Hey guys! Sorry about the wait, but I was on vacation all last week. Hope you enjoy!!! Luv, Ricky Roo.
Chapter Five – Surely Slytherin
At a quarter of five, Snape stood up from his chair and leaned over the desktop to turn down the oil lantern. The office was suddenly cast in black shadows, but that bared no hindrance to the Potions Master finding his way to the door.
The dungeon corridors were not much brighter than his office had been. Snape was sure to ward his office door shut before making way towards Jessica's private chambers. He skipped up the stairs to the Entrance Hall and marched against the flow of students coming down for dinner.
The older students coming down the second set of stairs knew best to quickly move aside pressing themselves tight against the right of the stairwell to allow their irascible professor ample room to sweep up along the left. He was glaring at anyone whose expression dared to wonder what business he had in the castle above the main floor.
"Watch your step, Creevey!" Snape hissed as Colin nearly lost his balance on the stairs rushing to get out of Snape's way. The first year had struggled to regain his stability on the stairs and steady his camera at the same time. His fingers slipped and just as Snape was passing him by, a bright light flashed in his face.
"Argh!" Snape grunted and squeezed his eyes shut as he brought his arms up to shield his blinded eyes. He stopped and pivoted away from Colin as he tried to blink the flash out of his eyes.
Snape heard short gasps of horror come from all around him and then heard the scurry of footsteps follow as the other students hurried to clear the stairwell before the antagonized Potions Master could see properly again.
"Creevey!" he roared with his eyes still flickering rapidly.
"I'm sorry, sir," Colin whimpered. "I didn't mean – "
"The next time I see that wretched thing will be your last!" Snape squeezed his eyes shut one last time and then glared ferociously at the small boy standing two steps down from him. The pale colour of Colin's face was enough to rival the ghosts of Hogwarts. "Your careless behaviour has just cost Gryffindor ten points! Now get out of my sight!" he said, although Snape could barely see Colin to begin with.
Colin had learned early in the year not to prolong any sort of lame apology where the Potions Master was concerned and instead hopped speedily down the stairs to the Great Hall.
Snape carefully stepped up the remainder of the stairs periodically rubbing his eyes to get rid of the last of the flash. By the time he reached Jessica's door almost nothing was left of the irritating flash. He knocked softly and waited for her to answer.
A moment passed and he heard nothing. After knocking again Snape reached down to the door handle and rattled it to see if it were locked or not. The door clicked open and Snape eased it forward and slipped inside. After shutting the door behind him, Snape turned around and perused the empty sitting room. The fire was still crackling keeping the room warm and cozy.
"Jessica?" he called and peered towards her bedroom.
The door was slightly ajar and Snape went to investigate. With the drapes pulled shut and the candles unlit Snape could barely make out the rise in the middle of the bed. Jessica's covers and quilts were pulled up to her neck and her hair lay in a tangle about the pillow. Her robes were tossed over the back of the chair at the vanity and her shoes were tucked in a slapdash fashion beneath.
Stepping up to the side of her bed, Snape looked down fondly at Jessica and reached a hand out to touch her hair. He combed his fingers through her silky mane before she responded to his touch with a tiny moan.
"Severus," she whispered in a dreamy voice. Her hand came up from beneath the covers and closed around his long fingers pulling him towards her. Jessica's thumb rubbed along his palm caressing his warm flesh as he leaned over the bed.
Snape weaved his free hand into her hair and hummed dotingly into her ear before nuzzling his face into the folds of blankets in search of a spot of flesh to settle his lips upon. He quickly found way to her neck and wrapped his mouth around the hollow of her throat before drawing her flesh between his lips and suckling affectionately.
"Are you ready to go down to dinner?" Snape asked her.
Jessica slowly turned around to face him and stared into his black eyes, which stood out vividly against his pale white skin. "No, I don't quite fancy the idea of going anywhere right now," she answered.
"Very well then, I shall have dinner brought up to us. Put your clothes back on and come on out when you're ready." Snape started back towards the door when Jessica sat up and turned herself around to face the other way.
