Thirteen
The day started out normally enough. If normal for you was waking up in a pile of your own drool beside your potions master. Yep. Normal day. I opened my left eye first, because it was the one that wasn't pressed against the mattress. I had buried my head underneath my pillows and had to lift them from my head to look around. I rolled my eye around in my socket. The fire must be out because there was no light on the ceiling and the heavy velvet curtains around our bed - our bed? - were killing any other light there might be in the room beyond. I rolled over onto my other side and gently pried the curtain back. Nope. No light. How could I have expected Severus Snape to let a window grace his room. I sighed and turned my face back over my shoulder to look at him. He was asleep, face down on the mattress, but his arms were now clutching the spot where my body had just been. How cute. I sat up and swung my legs over the edge of the bed, stretched, and yawned. Then I stepped from behind the curtain into the room with my wand at the ready.
"Lumos," I whispered. A small cone of light encircled me and it was enough to keep the monsters away because I was able to cross the room to a candelabra and light all seven of the candles in it without having a panic attack. I looked around to the two doors I had noticed my first night here. The one on the right, I had ascertained, was the kitchenette. So that would make the one on the left the bathroom, which was where I needed to go.
I entered the doorway, found the sink, set my candelabra down upon its marble surface, and looked around. There were sconces on the wall so I walked over to each of them, muttering a charm and warming slightly as they blazed to life. In the light this was quite an impressive loo. The walls were stone, like the rest of the apartment, but the floor was black marble, as was the surface of the sink. The faucets were all gold with crystal knobs. I was floored at the size of the bath. It was more like a four- foot hole in the ground - like a Jacuzzi - with a ring around the edge that was only a foot down from the lip. For sitting on, I was guessing. I crossed the room, my feet smacking the marble, and closed the door. Then I inspected the cupboard for a towel, shampoo, conditioner, and body wash. I retrieved all of these and then went over to the bath and turned on the water. It was steamy and warm, but it took almost ten minutes for the thing to fill up. It was kind of a waste of water, I thought.
In any case I undid the buttons on the front of the robe I had put on before crossing the main room. It was Snape's, I could tell by the size of it. It hung a foot too long in the sleeves and at the hem, and dragged behind me when I walked. No matter. I slid it off and let it fall in a silky heap on the floor. I dropped my wand on top of it and stepped out of the pile of black silk and into the bath. The water warmed me from the inside out. It was a marvelous feeling. As I sat there contemplating the events of the prior evening, I'll confess I felt a bit uncomfortable.
It wasn't the first time I'd had sex, but it was the first time I'd had sex with a teacher. How does one greet one's potions professor the morning after, I wondered. I really had no clue at all. So I just sat there in the bath, my hair washed and wet, scrubbing myself and basically enjoying the water lazily. It was a Saturday, so I wouldn't be expected anywhere, and I was free to laze here as long as I wanted. Or until Snape kicked me out. Whichever came first. I wondered how the water seemed to stay so warm, never chilling to the temperature of the room. But the fact remained that it didn't and I presently fell asleep there in the bath, my head leaning back on the marble floor, a slight snore escaping my nasal passage.
"Acacia." I didn't want to be disturbed so I ignored the voice at first. "Acacia." There it was, and more forceful this time, and though I desperately wanted to tune it out I found myself wondering why my "bed" felt so wet and why there would be a mans voice in the Ravenclaw girls' dorms trying to rip me from my comfortable sleep. And then I shot bold upright and realized that I was naked in Snape's bathtub and that it was he who was trying to wake me up.
I spun around to see him holding up my towel for me to step into. I looked around me. For some reason I felt a slight bit uncomfortable being naked in front of him now. I don't know what had made it so easy last night.
He must have sensed my modesty because he rolled his eyes and adopted a more agitated stance, putting all his weight on one foot. "Do you think I didn't see you last night," he asked, annoyed. I didn't move. I just looked at him blankly. He let out an exasperated huff and turned his back toward me, holding the towel out with one hand and covering his eyes with the other. "Now will you get out," he begged.
I stood and climbed out of the tub. "Be careful of the marble," he warned from behind his bony hand. "It's very easy to slip on with wet feet." I walked quickly over and took the towel from my improvised towel rack. Wrapped it around myself, and turned to face him.
