Disclaimer: All Harry Potter people, places, and things, (all Harry Potter nouns) belong to J. K. Rowlings. Desiree Snape and Eleanora Snape are mine.
Chapter 7: A matter of discussion.
Severus woke to find a warm furry object on his lap. When he opened his eyes he realized it was a tabby cat. "Oh Merlin, what are you doing here, Minerva?" he asked as he began petting her.
She was aware of being pet and woke purring. Then she realized that in order to be pet, someone else had to be in the room. She suddenly turned back into a human. However, she found herself sitting on Severus' lap. Because he had been petting her head while she had been a cat, his hand was now in her hair. Staring at him wide-eyed, her breath caught in her throat and she was at a loss for what to say.
He was as speechless as she. Though he let go of her hair, his hand lingered on her shoulder. He had expected her to jump up and demand that he leave, but they seemed frozen in time. Her hair had come out of its bun and he noticed that it was the colour of ebony with grey streaks. Watching her intently to see what he would do, he wondered if she knew she was beautiful.
A tiny voice in her head told her that she ought to move, yet she could not tear herself away from his gaze. What's happening? Did we not have fight last night? Why am I still sitting here? I have a class to prepare for. I have to freshen up before going to breakfast. I should-
He moved and not only broke the trance they had both entered, but also broke through her reverie. In a quick motion to pull her closer, his lips brushed hers lightly. She returned the kiss and then stood suddenly as she heard her clock chime 5:00. She breathed a sigh of relief that it was still early.
"I really should be going. I'm sorry about this morning and," she paused when she remembered that it was her room. "I think it is best if you go," she said almost frantically.
He watched as she blushed a crimson shade from the neck up and he realized how completely unnerved she was. She was utterly unprepared when he lightly touched her shoulder again. "I suggest that the next time you find me dozing on your couch, you simply tell me that I should do so in my own rooms. And your couch is in dire need of new springs," he told her with a wry grin.
The tension drifted from her as she smiled back. "I shall try to remember that," she stated, glancing at her clock. "You ought to be on your way before anyone sees you."
He nodded. "I will be. Good day, Minerva," he mentioned as he headed toward the door.
"Good day, Severus," she added just before he left.
She pondered the events of the morning as she prepared for the day. He escaped any questions I might have wanted to ask him using humor, but does this morning mean anything? Was the entire thing just an extended dream or a fluke? I was hoping never to fall into this plight again. I don't need this, not now, not again, she told herself as she prepared for the day.
When Severus returned to his rooms he found Desiree on the couch waiting for him. He raised his eyebrow in curiosity. "What are you doing here?" he questioned.
She crossed her arms and stared back at him, as if studying him. "We have a few things we need to talk about. But I think the real question is what weren't you doing here?"
Knowing he was slightly disheveled, he excused himself from answering in order to freshen up. When he returned, she politely handed him a cup of tea. "You didn't have to do that," he said dryly.
"I thought it might be a good idea, since Remus is the only one around here with any coffee," she relayed.
He snorted, but smiled wryly as he took a seat in the chair closest to her. "One of these days you'll be drinking tea like the rest of civilized society."
She scoffed. "You know me better than that. I've been drinking coffee since I was thirteen, and at that age I had to sneak it from Aunt Wilhelmina. Do you remember her?"
He had to think for a moment. "If I recall, she was your aunt, not mine. I think I do remember her though. She was the one who traveled all over the world and collected tea and coffee from wherever she went."
"That was her," Desiree paused and watched as Severus drank his tea. "We do have something important to talk about though."
He nodded. "Yes we do. Let me begin by telling you how sorry I am for not letting you make your own decisions. As much as I dislike Lupin, I should not have tried to tell you how to live your life. And even though it pains me to say it, you should be substituting when he is incapacitated," he admitted with great effort.
"Cousin, in all my years, I don't think I've ever heard such an apology from you. Thank you," Desiree paused in her sincerity, knowing that she had to tell him the rest. "Severus, there is something else you need to know. I like Remus a lot and I'm on his side for certain matters."
She watched him as he spit his tea out. After wiping it up, he sighed and looked at her in a way she would not have associated with him: he looked at her as a father would a daughter for that one second. "Desiree, I don't condone this, but it is your life and your responsibility. I only ask that you keep Nora in mind in what you do."
Desiree nodded, understanding him. "Thank you. I am thinking of Nora and I will be careful not to do anything that could get her into trouble."
They sat in silence for a while before Desiree remembered that he had entered his rooms after she did. "Cousin, where were you last night?" she asked with a smirk.
