Chapter 4: The Morning After
a/n: Thank you for all the follows and reviews. I am pumping out the chapters as quickly as my slow-moving brain can produce.
Severus woke a few hours later as the sun was just rising and it was shining through the bedroom window. He turned away from the window and almost jumped when he discovered his naked colleague asleep next to him. As he started to wake up, everything from the night before came back to him.
Minerva was laying on her back with a very twisted sheet barely covering her body. Severus grinned to himself when he thought about the sheet. It was amazing it was still intact. Their love-making had been passionate and to be honest a bit of a power struggle making the bed and nightstand look like a tornado had passed through. Apparently Minerva was competitive in more than just Quidditch, he thought.
Since he was a little distracted by other activities last night he now took his time to marvel at the beautiful work both on, and that was, her naked body. He let his fingers trace the length of her mark from top to bottom. She stirred under his touch and inadvertently gave a soft moan. The sound had an instant effect on him and he wanted to become one with her again.
She opened her eyes as he moved to trace her nipple with his finger but he felt her body go tense and it seemed she had the same moment of panic that he felt when he first woke. She grabbed his wrist gently to stop his caresses.
He laid on his back and returned his head to his pillow giving her a few seconds to process everything. When she did she reached down to untangle the sheet and brought it up to cover her naked body. Severus was a bit annoyed and couldn't stop the negativity in his voice when he said "probably a little late for that".
She snapped her head towards "What, I am not allowed to be cold?"
"Cold, yes…embarrassed and regretful, no" he countered.
Leave it to Severus to tell it to her straight, those were the exact emotions she was felling. What came over her last night? She brought her forearm up to cover her forehead almost as if she was trying to hide. Severus took the hint and quickly got up grabbing for his clothes.
She realized a little too late how he might take her reaction and she called out "Severus, wait!" as he walked into her sitting room with his clothes in his hand. She quickly got out of bed and threw on her tartan robe and chased after him. By the time she got to the sitting room he had his trousers on and was putting on his shirt.
"Come back to bed" she pleaded. He didn't answer but continued to dress. He put his coat on but had none of the buttons done as he made his way to the door. Minerva grabbed her wand and pointed at him saying "Severus stop".
That finally got his attention. "Really, Minerva…you are threatening to hex me" he said as he brushed past her calling her bluff. She panicked for a moment as she didn't want him to walk away without listening to her. If he left now, it would take weeks, if not months to repair the damage. She ran to the door and pressed he back against it essentially blocking him from leaving.
He walked up to her and got nose to nose and simply said "move".
"No" she said "not until you take a moment and listen to me"
He continued to stare at her but he made no move to try and pry her from the door. She took a breath and meet his eyes, she could see the pain and hurt in them as well as the desire and anger he was feeling. She used her index finger to trace his jaw, trying to help him release the tension. He grabbed her wrist and held it in front of their eyes saying "don't play games with me Minerva" and he proceeded to push her out of the way and walk out her door.
She let him go. She had to. She still had no idea what she wanted to happen. Severus was her friend up until last night, one of her closest friends at Hogwarts. Not the kind of friend that you share idle gossip or the daily ups and downs of everyday life. She had Pomona Sprout and Poppy Pomfrey for that. Instead, he was the type of friend where you could share an entire conversation with a raise of an eyebrow or a slight nod of the head. They so often thought and felt the same about a variety of issues and their mannerism were so similar. They both kept their private life private and their feelings close to the vest…well, up until last night.
Minerva tried to block that out of her head as she started to get ready for the day. It was the week before exams began and the entire castle seemed to be on edge. Albus was still absent from the school and Dolorus Umbridge was running the show. What that actually meant was Minerva was running the real show and allowing the students full reign to drive Umbridge out of town. Unfortunately, she was going to have to crack down on that as she drew a line at setting fire to the school. She would need to have a quick word with the Weasley twins about less structural damaging distractions.
