Another brief recap, bear with me. I stayed with Severus last night because he couldn't remember what he wanted me to write about. He is getting in trouble for having me in his room, so I've got to save his ass from getting fired. Only problem is, he thinks I'm in his room, but I'm actually about ten feet away from him, so I've got to get back to where I'm supposed to be before he does.
"Severus and Minerva, please calm down! I think the only way we're going to sort this out is talk to this young woman and get her perspective… and find out how old she it. Severus, could you go fetch her from your room?"
"Very well, headmaster, I shall return in a few minutes. Hopefully Mercury will be able to clear this whole thing up."
Kee-ripes! I thought, I've got to get my ass back down to the dungeons sharpish!
I sprint through the halls, looking back briefly to make sure Severus isn't too close on my tail. I reach his office, slam the door behind me and collapse onto the bed, breathing like a winded elephant. A couple minutes later, Severus strides into the room.
"What's wrong with you?" He asks. "You look like you just ran a marathon."
"I… uh… fell off the bed…"
"Um, ok, I'm not going to ask. You need to come with me and speak to Professor Dumbledore."
"Why?" I ask, hoping to sound inconspicuous.
"Just to clear a few things up."
"Like what?" I ask, bobbing alongside him as we walk through the halls.
"Stuff about you staying here. They want to confirm that you're of age, so I don't get in trouble with the ministry. Stupid really, of course you're of age… Minerva doesn't believe me. She's a teacher here, got a bit of an issue with me…" He shakes his head.
"It's her problem not yours."
"Thank you," he smiles. "Just in here." He opens the door to an office where Professor Dumbledore and a woman I assume is Minerva are sitting.
"This is her, then?" Minerva asks.
"Yes, this is Mercury," Severus replies.
"It's nice to meet you," I extend my hand. "Minerva, is it?"
"Yes," She says stifly, and gives me a handshake that feels more like shaking a wet fish than a hand. "Please, take a seat."
I sit down next to Severus on the sofa.
"Let's keep this short and sweet, shall we?" Professor Dumbledore says, smiling a bit. "Mercury, just a few questions…"
"How old are you?" Minerva interrupts. "Are you of age or aren't you?"
"Pardon me?" I say, trying to act surprised. "I'm twenty three years old. That would make me of age, would it not?"
"Yes, it would…" Professor Dumbledore replies, but Minerva cuts him off again.
"How do we know you're not lying? Have you got proof?"
"Proof? Of what sort?"
"License, certificate, anything."
"Give me a second." I rummage in my pockets to find my wallet, bring out my Wizarding License and hand it to Minerva. "Is that adequate?"
She looks at it for a moment, then pronounces herself satisfied and sinks into her seat.
"Is it true," asks Dumbledore, "that you told Severus you find him attractive?"
"Yes, I did tell him that," I reply, taking notice that a definite look of disgust crosses Minerva's face.
"Did you come here with romantic intentions in mind?"
"Not at all! I came here to write a story. Yes, I find Severus attractive, but I'm engaged to be married and wouldn't even consider cheating on my fiancé!"
"You're engaged?" Minerva asks with shock, sitting bolt upright.
"As a matter of face, I am." I show her the gold and diamond ring on my finger.
"Thank you, Mercury, and you too, Severus. You are both welcome to leave. Sorry for disturbing you." Professor Dumbledore stands up and opens the door for us to leave. We walk in silence back to his office, and I notice a distinct look of sadness on his face.
"What's wrong?"
"You didn't tell me that you're engaged."
"I'm not!"
"But, you just said…" His eyes widen.
"I just made that up so we wouldn't get in trouble. They think I'm involved that deeply with someone, they're not going to think anything's going on between us… not that anything is going on between us…"
"You're not engaged…"
"Not at all! I'm free as a bird!" I do a little pirouette and flop down onto the bed. "Sure I'd love a boyfriend, but I'm way too young to be tied down that harshly!"
"You really had me going there!" He sits down next to me and gives a small chuckle.
"Well, would it really matter if I was engaged?"
"I… I guess not… there's nothing going on between us…"
"Of course there isn't…"
"Absolutely nothing…" He turns to face me and I look at him. For a moment, we just stare into each others eyes (and he has beautiful eyes) and then… I feel his lips upon mine…
To be continued…
Sorry, I know it was really short. With the recent tragedies in the US, it's been rather hard for me to find my Muse. I wrote this to cheer myself up, it worked. Me kissing Snape is definitely my idea of fun. To explain the month long delay with the Big Brother story – I had it almost done, my computer crashed. I rewrote it, my brother erased it by accident (or was it?). Now, it's just kind of hard to write anything at all. I'll try to get it up this weekend, along with (perhaps) part four of this (which will be longer than this part was). I'll cheer myself up with a marathon Alan Rickman and Queen video-fest. That always makes me happy…
Mother Mercury (who's considered writing a non-humor fic and wants your suggestions)
