1.1 Hmm… I haven't had any reviews lately. Are you sure you lot want me
to continue?…
If anyone is reading, enjoy chapter 7…
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1.3
1.4
1.5
1.6 Chapter 7 – A Bet Almost Won
Karen slept badly that night. All she could think about was Snape. She was worried about these new feelings she was experiencing. Should she tell him how she felt? Or should she just ignore her thoughts? After all as Amber said, "He's not the loving kind" he wouldn't want a relationship, would he?
All this thinking finally got Karen to stop tossing and turning and open her eyes. I'm not going to get any sleep, so I might aswell get up and do something. Karen turned to look at her clock. The alarm was still set for seven o'clock and luckily it was only six. Ah, an hour shouldn't be too hard to fill she thought and got up out of bed.
Karen didn't like the long nighties that were provided for her by Hogwarts. She preferred a pair of shorts and a T-shirt. Her muggle fashions didn't end there. As it was a Saturday, she had no need for her school robes, so after she got washed she put on a nice comfy pair of jeans and a roll-neck jumper. She spotted her trainers and slipped them on (she never did up the laces, they took too long to do). She decided on going down to the Great Hall and would get something to eat as soon as breakfast was served. But as the elves at Hogwarts didn't start breakfast until eight so she took her personal CD player and would sit quietly and wait. With her bag over her shoulder containing her money and her coat, (just in case it got a bit nippy) and her CD player in-hand she plugged the headphones into her ears and unaccompanied, she went to the Great Hall.
Karen pushed open the doors and took a long look at what was in front of her. Without the students and teachers and noise, the hall looked very lonely. Karen felt pleased to provide it with some company. She gazed around taking in all the detail of the carved wood panels, the finely stitched tapestries and as she walked she looked up at the ceiling above. The sky was a light Orange colour, the sun was on its way up, and it was completely cloudless. Today would be a nice day. She walked down the centre of the aisle between the house tables, her footsteps echoed around the long, barren room. As the teachers' table drew nearer she noticed how comfortable Professor Dumbledore's chair looked. She made her way around the back of the table, past Flitwick's chair, past Snape's chair, which she brushed with her hand. Then past her own and Amber's chairs and finally reached Dumbledore's. She looked back at the way she just walked and then at the doors right at the other end of the hall, just to make sure no-one was watching her. Now that she knew she was completely alone she looked at the chair before her. It was the tallest of all the chairs and was positioned in the centre of the table. It had all sorts of wavy patterns carved into it and as Karen took a closer look she could see her face reflected in the gold trimmings. The seat and back were cushioned with what looked like a handcrafted patchwork quilt. There were all different squares each containing a picture of a different headmaster with their names underneath them. The further down the chair the smaller the pictures were. Well, after a thousand or more years there must have been countless headmasters they had to be small to fit them all in. Right at the very top was an old long haired, long bearded man whom Karen recognised right away and the writing under the picture confirmed her thoughts, it was Dumbledore. She stood in front of the chair and looked out at the hall, Dumbledore had a very nice view. She dropped her bag at her feet then she slowly sat down and closed her eyes. Ah, what a chair! Karen opened her eyes again to check that she was still alone. She was, so she put her feet up to the table and gently tilted the big chair back, mmm… cosy. She pushed play on her CD player and closed her eyes again. She hadn't felt so calm and relaxed all night. She had no awkward thoughts or worries at all.
1.7 And I-I want to thank you, for giving me the best days of my life…
'Hmm-hm-hm-hm-hm, hm-hmm-hm-hm-hmm… Argh!'
Karen was gently humming along to the music when something grabbed her shoulders. She was so shocked her arms flew out to the side sending her CD player skimming along the floor and her legs jerked too far forward and the chair she was in tipped right over backwards and hit the floor with an almighty crash. She had her eyes continually shut, half out of fright and half out of embarrassment, she was too afraid to open them. Still in a sitting position, but on her back she turned her head to the side and squinting (in case she had to shut them quickly again) she opened her eyes just a tiny bit. What she saw made her open her eyes fully – it was a pair of black boots, but only the toes were visible as the rest of them were covered by black cloth. She knew exactly who was standing over her. She looked up the column of black and when she reached the top she saw the familiar face of Severus Snape.
'You're up early,' he said looking down his long nose at her and raising an eyebrow.
'You too,' she said struggling to get herself upright. He rolled his eyes at her feeble attempt to right herself and stepped in to give her a hand. 'Thanks,' she said as he helped her to her feet. 'You startled me,'
'I was calling you but you didn't respond. I had to check you were alright,'
Karen smiled at the fact Snape showed her concern. 'I was listening to that,' she said pointing to her CD player. Noticing that Dumbledore's chair was still on the floor she tried to pick it up but it was incredibly heavy.