"I have news for you. But you'll want to get dressed and warm and come sit in the other room before I share it with you," he told me quietly. There was no hint of the conviviality that generally accompanies a man who's just had a night of wanton sex. I screwed up my nose and looked at him, puzzled. He gave me no clue, just pointed toward the sink, where the robe had been folded up and my wand had been placed, and said, "Your things are just there." Then he left, closing the door again behind him.
What a weirdo. I just shrugged it off and dressed, wrapping the belt of the robe twice around me and holding it up around my ankles so as not to slip when I walked. My hands barely peeked out the bottom of the sleeves, but I held my wand between my forefinger and thumb and walked out to the main room.
Snape was sitting before the fire on the couch, a glass of wine in his hand and his head, his left temple, really, cradled in his hand. It was then that I became a bit worried. I crossed the room and sat beside him, my knees pulled up and my arms hugging them. I stared at him. I didn't want to ask what was wrong, because from the look on his face it wasn't your typical misadventure that had got him in this mood. Something really was wrong. Finally he handed me an envelope, opened but crisp, with my name written upon the front in angry red ink. I looked from the letter to him and back again before taking it with a slightly trembling hand. I turned it over and lifted the flap, whose seal was already broken, and removed a piece of parchment. Before I could unfold and read it he began to speak.
"Dumbledore delivered it to me a moment ago," he told me in a shaky voice. It was written by him, and he didn't seal it. I only thought to take a peek. See what news you had. Acacia, I never expected -" I cut him off by opening the parchment and reading.
"Dear Acacia, I write to you this evening with a heavy heart. I don't know quite how to say it, except to just spit it out, so here it is. Your parents, my dear sister and brother in law, were found murdered in their home early Tuesday morning. Their throats had been cut and they had been dead at least since early the previous evening. Arrangements are being made for their funeral and we would like nothing more than for you to be here. I'm sure it is what they would have wanted. If you can't bring yourself to attend the funeral at least come home and be here for all of us. There is the matter of the will to settle, as well. I won't bother you with petty details now. Suffice it to say that much was left to you and I'm sure you'll want to come and collect your things. Hurry home to us, Acacia.
Yours in grief, Your Uncle Lupus and Aunt Adonna"
The day started out normally enough. If normal for you was waking up in a pile of your own drool beside your potions master. Yep. Normal day. I opened my left eye first, because it was the one that wasn't pressed against the mattress. I had buried my head underneath my pillows and had to lift them from my head to look around. I rolled my eye around in my socket. The fire must be out because there was no light on the ceiling and the heavy velvet curtains around our bed - our bed? - were killing any other light there might be in the room beyond. I rolled over onto my other side and gently pried the curtain back. Nope. No light. How could I have expected Severus Snape to let a window grace his room. I sighed and turned my face back over my shoulder to look at him. He was asleep, face down on the mattress, but his arms were now clutching the spot where my body had just been. How cute. I sat up and swung my legs over the edge of the bed, stretched, and yawned. Then I stepped from behind the curtain into the room with my wand at the ready.
"Lumos," I whispered. A small cone of light encircled me and it was enough to keep the monsters away because I was able to cross the room to a candelabra and light all seven of the candles in it without having a panic attack. I looked around to the two doors I had noticed my first night here. The one on the right, I had ascertained, was the kitchenette. So that would make the one on the left the bathroom, which was where I needed to go.
I entered the doorway, found the sink, set my candelabra down upon its marble surface, and looked around. There were sconces on the wall so I walked over to each of them, muttering a charm and warming slightly as they blazed to life. In the light this was quite an impressive loo. The walls were stone, like the rest of the apartment, but the floor was black marble, as was the surface of the sink. The faucets were all gold with crystal knobs. I was floored at the size of the bath. It was more like a four- foot hole in the ground - like a Jacuzzi - with a ring around the edge that was only a foot down from the lip. For sitting on, I was guessing. I crossed the room, my feet smacking the marble, and closed the door. Then I inspected the cupboard for a towel, shampoo, conditioner, and body wash. I retrieved all of these and then went over to the bath and turned on the water. It was steamy and warm, but it took almost ten minutes for the thing to fill up. It was kind of a waste of water, I thought.