He cleared his throat and set the teacup in the sink. "I was visiting someone."
"Oh come on! You went to see Minerva and then you spent the night with her," Desiree teased. Her eyes widened like saucers when she watched his face grow white as a sheet. "Oh Merlin! You did! I told you so, I just didn't think you would-"
"It was not what that dirty mind of yours is probably referring to," he interjected sardonically. "I fell asleep on her couch and she neglected to wake me up."
She smiled and shook her head. "You left something out. Where was Minerva during all this?"
"She made her rounds in cat form and then ended up sleeping on my lap, as a cat. We were both a bit unnerved when we woke," he admitted dryly.
"You should ask her out to dinner, or at least be a little nicer to her," Desiree suggested.
"I didn't ask for your opinion, or your help. She probably has no interest in me," he retaliated.
She stood as the clock chimed the hour. "We should head to breakfast."
"That sounds reasonable," he stated.
As they walked toward the door, Desiree turned back toward him. "You never know if something can work or not until you try and give it a chance."
She raced on ahead, making him wish that he had told her nothing and could crawl back into bed to fix the knots in his neck.
Minerva could not bring herself to look at Severus during breakfast and spent the day avoiding him. She ate her dinner quickly and left the Great Hall earlier than the other faculty members. Albus had left a few papers in the staff room and was surprised to find the lamp on as he opened the door that evening after dinner. Minerva sat in a floral-patterned chair sipping tea and staring out at nothing in particular. He quietly walked over to her. "Are you alright, my dear?"
She looked up, startled that someone else had entered the room. It took her a few moments to find her voice. "I'm fine, thank you for asking. I was just thinking over a few personal matters."
"Minerva, I know you. You've got something on your mind that has begun to eat at you. Now as your friend I recommend that you tell me before I find Severus to help me drag it out of you," he remarked.
At the mentioning of Severus, her teacup rattled when she set it back on its saucer. She took a deep breath before speaking. "I was here looking for answers, much like I was when you found me twenty years ago."
They both remembered that evening. It was a few hours after Severus had stormed out of her office.
Minerva kept asking herself why. Why had she watched him so closely that he should accuse her of spying? Why did she concern herself with a student who was not even of her house? Why had his comment about her hiding behind the rhetoric of a professor struck her so hard? Albus walked into the staffroom and she glanced up as he approached her.
"Well Professor McGonagall, dare I ask what troubles you? I have a fair idea that this relates to recent incidents," he surmised.
"I came here to try to clear my head. I did not have the best conversation with Mr. Snape. He accused me of being a spy, but he had every right to be upset with me. He looked so incredibly hurt, and he was so angry. I never intended for this to happen," she admitted sadly.
Albus sighed and faced her. "Give him time. There is a saying that time heals all wounds. Perhaps someday you will be able to mend things not only for him, but for yourself."
"Here I am, sorting out new problems right along with the old ones," Minerva commented. "Last night Severus and I were visiting and he fell asleep on my couch. I made my rounds as a cat and was too tired when I returned to notice that he was still there. I woke sitting on his lap, terribly embarrassed. Then he kissed me, and I kissed him back. When we stood, he diffused the situation with humor and left. I don't know if it meant anything or not."
He sat back in his chair and considered what the best advice for her would be. Finally he had a solution. "You should be speaking to Severus about this, not me. I suppose though that someone ought to ask you what your feelings are toward him and what you think his feelings could be toward you."
"I don't know where I stand with him and, frankly, I'm afraid to ask. I know Gryffindors are supposed to have courage, but I will not hurt him again," she relayed.
"You sidestepped the other question. How do you feel about him?" Albus pursued.
She crossed her arms and looked away for a moment. "I cannot define that yet."
"When you do, you should tell him that you have feelings for him," he said as he patted her on the shoulder and left the room. He had given her much to think on as she slowly rose and headed for her rooms. However, her last thoughts as she drifted off to sleep were on Nora and how the girl still had a few problems to resolve.
A few weeks later when the students went to Hogsmeade, Harry was unable to go due to his lack of a signature from a parent or guardian. Nora knew that he felt badly about not being able to go and she resolved to find him something. Desiree had volunteered to chaperone a few trips and turned when Nora approached her.
"Mom, I want to find something for Harry since he can't come," she explained.
Her mother raised an eyebrow. "What did you have in mind?"
"I was thinking some sort of a nick-knack," Nora stated.
"Alright, we'll see what we can find then," Desiree suggested.
