Tendrils of Smoke

Chapter Two:

Lily and Sateen

~~~~~~~

Severus tossed and turned his bed later that night as terrible dreams ripped through his mind. His parents were beating him relentlessly for not doing a potion perfectly.

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" the boy begged in his dream, tears streaming down his face. "I'll get help on my Potions!"

When he uttered that last phrase the bad dream slowly slipped away like tendrils of smoke disappearing. The beautiful face of his Ice Princess replaced his mother's angry face.

"I'd like to teach you everything I know that you don't, and help you perfect the potions that you already know." Her blood red lips spoke as the blue in her eyes burned with intensity.

"Yes." Severus whispered from his sitting position as he stared up at her with awe. "Yes!"

~~~~~~~

Severus was sitting at the table eating, well, pushing the food around his plate really. He lifted his goblet up to his lips wishing he could cast a spell to put some alcohol in the juice but not knowing how.

He glared at the clear orange liquid in the cup, swirled it around and then took a drink. The air in the great hall suddenly changed and all the Slytherins looked up at the door. Severus thought it strange that whenever the Potions Mistress entered the room, no one but the Slytherins could feel her presence. They all smiled as she slowly walked in, making her way toward the Slytherin table.

She gently walked along the table. When she got to the middle of the table she leaned forward and whispered bitterly, "Look at that! That stupid Potter boy is warming to that mudblood Lily!"

Severus felt a huge wave of jealousy wash over him. It had been a well-known fact among all Slytherins that Sateen had wanted James Potter to be in Slytherin. Especially when he became Seeker for the Gryffindor Quidditch team. Now, in their fifth year at Hogwarts, he was one of the best Seekers ever.

"I trust you'll take care of that," she whispered as she straightened and began walking some more. As she came up to Severus she placed her hand on his left shoulder and whispered into his right ear, "But not you Severus. You devote your extra time to Potions."

He nodded quickly and hoarsely whispered, "Yes, Sateen!"

Picking up his goblet he once again wished that there were alcohol in it. He felt the comforting sensation of icy cold breath on the back of his neck as Sateen sighed. "Oh, my dear Sev," she whispered. "Here, let me put some alcohol in that glass for you."

He nodded, not really caring anymore. He was too drunk in the fragrance that wafted off of Sateen. The clean, cool, crisp scent of ice. He loved it.

"There my dear." She whispered and straightened up, patting him lightly on the shoulder.

He watched her as she walked up to the staff table, taking her seat at the end. She picked up her goblet and brought it to her lips. Peering over the top of the rim of her glass she winked at him and then took a quick sip, setting it down.

Severus watched as she turned to talk to another one of the teachers. He picked up his own goblet and took a sip. The tang of the alcohol was very present, as well as a strong fruit taste.

~~~~~~~

He was sitting in Herbology when he heard a voice behind him. He looked and saw Lily walking in, on the arm of Harry Potter.

"Hi Severus." She said as they passed the table he was seated at.

"Don't talk to him baby." James said, sneering at Severus behind Lily's back.

Severus, who had begun to feel hopeful when Lily had greeted him, felt a large weight drop on his heart. What he wouldn't give to have Lily as a girlfriend. What he wouldn't give to call her baby.

The lesson started for the day and halfway through class an owl swooped into the room. It circled a couple of times before a dropping a note in front of Severus, hooted and then flew out. Severus looked at the black owl, growing smaller and smaller.

"Snape the snake got a letter!" he heard James mumble to his friends.

"Come on baby, be nice." Lily whispered to him. James stopped giggling and soon his friends did the same.

Severus picked up the letter and opened the envelope. Pulling out the parchment inside he opened it.

Severus,

I realized that your class does not have Potions today, I was going to talk to you then. Meet me tonight after supper in my dungeon.

Sateen

He smiled slightly as he put the letter back in the envelope and tucked it into the pocket of his robes. Lily and James were now completely out of his mind.

~~~~~~~

At supper that night he noticed that Sateen slipped out of the Great Hall early. He waited five minutes before muttering, "I'm going to go take a walk." To the person next to him.

He quickly ran down the spiral stairs to the dungeon and quickly found the classroom. He stepped inside and saw Sateen at her desk, leaning back in her chair. She was holding a boa and was whispering to it.

