Disclaimer/Explanation:

Gwen belongs to Hannah
Manx belongs to me.
Manx and Gwen are dating.

Headnotes:
* = Jupiter slept with Manx's head of house to keep him from being expelled for beating up a Slytherin. Manx was furious.
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The next morning, Professor Snape strode into the detention hall. It was empty, save for a fifth year Ravenclaw.

"Ah, yes...Miss Le Fey," he sighed, wearily. He'd gotten precious little sleep last night, "Follow me."

Severus strode into the darkened classroom, lighting a few torches with his wand on the way in. Trusting that Gwen was behind him, he continued walking towards the head of the class. Turning towards a large wooden door at the front, he uttered an incantation. The lock clicked and the door swung open. Within was a treasure trove of ingredients for potions rising up toward the ceiling, everything imaginable was contained within. In one little corner, a little sink was positioned. Various pots and vials lay scattered about it. He motioned to it with a wave of his hand.

"This is your detention. No magic is allowed, and make sure they are very clean. I shall be checking them," He ordered with a sneer. He then focused his attention upon a few disordered ingredients, leaving the girl to her job.

Gwen followed quietly. She was intimidated by Snape, despite the fact that she had requested him for detention. But she had to know. She worked silently for a few minutes. She thought of the best way to approach the task she had assigned herself. Gwen was a troublemaker. But not in a Weasley way. She was very subtle, and almost never did anything that could lose her points or give her detention (charms class had been the exception).

"Professor Snape, sir," she said, her voice trembling a little despite her efforts to control it.

Snape turned sharply, his dark eyes glaring daggers at the girl. She was in detention, she wasn't supposed to talk to him! He was finally starting to relax slightly, and the Ravenclaw girl had to ruin it. He sighed angrily.

"What do you want?" He snapped spitefully, not moving from his spot, his eyes remaining upon the girl. This better be damn important for interrupting him, pretty God damn important.

Gwen quailed slightly under his gaze, but steeled herself. There were no rules against talking, or against what she was about to say. She kept telling herself, however frightening Snape might look, he couldn't do anything to her.

"Sir...it's only that...I'm worried about a friend of mine. You see, I think something has been bothering her all day, and I don't want her to be unhappy. And I've been noticing some things sir, and heard some things, and..." she paused and took a deep breath, but kept on before Snape could say anything. "I was wondering what's been going on between you and Jupiter."

Severus's eyes glazed over with a enraged fire. He had to fight back the sudden urge to slowly disembowel the child before him. Then a horrid thought over came him. If this girl knew about such, what about the rest of the students? Was it public knowledge? He could see his job fluttering away on swift wings, never to return again.

"How did you..." He growled, and paused. He had to compose himself, he couldn't look too angry or it would be obvious that there was something to hide. Just act cool, act like bitter Snape would in this situation.

"Nothing, nothing at all. And if you choose to believe all the rumors you hear about me, you are on your way to making this your nightly observance," He snapped gruffly, making a point that he wanted to end all discussion right away.

He turned away from her quickly, as guilty thoughts began to rush in like a flood. So much for forgetting about one's problems with work.

Gwen shrank back. There was pure hate in Snape's eyes, not just annoyance. She had never seen that turned upon her.

"It wasn't a rumor," Gwen said softly. "And if I believed half the RUMOURS I've heard about you, I would've been in here a lot more in the past."

She turned away, blinking back tears. She had known he would be angry. But not hateful. And she also knew she couldn't breath a word of this to anybody else. Or rules or no, she would be in trouble.

Manx walked along the corridor, fuming. His eyes were burning with hatred. He had the air of one who is about to make someone's life a living hell. He approached the classroom. His face softened to a meekly polite expression. You couldn't tell from looking at him that he was angry in the slightest.

He appeared in the doorway and peered in. He was rather surprised to see Gwen in there. Snape looked about ready to strangle her. Manx's face flashed with anger at this, but he remembered himself in time and hid it.

"Gwen," he said, not hiding the shock from his voice, but not even she could stop Manx from feeling this rage.

Gwen smiled weakly at Manx. She didn't feel like she could talk without crying though, and she really didn't want that now. She was pretty sure she knew why Manx was there. She was worried, but she knew this wouldn't be a good time to interfere. She watched silently.

"Professor," Manx said politely, turning to the professor, "Can I speak to you a moment?" he said, indicating for Snape to come out to the hall to talk to him.

What the hell was going on? He usually had people running away from him like the bloody plague, now they were flocking to him like flies to candy. He growled and turned to the voice. Manx Malvagio, what the hell did he want? He followed rather reluctantly, giving one last glance of death at Gwen, daring her to leave the closet, and slammed the door behind him.

