So many looked extremely appetizing, but she had been drawn to the chilled citrus duck with asparagus almost immediately, and found nothing that looked better. The wine he had ordered was decadent even to her inexperienced palette.
The waitress came back around and they ordered, her duck, and Severus ordered a filet mignon medium rare. They chatted during their meal, just general chatter about books and food and things, and it was a very pleasant dinner.
As promised, they browsed the book store, and Petra ended up ordering a few things, books about the magical properties of wood, and runes that could be used to project different meanings. The trinket shop held many pretty things, but she didn't want to spend money on useless pretties and soon they were apparating back to the school.
This time though, he took her hand in his, and brought it to his lips for a kiss like a perfect gentleman. She blushed deeply, worrying that she was going to have permanent red spots on her cheeks if he kept treating her like this.
"Happy birthday, Petra. This evening has been quite a pleasure.
It is true, I was and am apprehensive about this arrangement, but these courting sessions are taking some of the edge away from this impending commitment. you are proving yourself to be a sophisticated and amusing witch, and not the child I had always seen you to be. I am still very sorry for the way I treated you at the beginning of dinner last time. I hope that you can forgive me and come to see that I am trying very hard to make this less painful, for both of us, so that when the time comes it is less of a burden to bear." his black eyes flickered between her own, looking for some confirmation that she felt similar to him.
"Thank you Severus, for both your birthday wishes and your repeated apology. I confess that it sounds a lot more agreeable this time, now that I am less aggravated about your dismissal of me. You have proven yourself to be quite the gentleman, and are showing your potential to be a wonderful partner." She smiled almost a full smile at the shine in his eyes at her words.
She had begun to realize that confirmation was something that he passively sought, but would never ask for. All night she had tried to express, even if it wasn't always through words, that she was enjoying herself. He listened to stories she told of her American grandparents, and asked questions about America and the differences she saw in her country versus this one. He seemed genuine in his interest and it was like talking to a different man, one who held less of the world on his shoulders.
"Goodnight, Severus." She didn't mean to whisper it, but she did, and his eyes darted to her mouth.
"Goodnight, Little one." His voice was husky and she was glad it was dark and she could fully hide behind her hair.
The next morning, she awoke to a few wrapped gifts at the foot of her bed. One was from her grandparents, and contained a new notebook that was charmed to organize her notes so she didn't have to rewrite them in a second notebook later. The letter explained that all she had to do was add numbers to each note and the notebook would rewrite them in order.
The second was from her mother, and made her blush straight into her hairline, for it was a set of lingerie in a deep forest green. The top was a bustier that was solid dark green in the bra, with silver and yellow flowers embroidered across it, and a tight sheer cage below it. The bottoms were scandalously small in the same design as the bra. Petra was terrified of the garment and could not imagine wearing it in any setting. A small card stated that it was for 'confidence'. Petra could not imagine that wearing that would give her anything but stage fright.
The last was a small silver velvet box. Petra opened it slowly and was shocked to see a bracelet inside. She had been looking at it in the trinket shop and had almost bought it, but had decided against the frivolous purchase. It was a black titanium bangle, shaped like thorny vines with yellow jeweled flowers set in various spots around it.
She carefully pushed it onto her wrist and looked for a card but could not find one. Petra knew exactly who it was that sent it, and realized that he would not want to take credit for such a thoughtful gift.
It took a lot longer for Petra to get ready for the day then it usually took. She took her time to make sure her hair looked perfect and applied light makeup to her eyes, to enhance their shape and make the two colors pop. She looked at the box of lingerie multiple times, and decided to at least try it on. she stood in the ensemble in front of the small mirror in the corner of the room where she had transfigured a privacy screen. After so many years of changing in a dorm she usually wasn't worried, but she did not want anyone seeing her so scantily clad.
It made her feel beautiful. The softness of it and the way it hugged her subtle curves, curves she did not previously believe she had, made her feel amazing, and she understood now how something like this could bring confidence.
So she wore the damn thing under her weekend clothes, equally embarrassed and empowered, and wore her new bracelet on her left wrist.
Katey was waiting for her in the common room, next to a rectangle draped with a sheet. After shrieking "happy birthday!" and hugging Petra, who did not like being hugged, she whipped the sheet off and presented a painting.
It was the black lake and the forest beyond, painted it Kateys unique style. It was a masterpiece. The colors and the way the landscape almost moved was perfect.
"Katey, this is amazing!" She could not help but stare up at the girl in awe.
"I had been working on it for a while, but when you told me a week ago when your birthday was, I finished it up. I thought, you know, with your love of the lake that you would like to have a piece of it with you when you left."
Petra was stunned. She had only been friends with the girl for a month but here she was, on the verge of tears because of this wonderful gift she was receiving. She made a rash decision and wrapped her arms around Katey, who laughed and hugged her back.
Petra and Katey snuck into the kitchens later, and the house elves were happy to prepare a special birthday celebration dinner for them. She noticed that two of the house elves had hats on, and one socks, although the one with socks looked a lot happier about it then the other. Petra took notice of this and ran back to the dorm real quick to grab two of the buttons she had saved for Minny, hoping that the two free elves would accept her gift.
