Chapter Six: In Which Our Heroine Suffers a Severe Disappointment
Sinistra dropped her glass and stared at him. "Severus… For the love of… Why the hell… you didn't ever tell me!"
He marked his place carefully in his book and placed it on a table next to him. "No, I didn't. Do you want to know why, Sinistra?"
"Yes! I do want to know why you had sex with me and didn't tell me!"
"Because… it's against Hogwarts rules," he said with an evil smirk. "And I don't want to lose my job."
"You value your job more than me?" she demanded.
"My work is very important to me, Sinistra." His black eyes twinkled slightly.
"I don't know what to say," Celaene said, feeling suddenly empty and slightly cold. "You knew we slept together in Hogsmeade while we were drunk and you didn't tell me. For Merlin's sake, Severus, I've still got scars from that incident and your magically produced fangs…"
"What scars?" He asked lazily. "I don't see any scars. I'm not actually a vampire."
"Well, you wouldn't see any," she muttered. "They're all covered as long as I dress myself decently."
"I don't remember biting you at all," he said stubbornly.
"Would you like me to remind you?" she asked, her voice rising suddenly. Celaene unbuttoned the neck of her black robes, thinking of one particularly noticeable scar that she didn't know how he could forget having made. It had taken hours to stop bleeding.
"I've got a question for you, Severus," she interrupted. "Why do you always call me by my surname?"
"Why does it matter what I call you?" he returned, rising to his feet.
"Why don't you just stop pretending you don't care?" she shouted.
"Why don't you understand that I don't care?" Snape snapped.
Sinistra seemed to deflate when he said that. She bit her lip and looked down at the crystal shards at her feet that had once been her glass. "You don't?" she asked timidly.
"No," he lied coldly.
"Not… at all?"
He didn't answer her, but returned to his seat and motioned for her to do the same. She sat slowly, still looking hurt. "Perhaps…" he said slowly. "Perhaps I do care, Sinistra, but I do have some control, unlike you."
"Don't," she said quietly but very firmly, "call me Sinistra."
"Celaene," he corrected. "Why is this so important to you? You have never been the type to take a game of truth or dare this seriously."
"I don't want Dumbledore to find out about Hogsmeade," she said slowly.
"That's not it."
"Because—I—" the small, dark witch took a deep breath. "I said it before I passed out."
"Say it again," he said coldly. "I will not do this for you."
"Because I want you," she said, nearly inaudibly. He felt a slight twist in the pit of his stomach and raised an eyebrow.
"Louder, Sin—Celaene."
"Because I want you," she repeated, meeting his eyes.
He looked into her black eyes and was amazed to see a faint hope. After everything he had said, she still looked that hopeful. And if he was honest with himself, his objections were feeble at best. But he couldn't just let her get away with this…
"Severus?" she was asking carefully. He considered her for a moment longer, tracing a thin, pale finger down the side of his face.
"Not tonight, Celaene," he told her nearly gently. "Go to bed. Merlin knows you need the rest."
"Can't sleep without you, Snape," she said, blinking. Her voice shook slightly but returned to normal and she looked away from him. "Good night," she added softly.
"Good night."
Celaene couldn't believe what had just happened. Snape had been the vampire. She'd already had him and she hadn't known it. With a sigh, she returned to her tower. Perhaps that would count and then they'd be done. Perhaps she wouldn't have to bother with this dare anymore. Perhaps…
Sinistra fell asleep without bothering to undress.
Well, this story is certainly going to take a few more chapters than I had planned...! Hope you liked it!