In any case I undid the buttons on the front of the robe I had put on before crossing the main room. It was Snape's, I could tell by the size of it. It hung a foot too long in the sleeves and at the hem, and dragged behind me when I walked. No matter. I slid it off and let it fall in a silky heap on the floor. I dropped my wand on top of it and stepped out of the pile of black silk and into the bath. The water warmed me from the inside out. It was a marvelous feeling. As I sat there contemplating the events of the prior evening, I'll confess I felt a bit uncomfortable.
It wasn't the first time I'd had sex, but it was the first time I'd had sex with a teacher. How does one greet one's potions professor the morning after, I wondered. I really had no clue at all. So I just sat there in the bath, my hair washed and wet, scrubbing myself and basically enjoying the water lazily. It was a Saturday, so I wouldn't be expected anywhere, and I was free to laze here as long as I wanted. Or until Snape kicked me out. Whichever came first. I wondered how the water seemed to stay so warm, never chilling to the temperature of the room. But the fact remained that it didn't and I presently fell asleep there in the bath, my head leaning back on the marble floor, a slight snore escaping my nasal passage.
"Acacia." I didn't want to be disturbed so I ignored the voice at first. "Acacia." There it was, and more forceful this time, and though I desperately wanted to tune it out I found myself wondering why my "bed" felt so wet and why there would be a mans voice in the Ravenclaw girls' dorms trying to rip me from my comfortable sleep. And then I shot bold upright and realized that I was naked in Snape's bathtub and that it was he who was trying to wake me up.
I spun around to see him holding up my towel for me to step into. I looked around me. For some reason I felt a slight bit uncomfortable being naked in front of him now. I don't know what had made it so easy last night.
He must have sensed my modesty because he rolled his eyes and adopted a more agitated stance, putting all his weight on one foot. "Do you think I didn't see you last night," he asked, annoyed. I didn't move. I just looked at him blankly. He let out an exasperated huff and turned his back toward me, holding the towel out with one hand and covering his eyes with the other. "Now will you get out," he begged.
I stood and climbed out of the tub. "Be careful of the marble," he warned from behind his bony hand. "It's very easy to slip on with wet feet." I walked quickly over and took the towel from my improvised towel rack. Wrapped it around myself, and turned to face him.
"I have news for you. But you'll want to get dressed and warm and come sit in the other room before I share it with you," he told me quietly. There was no hint of the conviviality that generally accompanies a man who's just had a night of wanton sex. I screwed up my nose and looked at him, puzzled. He gave me no clue, just pointed toward the sink, where the robe had been folded up and my wand had been placed, and said, "Your things are just there." Then he left, closing the door again behind him.
What a weirdo. I just shrugged it off and dressed, wrapping the belt of the robe twice around me and holding it up around my ankles so as not to slip when I walked. My hands barely peeked out the bottom of the sleeves, but I held my wand between my forefinger and thumb and walked out to the main room.
Snape was sitting before the fire on the couch, a glass of wine in his hand and his head, his left temple, really, cradled in his hand. It was then that I became a bit worried. I crossed the room and sat beside him, my knees pulled up and my arms hugging them. I stared at him. I didn't want to ask what was wrong, because from the look on his face it wasn't your typical misadventure that had got him in this mood. Something really was wrong. Finally he handed me an envelope, opened but crisp, with my name written upon the front in angry red ink. I looked from the letter to him and back again before taking it with a slightly trembling hand. I turned it over and lifted the flap, whose seal was already broken, and removed a piece of parchment. Before I could unfold and read it he began to speak.
"Dumbledore delivered it to me a moment ago," he told me in a shaky voice. It was written by him, and he didn't seal it. I only thought to take a peek. See what news you had. Acacia, I never expected -" I cut him off by opening the parchment and reading.
"Dear Acacia, I write to you this evening with a heavy heart. I don't know quite how to say it, except to just spit it out, so here it is. Your parents, my dear sister and brother in law, were found murdered in their home early Tuesday morning. Their throats had been cut and they had been dead at least since early the previous evening. Arrangements are being made for their funeral and we would like nothing more than for you to be here. I'm sure it is what they would have wanted. If you can't bring yourself to attend the funeral at least come home and be here for all of us. There is the matter of the will to settle, as well. I won't bother you with petty details now. Suffice it to say that much was left to you and I'm sure you'll want to come and collect your things. Hurry home to us, Acacia.
Yours in grief, Your Uncle Lupus and Aunt Adonna"