Disclaimer:

All characters in the story are the property of J. K. Rowling and Bloomsbury Books, with the exception of Eleanora Sterling and a few supporting characters, who are my own creations. This story is created purely for the entertainment of myself and other like-minded readers and no copyright infringement is intended.

By mentioning J.K. Rowling in this story I do not intend to present her as a fictional character or to imply that the Harry Potter books are not her own 100% original works.

Any opinions, political or otherwise, on world events, personages or governments expressed in these pages, are the opinions of the characters speaking them and not necessarily those of the author.

Chapter 6: Trouble in Paradise

Severus wouldn't apologize.

He did try to make amends to Nora by fixing her some supper, fettuccine Alfredo, which he knew she loved. He brought it to her on a tray with a glass of wine, but Nora still would not speak to him and refused to open the bedroom door. Unaccustomed to dealing with romantic disharmony, he stood uncertainly outside the door, his feelings wavering between anxiety at being out of her good graces and anger at her stubbornness. But he would not reduce himself to begging for entry.

Unable himself to eat the meal he had prepared, he spent the evening downstairs alone listening to quiet music on the stereo. Magenta seemed aware of his distress, and leapt up to the couch, making herself at home on his lap. At first he was annoyed, then found the cat's heavy warmth and incessant purring oddly soothing as he sat stroking her soft fur in the darkness. At one point he heard water running upstairs; he presumed Nora was having a bath and getting ready for bed.

Calmed considerably, he found the nerve to attempt the bedroom once more. This time the door was unlocked, but the room was in darkness. Below the hum of the air conditioner, sounds of soft even breathing suggested that she was asleep. He undressed and slipped under the covers next to her, caressing her shoulder lightly.

Nora stirred and murmured his name softly in her sleep. Spooning her from behind, he embraced her, cupping her small breast and placing his other hand between her thighs. She did not resist. Gradually his caresses became more insistent and he could feel her rousing to his advances. Surely she must be awake, but did not seem to object when he made love to her. Did this mean he had been forgiven?

* * *

By all appearances, the next morning the argument seemed to have been forgotten. But Snape could still detect a slight chill in the air. He decided it would be best if he did not speak of the matter again and hopefully Nora would not bring it up. An uneasy truce reigned for the rest of the day.

In the meantime, he needed to do some thinking and to solidify his plans. The first matter was to figure out what he could use as an incentive to make Voldemort want to pass over to the Mundane dimension and see it for himself.

One unknown factor was this: what if Voldemort already knew of the existence of this dimension by some means and was aware that it would sap his powers? In all probability only a handful of highly trusted wizards knew about it. He himself had not been told, presumably because that in working alongside the Dark Lord, even as a spy for Dumbledore, he might have been considered a security risk.

And speaking of security risks, there was the enormous problem of Algernon Welkin. Although the man seemed to have acted with the best of intentions, the old fool could not keep from revealing the existence of the Magical dimension to an author of children's books! How much of a security risk might he pose on other confidential matters within the Ministry of Magic?

At the very least, Snape determined that Welkin should not be allowed to know anything of his plans involving the Mundane dimension. At best, it would seem to be very prudent to ensure his removal from the Ministry and retirement someplace far, far away.

The other possible security breach was Ignatius Weatherby, another ministry operative who knew about the Mundane dimension, and who had mysteriously disappeared about the time that Nora and Remus Lupin had been scheduled to meet with him in London. What had become of him? No answer had been forthcoming, only that his disappearance had nothing to do with the fact that one of Voldemort's followers had known of the plan to get Snape safely out of Britain to North America.

He needed information, and he needed it quickly. But he didn't want to apprise Dumbledore of his plans; not yet. He needed to lay some groundwork and raise some support before he troubled the old man with his scheme. It was not that he didn't trust him, but the elderly wizard was notoriously unwilling to take risks in his dealings with Voldemort. Which, Snape reflected with a grimace, might be the precise reason the Dark Lord had not yet been defeated.