When she returned to her room to get dressed she had to collect her clothes from a variety of locations around the room. She couldn't help but smile at the memories of last night. She was always slightly attracted to Severus but she often assumed that was because the other options in the "potential desirable man" category were extremely limited at Hogwarts. Flitwick too goofy and short, Flitch too bizarre and unattractive, and despite rumors to the contrary, she was not in any way attracted to Albus. She loved and respected him greatly, but there was a certain father quality to him that prevented any sexual feelings. Lupin's one-year tenure, however, that she could entertain but there was the slight werewolf issue and she wasn't sure if a passionate affair with a werewolf was in her best interest from a health perspective.
Lupin made her think about Severus again, mostly because he hated Lupin with every ounce of his being. Minerva decided she better get to the great hall before Severus for breakfast and keep her wits about her. Breakfast, if nothing else, was going to be very interesting.
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Severus marched back to his dungeon quarters in quite a foul mood. Thankfully no one was in the corridors at this early hour so he was able to escape back to his chambers undisturbed. He needed some time alone to figure out what the hell just happened.
As he sat in his favorite arm chair he ran his fingers down the arm of the chair letting the soft fabric sooth him. Instead of relaxing him, he remembered how his hands ran up and down her body. He always knew she was a bundle of passion and she showed him that in spades last night. The sexual act itself was amazing but it was the touches and caresses in between that were a completely new experience for him. They were constantly kissing as if she was afraid to loose contact with his lips. His jaw was actually still a little sore, he had never kissed someone for hours before.
She had awaken feelings in him that he had buried long ago. He had experienced passionate sexual liaisons before, he had experienced respect and attraction for other women before, he had experienced obsessive thoughts about a woman before, he had even experienced gentleness and kindness from a few women in his life before, but he had yet to find them all in one person and all in one experience. When she shunned him this morning, he had been reminded of the feeling he had definitely experienced before, pain and disappointment.
If she wanted to bottle up the memory and bury it, well he could do that to. He spent a few moments to pull himself together, then he headed to the great hall for breakfast. He wanted to get their first, let her walk in and deal with the awkward situation.
The great hall was filled with chatter, it was a Friday and even with exams around the corner, the atmosphere on the great hall was always one of jubilee on a Friday. The two days without class was a relief to both teachers and students alike. When Snape walked past the house tables towards the head table he was shocked to see Minerva sitting there alone. So much for avoiding awkward moments.
He took up his usual spot next to her and for a few moments neither of them spoke. Severus busied his time with fixing his tea. Minerva was the first to crack. The Gryffindor, always having to display their bold and brave attitude toward life.
"Are you finally willing to let me speak" she said in an irascible voice. The gentle caresses gone, being replaced by tight bun, matter-of-fact, Minerva McGonagall that he was much more used to dealing with.
"Speak" he said in an equally terse manner while opening his palm and gesturing that the floor was hers.
"I fear we may have had a misunderstanding" she said
"And when did this misunderstanding occur, in the night or the morning, because it seemed to me that we were understanding each other quite well last night" he replied in a less aggressive tone. He took a moment to glance at her sideways and he smirked slightly at the color that had risen to her cheeks.
"Agreed" she muttered and took a sip of her tea to have a moment to compose herself. As she finished her sip there was Doloros Umbridge making her way to the head table. Minerva turned slightly to look at him, she didn't have much time to say what she needed to say. Severus turned his neck slightly so their eyes met.
"I am not playing games with you Severus, I just need a few days to figure out what this means and how it changes the future."
He nodded his ascent as Umbridge finally made her way up to the headmasters chair. She said "Good morning Severus" and as an afterthought "Minerva" They both returned her greeting and then breakfast continued mostly in silence.
a/n: I hope you don't mind that they are not living "happily ever after" after one night. In my head they are both stubborn people and I imagine their relationship more as a roller coaster. Let me know if you agree!
