Chapter 7: Suction and Exemption
She fled, and she had no idea where she was going. For some reason she stayed in the castle, even though the doors leading
outside would be easy enough to find. She was thinking hard, and not really paying attention to her course or destination.
As she ran, she tried to grasp the facts that she knew, without a doubt, to be true. Severus was wrong; she knew it and
he admitted it. Severus was also the reason she'd spent the past 8 years in Malfoy's dungeon. Alternately, he was part
of the reason she even entertained the idea of going on for those 8 years. She was no longer a prisoner to anyone, but she
still remained in this fucking castle with it's spooky pictures that whispered as you ran past and creaking suits of armor
that seemed to watch you and stairs that grabbed your feet and sucked them into their depths -
A thud resonated through the surrounding area as Lye landed flat on her face. Any thought she'd had stopped immediately as
she sat up and rubbed her head. She squirmed around, trying to free her foot from the offending stair, even grasping it with
both hands and pulling feircely. All she accomplished was pulling a few muscles, however.
"Fuck," she muttered. "This is ridiculous."
"That one gets them all the time," a rather prestigous looking gentleman in a white-powdered wig told her from a painting
nearby.
"Yea, well you could've warned me beforehand," she sneered at it.
"No need to get crass, dear," another painting, this time a gaunt woman in a hideous salmon-colored dress told her. "If you
were condemned to a life of watching the living, you'd enjoy any bit of entertainment you got, too."
Lye sighed loudly, still not resigned to her fate. "All right, so what's the trick? You've had your fun, now tell me how to
get my foot out of this fucking thing."
"No trick," the man in the first painting said. "You just have to wait for someone to come by and help you out."
Grumbling and pouting, she lay back against the stairs and waited.
------
Severus Snape looked up when he heard the door to the classroom close. She had left. Now, after everything, she had left.
Was that what she had wanted, is it why she didn't leave last night? She wanted to hear him say he was wrong? Well, if that
was indeed what she wanted, then she had it. He cursed slightly under his breath and directed his attention to cleaning up
the mess he'd made by splattering the simple, yet elaborate Cold Cure Potion. His thoughts would not obey being distracted.
Why -had- he admitted that he was wrong? What was he trying to accomplish by telling her? Surely, he wasn't hoping for some
sort of romance to spring up between them. First off, Snape had long since lost any respect for people who believed in true
love and did not see himself anywhere among those ranks. Secondly, she hated him. She had said so herself, in a quite
convincing tone. But there was something else - she had said she was in love with him for 12 years. That would make the
two and a half which they were together, the one and a half after he jilted her, and the eight that she had spent after
meeting Voldemort and spent in Malfoy's possession. Surely she didn't hold her affection for him that long. And she most
positively didn't now. The very idea was ludicrous. Wasn't it?
After the mess was cleaned, he had no interest in staying in the classroom so he left. He started off towards the Astronomy
tower, a place which over the years he'd come to enjoy. Not only did he often find students lurking there for late-night
duels or intimate contact, looking up at the stars reminded him that no matter what happened to him, it would very doubtfully
be of any consequence to the universe. It was relieving to realize the world didn't rest on his shoulders.
Turning a corner, he heard voices. He paused in his expedition to listen. An unrecognizable voice, female, high pitched and
rather arrogant sounding, spoke first. This was followed by an unmistakeable voice, the one of the girl who'd just left his
classroom. Judging from their conversation, Lye had fallen victim to one of the trick stairs that appeared frequently around
Hogwarts. Snape allowed himself a slight snicker before continuing on his way.
He made his way up the steps, cloaks billowing in their typical fashion, and pretended that he couldn't hear Lye as she
pleaded and cursed at him.
"Hey," she was saying. "Hey! Hey, you fucking pompous asshole!"
Snape found himself sprawled on the steps above her as one of her hands latched around his cloak. He sneered and looked down
at her, pulling himself into a sitting position.
"Yes?," he drawled.
"Help me out of this fucking thing."
She motioned to the stair that her foot had disappeared into. He smirked.