He followed the rather large fellow out into the hallway, his curiosity and annoyance balancing on the same high wire. His dark eyes were filled with traces of anger and hatred.

"What is it, Mr. Malvagio?" He hissed with impatience, waiting for the damn good excuse.

Manx's face morphed from his amiable half-grin to a face of pure hatred and anger. Manx grabbed onto Snape's shoulders and held him against the wall. Manx was almost half a foot taller than Snape, and though he was skinny, he was very strong when he was angry.

When he spoke, it was in a menacing growl through his clenched teeth, "Pardon me, Professor..." he said it as if it were an insult, "But I don't think I approve of what you're doing to Jupiter..."

Manx stopped. He wanted to hear what Snape had to say for himself, so he kept him pinned firmly to the wall.

Severus crashed into the wall with a groan. His ebony eyes now appeared more like gaping holes in his face. The shock of being shoved into the wall by a student was almost immobilizing. What was this mad man thinking? Yes, he may be a friend with Jupiter, yet...

He cleared his throat loudly, and forcefully shoved the boy's hands from his shoulders, his eyes narrowing upon the insolent boy's in indignation.

"Bloody hell, you've got some nerve!" Snape roared, as he attempted to stand his ground. True, he was greatly intimidated by the boy, yet he was perfectly safe within the halls of Hogwarts.

"I trust you are merely trying pitifully to be a good friend, my boy. Yet, I hardly doubt bullying a teacher is quite what she wants you to do," He growled, his shock slowly ebbing away, allowing clearance for anger. He knew the boy was right however; once more he was only lying to himself. He, himself, didn't approve of what he was doing to Jupiter either. Yet, I hardly doubt he would approve if he were doing anything else either. It was a never-ending paradox, that would probably never conclude, and he would forever be caught in his own bubble of self-pity and regret.

Manx, angered at the insults, grabbed Snape's left shoulder and hauled off to hit him, but stopped himself before it was too late. He glared at the man with a look that quite clearly said that he wouldn't stop himself again.

"How dare you presume to know what Jupiter wants!" he shouted at Snape, grabbing onto his robes and pulling him slightly upwards, "How dare you. You treat her like she's some sort of disease, you toy with her emotions, and you presume to tell me I'm not doing what she wants?! You are a sad man, Snape. A girl falls for you, you fall for her, and you're over here playing some masochistic game of deny-yourself-the-girl while she spends her nights crying herself to sleep thinking about you!" Manx was shaking with rage, and slammed Snape against the wall again.

"And I'll have you know that this is me being fair with you. If I hadn't sworn to Jupiter that I wouldn't seriously hurt anyone, you could well be dead, old man. She made me swear not to hurt any of you FUCKING men, and I made her swear not to sell herself anymore *. But I could kill you now, Snape. And I would get expelled, even put into Azkaban for it, but I would keep some comfort knowing that you couldn't hurt her anymore. Knowing that your games were over."

"Go on then, kill me. Here's your only chance to rid the world of my pestilence. You think threatening me with death would frighten me? I've seen things and been places you can't comprehend, my boy. A mere threat from you is hardly going to faze me," Snape replied in a low growl, his eyes locked on Manx's, daring him to make that one last step. He knew, of course, the boy would not. He would lose Jupiter's friendship if he did so, the boy was no fool. He was quite the opposite in fact, the adverse effect Manx was having on Severus was frightening. Feelings of regret and self-hatred began to mix with his boiling rage. Damn him.

"I'm don't deserve her, Manx. As much as you may rave and scream, I'm not worth a penny. I'm not playing any games, I couldn't. Not after what has happened in the past. I respect your loyalty and your fervor, but things will never change. I will always be the man I am, I can't change, it's an impossibility," Snape whispered softly, his voice hoarse. He was a broken man, he knew the wrong he had done, but one couldn't change the past. He could never change the past, and now Severus hated himself for it.

Manx was impressed at the strength this man had, and let it show in his face. But it was still no excuse. However, Manx was calmer now.

"Listen Snape, I don't care about your past. Really. I don't. But what I do care about is Jupiter's future. If I told her that you were never going to give in, she would tell me I was wrong. She thinks a lot more highly of you than she should. She cares about you, and there's nothing you or I can do to change it, hard as we try. She's a willful woman, knows what she wants, and will stop at nothing to get it. A 'true Slytherin', you might say. And she wants you, though I can't imagine why. But I hate to think that she's throwing away her emotions on a man who can't even come to his senses and realize that she's a beautiful girl with a heart of gold."

