Evangeline reappeared in her bedroom at the cottage and immediately went looking for Matthew. She found him standing out on the cliff looking toward Clendenning Castle. "Has anything new happened, Matthew?"
As she spoke to him he shook his head and turned to answer her, "Everything's quiet, Miss Charlotte. Though I've got a strange feeling that that's not going to last. Wish I knew why I felt that way."
Probably because we're dealing with such evil here, and evil never seems to remain quiet for long, she thought sadly. Aloud she said, "I wouldn't worry about it too much. We're all a bit on edge because of them finding that chest. Hopefully they won't be able to do anything horrid with it. I need you to do something for me, though. I need a piece of stone from the walls of Clendenning Castle…no smaller than a gold galleon and no larger than your fist. It must come from a stone that's now part of the walls. Can you manage this?"
The caretaker considered her request. "Aye, there's a place on the outer wall of the castle, facing the sea, that's a bit crumbly. I could probably get something from there pretty easily. Do you need it now?"
Nervously she stared at the huge dark bulk of the castle and nodded. "Yes, as soon as possible. Remember, don't pick up something from the ground. Chip a piece off the wall itself, okay? I can't afford to waste time with a rock that hasn't been part of the castle recently."
He nodded thoughtfully. "Okay. I'll just go get my chisel, and I'll be on my way."
"Thank you, Matthew." The man smiled kindly and bobbed his head then left her there to contemplate the ominous menace of the castle and brood over her own somber thoughts.
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Forty minutes later, she made her entrance into Snape's classroom, through the Alchemist's portrait. Snape was busily brewing up the animating potion in the work area by the night hearth. Evangeline joined him there to peer over his shoulder and inquire as to his progress.
"How's it coming, Severus?"
Raising his head from his work, he glanced across at her and succinctly recited what he'd accomplished so far.
Evangeline nodded approvingly. "Sounds good. You're faster at this than I am. No surprise, I suppose," she added quickly as he raised an eyebrow at her comment.
"At the last step, I'll need to say an incantation and add the rock Matthew got from the castle wall." She paused and added thoughtfully, "I've been thinking, Severus. Do you have any velociola dartle?"
Surprised, he raised his eyebrows. "An accelerant? I thought you told me that any extra ingredients would make the potion ineffective."
She shook her head. "Not ineffective, not in this case. It never seems to work quite as well as the longer version. I always want to do the best I can for the painted figures. So I always use the long method to make any animating potions for use on paintings, but this is different. I think it'll work well enough to make a map, and it'll take no more than 24 hours, instead of 48 hours. Frankly, I'm not sure we have 48 hours. I think the sooner we get in and out of Clendenning Castle, the better."
The dark wizard nodded soberly. "I agree. I do have some dartle root in my storeroom. Top shelf, left hand side, 6th bottle in, the neck is elongated and the glass is blue." He instructed her without pause.
Taken aback at his unhesitating answer, Evangeline stared at him in mild surprise. "How can you remember so precisely?"
The Potions Master gave her a rather haughty look. "It's my potions storeroom. It's imperative that I know exactly what it contains and where. It makes it easier to spot student pilfering, which I assure you, is a problem."
She shrugged and smiled at him. "If you say so. You continue with that batch. I'll start a fresh batch with the velociola dartle. The rock Matthew got is big enough to split. This way if the faster version doesn't work well enough, we won't lose any time."
"Sensible." Snape agreed with a nod and returned to his work. After a couple of hours of labor, they had two simmering cauldrons side by side on the hearth.
"If you leave the Alchemist's portrait in here for awhile, I can check on the potions myself," said Evangeline as she stretched and tried to rub the kinks out of her stiff back.
Snape nodded and finished wiping his hands. "I'll be glad to leave it here for convenience. Will you spend what's left of this night here with me?" He slid his arms around her and kissed her neck avidly as he kneaded her back firmly with his limber fingers.
Evangeline threw her head back to give him easier access to her throat and sighed contentedly. "Oh, that feels wonderful! You certainly make it hard to refuse."
Not getting the answer he wanted, he lifted his head to frown down at her. "Does that mean you plan to refuse?"
She smiled at his annoyed expression and disgruntled tone. "I thought I was supposed to be staying on Clendenning Island. What if they discovered that I was away all night? How would I explain it, and what if something happens that we need to know immediately? I really do think I need to go back. I've been away long enough."
With a snort of disgust, Snape nuzzled her neck again and muttered darkly, "I knew I'd hate your going to Clendenning Island. It's already one o'clock in the morning. Who do you think is going to be checking on you?" He began to give more insistent attention to that sensitive spot at the base of her neck where it meets her shoulder.
With a small gasp she embraced him tightly and moaned at the pleasurable sensations running up and down her spine. Her body longed to give itself up to his attentions and stay the night within his arms, but she was far too responsible to allow her physical needs to overwhelm what she felt was the right thing to do. With a reluctant sigh, she answered his question honestly, "How should I know? All I'm sure of is that if an emergency arises, they'll come looking for me, and I'm supposed to be there. I'll give you five minutes…no longer."
Snape raised his head and smirked down at her. "A challenge!" He withdrew his wand and, with a wave the door locked, with another wave their clothes abruptly vanished to reappear in a neat pile on his desk.
Evangeline gasped as the cool dungeon air caressed her suddenly exposed body. "Severus!"
He chuckled low in his throat as he bent to kiss her. "I'll put them back, Evangeline. After I've put my five minutes to good use."