"Perhaps you'll do better to watch where you're going next time," he said, standing and brushing himself off. He turned to
leave but was disappointed when she once again grabbed ahold of his cloak. Perhaps he should consider something less...
billowing.
"Severus," she near-whined. "Please don't be an asshole, for once."
He groaned resignedly, then turned and wrapped his arms firmly around her waist. With a swift tug, he set her on the step
above the tricky one and looked at her expectantly.
"Thank you," she said curtly.
"As I said, perhaps you'd do better to watch your step around here," he repeated and headed off towards his initial destination.
She followed, much to his annoyance. He made his way to the next hall before speaking again, and didn't turn to look at her
when he did.
"Why are you following me? You've gotten what you wanted."
"What I wanted?," she said, still keeping pace with him. "What makes you think you know what I want?"
"I admitted I was wrong, you won, now you can go on your merry way," he waved a hand dismissively.
Lye snorted. "Whatever way I go, I can assure you it won't be merry. Besides that, I didn't win just because you know you're
wrong."
"Oh?," Snape turned to look at her and she had to halt quite suddenly not to run into him.
"Yea," she told him, once she had regained her footing. "If you ask me, we both lose."
Snape looked her over carefully. Her eyes and stance revealed nothing and he wasn't exactly sure what to make of her words.
He pressed his lips together. "Be that as it may, I'm not one to hold onto the misgivings of the past."
He made to turn again, but she grabbed his arm. "And I'm not one to hold onto grudges from the past."
His eyes searched her form again but he still wasn't sure what she was insinuating. He figured asking outright would be
the quickest way to a conclusion. "Meaning?"
"Look," she started. "You're a vile, horrible, despicable person and you fucked me over worse than anyone else ever has."
He nodded and she continued. "But you're also the only person I've related with on anything more than an aquaintence level,
and you did sorta save my ass, so..."
"So?," he prompted when she didn't continue.
"So I guess the good cancels out the bad, and what it means is that, I forgive you," she told him.
*A/N* No A/N!
Please review.
She fled, and she had no idea where she was going. For some reason she stayed in the castle, even though the doors leading
outside would be easy enough to find. She was thinking hard, and not really paying attention to her course or destination.
As she ran, she tried to grasp the facts that she knew, without a doubt, to be true. Severus was wrong; she knew it and
he admitted it. Severus was also the reason she'd spent the past 8 years in Malfoy's dungeon. Alternately, he was part
of the reason she even entertained the idea of going on for those 8 years. She was no longer a prisoner to anyone, but she
still remained in this fucking castle with it's spooky pictures that whispered as you ran past and creaking suits of armor
that seemed to watch you and stairs that grabbed your feet and sucked them into their depths -
A thud resonated through the surrounding area as Lye landed flat on her face. Any thought she'd had stopped immediately as
she sat up and rubbed her head. She squirmed around, trying to free her foot from the offending stair, even grasping it with
both hands and pulling feircely. All she accomplished was pulling a few muscles, however.
"Fuck," she muttered. "This is ridiculous."
"That one gets them all the time," a rather prestigous looking gentleman in a white-powdered wig told her from a painting
nearby.
"Yea, well you could've warned me beforehand," she sneered at it.
"No need to get crass, dear," another painting, this time a gaunt woman in a hideous salmon-colored dress told her. "If you
were condemned to a life of watching the living, you'd enjoy any bit of entertainment you got, too."
Lye sighed loudly, still not resigned to her fate. "All right, so what's the trick? You've had your fun, now tell me how to
get my foot out of this fucking thing."
"No trick," the man in the first painting said. "You just have to wait for someone to come by and help you out."
Grumbling and pouting, she lay back against the stairs and waited.
------
Severus Snape looked up when he heard the door to the classroom close. She had left. Now, after everything, she had left.
Was that what she had wanted, is it why she didn't leave last night? She wanted to hear him say he was wrong? Well, if that
was indeed what she wanted, then she had it. He cursed slightly under his breath and directed his attention to cleaning up
the mess he'd made by splattering the simple, yet elaborate Cold Cure Potion. His thoughts would not obey being distracted.
