Chapter 13- Insulting Fun and Compassion

He is so dead, Aletta thought as she tickled the pear in a painting of fruit. It giggled and swung open to reveal an enormous kitchen with bustling house elves. Every one of them greeted her kindly and offered her something to eat and drink. She told them that a sandwich and a Coke would be pleasant. Aletta didn't want to trouble them in making her some fancy dinner since they seemed to already be incredibly busy with something else. What are they making anyway? she wondered. Aletta walked up to one of the house elves that seemed to be mixing up some sort of fudge chocolate.
"What are you guys making?" she asked and the elf jumped causing the wooden spoon it was holding to plummet to the ground.
Some of the chocolate splattered onto Aletta's shoes and the house elf looked horrified.
"I is so sorry, Sir!" it squeaked. "Ploddy didn't mean to drop spoon and get chocolate on shoes!"
"It's okay," Aletta said kindly. "It was my fault. I shouldn't have snuck up on you like that."
The house elf, which Aletta surmised had the name Ploddy, bowed to her and wiped the chocolate off her shoe with it's tattered pillowcase that it wore. Aletta told him that he didn't need to do that but he wouldn't hear of it. As it dabbed her shoes with the cloth, it seemed to catch a glimpse of her pink socks. It seemed to admire them, as its eyes grew wide in awe.
"Ploddy likes your socks, Sir," it peeped again. "They are nice color. Dobby, Sir, would like them too!"
Aletta smiled at the elf and it seemed to blush.
"Here you go, Miss," said another elf that approached her, the sandwich and Coke in its hands.
Ploddy smiled at the other elf and whispered something in his ear before he trotted off to retrieve another spoon. The elf that Aletta did not know gave her a big toothy grin.
"Ploddy says that you are as kind as Harry Potter," the elf squealed in its high-pitched voice, though not as shrill as Ploddy's.
"Thank you," she said. "I think."
The elf nodded and Aletta then noticed the bright green socks it had on. They were quite cute, yet a bit too flamboyant for her. On the sides it said "Elf Power!" written in gold. Hence, another reason why they wouldn't exactly suit her.
"I like your socks," she said to make conversation.
"Thank you, Miss. Hermione Granger gave them to me for Christmas last year!"
Aletta laughed as she remembered Hermione telling her about her S.P.E.W club which was against elf slavery. She joined it, but she refused to wear the badge. Aletta could only imagine what people would think of her if she walked around wearing a badge that said "S.P.E.W". Hermione didn't mind since Aletta agreed to give 3 galleons to her club every month.
The elf waddled over to a small wooden table by the fire and set her food down, "You can eat here!"
Aletta expressed her gratitude and walked over to sit down. While she was nibbling at her sandwich, she suddenly noticed a shadow across the table wear the firelight had been flickering. She knew someone was standing behind her but before she had a chance to look up she heard his voice.
"Enjoying yourself?"
Aletta jumped and cursed loudly. She didn't know why since she had already known he was there. Maybe it was just his voice that startled her.
"I was!" she hissed as she threw down her sandwich on the plate so she could sip her Coke.
Aletta made it clear in her tone that she wasn't very keen on seeing him. Snape walked over to the chair across from her and sat down.
"What day is it, arsehole day?" she snapped at him. " And if I remember correctly, I don't recollect asking you to join me."
Aletta stood up, leaving her unfinished food and Coke on the table as he walked over to a cabinet full of chocolate. Might as well get my dessert while he's here, she thought, all the better to be distanced from him. She climbed the ladder and steadied herself as she reached up to get a candy bar. In the next second, she felt herself falling. Her wrist was seized in a vice grip and she was yanked into a masculine chest that held her firmly against his taut muscles. Her legs were momentarily too numb, from sitting down for a long period of time, to support her. She sought to steady herself against his chest with her free hand. Aletta stumbled heavily against him, her heart lurching as she came against the solid wall of muscle. His arm automatically released her wrist and circled her waist to catch her, taking her full weight as if it were no more than a child's.
The suddenness of the forced movement had thrown her head back, her stunned gaze staring into his narrowed eyes darkened like turbulent thunderclouds. She shuddered at the anger contained within.
"And if I remember correctly, Miss. Dumbledore, I don't remember you ordering me to leave." Thunder growled threateningly in his voice. "And you'd better have a damned good explanation for calling me an arsehole!"
His strong male scent was all around Aletta, filling her senses to the exclusion of everything but his nearness. It seemed to take all her strength to look away from the compelling features so close to her own and focus on the chocolate bar on the ground.
"Okay then, I order you to leave," she inserted breathlessly.