Unfortunately the only person he could contact from the Magical world who might conceivably aid him in his conspiracy was an old rival. Would Remus Lupin agree to help him without telling Dumbledore? It would be necessary to feel him out before he revealed his plan. But until Lupin contacted them, it would be impossible to connect with him. Perhaps Nora could pass word through Welkin that he wished to contact Lupin, but that in itself was risky considering Welkin's track record. And would Nora even be willing to assist, now that she knew what he was up to and disapproved?

It seemed there was nothing to do about the matter but wait for Lupin to contact them. However, this did give him time to solidify his blueprint for Riddle's defeat.

* * *

Nora had not seen Angie for a few days and was feeling the need to confide in a friend. After the upsets of the last couple of days, she wanted both a willing ear and a break from her routine. After their last disastrous meeting, it would be impossible to invite her over with Severus around. But Angie might be willing to meet her for a coffee somewhere.

Nora picked up the phone and dialled. After four rings she almost hung up. At ten o'clock in the morning, her friend might not even be up yet.

Angie's sleepy voice finally answered the phone. "Whoever you are, you woke me up, so this better be fuckin' good," she growled.

"Ange, it's me."

"Well, hello, stranger. What's up?" she asked, with an edge of sarcasm in her voice.

"Um not much, I just thought it would be nice to get together for a coffee or something. Got anything planned today?"

"No, not really. I'm working on a painting, but you know I do my best work at night anyway, so I'm clear 'till say, midnight."

"OK, where do you want to meet? Balzac's, Bentley's, or that new place across the road?"

"Why don't you come over? I got a bag of Balzac's Special Roast right here."

"Sounds all right. It'd be nice to get out, though."

"For you, my place is out. For me, it's cheap. Gotta conserve my cash flow right now."

"Well, I'd be buying. But your place is fine too. When do you want me?"

"Give me an hour to wake up and tidy up and c'mon over."

"See you in a bit."

Nora told Severus she was going out for a while and did a few errands during the hour prior to her date with her young friend. Angie's studio, where she was living illegally, was in a warehouse way out on the east end of town. She hoped that Angie had remembered to unlock the entrance downstairs.

In fact, Angie herself was waiting in the loading area as Nora pulled her Volvo into the parking lot. They took an old wooden freight elevator up to the third floor studio. The place was huge two large well-lit rooms with floor to ceiling windows that flanked the space, a central space divided into a kitchen and seating area in one room and another room that Angie used as a gallery for her current and favourite work, and in the back, hidden behind the second of the large windowed rooms -- her actual workspace, was a small sleeping area that could easily be disguised as a store-room if fire inspectors should happen to drop in.

Nora knew she would never be able to live this way, but all the same she envied Angie her freedom and her ability to make do on virtually nothing. Coming from a well-to-do family had meant that Nora had relied on money for most of her life. Still, she had to admit she liked her comforts.

Angie had a pot brewing already and handed her a large mug. As she sank into an oversized and shabby old armchair, Nora surreptitiously checked to see if there was any fresh paint on the mug or anywhere else; she didn't want to get any on her clothes.

"Don't worry, I just washed that mug," Angie kidded her. She had seen this performance before. "So What's the trouble?"

"Trouble? Who said anything about trouble?" Nora asked innocently as she sipped.

"Well, let's see, you've been home with the New Guy for just a little over two weeks, I don't hear anything from you and all of a sudden you want to get together. Plus you sound all wistful, like. Honeymoon over, already?"

Nora sighed. "Well, not exactly, but we did have a bit of a fight the other day if you must know."

"About?"

Well, now, how do I go about explaining this exactly? Nora thought. My boyfriend wants to go back to Hogwarts to defeat Lord Voldemort. Riiiight. "He's suddenly decided he needs to go back to the U.K. to take care of some unfinished business," she said aloud. That was close enough to the truth.

"I thought that's what he was doing in Scotland when you met him: taking care of family business."

"Yes, well, evidently there's still more to be taken care of. Something sort of came up after we got here and he's got a bee in his bonnet about it. Now he's champing at the bit to go home."

"And would this unfinished business have anything to do with an ex-wife or old girlfriend?"

"No, no, nothing like that. But it's... well, I can't really go into it, but there's sort of an element of danger to this."

"Really? What kind of danger? And old enemy, out to get him? How exciting!"

"You really are incorrigible, Ange. Life is not a movie you know."

