Chapter Fourteen: Tea Upstairs

'How many stairs are here? If I had started to count them from the beginning, now I'll be on the billionth for sure when I reach the door,' grumbling and stumbling Snape was going upstairs, but what made him leave his beloved dungeons? Six words, actually.

Come to my office at 7 o'clock

Macbeth Halflife

Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor

Snape once again looked at the small piece of something that must have been parchment at the times of Cleopatra, but now it was ready to turn into dust any moment. 'What a polite invitation; tries to copy me, but what can I say, I didn't know that I was that good.'

At last he reached his destination: a big wooden door with files of protecting charms radiating from it. He stepped close and stood still, knowing about the uselessness of knocking as the charms themselves would report who was standing at the door, and after a few moments the door was opened by professor Halflife.

"Right on time. Come in," she stepped from the doorframe to let him in. He wordlessly followed her into the office. It was the same office that occupied Lockhart, Lupin and other DADA professors, but now it certainly had a feminine touch to it. One of the features of it was two low couches and a tea table. This set was from red tree and the fabric that covered the couches reminded of medieval tapestries with large flowers and powerful forests. Definitely a feminine touch.

"Have a seat," she said gesturing towards the couches. Snape screwed up his face but still sat down. Professor Halflife sat on the opposite couch. (A/N: I love this couches' stuff!)

"Would you like to have some tea?" she asked like a perfect housewife receiving high guests on a reception. Snape nodded, but said nothing.

The tea set appeared on the table with hot tea in the mugs and a fragrant smell began to fill the air of the room. The most interesting thing about the tea service was that it was the exact replica of Snape's.

"What do you think about it?" she asked conversationally.

"About what?"

"About the tea set."

"And what about it? Just a tea set," Snape answered sounding bored.

"Maybe it is just a set for you, but I have another opinion. It's my Christmas present."

"And I must know all about your Christmas presents, I presume?"

"Well, it's your tea set we are discussing here!" she begun to get frustrated.

"How come?"

"Because…because…I saw it in your office!" she blurted out, finding the best explanation, the best for her anyway.

"Well, if so, I am not as unique as I thought."

"What?" she asked confused.

"If we see what we see, that means that there is another set, that looks just like mine," Snape said in a tone which stopped any further discussions.

But that tone didn't stop her in the slightest, she made it pass her ears straight into the wall. "Oh, you know, there is so much mystery around this tea service. I found it at my doorstep on Christmas morning. Just in the plain box, no wrapping paper or card or anything. In the box was the whole tea set with a big tea pot and cream pot and sugar pot and there were all these plates for cookies and cake and jam and mmmm, just everything for the whole tea ceremony!" she could continue to babble about her precious present if it hadn't been for Snape's sharp voice, cutting all her strings to the dream world, where she certainly imagined herself on a tea ceremony in a place somewhere in the mountains.

"Don't jump around the bush, just say what you want from me!"

"Well…hmmm," she snapped back to reality, but her tongue still didn't obey her. "I wanted to ask how your work is going," professor Halflife said quietly sounding afraid of him.

"Quite successfully, if you ask me," he said more softly now, not wanting to scare her. "But I want just one more little thing from you."

"What else?" she asked with a sigh.

"I want to see it."

"What?"

"Your problem. I need to see your stomach."

"But you are looking at it now," she was again confused by his phases with inexact meanings and hints.

"I need to see your stomach, not your robes, especially when there is nothing interesting about them, no style, no fantasy, no color, nothing," he stated, but there was a hint of amusement in his voice.

"You mean, that I must…You want me to… How could you even think about it!" she even stood up from indignation.

"I am not a Seer, you know," Snape answered calmly to her outburst.

"But I caaaaaan't!" she yelled.

"Why?" Another calm question.

"You are not my husband, boyfriend, not even my relative, so answer, why should I strip in front of YOU!" she even pointed at him with her index finger for the emphasis.

"Well, think of me as your mediwizard. Do you undress in front of your mediwizard? Or are you so shy, because you are ugly, hm?" Snape asked with challenge in his question. Playing with woman's dignity was even more dangerous than with man's but at the moment, Snape thought that it was worth it.

The trick went smoothly. She pouted for a few seconds, but then took off her upper robe. Under it was a brown blouse and plain black pants that hugged her hips perfectly, the fact that Snape marked in his mind. She lifted up the blouse to reveal a perfectly shaped belly.

"Satisfied?" she asked through clenched teeth.

"Quite," Snape stood up from the couch and moved towards her. When he was about ten inches away from her, she stepped back. "Merlin," he said rolling his eyes, "Are you that afraid of me? Am I such a monster?"

"Sorry," she answered, looking at her feet. "I've just already forgotten, how it is to be around a man, you know. With this "problem" you can't have a very active and colorful personal life," she sighed. "Do it then."

