He sat staring at the fire for a long minute, before he slowly turned and looked towards the chair she had been sitting in. He walked over and grabbed the bottle of brandy from which Draco had poured himself a drink, and rather than bother with a glass, he took a swig straight from the bottle, feeling the familiar comforting warmth as it burned it's pathway down to his stomach. He felt the warmth spread as he took another couple of gulps, before retreating back to his favorite chair.
He sighed at the thought of the way the girl had said his name. He looked in the fire and pushed the thought of her out of his mind. She was one of his soldiers now, she was another one of the ones fighting for his cause, he couldn't let himself get attached to her. He even distanced himself from the boy who was very nearly his nephew. Technically, they were second cousins, but he and Lucius had always been close, and the boy looked up to him as almost a second father.
No, he had no room for going soft on anyone, even if it was a girl whom he had admired for her unnerving power when she was a student of his. She was probably one of the greatest witches of her age, she learned things quickly, memorizing the textbooks she read almost immediately. No, there were few people that could rival her academic prowess. She was a little bookworm, a know it all, he convinced himself. She was still the same person that she had been almost fourteen years ago.
She was still the know it all Gryffindor that neglected even her friends at times to study. She was still the annoying girl that sat in the front of his classroom, waving her arm madly to answer the question, always unfaltering even after he took off house points for her being a know it all. She still had the same timid streak that she always had, he could see it in her, the way she turned entirely scarlet, she was still afraid to be too vocal to him, although she somehow had mustered the strength to slap Draco into submission.
He got up and leaned backwards slightly, stretching out the tense muscles in his lower back, before quickly extinguishing the fire, and heading up the rather concealed flight of stairs in the corner. He sprawled out on top of the satin sheets, gently draping the silver and green comforter over top of him. The large bed felt empty, and he cursed himself for even asking her to join him, join his team, join the cause. But he knew that they benefited from having a witch as powerful as she with them.
He gave himself a mental shake as he rolled over onto his stomach. He pushed the thoughts of girl far from his mind. This was no time to be thinking about anyone but himself, he was the head of an underground faction. Here he was directing what could very well be a full out coup, here he was leading what could very well become a full out civil war. He had to put himself first, and everyone else second. If he wanted company for the night, he knew that outside the door there were plenty of women who would gladly offer themselves to him for a little bit of money.
He took deep steady breaths, forcing his attention solely on his body's reaction. In...two...three...four...hold...two...three...four...out...two...three...four...
rest...two...three...four . He felt his life narrow down to those sixteen beats. He felt his heartbeat gradually slow into a soft, steady rhythm which was directing the length of his counts. Slowly but surely his body relaxed under the deep breaths, and he found himself falling deeply into a slumber, his arms wrapped around the pillow, almost the same way they would wrap around a person.
END OF CHAPTER 12
So Snape's realizing he's got feelings, eh? Snapecharmer, hate to say it, but unless you can come up with a good muggle to be the spy, it's going to be a work of my imagination. All the muggles I can think of that JK mentioned don't serve the purpose that I want them to, so I think I'm going to be forced to invent a character. Again, thank you to all my reviewers! The whole breathing thing and the quote "he felt his life narrow to those sixteen beats" is from an amazing fic that I cannot think of the title for right now, but it's one where Snape and Hermione wind up in an alternate reality for a bit...great fic, I highly recommend it!
He sighed at the thought of the way the girl had said his name. He looked in the fire and pushed the thought of her out of his mind. She was one of his soldiers now, she was another one of the ones fighting for his cause, he couldn't let himself get attached to her. He even distanced himself from the boy who was very nearly his nephew. Technically, they were second cousins, but he and Lucius had always been close, and the boy looked up to him as almost a second father.
No, he had no room for going soft on anyone, even if it was a girl whom he had admired for her unnerving power when she was a student of his. She was probably one of the greatest witches of her age, she learned things quickly, memorizing the textbooks she read almost immediately. No, there were few people that could rival her academic prowess. She was a little bookworm, a know it all, he convinced himself. She was still the same person that she had been almost fourteen years ago.
She was still the know it all Gryffindor that neglected even her friends at times to study. She was still the annoying girl that sat in the front of his classroom, waving her arm madly to answer the question, always unfaltering even after he took off house points for her being a know it all. She still had the same timid streak that she always had, he could see it in her, the way she turned entirely scarlet, she was still afraid to be too vocal to him, although she somehow had mustered the strength to slap Draco into submission.
He got up and leaned backwards slightly, stretching out the tense muscles in his lower back, before quickly extinguishing the fire, and heading up the rather concealed flight of stairs in the corner. He sprawled out on top of the satin sheets, gently draping the silver and green comforter over top of him. The large bed felt empty, and he cursed himself for even asking her to join him, join his team, join the cause. But he knew that they benefited from having a witch as powerful as she with them.
He gave himself a mental shake as he rolled over onto his stomach. He pushed the thoughts of girl far from his mind. This was no time to be thinking about anyone but himself, he was the head of an underground faction. Here he was directing what could very well be a full out coup, here he was leading what could very well become a full out civil war. He had to put himself first, and everyone else second. If he wanted company for the night, he knew that outside the door there were plenty of women who would gladly offer themselves to him for a little bit of money.
He took deep steady breaths, forcing his attention solely on his body's reaction. In...two...three...four...hold...two...three...four...out...two...three...four...
rest...two...three...four . He felt his life narrow down to those sixteen beats. He felt his heartbeat gradually slow into a soft, steady rhythm which was directing the length of his counts. Slowly but surely his body relaxed under the deep breaths, and he found himself falling deeply into a slumber, his arms wrapped around the pillow, almost the same way they would wrap around a person.
END OF CHAPTER 12
So Snape's realizing he's got feelings, eh? Snapecharmer, hate to say it, but unless you can come up with a good muggle to be the spy, it's going to be a work of my imagination. All the muggles I can think of that JK mentioned don't serve the purpose that I want them to, so I think I'm going to be forced to invent a character. Again, thank you to all my reviewers! The whole breathing thing and the quote "he felt his life narrow to those sixteen beats" is from an amazing fic that I cannot think of the title for right now, but it's one where Snape and Hermione wind up in an alternate reality for a bit...great fic, I highly recommend it!