The male elf was ecstatic, and immediately secured it with magic to his pillow case, and attempted to do the same for his female companion, who whimpered and would not let him. Sometimes elves were freed against their will (a strangely British concept- Minny was free and worked for her grandparents for sweets) and if Petra had to guess this was one of those strange cases.
"My name is Dobby, missus, and this is Winky. Don't mind her, she has had a bit too much butter beer. Thank you for the buttons, they are beautiful!" He was comparing the button to his socks, and to his delight they were the same red and gold. Petra had thought that he would enjoy the gryffindor colors, because his whole outfit was maroon.
Katey was looking at Petra strangely but didn't comment on the house elf gifts. Soon one of the other elves was handing them a basket with flowers on top, and Dobby retrieved something in their storeroom that was wrapped in paper. The two girls said farewell and headed to an empty classroom on the 7th floor they had found earlier in the day. Here they lit the fireplace and set up a blanket for a makeshift picnic.
Inside the basket was an array of different foods. Roast beef sandwiches on fresh bread, with rosemary sauce spread on the top, parmesan mashed potatoes, a sliced baguette and a bunch of jams, and lots of steamed veggies. The thing that Dobby had given her was a small carrot cake that smelled divine.
They tucked into their meal, while talking about previous birthdays and how amazing all the food was. Petra learned that Kateys birthday was in May, and they started making plans for a celebration outside, on the edge of the forest where there was a meadow, which bloomed right around then with thousands of wild flowers.
After they had finished and cleaned up, and extinguished the fireplace, Katey told her that she needed to do some studying and asked if Petra wanted to go to the library with her. Petra did not, content to take one night off because it was her birthday, and so she found herself walking down the many staircases alone, to return the basket and dishes to the kitchen. Footsteps sounded quietly behind her, but she ignored them and trudged on, cursing the stairs and their ever changing positions, because she could already tell she was going to have to backtrack a few times. The footsteps were getting closer and finally Petra turned her head slightly to catch a glimpse of whoever it was.
It was apparent who it was immediately, the black frock coat and dragon hide boots were easy to recognize, and as she turned her head fully she could tell he had been following her on purpose. He was gazing intently at her and the basket in her hands.
"What have you been out doing tonight, miss Strider? You missed dinner." She could tell he had been worried and must have been looking for her.
"Katey and I had a makeshift picnic in a classroom upstairs. I didn't think I would be missed at dinner, but I guess I was wrong. Katey is in the library in case you were looking for her as well." She couldn't help the sarcasm that had crept into her voice, but she very much doubted he noticed Katey missing as well. This was her Fiance Severus, and not the head of house slytherin, even if he was calling her by her surname.
"I am glad to hear she is also alright." His gaze reached her wrist, where the bracelet he had gifted her was gleaming proudly in the torch light. "That is a lovely bracelet, did you receive it for your birthday?" Ah, Petra thought, this game.
"Thank you, sir, and yes I did. There was no letter attached to the box though, so I do not know who sent it." He smirked at that, and her lip had curled up to the side.
"Well, when you figure it out, you must send a thank you letter. I am sure the sender is anxious to know that you like it, even if they did not say who it was."
"Oh, professor, I am sure whoever it is knows already. I was quite interested in it at a shop, and was pleasantly surprised to open its box this morning. He even picked the yellow one, though I am at a loss on how he knew it was my favorite color." Shit. I used he instead of they.
"Ah, a boy sent it? I was not aware you had so many admirers that you do not know which one would send such a gift." His eyes gleamed darkly, and she knew he enjoyed this game, much like he enjoyed tormenting students in his class.
"Actually, there is only one, and I am not sure he would like to be described as a boy, when he is clearly a man, and a very intelligent and thoughtful one at that." Severus flushed at the compliment, and she knew she had him beat.
He was trying to figure out how to reply, but she reached out and lightly touched his hand, but pulled away before it was purposeful. Petra knew he would not appreciate a display, but she was overly confident in the lingerie she was now very conscious that she was wearing.
"Petra." he said softly, and she knew it was a warning that he would not allow that to happen again in the school, where anyone could have seen it. To her it was thrilling though, and she decided to try and do it again next time she could.
She smiled darkly at his warning.
"Would you mind walking me to the kitchens, professor? With the stairs shifting as often as they are, I am beginning to get worried I might get lost." She was worried about no such thing, but in the game they played, asking him to walk with her for no reason would not have gone over well.
"Of course, miss Strider. I was heading in that direction when I found you." He twitched like he wanted to offer his arm. She smiled at that and started to walk again, although more slowly than she had been initially.
It did not take nearly as long as she would have liked, but she was content to have been in his company for any length of time.
"Well, we are here, Miss Strider. It is nearly 9:30, so you should hurry. If I find you wandering after curfew, I will not be forgiving, and you will find yourself dissecting a lot of bugs come monday." She knew he was being serious, but there was something naughty about the way he said I will not be forgiving.
She had to stop that train of thought, but she promised herself she would wear the lingerie again on their next date, because the Petra who wore bustiers was more woman then girl, and she liked it.
One year older, and engaged to her professor, Petra felt like the woman she had always been pressed to be, and she would change nothing about it. She finally felt free.