'Stop,' said Snape in his silky tone, 'I'll do it,' Karen stepped away from the chair as Snape reached inside his robes and pulled out his wand. 'Wingardium leviosa!' he muttered with a flick of the wrist. As Snape raised his wand arm the chair followed suit. He made a circular motion in the air and the chair rolled forward ninety degrees to its usual posture and slowly Snape lowered it to the floor. 'There,' he said and turned to Karen. 'Now why didn't you use your wand to pick up the chair?'
'Um…' He doesn't know! Karen thought, quick think of some excuse… I know! 'It's in Ollivanders, it's being repaired,'
'Right,' said Snape, not quite believing her.
Karen went to retrieve her CD player from the floor when Snape asked, 'Why are you up so early? I understand you aren't a morning person,'
Karen picked up her muggle gadget and put one of the headphones in her ear, 'I couldn't sleep,' she said glancing at Snape. He watched what she was doing with interest. She pushed play to check it still worked and luckily she could hear the music.
'So that is why you came to Dumbledore's chair?' Snape asked stepping closer.
'Pardon?' Karen said removing the headphone.
'Dumbledore's chair. It has relaxing purposes, it clears the mind if the mind is troubled,' Snape said moving even closer. His eyes were fixed on the object in Karen's hand. He reached out and said 'May I?'
Karen looked down at what she was holding, 'Ok,' she said handing it to him.
It amused her to watch Snape inspect the muggle contraption. She smiled when he slightly jerked his head backwards as he found the open button and the lid sprang open. He gently pulled the CD out and gazed at his own reflection in it.
'That's a CD,' she said. 'The music is stored on that,'
'There's music, on this?' Snape gave Karen a sarcastic response.
'Yep,' she said ignoring his tone. She took it from him and put it back in the player. 'And these…' she held the headphones in the palm of her hand, 'are headphones. The music comes out of these,'
Snape gave Karen a "you're winding me up" look.
'No, it does, listen,' she pushed play and handed Snape the headphones. He looked at them in his hand and said,
'I can't hear anything,'
'You have to put them in your ears,' Karen said. Snape put one of the headphones
up to his ear but it feel straight down again. Karen pressed stop and said 'Let me do it for you,' She picked up the right headphone and held it up to where Snape's ear was. Her path was blocked by his long black hair. She looked at him, he was staring straight ahead waiting, then she looked back to his hair. She silently took a long breath in. Being so close to Snape made her heart beat faster and she had to try and control herself, her hands were trembling. She reached up and gently brushed his hair behind his ear. It felt soft between her fingers, and was so silky that it fell forwards to the side of his face again. Karen smiled at this, she had another chance to touch him! She put her fingers through his hair and this time held it away from his ear. She looked at his face quickly and then stopped at his eyes, they were closed. I wonder what he's thinking. She gently managed to get the headphone to fit in his ear and released the locks of black hair she was holding. She looked at him as he opened his eyes, he gave her a quick smile. Karen just looked down at the CD player in his hand and pressed play. Snape suddenly looked at the CD player. He held it up, looked under it, looked at the wire connecting the headphones, he appeared impressed but at the same time confused. Karen watched him and smiled when he looked at her. She reached forward and took her possession from him and stopped it.
'Well? What do you think?' Karen asked smiling.
'Could you help me take this out?' He pointed to his ear. Karen put her hand under his hair again and removed the headphone. As she went to pull her hand away she looked at Snape. She didn't smile or say anything, she just looked. He looked back at her. Her hand was left on his cheek. She moved her head closer to his and shut her eyes.
Don't do it. It's too soon.
Feeling Snape's breath move over her face made Karen wanted to kiss him more than ever but that voice was telling her not to. Not yet.
Argh. Karen painfully pulled her head away. Going against her instincts was hard. As she moved away she opened her eyes and looked at Snape. He was stood still eyes shut, he must have just noticed she wasn't going to kiss him because just then he opened his eyes.
'I'm sorry,' Karen said feeling tears welling up. She grabbed her bag, threw her CD player into it and turned to go.
'Wait!' Snape reached out and grabbed her arm. 'I… don't want you to go,' Karen was over the moon. He felt the same. But it was all too soon and she had to tell him so.
'It's too fast Severus. I'm sorry,' she felt torn apart. She needed time, she couldn't rush it. She looked down where his hand held her arm then back up at him. Her tears were beginning to surface. He took the hint and let go. She ran down the hall and back to her room leaving Snape dumbstruck.