Why -had- he admitted that he was wrong? What was he trying to accomplish by telling her? Surely, he wasn't hoping for some
sort of romance to spring up between them. First off, Snape had long since lost any respect for people who believed in true
love and did not see himself anywhere among those ranks. Secondly, she hated him. She had said so herself, in a quite
convincing tone. But there was something else - she had said she was in love with him for 12 years. That would make the
two and a half which they were together, the one and a half after he jilted her, and the eight that she had spent after
meeting Voldemort and spent in Malfoy's possession. Surely she didn't hold her affection for him that long. And she most
positively didn't now. The very idea was ludicrous. Wasn't it?
After the mess was cleaned, he had no interest in staying in the classroom so he left. He started off towards the Astronomy
tower, a place which over the years he'd come to enjoy. Not only did he often find students lurking there for late-night
duels or intimate contact, looking up at the stars reminded him that no matter what happened to him, it would very doubtfully
be of any consequence to the universe. It was relieving to realize the world didn't rest on his shoulders.
Turning a corner, he heard voices. He paused in his expedition to listen. An unrecognizable voice, female, high pitched and
rather arrogant sounding, spoke first. This was followed by an unmistakeable voice, the one of the girl who'd just left his
classroom. Judging from their conversation, Lye had fallen victim to one of the trick stairs that appeared frequently around
Hogwarts. Snape allowed himself a slight snicker before continuing on his way.
He made his way up the steps, cloaks billowing in their typical fashion, and pretended that he couldn't hear Lye as she
pleaded and cursed at him.
"Hey," she was saying. "Hey! Hey, you fucking pompous asshole!"
Snape found himself sprawled on the steps above her as one of her hands latched around his cloak. He sneered and looked down
at her, pulling himself into a sitting position.
"Yes?," he drawled.
"Help me out of this fucking thing."
She motioned to the stair that her foot had disappeared into. He smirked.
"Perhaps you'll do better to watch where you're going next time," he said, standing and brushing himself off. He turned to
leave but was disappointed when she once again grabbed ahold of his cloak. Perhaps he should consider something less...
billowing.
"Severus," she near-whined. "Please don't be an asshole, for once."
He groaned resignedly, then turned and wrapped his arms firmly around her waist. With a swift tug, he set her on the step
above the tricky one and looked at her expectantly.
"Thank you," she said curtly.
"As I said, perhaps you'd do better to watch your step around here," he repeated and headed off towards his initial destination.
She followed, much to his annoyance. He made his way to the next hall before speaking again, and didn't turn to look at her
when he did.
"Why are you following me? You've gotten what you wanted."
"What I wanted?," she said, still keeping pace with him. "What makes you think you know what I want?"
"I admitted I was wrong, you won, now you can go on your merry way," he waved a hand dismissively.
Lye snorted. "Whatever way I go, I can assure you it won't be merry. Besides that, I didn't win just because you know you're
wrong."
"Oh?," Snape turned to look at her and she had to halt quite suddenly not to run into him.
"Yea," she told him, once she had regained her footing. "If you ask me, we both lose."
Snape looked her over carefully. Her eyes and stance revealed nothing and he wasn't exactly sure what to make of her words.
He pressed his lips together. "Be that as it may, I'm not one to hold onto the misgivings of the past."
He made to turn again, but she grabbed his arm. "And I'm not one to hold onto grudges from the past."
His eyes searched her form again but he still wasn't sure what she was insinuating. He figured asking outright would be
the quickest way to a conclusion. "Meaning?"
"Look," she started. "You're a vile, horrible, despicable person and you fucked me over worse than anyone else ever has."
He nodded and she continued. "But you're also the only person I've related with on anything more than an aquaintence level,
and you did sorta save my ass, so..."
"So?," he prompted when she didn't continue.
"So I guess the good cancels out the bad, and what it means is that, I forgive you," she told him.
*A/N* No A/N!
Please review.