He watched mesmerized for a couple minutes as she whispered to the boa and the long snake reacted. Then she looked up. Smiling she said, "Come in Severus."

He shakily took some steps into the room as she stood up and placed the snake back in its aquarium, shutting the lid tightly.

She turned around gazed at him. "Severus, dear, is something wrong? Your cheeks are pink!"

"I-I-I guess I'm just kind of embarrassed." Severus stuttered.

"Embarrassed?" she asked blinking. "Why?"

"I don't know. I guess you were just having a conversation with your snake and…" he mumbled. "…And I interrupted. It really did look like you and your snake were talking back and forth!"

Sateen smiled again, and Severus realized how much he really did like smiles if they were on the faces of the right person, and there were only two people he liked to see smile. Lily and Sateen. Severus quickly pushed the thought of Lily out of his head and internally kicked himself for thinking of Lily before Sateen.

Sateen's smile grew as if she knew how much he loved it. "We were having a conversation," she said and quickly started to explain when a look of confusion crossed his face. "I speak parseltongue. I'm able to communicate with snakes."

"Where did you learn parseltongue?" he asked her in awe.

"I didn't learn it. I don't even know if you can! I've known it since I was a baby. Some people are just born with the ability. There aren't many people who know it though. And, it's said that people who do know parseltongue are going to be great wizards or witches of the Dark Arts. Salazar knew it." She told him.

"Salazar Slytherin?" he asked her breathlessly. She nodded. She always talked about the founder of the house of Slytherin by using his first name only. She was the only person he knew of that did that.

"Is it true that you are related to Salazar Slytherin?" he asked her.

She smiled mysteriously at him. He didn't know whether to take her smile as a yes or as a no.

"Shall we get started?" she asked him.

"Started with what?" he asked.

"With your first lesson?" she asked. He nodded and she opened a drawer in her desk, pulling out a big book and dropping it on her desk. He looked at it. Potions for the Evil One.

"Potions for the Evil One? What is that?" Severus asked her.

"This book is filled with potions that aren't even taught at Durmstrang Academy. Potions for a person who is devoted to the Dark Arts." She whispered hurriedly.

"Are you allowed to show me these? Are you even allowed to have this book in the school?" Severus asked her.

"No." she whispered, picking up the heavy book and clutching it her chest with one arm. With her free arm, she grabbed his wrist and dragged him to her office. Opening the door she walked in, closing it behind her. She grabbed his wrist again and dragged him across the room. Dropping his wrist she opened a door, and then placing her hand on his back guided him in.

He looked around and saw that there were shelves filled with books on two walls of the room. Against another wall was a large four-poster bed. There was a large table filled with vials and bowls and beakers. In the middle of the room around a large rug that displayed a snake were couches and chairs. In the snakes open mouth was a black coffee table.

"Hold this." She said and gave him the book. He had to shift his weight onto his feet evenly to hold the heavy book. She turned her back on him and shut the door, pulling a chain from beneath her robes and locking the door behind him. She turned around; "I can take that again."

He handed her the book and she took it, walking towards the table. He was drawn to the bookshelves. He read over every title on every shelf, absorbing all the books on the Dark Arts.

He looked at the bed again and began walking towards Sateen. "Professor Salazin," he said, using that title for the first time. He now viewed her as someone greater than the Old One. For she held all the keys to the Dark Arts. "Is this your bedroom?"

She was busily flipping through the pages of the book, looking for something. She stopped and turned around. "No. This is my lab. It's the only place in the castle that I can work on the Dark Arts without anyone around. I just lock the door and let the magic take me away. I just happen to sleep in here as well. If I even sleep. And please, Severus, don't call me Professor Salazin. That may be fine for other Slytherins, but not for you. Not for you Severus. Please, call me Sateen. In fact, I demand that you call me Sateen," she began walking closer to him. "I am your mentor while we are in my lab, Severus, not your teacher." She finally reached him and she placed her hand on his shoulder, leaning down and kissing him lightly on the cheek.

Severus reveled in the kiss. She stepped back and went back to the table, flipping through it some more. His heart fell when she stepped away, his cheek freezing where her lips had touched.

He wanted so badly to kiss her again. On the lips.

Disclaimer: The only character that is mine is Sateen Salazin. All others are owned by JK Rowling. No infringement is intended.