THE RETURN
Severus felt like he wasn't really in his body as he walked towards the Hogwarts' grounds. He had mixed feelings about meeting Mariannah again. All this time he thought she was dead. Dumbledore had told him that Mariannah left on her own accord. She left their world. Without even a word of goodbye, she left him. She abandoned him. But why? Part of him wanted to be cold and unfeeling towards her. Yet another side wanted to -
The sound of thunder right above him interrupted the wizard's thoughts. A witch swooped down on her broom at an incredible speed; She made a smooth and easy landing. She got off her broom and held it upright in her right hand. Severus observed her from afar. She was wearing muggle clothes consisting of a nicely fit sky blue blouse, black slacks and a pair of leather boots. She was as beautiful as he remembered her to be. Her long ebony black hair framed her face and fell on her shoulders in soft waves. She still had the red lips, the porcelain white skin and the strikingly expressive dark brown eyes he remembered so well. Those same features were the reason for Sirius Black's perverted prank on Severus when they were still students.
Mariannah looked about her until her eyes rested upon Severus. She noted that he had not changed much over fourteen years, save for the appearance of fine lines on his face. She hesitated and wondered how he would react to her after fourteen years. She took a deep, cleansing breath and gingerly approached him.
"Hello, Severus," she said softly.
"Hello, Mariannah," replied Severus rather curtly. "How was your trip?"
"It was fine. I never thought I would ever ride Lightning again. I haven't tuned this up in ages. Feels good to be able to do so actually." Mariannah mentally scolded herself. She was nervous and babbling like an idiot.
Severus, on the other hand, was quite amused. Some things never change, he thought. "If it makes you feel any better, I haven't rode Thunder for some time either." Not since I had to keep your nephew from getting killed by Quirrel four years ago.
Mariannah laughed lightly. "I heard that," she said.
Severus raised an eyebrow. "Of course you did. I'd be surprised if you didn't." Severus let his mouth form a slight smile. "Come now," he said. "I shall show you to your quarters."
"Thank you," murmured Mariannah. The Potions Master gave a nod and turned towards Hogwarts, the new Defense professor following close behind him.
After showing Mariannah her classroom and office, Severus accompanied the witch to her personal chambers. Her new place was quite roomy with a study area, a receiving area and a large bedroom. She also had a bathroom that rivaled that of the one used by the House Prefects. Her three-lock trunk had been brought in from her former home. Her hand glided upon the rough wood of the trunk. She took out a set of three keys on a ring and proceeded to put a key into the first lock.
On opening it, she waved her right hand across the room, making a few choice incantations. From the trunk came sheets and curtains. They fitted themselves upon the window and onto the four-poster bed. Swaths of green velvet hung from the posters adorned with a single Slytherin crest. Her bedcovers took on a different look; a rich royal red adorned with the Gryffindor crest. She continued with the redecoration throughout the room, replacing some of the default items with those of her own. Severus noted how tastefully the witch combined the colors of the two rival houses without making the room look as if Christmas had come early.
The second lock allowed Mariannah access to her clothes, which she put into the dresser with a wave of her hand. But this was done not before she manually sifted through her garments. As soon as her wardrobe was done, she started on the contents that were accessed through the third lock. By that time, she was putting the items in their intended places by hand.
"Nervous?"
Mariannah stopped for a while, surprised by the wizard's statement.
"I beg your pardon?" she replied.
Severus stepped closer to her and slowly took the book she held in her hand.
"You are putting away your possessions by hand when you could easily do
that with a spell. You only do that when you're - nervous."
Mariannah opened her mouth to explain, and realized that she didn't even know what to say. So she promptly closed her mouth, shrugged her shoulders and continued with her task of emptying the contents of her trunk. Severus stepped out of her way when he noticed something in the trunk. He put the book down on a table and summoned for a picture. It was undoubtedly a muggle photograph, as the people were not moving. It showed Mariannah happily embracing a strikingly handsome man in some sort of uniform.
"Jonathan Bourne."
"A friend of yours?" asked Severus.
"Fiancée," came the simple reply.
"I see," said Severus. "For how long now?"
"About two months now." Severus felt a hand on his arm and glanced to see that Mariannah had come closer. She leaned her head against his shoulder as she looked at the picture. He looked back at the photograph.
"He's a bobbin?" asked Severus, raising his eyebrows at the same time. Mariannah let out a soft laugh. "Bobby, not bobbin! Yes, he is."
"I knew that," came the wizard's curt reply, obviously referring to his being corrected by the witch. Mariannah looked at Severus' face; the man was smiling. It was a faint smile, but it was nevertheless a sign that he was trying to make light a rather strained moment. Severus felt her gaze and turned his attention to her. He watched as her face slowly gave way to uncertainty. He caressed her cheek with the back of his hand.
"As long as I know you are all right and happy, Mariannah." The witch smiled again and proceeded to give Severus a hug. They remained in that intimate position for a while before the wizard decided to leave her room. "I should let you finish up here." He returned the photograph to Mariannah and started to exit her quarters. "When you're done, just see me in my office. Dinner will be ready soon. Let's not keep the others waiting, shall we?"
Severus closed the door behind him as he left. He then leaned against the wall; all strength seemed to have suddenly left him. Despite his earlier demeanor on the Hogwarts grounds, Severus was hoping that they could straighten out what had happened before and try to pick up where their relationship had left off. "I should have known it was too good to be true," muttered Severus. But he had meant every word he said to Mariannah. As long as he knew she was happy, he was happy. The muggle looked like he would take care of the witch well. If he doesn't, I'll hex him straight into oblivion, he thought. With that, he straightened up, shrugged his shoulders and steadfastly walked back to his office.
Mariannah sat on her bed, still holding the muggle photograph. She was still looking at the closed door, deep in thought. After a while, she held out an empty hand towards her trunk and called for something. Another photograph flew towards her hand. This time it was a wizard photo. A younger couple could be seen laughing and poking at each other, kissing every now and then. The boy in the photo wrapped his arms lovingly around her younger self. Mariannah sighed. She stood up and put the pictures of Jonathan and Severus side by side on her bedside table and proceeded to unpack the rest of her things.