"You go on and have enough brought up for yourself," she said. "I'm afraid I haven't much of an appetite. Besides, I don't feel like getting dressed again either."
Snape stopped in mid-step and pivoted himself around. He paced slowly back towards the foot of Jessica's bed and watched her put her head back down on the pillow. Snape crossed his arms tight against his chest and began tapping his boot softly against the floor. "Do you plan on just laying in bed all evening?" he asked bitterly.
"Yes," Jessica answered without making a single move beneath the blankets. Snape had just opened his mouth to utter his protest when he heard her speak first. "I would like it very much if you'd join me. I could use some of your console right about now."
Snape closed his mouth and breathed heavily through his nose. "Do you want to tell me what happened back at the Hospital Wing today?" he asked as he stepped around to the opposite side of the bed and bent down to slip his boots off. He heard Jessica sigh as he pushed the boots under the bed with his socked foot.
"Not in its entirety," she said, "I can't really explain what happened. It was so… strange."
"Try me," Snape challenged as he shrugged off his cloak and began unbuttoning his thick frockcoat.
Jessica knew quite well that the experience she'd had in the Hospital Wing may not seem particularly peculiar to a man like Snape, but the larger part of her felt that a vision of her father as a teenager was a bit more unusual than he assumed.
Last year she'd confided in Snape almost each time Voldemort appeared to her in frequent nightmares. Sometimes her nightmares were so real she could open her eyes and still see him before her in the form of a phantom. Once, when Jessica had only just met the Potions Master, the phantom had appeared and left her with an unruly scar. Since then Jessica had not felt any comfort in sleeping alone for fear that Voldemort would come back for her. Understanding her fear, Snape obligated himself to protect her and spent nearly every night spooned up against her body shielding her intricate mind from such intrusion with the comfort and protection of his devoted affection.
After lying his frockcoat overtop of Jessica's robes Snape lifted the blankets up and slipped into the bed with her. Jessica felt warm and was clad in nothing but a sleeveless cotton vest and a pair of matching pyjama pants. Snape wrapped his hand around her stomach and curled himself up against her.
"Are you feeling ill at all?" Snape asked and brushed a hand across her forehead before lightly kissing her temple.
"No," Jessica whispered. She turned around to face him and brought her knees up to her chest in a comfortable position. Snape settled his hand atop her waist and gently began stroking up along the smoothness of her back and stomach. "I think I just had a very strange experience this afternoon. I can't explain how it happened. It was like I was having a dream, only I couldn't have been because no one around me even noticed something was happening to me until it was over."
Snape tucked his bottom arm beneath the pillow and looked deep into Jessica's eyes. "You were talking to the Weasley girl, and the moment she left you looked as though you were going to pass out cold."
"I was feeling rather dizzy," she said and began to smooth his hair out of his face.
"What happened in this dream?" Snape asked.
Jessica grasped the collar of Snape's shirt and pulled herself closer to him. She closed her eyes and put her head on his chest and settled her leg on top of him. "I had an encounter with my father, in a matter of speaking. He was young and he wanted me to help him return to the wizarding world so that he could bring about peace and become a proper father."
Snape exhaled deeply and combed his fingers behind her ear. "Rubbish," he uttered. "The Dark Lord wishes nothing of the sort. His only wish is to have control over our world, and he needs you to acquire that."
"I know." Jessica wrapped her arms tight around his lean chest and listened carefully to the beating of his heart. "He seems quite confident that he'll succeed."
"He probably will," Snape told Jessica, regardless of the fact that he knew she didn't want to hear anything confirming her suspicions. She wanted to believe that the goodness in the wizarding world would come to defeat him indefinitely.
"Why does he want me so badly?" Jessica asked, practically sobbing into his thin shirt. "What is so special about me that he cannot do without?"
Snape's stomach suddenly turned to knots and his heart sunk into his chest. Jessica could sense this sudden change in his emotions and sat up promptly to stare down at him.
"What is it?" she asked again. When he wanted to, Snape had a way of blocking his thoughts and emotions from Jessica and tried very hard to keep her out of that particular section of his mind.
"What?" Jessica demanded. "You know Severus, I know you do! Now tell me."