"You don't think I know that, Mr. Malvagio? I am a bit more perceptive than you think," Snape replied, the anger his eyes cooling, as well. At least he could breathe without the burning rage about to rip him limb from limb.

"What do you propose I do? Sweep her off her feet? Hardly, my boy. There is this wretched thing named rules in this school," Snape hissed, brushing a few wrinkles from his robes. He was acting like an idiot again, he knew that perfectly well. Yet, he was completely baffled as to what to do himself, and asking for advice was not on his agenda of things he loved to do.

Manx shook his head. Males were so. Damn. stupid.

"Love knows no rules, Snape. If you had ever truly been in love you would have known that. She won't give up. Ever. I know her. I've been with her, Snape. She was the only girl I could really be close to. I could tell her anything, and she would understand. She never gave me pity when I didn't want it. She never hurt me in any way. And no matter what. No matter what I did to her, screaming, yelling, I even hit her once, she never gave up on me. And she's never going to give up on you. I learned how to treat her without hurting her. It's not hard. Just let her know you care, don't push her away. The more you push her away, the tighter she'll cling to you. She loves you, Snape, and she needs you to love her back."

Manx couldn't believe himself for talking to a man. for sharing bits of his past with a man. By rights he should just hit Snape and walk off, angered. But that wouldn't help Jupiter. It would probably make things worse. Manx's voice was calm now, and he waited for Snape to say something. By gods, the man had better not walk away, he thought.

There was that wretched word again, Love. Oh, he knew it well, all too well. Well, at least he thought he did. The single word that could mean life or death, exuberance or utter sorrow. Ah, what a blessed hell love was. He wasn't quite sure he could handle something as involved as this, so quickly. The pain from before was still a load he carried with reluctance.

Yet, what could he tell the boy? That he was scared? No, he'd rather eat his wand then admit his true feelings. It always seemed to lead to trouble and pain whenever he came out with what he was feeling inside. He decided he'd rather have people hate a bitter man, than trample over a heart-on-the-sleeve fool.

"I...I can't do that, Manx...I just...I can't," Severus replied with down turned eyes. He felt like a fool again, and there was no escaping the torrent that would come from this comment. If he only knew what he had been through, perhaps he'd be more forgiving, instead of being blinded by his senseless loyalty.

"Don't tell me you can't. You damn well can," Manx looked at Snape coldly. He knew just how the human mind and emotions worked, and Snape was definitely not telling the truth.

"And stop hiding things from me. Lying to me will do you no good. You're damn well scared of having someone love you, but even more scared of admitting it. What's your secret, Snape? What are you so desperate to hide?"

Why was he doing this, what else did he want from him? Severus, instead of re lighting the flame of fury, merely sighed and leaned back against the cold, unfriendly walls. He had a world of things he was hiding, some gruesome and some pathetic. And each and everyone were hidden for good reasons. At least Severus thought them good reasons. He had never disclosed the information to anyone before, why should he start with some boy that didn't even like him?

"I have my reasons, Manx. And they will remain mine alone," Snape replied, without emotion. This boy had unlocked the door that had taken Severus several years to hide away. Memories of years past, of times when he was living his life of ignorance. Oh, how vivid the memories were, it seemed as if it had been only yesterday when he had been betrayed, crushed, and thrown, broken, into the unforgiving world without her. That was when Professor Snape was formed and he had stayed distant and bitter quite contently for some time. Until Jupiter happened. This horrid, yet wondrous event. Feelings he hadn't even remembered were contained within him sprang free. Yet, it was all too fast, he couldn't handle the quickening of his heart and the loosing of his breath. He couldn't handle her imploring cerulean eyes and dazzling black hair. He was trapped between both worlds, a world of solitude and a world of happiness. And he didn't know what to do.

Severus looked back up at Manx, he had been silent for some time, lost in his silent reverie. What could he say to the angered boy to quench his thirst for answers? Nothing logical came to mind, thus he remained silent, waiting for another verbal blow.

Manx hadn't expected this man to share anything with him, but somehow, he had to get Snape to open up. He was doing this for more than just Jupiter now. Manx had made it his goal, years ago, to learn everything he could about human psychology, and this, he was sure, would help.

Snape had obviously been spurned at some early point in his life, and now feared love. Much like himself, Manx realized suddenly. All this hatred towards men had come from the hatred of his own father. He hurts inside as much as I do... Manx thought. But now was not the time. He set aside the topic so he could think about it later, and turned to Snape, who seemed to be bracing himself for another attack.

Manx sighed and asked Snape, "Can I show you something?"