As the students went into various shops and Desiree supervised them, Nora showed her various items to assess her opinion. Inwardly Desiree was very pleased that she could do something with her daughter. Toward the end of the day Nora found what she was looking for and brought it to Desiree.
"Check this out, mom!" Nora expressed as she showed Desiree an enchanted bookmark that took a person on a visual tour of whatever place the person spoke of. "This lets you see places you haven't been to before."
Desiree smiled with approval at the interesting item and Nora purchased it before the students headed back to the castle. Upon her return, Nora sought Harry out. He was at a window in the corridor watching the students return. "Harry, I've brought you something," she told him.
He looked over and smiled. "You didn't have to do anything for me."
"I felt bad that you couldn't come with us," she conveyed, removing the wrapped package from her bag.
She handed it to him and he looked at the object with interest as he unwrapped it. As he studied it, she noticed a smile sneak onto his face. "I know what this is. This is one of those bookmarks that allows you to see places all over the world! Thank you!" he expressed.
A small dash of pink spread across her cheeks. "You're welcome. My mom helped too."
"It sounds as though the two of you are getting along alright," he noticed.
She would have told him more about the day, but she caught the odd look in his eyes and knew that Draco was walking past her. Harry quickly hid the bookmark as Draco walked in their direction. "Well, if it isn't Potter and you," he said snidely.
"What do you want, Malfoy?" Harry demanded.
Nora put her hand up. He's not worth your time, she told him mentally. The other boy sneered at them. "What's wrong, Potter? You letting your little girlfriend do the fighting for you these days?"
Harry glared at him. "Mind your own business, Malfoy."
Draco stared into Nora's vibrant blue eyes. "Why are you wasting your time with Potter?" he jabbed. "Oh, I remember, you never knew your father. Potter, your girlfriend should have told you about her mother's second job. She could be another mudblood for all you know."
Nora reached for her wand, but Harry stopped her and shook his head. She turned back to Draco and glared at him as if she was Professor McGonagall and he had landed himself a detention. "You can insult me all you want, but don't insult my mother. And I think you should change your feet," she commented.
He raised an eyebrow. "What on earth do you mean?"
She stepped closer to him and crossed her arms. "You seem so good at putting one foot in your mouth, but rather than putting both feet in your mouth, you should switch feet so you don't fall."
Glaring at her in a sinister manner, he started to reach for his wand. "Do you really think that you can get away with insulting me? Just because Snape is your cousin, you seem to think that you are protected. Well I have something-"
She had noticed that he was planning to use his wand. Pulling out her wand with extraordinary speed, she transformed him into a squirrel. "I think I like him better this way," she remarked as she looked over her shoulder at Harry.
"Unfortunately we have not covered transforming humans into animals in class this week. I suggest you transform him back and then come to my office," said a familiar voice.
Nora turned to see Professor McGonagall and did as she was told. Minerva took away house points from Draco for instigating the quarrel and ushered Nora to her office. They did not speak until they were seated. "Would you care to explain to me why Mr. Malfoy found himself to be a squirrel for a while?" Minerva questioned in her professor's tone.
The girl shifted uncomfortably. "He insulted my mother and he would have pulled his wand on me if I hadn't used mine first," Nora explained bluntly.
You remind me so much of Severus. I hope you realize some day that retaliation is not the best answer to your problems, Minerva thought. What she did not realize was that Nora understood her.
"I know that. I'm sorry that I lost control," she relayed.
Minerva raised an eyebrow. "You knew what I was thinking?"
"Yes. I can read other people's minds sometimes and I can also project my thoughts. It's hard to control though and I end up getting myself in trouble because what I'm usually thinking is critical and those who pick up on it get mad at me," Nora mentioned.
"You're a Legillimens," she paused and the girl nodded. "Who knows about this quality of yours?"
Nora thought for a moment. "My mom knows, and she could have told Severus by now. Harry knows and now you know. I think that's it."
Minerva looked at the girl and wondered to herself if this quality was part of the reason that she had been placed at Hogwarts. Then she recalled the reason they were both in the office. "Miss Snape, though your Transfiguration skills are commendable, I must give you detention for improper use of them and advise you to stay away from Mr. Malfoy."
Nora nodded. "Was there anything else, Professor?"
"No, you may go now," Minerva stated. After Nora had left, the professor decided to owl Severus. We should discuss not only Nora's incident, but also what happened a few mornings ago. If I don't clarify what it all really meant, I may go mad, she reasoned with mild apprehension.
(my thanks to Quill of Minerva, Morgana-Alex, duj, Leta McGotor, and Crookykanks for reviewing :D)