Aletta was cast away from him, sagging limply against the wall like a rag doll as Snape turned to walk toward the table. He sat down with his cat-like grace and gestured her with his hand to come over and join him. Aletta stood up, her knees still feeling like Jell-O as she walked lazily over to the chair across from him. She collapsed into it and set the candy bar down on the table as she picked her Coke up with the other hand to swallow the rest of it down. Snape regarded her with his irate eyes and retrieved his wand from his robe pocket. Aletta flinched and held her breath until she heard him cast a spell on a bottle of wine that was sitting on one of the counters. It flew into his outstretched hand as well as a goblet he had also charmed. Aletta watched his graceful hands pop open the bottle of Port and pour it into the goblet. Well, so much for him leaving, she thought. Snape lifted the goblet to his thin lips and gulped what seemed like half of the alcohol. He set it down, unmoved by the tanginess of the wine. Aletta suddenly thought of their previous kiss and remembered how his lips had felt against her own. She noted how they had felt incredibly soft and plump, not thin and rigid like they looked. She felt her heart skip a beat as she wondered what it would be like to have him really kiss her, not a punishing kiss like he had given her earlier. She had too admit, that rough kiss was actually quite unpleasant.
"What are you thinking about?" he mimicked from earlier.
Aletta glanced up into his mocking appearance that was enhanced by the firelight, and said defensively, "Oh no! Don't you dare start that again!"
Snape narrowed his eyes at her and all she could see was slits of black, "I am not 'starting' anything. I would just simply like to know what you are thinking."
He leaned back in his chair, feeling undefeated as Aletta's mouth gaped open at his provoking attitude.
"You are extremely nosy, and in more ways then one," she yelled as he sat up strait again to acknowledge her previous insult.
"Now, now," he taunted. "You really must think of something intelligent to say, or at least plausible. And there is nothing wrong with my nose."
"Are you always this contrary, or are you making a special effort today?" she asked not wanting a reply as he chuckled deeply in amusement. "Now will you please tell me why you chose to come here and annoy me?"
"Ah, you are now starting to sound reasonable," he mocked and his eyes glinted with amusement, "which means that it is time to increase my medication."
"I refuse to enter into a battle of wits with you!" Aletta sneered with a smile as he chuckled even more. " It's against my moral code to attack an unarmed person."
Snape gazed at her as he rubbed his chin thoughtfully, a smirk curved on his lips that actually made him look really handsome. Aletta suddenly had an urge to know if he did that frequently. She knew it was probably because he was thinking of something evil to say.
"I'd like to see things from your point of view but I can't seem to get my head that far up my arse," Snape said as he chuckled even more.
Yep, she thought, that was evil. A bit too evil.
Trying very hard not to laugh Aletta shot back, "I do understand you - I seem to have a way with dumb animals."
That did it. They both erupted into rages of laughter. Aletta now saw that he had a full smile plastered on his face, plus he was laughing as well. Does he do that frequently, she thought. Aletta felt a tingle in her stomach as she mused on how wonderful it would be if she was the only one that could get him to laugh like so. Heck, she'd feel great if she was the reason why he was smiling so handsomely. Aletta was actually enjoying herself, and so was Snape. After their laughter had died down, they started to discuss issues of the school. After that they spoke of their past, but mostly Aletta did. Snape tried to ignore that subject on his part, but he enjoyed listening to her amusing stories. Aletta had even told him of her friends back in her hometown. He especially liked her story about her friend Maya who had a cat that fell down the stairs in a Pier One bag. Aletta had explained what Pier One was. Severus didn't talk much about himself, even though Aletta begged him to tell her of his childhood, friends, and family. He frowned as he thought of his family. Compared to Aletta's, he didn't even have one. But he tried not to think of that while he listened intently to her experience with Potions. He laughed when she told him how her specialty in potion making is cough syrup. He even offered to teach her how to brew a Giggling Potion. Snape wasn't really fond of it, but he knew Aletta would probably love to use it on someone. He preferred the potions that caused pain. As they chatted, Snape wondered why he was so fascinated with her. Well, lets see, he told himself, she's intelligent, sexy, kind, and funny as hell. He never realized that he would have so much fun with a comedian. His past dates usually had no sense of humor at all. Wait, he thought, why am I comparing her to the women I have dated. Snape decided to ignore that thought. But overall they were getting along, and getting pleasure from it.
"So, what did you come down here for?" Aletta asked later as they both lounged on the chairs in front of the fire, the house elves long gone since it was one in the morning.
Snape looked at her with his glittering eyes full of satisfaction and contentment. He looked incredibly relaxed but was not drunk or even tipsy. Aletta seemed to be unaffected by the large consummation of Port, as well.
"Well," Snape said as he poured himself more wine. "I was going to enlighten you on our little quest. But more on the lines of what the Memoria curse is."
"I see," she said as she leaned over the chair to pick up her glass of Port.
Aletta then suddenly flipped over the chair she was sitting on and landed right on her back. She giggled uncontrollably as Snape stood up to help her up. He grabbed her arms and pulled her up. She collapsed into his chest and she moved her face up to nestle in his neck. Aletta was, once again, mesmerized by his beautiful scent. Snape felt uncomfortable by the embrace, but couldn't push her away. He was too mesmerized himself by the way her body molded into his perfectly. Snape felt the movement under his head as she looked up at him.
"Why did you kiss me earlier?" she whispered, finding herself lost in his eyes.
"Because," he started as he too looked at her, "I needed a way to punish you."
"What did I do to you?" she asked with a child-like pout.
"You embarrassed me in front of my students," he murmured. "And no one gets away with that without a good thrashing."
