Chapter Three: Quiet
I walked down the hall silently, almost all the students had gone home for the holidays and I could wander freely about the castle. Dumbledore said that I could leave the school anytime I liked now, but I liked it here. I let my fingers trail against the rough, cool surface of the stone walls, looking around the empty halls at portraits and glancing out windows.
I turned down a long dark hallway that I knew led to the dungeons. I kept walking, liking the dark, damp stone beneath my bare feet. I turned a corner only to spot Snape walking in my direction. I felt nervous for some reason that I couldn't understand. Taking a few steps back and setting out at a faster pace, I turned the corner quickly and walking towards Snape. He looked at me, his dark eyes narrowing sharply, his sallow skin not looking so yellow in the light.
I frowned too and walked over to him, clearing my throat, trying to think of something clever or witty to say. Of course, my lips and tongue didn't cooperate, and the words came tumbling out of my mouth clumsily.
"Uh... er, Pro-Snape. Thank you, um. Yeah, thank you for the book, you know." I flushed, iHow could I possibly have sounded stupider/i
He raised a thin dark eyebrow at me and nodded slightly, his lips coming up into a smirk, "How eloquent. I don't need your thanks." He said dryly, before walking off.
I remembered why he got on my nerves. I could feel anger boiling up in me and I grabbed his sleeve,
"Snape! I was kind enough to come down here and you treat me like dirt! What have I ever done to you!" I complained.
"Mister Potter," He said lowly, his rich voice sending shivers down my spine, "If you wish to whine about your misfortune in life, please go see McGonagall.
I stood there, my mouth hanging open, my mind going blank for a moment at his audacity. One of his slender fingers came out and shut my mouth. I stepped back, shocked and my heart began to beat so loud I wondered that he didn't hear it. He turned with a wave of his black robes and walked off quickly, his shoes making harsh clicking noises along the stone floor.
I sank down to the floor, sitting in the middle of the hall, rubbing the spot on my chin he had touched. That simple touch had felt so intimate. I swallowed, shaking my head slowly and moved to the side on the hall, leaning against the wall and closing my eyes, letting my weariness take me over.
A smooth voice was speaking to me sharply. I was thrown from a dream into reality, my eyes fluttering open quickly. I looked over; Snape was shaking me. I blinked a little and sat up.
"Dammit, Potter, don't go sleeping in hallways!" He mumbled something that sounded like, "You sleep like the dead."
I smiled a little, still a bit woozy and looked up at him, "Worried, Snape?" I asked just to piss him off.
The older man looked at me sharply, his raven eyes narrowing, "Whatever would give you that clearly unfounded assumption?"
I smiled to him serenly, and the corner of his mouth twitched as he glared at me. He pushed his arms up under my shoulders and heaved me up with ease. I looked up at him and nodded in a silent 'Thank you'. He frowned deeply, his brow furrowing.
"What are you still doing here, Potter, go away!" He ordered with a wave of his hand.
"No. Now, why don't you invite me in?" I asked in a sugary sweet tone that was sure to grate on his nerves.
He almost winced and sneered at me, "Will it shut you up?"
I smiled and proceeded to take his arm in mine. He flinched and looked down at me, raising an eyebrow. His body had stiffened and I could tell he was nervous. I smirked to myself. iPay back for earlier/i. He led me silently, not pulling away, but certainly not moving closer or getting more comfortable. We reached the portrait of Salazar that covered his door and I dropped his arm.
I heard a deep sigh leave his thin lips, and it sounded like relief. I stiffled a chuckle as I walked inside, sitting down on the very comfortable couch and laying down, putting my feet up on the arm of the couch. He twitched and called a house elf.
"I is here, Master Snape." A small shrill voice called.
"Some tea, Whilly." He ordered and the house elf smiled, snapping its knobby fingers and a tray of tea appeared on the coffee table.
"How do you take your tea, Potter?" Snape asked impatiently as I stared at the wall. I snapped out of the trance and looked at him.
"Oh, cream and two lumps of sugar." I replied absently.
I watched his long, slender fingers and graceful hands pour the tea and pour a bit of cream into the tea. He reached for a silver spoon and put in two lumps with an elegance I hadn't associated with tea before. After stirring the mixture, the older male handed the cup of tea to me. I brought the warm teacup to my lips, letting a small amount of the steaming liquid to reach my lips. The tea was perfect, it was sweet and just the right temperature. Moaning softly, I took another sip, closing my eyes and leaning back, fully enjoying the drink. I opened my eyes to find Snape staring at me with an expression of mixture horror and fascination. Blinking, I looked down at my tea and then back at the Potion Master.
"The tea." I stated.
He frowned, looking at me strangely, most likely wondering what I was talking about.
"It's really good." I added, and he nodded slowly, looking over at the fire silently, not responding. While he was distracted, I took the chance to study him. He was still in his robes, though the fabric showed off his slim hips and broad chest. I looked up at his face silently, although it was aesthetically beautiful, per se, he had a certain character to his feature. I looked at his hair and noticed it wasn't greasy, just shiny, the greasy look happened because of the bad lighting of the castle. I glanced to his eyes which were startled devoid of anything but black. His eye lashes were long, and when he blinked, they lay curling gently up from his cheeks. I flushed as he looked at me and I quickly looked away.