Snape wasn't surprised by her words. He knew about it more than she could ever imagine. Alone during their whole life. No friends, no relations, only a lot of enemies. He got used to it, she got used to it, but everything was changing now. They both felt it, but were still oblivious with how to deal with it, that's why they just ignored it, thinking about it like it was unimportant.

There was a long pause; professor Halflife stood motionlessly holding her blouse, looking at her shoes.

"Oh, let's do it then," Snape felt awkward too. He slowly took out his long dark wand and touching her belly button, she flinched at such a sudden touch, and Snape whispered, "Lumos Roengenus."

The tip of the wand began to glow. And the light started to penetrate into her stomach. It looked like all her skin layers became transparent and all her organs were shown. (A/N: Not much details here, because you're gonna be sick and won't read my fic.) But Snape still couldn't see it. He pushed his wand harder, penetrating in the deeper parts of the stomach and there it was.

'Just as I hoped.' "Just as I expected." He suddenly pulled his wand towards him and everything disappeared.

"That's it?" she asked with large eyes full of surprise.

'Those eyes. Damn them. How can they be even more…more…What is this word? Aaaah, screw it!' "That's it. No catastrophe happened. You are still alive," he turned and went back to the couches, sitting very pleased with himself.

She followed him, nervously putting her blouse back. "What have you found out?" she asked in a trembling voice.

"It is alive," he answered with a strange glistening in his eyes.

"Of course it is alive!" she was coming to her normal self now, composed and ready to attack.

"I thought about this possibility even before Christmas and I was right!" he shouted triumphantly.

With eyebrows high on her forehead professor Halflife asked, "So now we'll call you a genius?"

"You haven't understood anything, have you?" She only shook her head. Snape started to pace around, explaining. "The point is that this creature is a living thing, like all of us. When I looked into your stomach, I saw a worm. A simple worm with all physical features. It eats, sleeps, uses toilet…"

"But what about my…" she started to interrupt.

"Eating your pleasant memories is part of the curse, it's the only magical part of this creature. You see, if you want to have the exact picture, I can say that you were cursed to be pregnant."

"WHAT!"

"This worm is like an unborn child. You have the connection through which it signals you about his needs, right?" She nodded. "It doesn't grow a lot, but still he sucks the life out of you because you don't what to treat him. A pregnant woman eats two times more than she needs because she wants to support another life inside her," he stopped his rant for a second to take a breath, and then continued. "Have you ever been pregnant?" Snape asked, looking right into her eyes.

"Noooo…"

"Well, you can picture it all in your mind."

"And you've certainly been, you sound so experienced," she said smirking.

He almost hid a grin. Almost. "The point of my being satisfied that it is alive, is the following: if it is alive, it can be dead, or more preferably for us, killed."

"You mean, you can kill it?" she asked doubtfully.

"Exactly," he said with a nod, and then sat back on the coach.

"And how are you going to," she swallowed, "Kill it?"

"We can't just make a surgery operation because it is still a curse. Even if we do the surgery, it will grow again. I have a solution, but it can't be named a genius idea." Snape looked anywhere but at her.

"What is it?" professor Halflife didn't like the way he was referring to this 'solution'.

"You can rid of him by poisoning its food," Snape said under his breath.

"Poisoning his food?" she asked, not fully understanding his words.

"It's the only possible way."

"You want to say that there must be poisoned food, but I give that food to it myself, which means…"

"You must take poison into your system," Snape finished in a tone that no one can object.

There was a long silence after Snape's words. After a few minutes, "This is the only way?" she asked softly.

"Yes," he answered with the same voice. "I am trying to find the poison that won't harm your body, but you understand that this is impossible. Still we need to decrease the risk as much as possible."

"Do you know what may happen after I take the poison?" she asked shakily. Snape shook his head. "I can die, can't I?" He nodded. "But if I don't, I'll be alive again. Hmmm…" For a few moments she looked thoughtful, but then glanced straight into Snape's eyes. "When can you start?"

Snape was taken aback a little. He didn't expect that she would agree. It was a life or death situation. Great risk indeed. "I can start measuring the exact dose which can be fatal for 'your problem', but not enough for you, this is one of the ways to…of your coming out of all this alive. Also I must make some tests and…well, it'll take me about a week or two," Snape answered unsteadily. "I'll inform you about the date in the letter. Now I better go, it is late," he stood up and without looking at her, headed to the door.

"Severus," Snape was stunned like he was stricken by lightning with her using his first name.

"Yes," he said slowly turning from the exit.

"Thank you," she said smiling.

"For what?"

"For everything and," she paused for a second, "for the tea set," she said with a wink.

"You are welcome," Snape answered turning towards the door, hiding a grin from her view because he couldn't but smile at that moment.