Travels with Severus: Severus does New Orleans
Chapter Six
A shaft of bright morning light shone through a small gap in the blinds, hitting Severus squarely in the eyes. With a grunt he rolled over and buried his head underneath his pillow. He heard the patter of soft footsteps make their way past him, but decided to ignore them and try to sleep for just a while longer.
The faint noises coming from the direction of the kitchen were in a small way comforting, as was the warmth of the comforter he lay wrapped in. He was just drifting off to sleep again, with the pleasant smell of coffee drifting through his senses when a blood curdling scream sent him bolt upright with his wand drawn.
Rushing into the kitchen, wincing at the screams that emanated from within, he was fully prepared to be greeted by the sight of an intruder of some sort. Instead he found a rather disheveled looking Genevieve De La Vergne standing on a chair, bellowing her lungs out in horror.
"What" he shouted over her screams and was answered by her pointing finger and more screams. He swung, wand at ready in the direction of her pointing finger and saw ..nothing.
"What is it Jenna!" he exclaimed. "Stop that damn caterwauling!"
She stopped at his order and gulping she gasped "R-R-Roach!"
He glanced down at the floor and ran a hand over his face. "Jenna, it's a Cockroach," he said wearily. Grabbing a rolled up newspaper off of the nearby counter, he smacked it firmly then picked up the carcass and tossed it into her trash can. He turned, looked up at her, standing on the chair shivering in genuine fear and burst into amused laughter.
"It's not funny!" she yelled indignantly as she stepped carefully down from her perch. "You try fighting one of those bastards off of you in the middle of the night!"
Her indignance did nothing to quell his laughter, it merely caused him to laugh harder. It was a nice laugh too, she thought, even if it was directed at her. His face changed when he laughed, losing its stern countenance and becoming a bit younger in looks. The timbre of his laugh was as deep as his voice, rich and melodic. It was entrancing, so much so that she almost forgot that she should be upset at his making fun of her.
"Severus Snape, stop laughing at me!" she yelled stomping her foot. "It's not funny!"
"Afraid," he gasped as he held a hand against his stomach. "of a little Cockroach!"
She shot him a glare and strode from the room, muttering under her breath about bastards named Snape, as his laughter followed her.
All she wanted was a nice cup of coffee, and then a shower, she thought as she slammed into her bathroom and turned on the faucet. Stripping off her t- shirt she stepped into the hot stream of water and grabbed the shampoo.
"Damn roaches!' she hissed as she worked the shampoo through her hair. "I hate New Orleans!"
"No you don't," she answered herself. "You hate roaches. If you hated New Orleans so much you wouldn't live here. Besides, the roaches were worse in Paris, which is why you moved back here. Not to mention the food and the people too," she finished. "You are talking to yourself again Genevieve."
Ducked under the stream of water and rinsed her hair out then after shaking the water out of her eyes she grabbed her shower gel and fluffy. Lathering her body, she continued her talk, "Of course you always talk to yourself since you don't have a cat or a dog. And so what if Severus laughed at you! Roaches are filthy slimy little vermin and they will attack you just as sure as look at you! Remember that year at camp and the flying –ugg. Don't think about it any more Jenna!"
She stepped from the shower and toweled herself dry. Looking at herself in the mirror, she smiled. "Don't let the laughter bother you. You have much more important things to think about, you know," she told herself. "Like Marcus being a vampire and you nearly allowing him to make you one."
A few minutes later she emerged from her bedroom, freshly dressed and longing for a cup of coffee and a good cry. She was greeted by her fan turned partner sitting on her sofa, nursing a cup of coffee and trying not to smirk at her.
"It's not funny," she muttered as she made her way past him. Eyeing the carafe on the coffee table she grabbed the remaining cup and poured herself a measure.
"It's very funny," he replied as she flopped herself down next to him and glared. "It's so delightfully ironic. You hunt vampires and you are afraid of a mere bug. Tell me," he continued as he scooted around to face her. "How do you ever make yourself go into a tomb?"
She sighed and adopted a nonchalant air. "I don't go into tombs." She sipped her coffee and shrugged. "I've never had to."
"Sleeping vampires are easier to dispatch."
She sighed and growled, "Yes I am sure they are, but I can't bring myself to –well it's not very sporting to sneak up on them when they are sleeping!"
This elicited another round of laughter from her companion. "Or are you afraid of the roaches, perhaps?"
"Just shut up! Aren't you afraid of anything?"
"No," he answered firmly. Too firmly to Jenna's ears. "But let us not get too caught up in your phobias that we neglect more pressing matters."
A pall fell over the room, the bright sunlight streaming in from her patio seemed over bright all of a sudden, the incident in the kitchen loosing its significance.
"Marcus," she finally whispered, shattering the silence.
"Marcus," he echoed.
She didn't know what to say, suddenly overwhelmed by the events of the night before, so she merely stared at the floor in front of her.
"You do realize that you are going to have to dispatch him?" he asked quietly. "Or you can surrender to his, persuasion."
She couldn't answer him, her mind filled with the memory of his cold lips on hers, the caress of his feted breath against her neck. Yet she had desired him so in those few moments, desired him in spite of the voices yelling at her in the back of her mind to run.
"Severus," she said quietly. "I don't think that I can do this. Yet I can't believe what I saw last night, what I felt, yet I know it was real! I thought he was dead all this time, and he's been stalking me! I almost went with him!"
She jumped up from the sofa and paced the room, wringing her hands together, worry furrowing her brow. "I mean, "she turned to face him, her eyes wide with fear and pain. "I can't ! I can't dispatch him, as you so quaintly put it! Damn it!"
She burst into tears and fled to her room, the door slamming behind her.
