Disclaimer —
It's JKR's world, I just play in it.
I'm still in Pittsburgh. I'm still bitter.
And yes, Draco's role is ongoing (although somewhat sporadic) from here on out.
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Allosia tensed as Snape took a deep breath and submerged himself entirely under the water; when he surfaced a moment later, she exhaled and sighed.
"Better," he said.
"I should think."
"Did you speak to Draco earlier?"
"Yeah. Albus had me question him."
"I thought I had dreamed it."
"Regrettably not, but I am grateful to him for getting you back here."
Snape nodded. "We should discuss that."
"Draco?"
He nodded.
"Not right now. We're both exhausted," she said, pushing hair out of her face that wasn't there.
"Are you alright?"
"You gave me quite a fright."
"I'm sorry."
"Don't. How do you feel?"
"How would you imagine I feel?"
"Sorry."
"Don't."
Allosia chuckled then and his face softened.
"I was really scared," she said.
"So was I," he whispered and looked away.
"Can this continue?"
"It has to."
She opened and closed her mouth a few times, looking for the right words. Finally, she settled on, "are you safe?"
He nodded, and laughed sharply. "More than ever. My hubris apparently convinces them of my allegiance to a cause such as theirs."
"Do you want to keep doing this?" she asked.
"What I want has very little to do with anything," he said bitterly.
"Severus —"
"I can't let myself think about that. Desire implies choice; I have none and that's not something I can loose sight of."
She considered ranting at him about excessive nobility, or, slightly more amusingly, teasing him about his seemingly Gryffindor bravery, but another question presented itself instead. "Just what is your deal with the ministry?"
"I do this til the war ends or I die," he said and shrugged.
"Or?"
"Or I renew the sincerity of my allegiance to the Death Eaters, I suppose and wait to be captured and sent to Azkaban. There aren't a lot of places to hide, there aren't any really, so don't ask."
Allosia nodded. "I just needed to know."
"Understandably."
That sat in silence for a long time then, Snape's jaw set with pain and anger. Eventually he muttered, "I'm for bed, help me back to it?"
Allosia complied silently.
Time slowed down as Florence ended. Everyone was prickly, and we all tried not to talk about it. Not me, not the perpetually sleeping Severus, and not Adrimori or Stahl or Hermione. Even Albus seemed to be keeping his wisdom to himself, lest anything hurt anyone more than had already been necessary. Gabriel too had become quiet, waiting, rather pointedly, for the adults to tell him the rest of the story.