He sighed distraughtly and began to sit up. Still on top of him, Jessica pressed her hands to his chest and forced him back down. She secured him between herself and the bed and held on tight as Snape fought back trying to push her aside.
"What does he want?" she shouted again.
Snape had greatly underestimated her strength and soon gave up and paid her the attention she was demanding. "What makes you think that by knowing you can put a stop to his ambitions?"
"Someone once told me that the more I know of my enemies, the better I can protect myself against them," she said with a cruel ironic tone in her voice. "My father is a pretty big bloody enemy, don't you think?"
Snape lifted his head from the pillow and stared deep into Jessica's emerald eyes. With her arms held stiff, Jessica held his wrists tight against the mattress. "Knowing what he wants will only place you in greater danger," he said. "And telling you will only put me in an awkward position should I be recalled to his circle. What do you suppose the Dark Lord will do upon hearing that one of his believed supporters told his only heir how she could liberate herself of the one thing that has kept her alive for the last twenty six and a half years?"
As Jessica was taken aback by his reply, she immediately ceased her iron grip around his wrists and felt her heart skip a beat. A mad rush of emotions flood through her body at the mention of being able to rid herself of this particular resource she possessed.
"Severus," Jessica began and swallowed hard. "I'm going to ask you something, and I want a God honest answer from you." She leaned her palms down on either side of his head and looked deep into his eyes. "What I want to know is, if he were brought back to power tomorrow and he summoned you to his side, what would you do if he asked you to bring me to him in order to prove your loyalty?"
Snape let out a long breath of air and curled his right hand up in her hair. Before speaking, Snape looked at her for a long while as his thumb rubbed her cheek. "I would make sure that he never acquired what he needed of you," he confessed. "Even if it meant I would have to destroy you."
Jessica could feel that this was the last thing Snape ever wanted to do, but in all honesty would be exactly what he did in that particular situation. He loved Jessica dearly, but if it meant saving thousands from the dark wrath of Lord Voldemort, he would sacrifice the only form of love and affection he had ever known.
Without blinking, Jessica continued to stare down at him without a single trace of expression on her face. She locked her eyes with his until they burned in need of moisture.
"That was the right answer," Jessica said as she blinked rapidly. She giggled suddenly, needing to relieve the tension for a moment. "Hopefully it will never come to that." Jessica began toying with the buttons of his shirt and unfastened them one at a time.
"Hopefully not," Snape whispered in agreement and tucked his fingers beneath the elastic of her pyjama pants. "I do not see how either of us could survive his return. I predict that my death will be a result of my unwillingness to hand you over, and yours for your unwillingness to support him. He will not allow you to exist as his enemy."
Jessica's stomach churned uncomfortably as she recalled Tom Riddle articulating an almost identical statement regarding their coexistence. She knew it to be true and felt certain that almost nothing, not even the combined efforts of Snape and her uncle Albus, could save her if Voldemort returned to power.
Jessica cradled herself in Snape's embrace, pressing her chest against his and feeling him rise and fall as he breathed. His arms wrapped around her back and slipped beneath her thin pyjama top to trace his fingers up along the scars left behind from Voldemort's phantom attacks. It had been nearly a year since her last attack, but the feel of her jagged skin still brought back memories and emotions neither of the cared for.
"Severus, do you suppose I'd have been sorted into Slytherin had I come to Hogwarts as a child?" Jessica asked just as Snape dipped his hand beneath the waist of her pyjama pants to caress the Dark Mark on the small of her back.
His fingers made gentle circles around the Mark and he heaved as he considered her question. "I have no doubts that you would have been."
"Why?" she asked. "Is that only because both of my parents were in Slytherin?"
"No. That is not the only reason. If your fate had been to become anything but Slytherin, my taste for you would be somewhat different. I believe I would find you revolting."
"Severus!" Jessica lifted her head from his chest and slapped his shoulder and watched his lips turn to a smirk as he sniggered at her. "I'm serious!"
"So am I," Snape assured. "Do you honestly believe I would give you as much as the time of day if you embodied so much as one trace of Gryffindor audacity, overconfidence and arrogance?"
