The shades of the underworld cried, "Where is she? Where is she?"
Hades pushed past their outstretched hands. He refused to believe Persephone had left him alone in the never-ending dark. Relentlessly, he prowled through every corridor, but found no trace of his bride. She was gone.
.
"No!"
Severus jolted awake, the anguished 'No' still reverberating through his body. He took slow, deep breaths to relax. Dreams were not reality. On the floor, a white gown lay beside a pool of black silk. A soft body pressed against his back.
"Good morning."
He turned to kiss his lover. "Yes, it is."
After an extremely pleasant morning, Lorelei went to have tea with Hagrid. Severus declined the invitation to accompany her. Muggles called Sunday a day of rest, but he called it a day of respite from the students who continually tried his patience. He wanted nothing more than to spend a quiet afternoon reading in a comfortable chair by the fire.
Except that he couldn't concentrate on his potions text.
Lorelei had told him that she would make her way to the Dragon Claw willow after tea. Severus' eyes were continually drawn to his timepiece. Finally, he decided that he had been inside too long, and a walk would be beneficial. He gathered his cloak, a blanket, and headed for the lake.
As usual, his timing was impeccable. He'd no sooner spread the blanket than the fronds parted. He looked at the lake, which was barely visible through the thick greenery. "Did you enjoy your tea?"
Lorelei sat beside him. "Yes. Have you waited long? You look like you're bored silly."
"I am never silly."
"Bored to tears?"
"I never cry."
"Bored beyond endurance?"
He said dryly, "I endure Neville Longbottom. Therefore boredom is no strain for me."
"Bored to death?"
What cheek. "I am very much alive."
"Are you? I think I need to verify that firsthand." She slid her hand into his cloak to splay across his heart.
He pressed her down onto the blanket and kissed her to provide evidence that he was indeed alive...and extremely warm-blooded. "Do you need more...verification?"
Severus felt the most appalling urge to laugh as she said, "Yes, please."
.
Monday morning, after a breakfast in the Great Hall that proceeded as usual, excepting those moments when Lorelei had played some nonsense called footsie, Severus entered the dungeon currently polluted by sixth-year Gryffindors. He waved his wand and the ingredient list and instructions for the day's potion appeared on the blackboard. "You may begin."
"Sir? Beg pardon, sir?"
Granger had her hand in the air. What a surprise. The potion was simple; there should be no need for questions. Whatever could the over-eager girl want? He replied, "Yes?"
All over the dungeon, students stopped what they were doing and stared. Merlin, they acted like he had never behaved with civility before. He thought quickly...yes, there had been that one time during their first year and at least a couple of other times in their third...or was it fifth? Raising an imperious brow to calm Longbottom, who looked on the verge of hysteria, he waited for Miss Impertinence to ask her question.
Granger looked around, got confidence from the encouraging nods of her classmates, and asked, "Who gave you that apple, professor?"
Severus pivoted to stare at his desk. Upon it was the biggest, reddest, shiniest, most perfect apple he had ever seen. He walked over to read the tag attached to the stem: For my Favourite Teacher. "That is none of your concern. Five points from Gryffindor."
Sneering at the students seemed to restore classroom equilibrium. They began to assemble the ingredients for the day's potion as Severus polished the fruit against his teaching robes and brought the apple to his mouth for a large, satisfying bite.
.
Tuesday morning, Lorelei's heart pounded all throughout her run- and it wasn't due to a runner's adrenaline rush. During her cool-down stretching routine on the entrance steps, she told herself she would be mental to go through with her little plan. She picked up the bottle of water she'd left by the door and took a long drink. Her hands trembled as she placed the container on the floor next to a suit of armour to retrieve later. Feeling as ready as she'd ever be, she opened the door to the Hall.
A solitary figure sat drinking coffee and reading the Daily Prophet. Severus glanced up to see her standing in the doorway. She threw him a challenging look and took off running.
The sound of footsteps drawing ever closer made the adrenaline rush she'd experienced before return with twice the impact. She almost stumbled down the dungeon stairs. As she neared her quarters, her steps slowed as her chest heaved with the effort to catch a breath. Gentle but implacable fingers encircled her wrist, halted her flight, and backed her against the wall. A firm male body pressed and moved against hers.