If anyone is reading, enjoy chapter 7…
1.2
1.3
1.4
1.5
1.6 Chapter 7 – A Bet Almost Won
Karen slept badly that night. All she could think about was Snape. She was worried about these new feelings she was experiencing. Should she tell him how she felt? Or should she just ignore her thoughts? After all as Amber said, "He's not the loving kind" he wouldn't want a relationship, would he?
All this thinking finally got Karen to stop tossing and turning and open her eyes. I'm not going to get any sleep, so I might aswell get up and do something. Karen turned to look at her clock. The alarm was still set for seven o'clock and luckily it was only six. Ah, an hour shouldn't be too hard to fill she thought and got up out of bed.
Karen didn't like the long nighties that were provided for her by Hogwarts. She preferred a pair of shorts and a T-shirt. Her muggle fashions didn't end there. As it was a Saturday, she had no need for her school robes, so after she got washed she put on a nice comfy pair of jeans and a roll-neck jumper. She spotted her trainers and slipped them on (she never did up the laces, they took too long to do). She decided on going down to the Great Hall and would get something to eat as soon as breakfast was served. But as the elves at Hogwarts didn't start breakfast until eight so she took her personal CD player and would sit quietly and wait. With her bag over her shoulder containing her money and her coat, (just in case it got a bit nippy) and her CD player in-hand she plugged the headphones into her ears and unaccompanied, she went to the Great Hall.
Karen pushed open the doors and took a long look at what was in front of her. Without the students and teachers and noise, the hall looked very lonely. Karen felt pleased to provide it with some company. She gazed around taking in all the detail of the carved wood panels, the finely stitched tapestries and as she walked she looked up at the ceiling above. The sky was a light Orange colour, the sun was on its way up, and it was completely cloudless. Today would be a nice day. She walked down the centre of the aisle between the house tables, her footsteps echoed around the long, barren room. As the teachers' table drew nearer she noticed how comfortable Professor Dumbledore's chair looked. She made her way around the back of the table, past Flitwick's chair, past Snape's chair, which she brushed with her hand. Then past her own and Amber's chairs and finally reached Dumbledore's. She looked back at the way she just walked and then at the doors right at the other end of the hall, just to make sure no-one was watching her. Now that she knew she was completely alone she looked at the chair before her. It was the tallest of all the chairs and was positioned in the centre of the table. It had all sorts of wavy patterns carved into it and as Karen took a closer look she could see her face reflected in the gold trimmings. The seat and back were cushioned with what looked like a handcrafted patchwork quilt. There were all different squares each containing a picture of a different headmaster with their names underneath them. The further down the chair the smaller the pictures were. Well, after a thousand or more years there must have been countless headmasters they had to be small to fit them all in. Right at the very top was an old long haired, long bearded man whom Karen recognised right away and the writing under the picture confirmed her thoughts, it was Dumbledore. She stood in front of the chair and looked out at the hall, Dumbledore had a very nice view. She dropped her bag at her feet then she slowly sat down and closed her eyes. Ah, what a chair! Karen opened her eyes again to check that she was still alone. She was, so she put her feet up to the table and gently tilted the big chair back, mmm… cosy. She pushed play on her CD player and closed her eyes again. She hadn't felt so calm and relaxed all night. She had no awkward thoughts or worries at all.
1.7 And I-I want to thank you, for giving me the best days of my life…
'Hmm-hm-hm-hm-hm, hm-hmm-hm-hm-hmm… Argh!'
Karen was gently humming along to the music when something grabbed her shoulders. She was so shocked her arms flew out to the side sending her CD player skimming along the floor and her legs jerked too far forward and the chair she was in tipped right over backwards and hit the floor with an almighty crash. She had her eyes continually shut, half out of fright and half out of embarrassment, she was too afraid to open them. Still in a sitting position, but on her back she turned her head to the side and squinting (in case she had to shut them quickly again) she opened her eyes just a tiny bit. What she saw made her open her eyes fully – it was a pair of black boots, but only the toes were visible as the rest of them were covered by black cloth. She knew exactly who was standing over her. She looked up the column of black and when she reached the top she saw the familiar face of Severus Snape.
'You're up early,' he said looking down his long nose at her and raising an eyebrow.
'You too,' she said struggling to get herself upright. He rolled his eyes at her feeble attempt to right herself and stepped in to give her a hand. 'Thanks,' she said as he helped her to her feet. 'You startled me,'
'I was calling you but you didn't respond. I had to check you were alright,'
Karen smiled at the fact Snape showed her concern. 'I was listening to that,' she said pointing to her CD player. Noticing that Dumbledore's chair was still on the floor she tried to pick it up but it was incredibly heavy.