Jessica's eyes curiously perused the dark bedroom as she compared her own unique traits to those of Gryffindor. Sure, she felt she was brave, willing to sacrifice herself to stop Voldemort from returning to power. Her passion had once been to help others less fortunate than herself. Before coming to Hogwarts she had faithfully dedicated herself to four years of med school.
Her mother's family had all been in Gryffindor, but something had changed to make Espiranza become a Slytherin. Jessica had never wondered why until after learning that her father was in fact an heir of the Slytherin family tree. Espiranza rarely talked about her days at Hogwarts. She made top grades and played for the Quidditch team, but beyond that Jessica knew nothing of her mother as a Hogwarts student.
"Perhaps I'd have become a Hufflepuff," Jessica decided. "They're a lot of hard workers and –"
Jessica watched the look on Snape's face turn absolutely foul. "Say that again and I will have you out on your arse," he said. "Humour me, Jessica. What could possibly possess you to think such a dreadful thought?"
"Professor Lockhart was a Hufflepuff." Jessica saw by the new look on Snape's face that she could not have chosen a worse time to bring up his name. "Look at all that he's accomplished," she continued anyway.
"Hufflepuff," Snape repeated distastefully, "Has that little insect's collection been filling your head with fictional nonsense?"
"It's not nonsense," Jessica defended. "He is a very hard worker, he's not afraid of anything – well, except you – and he's very sweet." Jessica smiled in imitation of Lockhart's award winning smile. "Does that sound like someone you know?"
Snape rolled his eyes and pressed his head back into the soft pillow. "You are sweet," he confessed, "and you are a hard worker, but you don't amuse me, young lady."
"Oh, who are you trying to kid, Severus? Nobody amuses you!" Jessica smiled again and leaned over to kiss the tip of his nose. She grasped a lock of his hair and let it slip slowly between her fingers.
Snape began to rub his palms up and down Jessica's arms in a soothing motion. Simultaneously Jessica pressed her fingers into his chest, massaging him gently. "You know, I think there is a lot less to Gilderoy Lockhart than meets the eye. Have you ever seen him perform a spell properly?"
"I haven't seen him perform a spell since the one he used to conjure up that rose you so valiantly found a suitable environment for." Jessica had continued to unbutton his shirt when Snape's chest began to quiver in a low chuckle. She lost her grip on the second last button and watched as he parted his lips into a smile.
It was the sort of smile he reserved especially for her. Jessica doubted anyone had ever seen this man smile so genuinely before. Deciding to take advantage of this rare moment, Jessica ignored the last two buttons and leaned herself down to kiss him. Snape's hands came up on each side of her face and embraced her tenderly. His lips touched hers softly and then opened to invite her into a more intimate kiss.
She settled her lips over his and let him explore her mouth as she did his. Then, with hands finding their way down to his waist, Jessica untucked his shirt from his trousers and popped the rest of the buttons out.
"Jessica," Snape began as she spread his shirt open to expose his lean, pale chest and massaged her hands into him compassionately. "There is still a way to discover which House you would have belonged to. The Sorting Hat is kept in the Headmaster's office, I can take you there this evening if you'd like."
"No," Jessica said and shook her head. "No, I'd rather not know for certain. Besides, it doesn't matter anymore. I'm not a student and I'm not going to be. It's completely irrelevant now."
Although Snape wasn't an empath quite like Jessica, he could sense that she knew deep down that she'd have become a Slytherin, and that terrified her. Snape gave a great heave and gently rolled Jessica off of him. He laid her down on her back and ran his hand up and down her bare arm as he draped over her.
"As long as we have known each other, it has never bothered you that I am a Slytherin," he reminded her. "I embody everything that is Slytherin and I can see a lot of it in you. You are a very shrewd, derisive, clever young lady; your ancestry is pure, and until recently you have been determined to overcome your father's peril. When it comes down to it, I know you will do anything to have your way. You will do everything you can to achieve your end, you always have. That makes you more a Slytherin than I."
"Please, Severus," Jessica begged. "I'm not all of those things. I don't want to be."