"Is this what you want, to re-enact that day I saw you in the doorway?" Severus' lips devoured hers, tasting her and demanding she taste him.
As his kisses trailed down to the neck she offered so eagerly, the knight from Severus' guardian portrait shouted, "You there! Take thyselves off before I tell the Headmaster's paintings the debauchery I have seen!"
Severus replied, "One word from you, and I will have this painting hauled to the dankest, darkest, dungeon where your canvas will mildew and rot for eternity."
The couple in Lorelei's painting ducked behind a rock when she spoke the password to enter. Severus' smirk inspired her to press himagainst the nearest vertical surface and say, "Pick a wall, any wall, just do it now."
.
At dinner, Lorelei had a hard time keeping her composure. Memories would flash into her mind, and her body would shake with repressed laughter. Halfway through the meal, she resolved not to glance sideways again. Several covert looks at her lover's face had caused her to break into giggles or blush deeply. Once she had done both. It was embarrassing and exhilarating.
Hagrid said, "Try some of this Fairy Phlox honey, Lorelei. It's from my hive in the Forbidden Forest. Some call them killer bees, but they've not killed anythin' I know of, although they did sting me somethin' fierce when I took this." He lifted the enormous dripping honeycomb, accidentally covering both their hands with honey in his enthusiasm.
She watched him try to wipe the stickiness off his fingers and said, "Don't waste it. Lick it off."
Hagrid chuckled and licked the back of his hand. Lorelei followed her own advice and began sucking the sweet substance off her own fingers.
Tonks said, "Use a cleaning charm, will you? People are watching you two loonies, and Snape doesn't look happy."
Uh oh. Lorelei glanced down the table. Severus' face was unreadable, but a muscle in his jaw was twitching. Her eyes flickered across the Hall. Students were staring. She muttered, "Evanesco," and left as quickly as possible.
She decided to climb the Astronomy Tower and look at the stars for a while. Maybe a long while, until she could look her lover in the face and not cringe: shouldn't take longer than a few hours...or days...
Lorelei climbed the stairs to the observation platform on the top. She could see why students gossiped about its snogging possibilities. The high walls provided privacy, while the unobstructed view of the night sky from one of the telescopes, or even by the naked eye simply looking up, was awe inspiring. She sat with her back against the wall and smiled as a star fell across the firmament. She closed her eyes and made a wish.
"What did you wish for?"
She said, "Can't tell or it won't come true."
Severus quietly said, "Lumos," and walked over to sit beside her. In the soft light provided by his wand, she could see his lips quirk.
"I made a wish on a falling star once. Shall I tell you about it?"
She watched emotions flit across his shadowed face. Encouraged by the look of satisfaction, she said, "Please."
He said, "The night before you arrived, I stood on the steps and made a wish on not one but two falling stars. It came true. Would you like to know what it was?"
"Yes."
"I had been promised a new romance by a guitar-shaped lump of tea leaves. You know how much I believe in such things. I mockingly wished that the fortunate woman would enjoy potions, dungeons, and malevolent bats like me."
"You're not a malevolent bat."
"Yes, I am."
"Well, I'm crazy about malevolent bats, then."
"I said my wish came true, didn't I?"
Lorelei loved the way he smirked at her. She leaned forward and kissed him softly. "I'm sorry if I embarrassed you in the Hall. I didn't mean to."
A smile of honest amusement lit Severus' lean face. "I wasn't scowling because I was embarrassed. I was scowling because I couldn't suck the honey off your fingers myself."
"Oh." The stars seemed to twinkle more brightly. She leaned against his shoulder and listened as he pointed out constellations. Lorelei knew most of the myths already, but the pleasure of listening to his voice made them even more beloved. Eventually, she said, "Severus."
"Yes?"
"Do you remember what you said you wanted to do with the honey?"
"Mmm."
"Hagrid told me he left a large jar of it outside my quarters."
Her lover slithered to his feet and pulled her to her feet, down the stairs, and along the deserted corridors to the dungeon staircase.