I could tell he was looking at me, his gaze having some unknown quality to it that you just couldn't ignore. I blinked, looking at the fire silently, just as he had done. My glasses slipped down my nose and I pushed them back up quickly, annoyed with them.
"You know you can fix that." He said quietly.
"What?" I asked, looking at him.
"You can fix your eyesight with spell, you don't need glasses." I blinked and frowned.
"You can do that?" I asked, never having heard of any spells like that before.
He nodded and set down his empty cup of tea, refilling it silently for a moment and then leaning back in the armchair. "Not me, I hate such silly charms, but there is a place in Hogsmeade that has a good reputation, I have heard."
"Well.. Dumbledore said I couldn't go there without someone." I sighed, disappointed, as most teachers were gone or busy.
He sighed deeply, as if in annoyance, "I can take you, Potter."
My eyes widened and I looked at him in amazement, "Really!" I set down my tea and stood up, looking over at the door, "I'm going to borrow some shoes." He looked at me incredulously, but didn't say anything.
"Okay, lets go ahead and floo there, Potter." He said, pulling a warm winter cloak off a hook and handing it too me, "It will be cold."
"Thank you." I replied softly, blushing for an unknown reason. I seemed to do that a lot around him.
I put the cloak on, immediately smelling ihim/i. It was a mixture of spice and musk. I took in a deep breath, memorizing the scent as I walked over to the fireplace. He threw some floo powder into the fire place and walked inside the fireplace, and I followed suit. Our bodies were close together, my hip pressing against his hand.
"Hogsmeade Optical Illusions." He stated clearly and with a cloud of green smoke we landed in the eye shop, coughing loudly. Snape brushed ash off his own shoulders before turning to me and cleaning me off as well. It was the second gesture I found intimate. We were soon greeted by a pretty young girl.
"Welcome to Hogsmeade Optical Illusions. How may I help you?" She asked in a polite voice, smiling at us.
"Um.. I was wondering if I could get my vision fixed." I replied.
She nodded, "May I see your glasses to figure out your prescription?" She asked.
I nodded, handing over my glasses to her. She performed a few spell on them and smiled, handing them back to me and I held them in my hand.
"Come right this way." She glanced at Snape, "You're husband may come too if he likes."
I turned bright pink, "Wait.. he isn't my husband." I looked at Snape would was looking a bit pale.
"Yes, indeed, I would never wish to be yoked to that brat." He said fiercly. I frowned, taken a back a little and I looked away, swallowing past a growing lump in my throat.
"My mistake." She said, and I followed her into a back room. Snape stayed in the lobby.
She sat me down and washed her hands, she leaned over me, pulling on my upper and lower lids, pointing a wand at my eye.
"Occuli Tempous Reparo." She stated clearly. "Now close that eye." I did so.
She repeated the same process with my other eye and I closed it.
"Open your eyes, sir." I did and blinked a few times, the world suddenly very clear. I chuckled excitedly, looking at her.
"It worked!" I cried happily. She nodded, smiling.
"You will have to come every six months for the first two years to make it fully permanent. So if you wish to go back to glasses, you can do so." She led me back out to the lobby, wear I ran over to Snape, smiling brightly.
"Look, Snape, I can see."
He glanced at me and looked me over a bit, nodding, "That is to be expected." He said dryly.
I paid the woman and stepped back in the floo, but Snape took my forearm and drug me outside.
"We aren't going back." He led me to Madame Rosmerta's and he hung up his cloak, motioning for me to turn around and he took my cloak. We sat down in a booth and I suddenly felt like this meal was a first date, it had all the tension and nervousness of the only other date I had experienced before; this however, was different. I felt the need to prove myself as I hadn't had with Cho, nor had I felt this nervous with her. The was something happening between us and I looked around, trying to pretend this was a normal every day occurance. Somehow, I felt as though our relationship was changing and I didn't mind it at all.
My past didn't haunt me when I was with him and for that I was very grateful. As we ate slowly, the quiet was peaceful enough, and I didn't mind his presence. I soon grew to like him around. He was quiet, and moody, and grumpy half the time, but somehow, he soothed me. I felt peaceful around him, which was a welcome relief from my stormy past. I was quite happy just to sit there and let him insult me all afternoon, if just to have the contentment and of listening to his voice.
And so passed winter break, the winter soon melted into spring, the days blurred. I felt as though time was speeding up the older I got. And I didn't want it to. I was dreading the end of the school, as Dumbledore had informed me that I would have to find another place to stay over the summer holidays. This meant I would no longer be able to see Snape. Now, normally an escape from the snarky old man would be welcomed, but... I had grown used to him.
I waited for that horrible day patiently, fearing it. Snape and I had a ritual now, we would drink tea every day at four o'clock in the afternoon for around an hour and we would talk sometimes, or just stay quiet, the silence between us was never uncomfortable. I would miss that time dearly, and so I began to stay later, the time turning into two hours, maybe three. I thought of him as a dear friend now, and I knew he felt the same. He never said anything, but his actions were enough for me. I could read him easily now that we had spent so much time together. Though, I did wonder if he would miss me as much as I would miss him.