Severus blinked slowly, Manx hadn't scolded him for his silence. Perhaps, he was hiding something as well he. Severus released a quick sigh, and merely nodded at Manx. He was interested in the reason of Manx's adverse change of attitude.

"All right. This way," Manx said, and headed off, trusting Snape to follow.

Manx walked into the library with Snape, and leaned against a bookshelf near the entrance.

Snape stepped in closely behind Manx, his eyes scanning the library for a reason they came here, of all places. He raised an eyebrow toward Manx, his curiosity growing by the second.

"Why are we here?" He asked quietly, not wishing to draw attention at the two.

Manx pointed to a familiar girl with black hair, who looked rather dejected and was busying herself with writing.

"How much do you want to bet she's writing to or about you?" Manx asked, letting his arm fall to his side, then crossing his arms.

"What do you want from me?" Severus sputtered harshly, directing his black eyes on the boy. They weren't angry however, they appeared...frightened. An emotion he hadn't shown in years, a suppressed creature that resided in the recesses of his mind. He was scared to death.

"I can't do this, to her or me. I don't give a damn if you call me selfish, but...I can't," He stated quietly, his voice shaking noticeably. He couldn't handle this. He couldn't handle seeing her broken and near to tears at that table. It struck him in a way he couldn't describe. It was like her pain was his, like he was scorning himself as he had scorned her.

He wanted to run, not away, but to her. He wanted to comfort her, as he did before. But not hidden away, he wanted a normal life. Yet, society would never allow it. Why try when it was doomed from the start?

The man was visibly shaken by the sight of Jupiter, which made Manx feel much better about talking to him. He really seemed to care about her. Having confirmed this, he changed the subject.

"What's your secret, Snape?" Manx asked, "Don't skirt the issue and don't say you won't tell me. I haven't a soul to tell except Jupiter. Who knows, maybe if she knew, she'd stop beating herself up so. She thinks you hate her. She thinks that she, her personality, is undesirable, because when she really opened up to you, you burned her. This doesn't seem to be the case, so now's your chance to prove her wrong."

"I don't hate her, you know that. If it's such a bother, just tell her so," Snape replied curtly, turning from him. His throat always tightened whenever he thought of the past, and he couldn't bear Manx bearing down on him so. He didn't have to take this from a student.

"This conversation is over. Perhaps, I will see you at a later date," With that, Severus turned on his heels out the door. He wanted to get to his office, this time he would lock the door to keep from unwanted disturbances.

Manx saw Snape turn. He'd anticipated this, but had hoped it wouldn't come down to it.

"Is this how you deal with everything, Snape? You run away?" he asked him before he'd gotten quite to the door.

Jupiter's head snapped up from her writing, disbelieving. She was sure she'd just heard Manx talking to Snape. But it was impossible. Manx wouldn't talk so reasonably to Snape, would he? And why would Snape come into the library? None of it made any sense.

But then she saw the figure at the door, dressed in black flowing robes. It looked quite disgruntled.

Manx's words came back to her, "Is this how you deal with everything, Snape? You run away?"...

"Yes," she thought bitterly. She snatched up her notebook and held it tight to her chest. She rushed out, brushing past Snape.

"I hate you," she said, and shot him a hurt glance, then rushed off down the hallway.

"I hate you..." Those words stung much deeper than she could have imagined. They brought back memories of the past, which couldn't compare to the deathblow Jupiter had just dealt him. Oh God, what was the use to continue on in this unforgiving world? Pain being his only companion, with solitude as his mother.

He groaned and raised his hands to his face, exhaling loudly. He could feel the tremors shaking his weak frame. He couldn't believe how an already hellish day could turn into this. Had she no mercy? Had she no compassion?

He lowered his hands, his black eyes flashing. No, this wasn't going to happen again. He wasn't going to be kicked and tortured until he became a total recluse. Thus, he began to follow Jupiter at a rather quick pace. She had turned a corner down a luckily abandoned hallway, or else he would have been shot for what he did next.

He grabbed Jupiter by the shoulder, slamming her forcefully against the wall. He could see her eyes widen with surprise, but not for long. He quickly covered her mouth with his, fearing if he didn't do this now he would lose her, and that was something he wasn't going to do without a fight.

Jupiter was surprised when Snape smacked her against the wall, but it was nothing compared to the shock she received just afterward. Her eyes were wide open with surprise, she felt as if she would faint. But after a moment, she melted into his arms, and kissed him back.

She was in utter heaven. She couldn't have moved if she wanted to. She wrapped her arms around his neck and stroked his hair lovingly.

