That cat again... It's almost like she's trying to get hurt. Hope ya like it and please, please review!
Chapter Six: A Poor Joke and Two Fractured Hearts
He was furious. Again he had gone into his bedroom, exhausted and impatient, and found that stupid animal occupying his pillow. "Sinistra," he called into the fire. "Come watch your cat die…"
She was there in an instant, snatching her precious cat out of harm's way. "I'm sorry," she said, a note of anxiety in her normally calm voice. "I just can't seem to keep her away! Please, Snape, don't—"
He smirked at her protests, wondering why she'd attach herself so to a being that could barely distinguish her from any other witch. Severus pulled a small, black bottle from his robes. "I intend to keep my promises," he hissed.
"Don't do it," she whispered feebly, holding her cat as tightly as she dared.
"Here, kitty," he called softly, watching her eyes grow round in fear as Sylvia twisted, trying to get free. "Come here, kitty-kitty-kitty…"
The cat struggled free of Sinistra's protective grip and trotted over to him, rubbing against his legs, purring.
"Sylvia!" she said, real panic in her voice as he opened the bottle. She ran forward to get her pet back. "Snape, I'll curse you…" She waved her wand.
"As if you could curse me," he scoffed, lifting the cat almost gently into his arms. He rubbed a drop of the dark liquid into the fur on the back of the young cat's neck, then let her jump to the floor, where she swayed once or twice, then collapsed.
"Sylvia!" shrieked Sinistra. "You bastard," she moaned. "You fucking bastard, you killed my cat!"
"Yes," he said shortly. "That's what poison does, you see?"
Sinistra tenderly scooped the remains of her faithful pet into her arms, cradling it like a child. "I hate you, Snape," she hissed.
"Glad to hear it," he said carelessly. It was immensely enjoyable to watch her. He'd thought she was smarter than that, but she didn't see through him at all.
She pulled out her white wand, aimed it at him. "Conflagratta," she spat, watching blue flames rise around his robes. He extinguished them quickly, laughing, watching her get angrier and angrier. With sharp slashing movements, she produced several shallow cuts across his face before she heard her cat. It meowed feebly and she stopped, startled. "Sylvia…?" She looked at it, then at Severus, before bursting into tears.
Severus was surprised by that. It had, after all, been a joke, and a poor one at that. Even Sinistra should have seen through it.
"You bastard," she repeated, stroking her cat gently. "You worthless piece of bat shit. I don't believe you. No, not even you…" Sinistra sat down on the edge of his bed, examining Sylvia. He reached out a hand to her, looking genuinely concerned. He hadn't meant to cause so much harm. Sinistra didn't deserve all this much… "Don't touch me," she sniffed.
"Sinistra, I wouldn't kill another living thing."
"You've done it enough before."
"Yes, well, I've changed."
"That's what you think!" she spat, and left the room at a run, Sylvia cradled in her arms. "But you're just the same, Snape, the same stinking snake you've always been!"
Snape watched her go. Her words stung. They shouldn't have; he'd heard them time and again, but they did, oddly enough. He shrugged it off and sank back in his bed, but he didn't sleep for hours.