"Um have you taken a look at your boyfriend lately? Oh! Speaking of which, I heard the most amazing rumour about him the other day!"

"Which was?"

"That he's a friend of J.K. Rowling and his name really is Severus Snape! Is that true?"

"I guess the cat's out of the bag then. Yes, he knew her in Edinburgh. She liked his name so much she asked him if she could borrow it for her books."

"Cool! So is he, like really, the model for the guy in the movie?"

"You mean, the guy in the books."

"Whatever. I only saw the movie, OK?"

"Yes, I guess you could say that he was the model for the character, in a way. He was a professor of chemistry at St. Howard's, Academy, where I was working."

"St. Howard's. Is that what you said the school was called?"

"Surely you didn't think I said 'Hogwarts', did you?" In fact she had, she just hoped Angie hadn't remembered that.

Angie laughed. "Oh, this is so cool! I know a guy in the Harry Potter books. But, Witchie-Poo! You were holding out on me!"

"Sorry, but I thought he wanted to keep it quiet. I had no idea he was going to go around telling people himself."

"So, I guess they picked Rickman for the movie because he looks so much like your friend, eh? That is, if Rowling had anything to do with the casting, that must have been the reason!"

"I suppose I hadn't really given it much thought. But it's true; he does really look like Severus, with that black wig and all." She secretly wondered if either Ginny Weasley or Welkin had helped with the casting, since there was no way Severus could have met J. K. Rowling for real.

"Oh, I just thought of something! If he's a wizard, then you really must be a witch! I knew it!" she chuckled.

"Ha-hah." Nora knew that to Angie, this was only a joke. "Witchie-Poo" had been Angie's private nickname for Nora ever since she had been a patient and Nora had miraculously cleared up a rash caused by using a toxic paint solvent. All the same, it made Nora cringe inwardly to hear this. If she only knew

"OK, So back to the angst: Snapey wants to go back to the U.K. and you don't want him to go. What's the problem? He didn't ask you to go with him?"

Snapey? thought Nora. Remind me never to allow those two in the same room again! "Actually, no he hasn't, so far. I think he wants to handle this himself."

"If he thinks there might be danger, maybe he's just trying to keep you out of it. Listen to me, defending the guy! Sheesh."

Nora felt the need to soft-pedal this. "It's not that kind of danger, it's more like unpleasantness... a law-suit kind of thing."

"Oh. So you're just angry that he's going back so soon after he got here?"

"Yes. And try not to sound so disappointed that he's not in mortal danger." Nora tried to keep her tone light, but a slight feeling of panic rose in her stomach as she considered exactly whom Severus was planning to face.

Angie eyed her narrowly. "Do you think he's trying to call it quits and is just trying to find a way to weasel on outta here? You know, go home, then call you and say, 'Oh, by the way, Babe, I'm not coming back'," she said, mimicking Snape's deep voice and cultured British accent.

"It hadn't occurred to me, but thanks so much for mentioning it," Nora frowned. Now, there was an uncomfortable possibility.

Angie grinned sardonically. "Always happy to cheer you up, Hon."

Nora sighed. This conversation wasn't helping in the least. She needed to confide in someone who would really understand either Poppy, or her mother. But somehow, running to Mother with this wasn't what she wanted to do, either. No, she was going to have to get in touch with Poppy. She was the only one who would do.

"So, would you like to see my latest masterpiece?" Angie invited.

"I'd love to," Nora replied. Anything to change the subject.

NEXT: Letter from Hogwarts

A/N

A bit of personal trivia: Angie's studio is very similar to my own. Sadly, I do not get to spend much time there any more. Such spaces can be had cheaply if you know where to look, so it's not unrealistic that Angie can afford such an extravagant amount of square footage. I never actuallly lived in mine but I have known people who've lived in warehouses illegally.

Since I can't find the time to paint any more, I couldn't resist putting an artist character in my story, even if she's not a major one.

Thank you for the reviews. It's not so much that I need my ego stroked, but I do find the feedback encourages me to find trime to write. Lately it's been going well and I've had a few new ideas. But those chapters won't be posted for a while...

Cheers!

- Grey Lady