Chapter Six
A shaft of bright morning light shone through a small gap in the blinds, hitting Severus squarely in the eyes. With a grunt he rolled over and buried his head underneath his pillow. He heard the patter of soft footsteps make their way past him, but decided to ignore them and try to sleep for just a while longer.
The faint noises coming from the direction of the kitchen were in a small way comforting, as was the warmth of the comforter he lay wrapped in. He was just drifting off to sleep again, with the pleasant smell of coffee drifting through his senses when a blood curdling scream sent him bolt upright with his wand drawn.
Rushing into the kitchen, wincing at the screams that emanated from within, he was fully prepared to be greeted by the sight of an intruder of some sort. Instead he found a rather disheveled looking Genevieve De La Vergne standing on a chair, bellowing her lungs out in horror.
"What" he shouted over her screams and was answered by her pointing finger and more screams. He swung, wand at ready in the direction of her pointing finger and saw ..nothing.
"What is it Jenna!" he exclaimed. "Stop that damn caterwauling!"
She stopped at his order and gulping she gasped "R-R-Roach!"
He glanced down at the floor and ran a hand over his face. "Jenna, it's a Cockroach," he said wearily. Grabbing a rolled up newspaper off of the nearby counter, he smacked it firmly then picked up the carcass and tossed it into her trash can. He turned, looked up at her, standing on the chair shivering in genuine fear and burst into amused laughter.
"It's not funny!" she yelled indignantly as she stepped carefully down from her perch. "You try fighting one of those bastards off of you in the middle of the night!"
Her indignance did nothing to quell his laughter, it merely caused him to laugh harder. It was a nice laugh too, she thought, even if it was directed at her. His face changed when he laughed, losing its stern countenance and becoming a bit younger in looks. The timbre of his laugh was as deep as his voice, rich and melodic. It was entrancing, so much so that she almost forgot that she should be upset at his making fun of her.
"Severus Snape, stop laughing at me!" she yelled stomping her foot. "It's not funny!"
"Afraid," he gasped as he held a hand against his stomach. "of a little Cockroach!"
She shot him a glare and strode from the room, muttering under her breath about bastards named Snape, as his laughter followed her.
All she wanted was a nice cup of coffee, and then a shower, she thought as she slammed into her bathroom and turned on the faucet. Stripping off her t- shirt she stepped into the hot stream of water and grabbed the shampoo.
"Damn roaches!' she hissed as she worked the shampoo through her hair. "I hate New Orleans!"
"No you don't," she answered herself. "You hate roaches. If you hated New Orleans so much you wouldn't live here. Besides, the roaches were worse in Paris, which is why you moved back here. Not to mention the food and the people too," she finished. "You are talking to yourself again Genevieve."
Ducked under the stream of water and rinsed her hair out then after shaking the water out of her eyes she grabbed her shower gel and fluffy. Lathering her body, she continued her talk, "Of course you always talk to yourself since you don't have a cat or a dog. And so what if Severus laughed at you! Roaches are filthy slimy little vermin and they will attack you just as sure as look at you! Remember that year at camp and the flying –ugg. Don't think about it any more Jenna!"
She stepped from the shower and toweled herself dry. Looking at herself in the mirror, she smiled. "Don't let the laughter bother you. You have much more important things to think about, you know," she told herself. "Like Marcus being a vampire and you nearly allowing him to make you one."
A few minutes later she emerged from her bedroom, freshly dressed and longing for a cup of coffee and a good cry. She was greeted by her fan turned partner sitting on her sofa, nursing a cup of coffee and trying not to smirk at her.
"It's not funny," she muttered as she made her way past him. Eyeing the carafe on the coffee table she grabbed the remaining cup and poured herself a measure.
"It's very funny," he replied as she flopped herself down next to him and glared. "It's so delightfully ironic. You hunt vampires and you are afraid of a mere bug. Tell me," he continued as he scooted around to face her. "How do you ever make yourself go into a tomb?"
She sighed and adopted a nonchalant air. "I don't go into tombs." She sipped her coffee and shrugged. "I've never had to."
"Sleeping vampires are easier to dispatch."
She sighed and growled, "Yes I am sure they are, but I can't bring myself to –well it's not very sporting to sneak up on them when they are sleeping!"
This elicited another round of laughter from her companion. "Or are you afraid of the roaches, perhaps?"
"Just shut up! Aren't you afraid of anything?"
"No," he answered firmly. Too firmly to Jenna's ears. "But let us not get too caught up in your phobias that we neglect more pressing matters."
A pall fell over the room, the bright sunlight streaming in from her patio seemed over bright all of a sudden, the incident in the kitchen loosing its significance.
"Marcus," she finally whispered, shattering the silence.
"Marcus," he echoed.
She didn't know what to say, suddenly overwhelmed by the events of the night before, so she merely stared at the floor in front of her.
"You do realize that you are going to have to dispatch him?" he asked quietly. "Or you can surrender to his, persuasion."
She couldn't answer him, her mind filled with the memory of his cold lips on hers, the caress of his feted breath against her neck. Yet she had desired him so in those few moments, desired him in spite of the voices yelling at her in the back of her mind to run.
"Severus," she said quietly. "I don't think that I can do this. Yet I can't believe what I saw last night, what I felt, yet I know it was real! I thought he was dead all this time, and he's been stalking me! I almost went with him!"
She jumped up from the sofa and paced the room, wringing her hands together, worry furrowing her brow. "I mean, "she turned to face him, her eyes wide with fear and pain. "I can't ! I can't dispatch him, as you so quaintly put it! Damn it!"
She burst into tears and fled to her room, the door slamming behind her.