'Stop,' said Snape in his silky tone, 'I'll do it,' Karen stepped away from the chair as Snape reached inside his robes and pulled out his wand. 'Wingardium leviosa!' he muttered with a flick of the wrist. As Snape raised his wand arm the chair followed suit. He made a circular motion in the air and the chair rolled forward ninety degrees to its usual posture and slowly Snape lowered it to the floor. 'There,' he said and turned to Karen. 'Now why didn't you use your wand to pick up the chair?'
'Um…' He doesn't know! Karen thought, quick think of some excuse… I know! 'It's in Ollivanders, it's being repaired,'
'Right,' said Snape, not quite believing her.
Karen went to retrieve her CD player from the floor when Snape asked, 'Why are you up so early? I understand you aren't a morning person,'
Karen picked up her muggle gadget and put one of the headphones in her ear, 'I couldn't sleep,' she said glancing at Snape. He watched what she was doing with interest. She pushed play to check it still worked and luckily she could hear the music.
'So that is why you came to Dumbledore's chair?' Snape asked stepping closer.
'Pardon?' Karen said removing the headphone.
'Dumbledore's chair. It has relaxing purposes, it clears the mind if the mind is troubled,' Snape said moving even closer. His eyes were fixed on the object in Karen's hand. He reached out and said 'May I?'
Karen looked down at what she was holding, 'Ok,' she said handing it to him.
It amused her to watch Snape inspect the muggle contraption. She smiled when he slightly jerked his head backwards as he found the open button and the lid sprang open. He gently pulled the CD out and gazed at his own reflection in it.
'That's a CD,' she said. 'The music is stored on that,'
'There's music, on this?' Snape gave Karen a sarcastic response.
'Yep,' she said ignoring his tone. She took it from him and put it back in the player. 'And these…' she held the headphones in the palm of her hand, 'are headphones. The music comes out of these,'
Snape gave Karen a "you're winding me up" look.
'No, it does, listen,' she pushed play and handed Snape the headphones. He looked at them in his hand and said,
'I can't hear anything,'
'You have to put them in your ears,' Karen said. Snape put one of the headphones
up to his ear but it feel straight down again. Karen pressed stop and said 'Let me do it for you,' She picked up the right headphone and held it up to where Snape's ear was. Her path was blocked by his long black hair. She looked at him, he was staring straight ahead waiting, then she looked back to his hair. She silently took a long breath in. Being so close to Snape made her heart beat faster and she had to try and control herself, her hands were trembling. She reached up and gently brushed his hair behind his ear. It felt soft between her fingers, and was so silky that it fell forwards to the side of his face again. Karen smiled at this, she had another chance to touch him! She put her fingers through his hair and this time held it away from his ear. She looked at his face quickly and then stopped at his eyes, they were closed. I wonder what he's thinking. She gently managed to get the headphone to fit in his ear and released the locks of black hair she was holding. She looked at him as he opened his eyes, he gave her a quick smile. Karen just looked down at the CD player in his hand and pressed play. Snape suddenly looked at the CD player. He held it up, looked under it, looked at the wire connecting the headphones, he appeared impressed but at the same time confused. Karen watched him and smiled when he looked at her. She reached forward and took her possession from him and stopped it.
'Well? What do you think?' Karen asked smiling.
'Could you help me take this out?' He pointed to his ear. Karen put her hand under his hair again and removed the headphone. As she went to pull her hand away she looked at Snape. She didn't smile or say anything, she just looked. He looked back at her. Her hand was left on his cheek. She moved her head closer to his and shut her eyes.
Don't do it. It's too soon.
Feeling Snape's breath move over her face made Karen wanted to kiss him more than ever but that voice was telling her not to. Not yet.
Argh. Karen painfully pulled her head away. Going against her instincts was hard. As she moved away she opened her eyes and looked at Snape. He was stood still eyes shut, he must have just noticed she wasn't going to kiss him because just then he opened his eyes.
'I'm sorry,' Karen said feeling tears welling up. She grabbed her bag, threw her CD player into it and turned to go.
'Wait!' Snape reached out and grabbed her arm. 'I… don't want you to go,' Karen was over the moon. He felt the same. But it was all too soon and she had to tell him so.
'It's too fast Severus. I'm sorry,' she felt torn apart. She needed time, she couldn't rush it. She looked down where his hand held her arm then back up at him. Her tears were beginning to surface. He took the hint and let go. She ran down the hall and back to her room leaving Snape dumbstruck.