"Now come on, if you really thought that we Slytherins were all an ignominy, you never would have let me give you that kiss last year in the garden." Snape's eyebrow arched triumphantly before he leaned down to kiss her again.
Jessica's hands tangled in his hair and her legs rubbed anxiously against his body in a zealous fashion. Her lips parted invitingly and Snape indulged in her temptation, rocking his body against hers wanting to feel what was beneath that thin layer of cotton.
Once Snape retracted for a breath of air, Jessica put her arms down on the pillow and smiled sweetly at him. "I thought I kissed you," she said, remembering how they'd argued over who had started their very first kiss.
"You did."
His fingertips were gently grazing back and forth along the stretch of bare skin exposed between her pyjama pants and top. It tickled a little bit but Jessica tried to keep a straight face. Being one of the two most attentive wizards at Hogwarts, Snape could easily spot the corners of Jessica's lips twitching as he tickled her.
Pretending not to notice, Snape lowered his head to her naval and began dotting his lips against her skin. He slipped her pyjama top up a little ways and began kissing just above her naval. Slowly, he kissed upwards, drawing her soft flesh into his mouth and suckling her affectionately. Snape hummed delightfully as he let her skin slip out of his mouth only to seek out a fresh patch of smoothness.
Jessica's body rapidly began to boil under his titillating touch. She breathed heavily as his lips and hands neared her breasts. He traced his fingers along the underside of her right breast and then the left in turn. Once his hands cleared Jessica's pyjama top over her generous curves, Snape's lips immediately captured her taut nipple and began to suckle her.
Jessica's fingernails scraped against his scalp as his tantalizing manoeuvre spread warmth about her body. She could feel her body temperature skyrocket, subsequently invading her core. She captured his legs between hers and hugged his head to her chest as he moved from one nipple to the next.
While he held her breast pointed at his lips with his left hand, Snape used his right to stroke up and down her opposite side and then move across her chest to feel Jessica's thick, taut nipple between his thumb and finger. She hummed delightfully as his lips and tongue caressed her exquisitely.
"Severus," she whispered slowly as the sensations began to overwhelm her. "I want you so badly." Between her legs, Jessica could feel the evidence of his rigid wanting, too. Whether he realized it or not, he was pressing himself into her in slow rhythm.
Snape let Jessica's aroused nipple slip out of his mouth and he studied her flushed expression. "I know you do," he said in a tone that Jessica didn't quite like.
"I want to make love to you," she confessed.
It wasn't the first time he'd heard her say these words, but Snape continued to list her with reasons why they could not make love. Jessica hated how he always closed his mind to her when the subject of sex came up.
"Please," she added a long while after. Her hand came up to touch his face and Snape winced as she touched him.
"Jessica," Snape began regrettably and started to rub her cheek with his thumb. "Even if tonight was the ideal night, I haven't got a contraceptive prepared to give you."
Jessica casually shrugged her shoulders and smiled up at him. "That's all right," she assured him. "I know Poppy keeps some in the Hospital Wing. It's that same vulgar formula you gave me last year, but I'm willing to brave it again… for this." She smiled again and chained her arms around his neck.
Snape held still for a moment but then pulled away from her. He crawled off the side of the bed and turned his back towards her as he frantically began tugging at the front of his pants, trying to accommodate for his pounding erection. It throbbed in such agony he could feel himself pulsing against the confinement of his trousers.
"Severus," Jessica called out irritably. She sat up on the bed and pulled her pyjama top back over her breasts. "Severus, you don't have to be afraid of what happened last year happening again."
"It is not what happened last year that concerns me," he said. Without looking at Jessica, Snape walked around the bed and picked his frockcoat up from the back of the chair. He put his arms through the sleeves and began doing up the buttons of his shirt and then the frockcoat.
"Then what is it?" she asked him. "I know you want it as badly as I do. You wanted to have your way with me since the first week we met!"
Jessica jumped as Snape's hand slapped abruptly down on his arm in an aggravated manner to begin smoothing out the wrinkles. "I felt very differently for you then," he reminded. "I was being selfish, and I was quite oblivious to your aberrant heritage. Now get dressed, we are going down to dinner."