CHAPTER TWO
FAMILIAR YET NOT
The room had not changed in the slightest since the last time she was there. It was still extraordinarily clean and organized. Nothing was out of place--even the bed sheets themselves were perfectly distanced from the floor. A smile graced Orion's tired face as she stood and gazed around the room. She still had no idea why she was in there, but decided that while she was, she might as well look around. Not knowing what she was searching for, or if she was even searching for anything, Orion started opening drawers and flipping through books. When she was satisfied that her shuffling had been completely wasted, she headed toward the door.
"OUCH!" she shrieked as her shin caught a large wooden chest that sat against the wall behind the door. Rubbing her leg as if it would ease the pain, Orion knelt down. The box seemed to be charmed, or cursed--booby-trapped, in any case. The woman waved a hand over the chest, and all hexes that prevented it from being opened disappeared. It seemed Orion had finally found something worth searching through.
The lock disintegrated with one touch of the woman's hand. Upon opening the lid, Orion discovered a far less organized portion of the room. Papers were scattered everywhere. She picked one up and it looked like some sort of experiment. No doubt an experiment worth concealing. Digging deeper into the chest Orion found old photographs, much like the one she placed on her mantle. She picked up a rather small and tattered one, and in it sat Severus, with his mother, father, and brother? She always thought Snape was an only child; it explained his stubborn and selfish attitude. It was quite an old picture; the Potions master looked hardly older than eleven. He still retained the shoulder length hair, though it was less greasy and combed back behind his ears. His mother had the same jet-black hair, and his father contained the deep black eyes that always put a spell on Orion whenever she looked into them. His brother was obviously the eldest child. He was taller and had golden brown hair like his father. He looked like an athlete with his broad shoulders and muscular arms. No doubt a Quidditch player. Snape looked happy in the photograph, as did his entire family. They all smiled as Orion studied their faces.
Just then the door flew open. She dropped the picture back into the chest and shut it with a tremendous force. Half expecting to see Mr. Filch standing in the doorway, Orion leapt to her feet--and let out a very regretful moan as she stared into the dark eyes of Severus Snape.
***
"Severus, I...um," she fumbled for words as the Potions master raised a very curious and disapproving eyebrow at her. Not waiting for her to collect her thoughts, he swept passed her, throwing his luggage on his bed and sitting down at his desk. Orion saw that his cloak was wet just as a flash of lightning lit up the room. His hair was pushed back from his face, which was pale and soaked with rain. His appearance hadn't changed since the time they last saw each other, and yet she couldn't help get the feeling that he was different. When she didn't leave, or speak, or even move, Snape turned around.
"Landed yourself in quite the predicament, eh Miss Avery?" A devilish grin began to take form on his lips.
"I couldn't sleep...I don't even know how I ended up here," she paused as he let out a small laugh.
"It's hard to imagine a woman with a great mind such as yourself would lose sight of where she was going." Orion failed to comprehend as to whether or not his statement should've been taken as a compliment. His eyes gleamed with laughter; she had landed herself in a seemingly easy situation to get out of, but had failed to do so.
"I...I'm sorry. I have no explanation." Severus got up and strode into his office. Orion hated it when he left without telling her where he was going. She was never sure whether to follow him or not. She decided to stay where she was and proceeded to twiddle her thumbs and stare absent-mindedly at the ceiling. In less than a minute he was back in the room, holding a vial filled with a dark violet liquid. He approached her, and when Orion failed to notice his return, he cleared his throat rather loudly.
"This will help you sleep." The woman took the bottle, but instead of leaving, as Severus had implied, she sat on his bed to watch him work.
"Why have you returned so early?" Orion asked after staring at his hands for an eternity. They stopped moving, but he didn't turn to face her.
"Dumbledore's request." Avery looked down at the potion that had been given to her. He was so difficult sometimes, but she felt like she had to know. Had to know about the young man that stood next to him in the old photograph.
"I never knew you had a brother." This time the quill dropped from the man's hand, dripping ink all over his parchment. He glanced over to the chest, then turned back to his parchment and said in a menacing tone,
"That is because I choose to refrain from exploiting his existence." Orion rolled her eyes at his large vocabulary.
"Why?"
"Because it is NOT anyone's CONCERN!" He swiveled in his seat and Orion saw the same fire in his eyes that was there when Sirius and her had come back to the school the previous year. She tried to hold the stare, but lost, and returned to fiddling with her vial. Not wanting to cause another outburst, she stood up and walked over to him.
"You know, I've lost love ones too. I know what it's like. If you ever feel like talking about it--"she said as she put a hand on his shoulder. Without taking his attention off of his work, he said,
"I assure you Miss Avery, if I have not talked about it with anyone yet, I highly doubt I would start now." The words cut through Orion like her own sword.
"Fine. But you don't have to be such a bastard about it. Here, here's your damned vial back. I'm so sorry to disturb you, Professor," she popped off the top to the bottle and swallowed the potion in one gulp. Severus leapt from his chair, knocking it to the ground.
"NO! You're not supposed to drink it here!"
"Why n--" Too late. The woman fell into his arms, dead asleep. The man sighed with annoyance, then placed her into his own bed. The situation seemed all too familiar. He floated over to one of the chairs in front of his fireplace and tried to make it suitable for sleeping. When he realized his efforts were wasted, he threw his arms and legs out and hung his head and closed his eyes, attempting to rest. The mess of ink and parchment would wait to be cleaned up, which was very unlikely of the Potions master. But then again, when in the presence of an Enigma, a wizard can do very strange things.