Snape had lost it, but he didn't care anymore. He couldn't have cared at that moment if the whole damned school was watching them, he was in pure bliss. He had never felt this way in his whole life, not even with her. He reveled in this moment of passion, as he pressed more forcefully against her.

He released after a few more moments, breathing heavily. He looked her straight in the eyes, his hand placed under her chin.

"Don't ever say that..." He said huskily, commenting about her prior statement.

Jupiter had been strong when Snape had hurt her, turned away from her, and struck at her emotionally, but this was too much. Her knees gave out and she fell into him.

"I'll never say it. Never, if you don't want me to..." she sighed dreamily. She really meant it.

Severus held her against him tightly, as if he loosened his grip she would slip away, lost forever. He knew this was crazy, he shouldn't be doing this. Yet, if he always listened to his head, where would that take him? He would most likely be alone and bitter forever if he listened to logic. So for the time being, Screw logic and its petty rules. Screw society and its institution of what is right and wrong. This felt too right to be anything else.

He kissed the top of her head gently, taking in her intoxicating scent. A wave of mint swept over his senses, pulling him in. He was too far gone to turn back now, even he wanted to.

Jupiter felt Snape's lips on the top of her head. She opened her eyes, and saw Manx walk past them, and wink at her. She should have known he would have something to do with this. Part of her was mad for him interfering, but she was too happy with the results to be too mad. Then a strange thought came to her.

"Severus, did you talk to Manx earlier today?"

Severus pulled away, glancing down at her.

"Yes I did," He stated directly. He saw no problem now, the boy was clever, very clever. He probably had the whole thing planned out in his mind, humiliate Snape to the breaking point. If it were any other situation, he would give the boy a severe talking to, yet it wasn't any other situation. He could merely stand in admiration of the boy's wit. He reminded him of a softer version of a boy he used to know, very well.

Jupiter knew it. She knew it. Sometimes she envied Manx's ability to manipulate people. She was good at it, yes, but not as good as Manx. And she would never have the heart to use it on Snape. But then something registered. Manx hated men. Did he...? No, he wouldn't have...She would sock him if he had.

"He didn't hurt you, did he?" Jupiter asked angrily. Oh, she would hit Manx so hard...

"Hardly, my dear. A good friend he is, Jupiter, a very good friend," He stated with a small smile. She was luckier than he could comprehend, to have a friend to guide her and pull her up when she fell. If he had had someone of the like to pick him up, perhaps he'd be a different man. Yet, would he be better off?

He sighed, he didn't want to think of morose thoughts. Everything that he needed and wanted was with him now, and he would treasure these few moments that they could share.

Jupiter sighed. All right, she thought, I won't kill him. She was still aware that something funny was going on with Manx, he wouldn't have just talked to Snape...would he? It was totally unlike him.

Jupiter had so many questions she wanted to ask, but she was becoming aware of the fact that they were, indeed, in public, and the last thing she wanted right now was to be discovered by some errant student, or worse, a teacher.

"Severus," she said, looking up at him, "I have to go...We might get caught...I don't want you to get in trouble..." she said, then as an afterthought, "Meet me in the garden after dinner?"

Jupiter was indeed correct about leaving, Snape conceded. Anyone could walk by at any time. Severus smirked, as he pulled her close for one last embrace before they departed ways.

"I'll go anywhere you want me to, just lead and I'll follow..." Severus rasped in her ear at almost a whisper. He stroked her hair one last time and broke the hold. He turned with a wink and left down the hall in a billow of ebony robes.

Jupiter watched him, motionless, until he was out of sight. Then she stood up straight, gathered herself together, and walked out into the hallway, where she was apprehended by Manx.

"It was amazing, Jupiter, I learned so much!" he gushed, but then he seemed to remember something, "But I have to run, dear...I'll tell you about it later!" he said, and ran off.

Jupiter was just standing there with her mouth slightly open, completely dumbfounded.

Then she walked, dazedly, to the Great Hall.

***

Severus entered his office and instantly released a labored sigh. A single glance at his desk significantly showed his recent neglect of his duty. He rolled his ebony eyes and collapsed into his chair. How in bloody hell was he supposed to work after what had just happened? His mind was a haze and all he could think of was her. It was like she was standing before him, her sapphire eyes glittering and her raven hair framing her beautiful pale face.

He closed his eyes with another sigh, and enveloped his face in his hands. He had to get a grip on himself, or he wouldn't be able to see her for quite some time. Not if he didn't get his work done.

He reached lazily for a quill, attempting to write, yet all that appeared on the paper with thick ink blots. He was a lost cause. All it took was one kiss to send him into delirium, but, oh, what a kiss that was.