Aletta laughed and before she could stop herself she said sensually, "Well then, maybe I should embarrass you more often!"
Snape smiled down at her and droned, "Perhaps."
Aletta became aware of their position and stepped out of his arms. Snape cleared his throat while Aletta gazed around to look for her goblet. When she found it, she picked it up and pivoted to look at Severus who was now seated back in his chair.
"More wine?" he asked as she studied his alluring position.
"Oh, no thank you," she said quickly as she drew her gaze away from him and toward the kitchen table. "I was just going to put this on the table."
After she had retrieved from the kitchen table, she sat down in the other chair and rested her chin on her hand while she gazed into the fire.
"The Memoria Curse is a curse that only the darkest wizards can perform," Snape droned as he too lost his gaze in the flickering flames of the fire. "It is exactly like the memory charm, except that the person who has been cursed is not able to recover with a spell and it won't wear off after a long period of time."
"So the only way to revive Ron is with a potion," Aletta figured as she turned to look into onyx eyes that flickered with the reflection of the flames.
"Yes," he said quietly. "And do you know why Dumbledore chose us?" he asked as he turned to look at her.
Aletta shook her head and he sighed, "Neither do I," and he turned his attention back to the fire.
She laughed quietly and also turned back to the fire, "What does the potion consist of that we can't pick up at an Apothecary?"
"The petals of a Tein, the roots of a Silindu, and the venom of a Selimare," he stated as he picked of his goblet to down the rest of his Port.
"Why would such a deadly venom be required?" she asked bewildered.
"That is what the Tein petals are used for. A certain compound in the Tein is powerful enough to kill off the fatal chemicals in the venom. When you bring the two to a simmer, the reaction occurs, which leaves the beneficial chemicals of the venom."
Aletta admired his knowledge of Potions. Especially when he talked about them. His voice could make the simplest of words sound like something sexual.
"Where are the recourses found?" she asked with interest as she turned to look at him again.
She found him to be looking back at her, "Deep in the Dark Forest," he replied, "where wands have no purpose."
Aletta gasped, "You mean we won't even be able to use our wands!"
"For the first few days we will be close enough to the outside where our wands will indeed work. But once we reach the Dume Zone of the forest, all we can rely on is ourselves."
"Why don't wands work in the Dume Zone?" she asked as she let her eyes wonder down to his chest, remembering how strong and taut it had felt under her hands.
"That, we are not sure of. Research is still being done to figure out the mystery."
Aletta nodded and moved her gaze lower until they rested on a nice-sized bulge. She smiled appreciatively and then blushed when she realized what exactly she was doing. Her eyes left that spot immediately and she looked back at him. Snape had a content smirk on his face while he watched her uneasiness.
"Was I that foolish to not know of the Memoria Curse?" she asked ashamedly as she moved her gaze back to the fire.
Severus knew she was referring to when he yelled at her for not knowing of the curse. He suddenly felt a pang of guilt. Who was he to say that to her. Hell, the first time he was told about it was just last year.
"It is not a well-known curse at all," he reassured. "And I apologize about what I said earlier. You are a very intelligent, beautiful woman. And if anyone says otherwise, including me, than they are fool."
Aletta blushed a deep red and smiled at him. Truly smiled at him.
"If I'm not mistaken . . .I believe that was a compliment you just gave me," she said quietly as his eyes lingered on her.
"Indeed," he drawled. "And I believe that I just called myself a fool, considering earlier today. Though I can assure you that I need not bother to insult myself again."
"Thank you Severus," Aletta said gratefully, moved by his sudden compassion.
"It's getting late," he said as he glanced at the clock over the fireplace. "Or rather, it already is late."
Aletta looked at the clock too and yawned when she saw that it was three, "Thank God tomorrow is Saturday."
Snape nodded and murmured, "You should get some sleep."
"Yeah," Aletta agreed as she stood up and stretched.
Snape's eyes roamed her whole body appreciatively before he returned his gaze to her face. Aletta smiled at him and said, "Well, thanks for everything."
Snape nodded and said, "I enjoyed myself as well, Miss. Dumbledore."
She smiled even wider and walked the exit, "Aren't you-?" she asked slowly before he interrupted her.
"Soon," he said as he grinned. "I think I'll first roam the halls and see if there are any students out past curfew. I feel up to the task of deducting points."
Aletta laughed and said, "Well, goodnight. I'll see you at breakfast."
Severus nodded and she approached the door slowly, looking as though she didn't want to leave him. And before she did, Aletta turned around to look at the handsome man lounging on the couch.
"One more thing," she said quietly. "You can call me Aletta."
Severus smiled with pride and said, "I would ask you to call me Severus, but it seems you have already taken the liberty to."
"Sorry," Aletta apologized, uncharacteristically bashful.
"Not at all," Severus droned in his deep, sensual voice.
Aletta yawned again and bid him goodnight before she headed off to bed. He supposed that she was probably very tired. A good night's sleep. Something sweet he remembered from long ago.
Is anybody reading this still? I'm sorry. I'm so paranoid! I really don't think I'll continue . . . until you click that damn purple button! Mwhahahah