In the middle of April, Evangeline made yet another visit to Hogwarts, this time carrying all of her belongings. She'd continued to make short overnight and weekend visits, but this one was different.
With her usual ease, she came through the concert painting into Snape's bedroom. No one was there to greet her, which didn't surprise her any, as it was the middle of the afternoon and she hadn't told anyone that she was coming. With a sigh, she put down her bag and tried to decide what to do next. The first thing she really needed to do was to go see Albus Dumbledore, so she wrote a note for Snape, sealed it with wax from his desk, and left it on top of his papers. Then, she returned to the concert painting, leaving her bag on the floor next to the bed.
Shortly she emerged from a portrait on Dumbledore's office wall and surprised the elder wizard behind his desk. "Hello, Albus. Sorry to burst in uninvited like this, but I needed to see you. I hope this isn't a bad time."
Dumbledore put down his quill and stood up. With a welcoming smile on his face, he came around his desk and embraced his surprise visitor. "Not at all, Evangeline. It's always lovely to see you. How are you feeling? Are you here for another visit?"
Evangeline smiled at him. "Actually, I'm here for your help. The hospital has discharged me. They say I've made excellent progress and can continue my therapy as an outpatient. Frankly I'm not sure that I need to continue with it at all, but I think Healers have trouble letting go of their patients sometimes. As good as it feels to leave the hospital, it does leave me with a bit of a problem; I'm afraid I need another place to hide. I wish I could stay here, but until the students leave that probably wouldn't be wise."
The Headmaster nodded understandingly. "No, it wouldn't, as much as we'd love to have you. I'll look into the possibilities for you. I'm sure you won't mind a stay of a few days while you wait." He smiled happily at her, and she smiled back.
"Actually, I was counting on it."
"Good, but Severus is not going to be allowed to keep you all to himself this time. The rest of us wish to be able to spend some time with you as well."
Evangeline nodded. "Don't worry, Albus. I've missed everyone here, too." Then she hesitated.
Noticing the change in her manner, he peered over his eyeglasses at her. "Is there something else, Evangeline?"
"Yes, Albus, there is. It may not really be any of my business, but as I feel that I have a stake in it now, I thought I should make my feelings known to you."
The Headmaster sighed and nodded in understanding; he'd expected this topic to come up eventually. "Severus' spying?"
She shook her head in wonderment. "How do you know what people are thinking? Do you read minds?"
"No, my dear, more like… read their moods. You're already wearying of your life in hiding, aren't you?"
Evangeline regarded him seriously. "Yes, I am, but as long as the Dark Lord wants to get his hands on me, I can't change that. But it's different for Severus. He's lived a hidden life, not his own, for almost two decades. How long does he need to suffer for the mistakes of his youth? He made one bad decision as a teenager, and his entire life has been forfeit! I hate to see what this has done to him. If I have anything to say about it, that will change. I'm going to try to get him to stop spying. I doubt that he'll listen to me. The man defines the word stubborn, and he believes that he has a debt to repay. The problem is that he sees this debt as something that he can never repay. He's trapped in a never-ending cycle of pain and guilt, and it's going to destroy him eventually. I can't stand to allow that to happen if there's anything at all I can do to prevent it."
She sighed deeply. "Also he firmly believes that this is what you want of him. He'd walk off a cliff for you, if you asked him to. Sometimes I think you have. Is this the life you want for him, Albus? Would you release him if he asked you to?"
Dumbledore sighed as well. "My dear, Severus is very like a son to me. I want him to have a good life. That's why I've been so happy to see him with you. You make him happier than he's ever been, but I don't force Severus to spy for me. It's always been his choice. His information has always been very valuable, but no doubt we could manage without it. I've never been happy with the danger he constantly puts himself in. He's the one who has to believe that he's adequately made amends for his transgressions, Evangeline. He's the one you must convince…not me."
Evangeline gave Dumbledore a hug. "Just so you know, I intend to try."
He nodded and patted her back encouragingly. "I wish you luck, my dear."
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Evangeline returned through the paintings into Snape's quarters, very anxious by now to see him again. Once she arrived, she walked quietly through the bedroom to the door of the sitting room. Where she found Severus standing by the desk, reading her note.
Casually she leaned against the doorframe with a pleased smile on her lips and crossed her arms, addressing him with a teasing lilt in her voice. "Good afternoon, Professor Snape. I had a little trouble understanding that last assignment. I was hoping that you could give me a little…personal…help."
Deliberately he raised his head from his reading and turned to gaze at her with a supercilious sneer on his face. "I only give …personal… help to my very best students." Dropping the note to the desktop, the Potions Master glided swiftly across the room to loom over her. "Do you think you qualify, Miss Winthrop?" he murmured in a low velvet tone and quirked an eyebrow questioningly.
With a shiver of desire at his nearness she reached up and slipped a hand into his hair to bring his head down to hers for a most passionate kiss. When she released him, she ran her tongue over her lips savoring his taste, and stared deeply into his eyes as she smirked confidently back at him. "You taught me that. What do you think?"
"I believe you're the very best student, I've ever had," he stated softly as he bent his head back to hers for another lingering kiss.
Breathlessly she pulled back from him with a contented sigh and combed her fingers through his hair. "Well, I'm ready for my next lesson, Professor Snape."
He raised his eyebrows and ran his hands slowly down her back to cup her buttocks and pull her more firmly against him. "Oh, really?" he purred. "You were taking a chance, Miss Winthrop. Perhaps I don't have an opening in my busy schedule at the moment."
Affecting a pout, she began unfastening his robe and pressing light kisses at the base of his throat. "You've never seemed to have a problem finding the time in the past, Professor."
His elegant hands moved upward again to tangle in her hair and gently pull her head back so he could nuzzle her neck more easily. Then he brought his hands to the front of her blouse. "True. I've always been most accommodating where you're concerned." He bent his head and put his mouth to her ear, nibbling on the lobe and tracing its curve with his tongue, as he murmured soft and low, "Obviously a bit too accommodating, if you think you can waltz in here at will and demand a…private…tutoring session. In my classroom, Miss Winthrop…I call the shots." His nimble fingers had been working their way down through the buttons of her blouse during this little speech, and now finished with his task, he slid it swiftly down off her arms and discarded it on the floor.
She, too, had been successful in unfastening the flowing academic robe that he wore, and it joined her blouse on the floor in a pool of black silk. "We're not in your classroom, Professor Snape," she whispered softly as she continued to unfasten his clothes, quickly but firmly stroking the buttons with her eager fingers.
The Potions Master began trailing kisses down her neck and over her shoulders, caressing her skin with his smooth hair as he went along. His fingers slipped the straps of her camisole down her arms as his eager lips moved down her body. "True," he murmured as he suddenly backed her up against the wall and raised his head to stare into her eyes with his own. "But these are my private quarters, Miss Winthrop. If a student comes in here and demands a private tutoring session from me…she must be prepared to put herself in my hands." As he said this his hands dropped to cup her breasts, squeezing gently and brushing the erect nipples lightly with his thumbs.
With a shiver of intense desire she sighed once again and slowly slid her hand down his body to caress the hard bulge she found between his legs. "I'm always prepared to put myself in your hands, Professor Snape."
He smirked in satisfied anticipation. "Well, perhaps I can find time in my busy schedule for you, after all, Miss Winthrop."