Chapter 3. Marital Bliss. Or Not.
Severus was beginning to wonder if he'd made a serious mistake. On the way to Nagini's suite of rooms, she'd insisted on him walking behind her! She'd ordered him to, in fact. Hoping to put her in a better mood, he complied, but he grumbled mentally. If he hadn't been so eager to please her, he would have refused to do any such thing. However, Severus really didn't feel like spending the first night of his honeymoon with her mad at him. His foot throbbed painfully the whole way down to her rooms.
Severus's possessions were piled haphazardly against the wall. He was sad to see how little space they took up. He'd been forced to leave most of his things at Hogwarts the night he…the night I left. He forced himself not to think about it.
He changed into his nightclothes. They were old ones he hadn't worn in years. Wormtail had brought them from his home on Spinners End. My house he corrected himself mentally. That place had never been home. No place ever has been. he added glumly. He shook his head free of dark thoughts and turned to pleasanter things. Namely, Nagini.
She too had changed her clothes, into a dark green, heavy velvet nightgown. Nagini was sitting on the bed, staring off into space. He crawled into what was apparently his side of the bed.
"Not so fast, Snivellus" Nagini said, turning her head to fix him with a piercing stare.
"How do you know about that?' he demanded.
"An acquaintance of mine told me," she said dismissively. "Now, I want you to draw an imaginary line down the middle of this bed. Any part of you that crosses it will go back across again with four bite marks in it. Got it?"
"But…" Severus began.
"But what?" she asked dangerously.
"I mean, we are married. Aren't we supposed to…"
She cut him off. "I have a wonderful idea. A solution to your little problem."
"What?" Severus asked. He had a sinking feeling about her answer.
"Let's not and say we did."
What have I done? he thought morosely to himself. He realized he'd spoken out loud when Nagini replied acidly.
"Made the worst mistake of your life."
Draco and Narcissa listened, their pride stinging, as their new duties were outlined. They would live. But, oh, what a life! Narcissa thought. Washing Snape's laundry, cooking his meals, taking orders from that creature!
The last was definitely the worst. She had met Nagini while she was under Bella's tutelage. She is absolutely insufferable. Narcissa ground her teeth as she and Draco moved their pitiful amount of possessions to their new rooms, on either side of the thing's suite of rooms. She had actually visited her quarters last night, to taunt her.
"I'll bet Lucius is sooo glad to be in Azkaban, where he doesn't have to look at you anymore. You do know he spends his 'business trips' fishing, don't you? I hear that his favorite spot has a particularly lovely nymph in residence. It really is amazing to me you managed to provide him such a handsome son." Nagini had said slyly.
"You keep your scaly hands off my son!" Narcissa had demanded. The thought had honestly frightened her. Nagini did have that sort of reputation.
Nagini had sniffed disdainfully. "I've no taste for coward, and I'm old enough to be his grandmother. Besides I'm getting married tomorrow. I'll have to be behaving myself from now on, as I imagine Severus is the jealous sort."
"Severus?" Narcissa had replied, stunned.
"Yes, Severus. Oh my, are you glad Lucius is in Azkaban, too?"
"No!" Narcissa had replied, her face hot with indignation at the very thought.
"Good!" Nagini had hissed venomously, "Because He Is Mine!"
"I thought you liked me," Severus groused over the breakfast Narcissa and Draco had brought. The two were both glaring at him, as if their servitude had been his idea.
"Whatever gave you an insane idea like that?" Nagini asked archly.
"You were always staring at me," Severus replied defensively.
"Now that is easily explained. You simply misinterpreted my motivation for staring. I assure you, it wasn't romantic interest."
"What was it then?" Severus asked, puzzled.
"Morbid fascination. You are the most singularly disgusting man I have ever had the misfortune to lay eyes on."
Severus ground his teeth angrily. "Ever, in all your vast twenty some years?" he retorted.
Nagini laughed, obviously genuinely amused. "Twenty and then some" she gasped.
Severus didn't have a clue what was so funny. He did know however, that he was being laughed at, something he could not tolerate. He decided to change the subject. "Where do you want me to put my things?"
"In the dustbin," Nagini answered in a reasonable tone.
Severus allowed himself a sigh of frustration. "What are we going to do today?"
"We are doing nothing. I am going to take a bath. You can twiddle your thumbs for all I care."
agini had been quite accurate when she had stated only one activity for the day. She spent all day in there, even having Narcissa bring her lunch in to her. Severus suspected that Nagini would be annoyed by him exploring her rooms, but they were his as well now, and he did it anyway. He had some idea of spiting her by it. He would be spending most of his time in here. Setting foot outside the Dark Lord's fortress would be tantamount to suicide just now.
Nagini's suite was quite large. She had several large closets full of an incredible amount of clothing. There was a workroom, with potions equipment and cabinets full of ingredients. Severus was quite glad to see this. Twiddling his thumbs was all well and good for a day or two, but much longer than that and he would have trouble with boredom. He needed to keep his mind busy for other reasons, as well. Oddly, the workroom also contained an empty loom, and several large baskets of shiny black thread wound on wooden spools. He intended to make the space his. Those would have to go.
The bath and the toilet were thankfully not in the same room. Severus ignored the door that led to the combination sitting and dining room that they had eaten breakfast in that morning. The next door opened on a small indoor garden. Nagini apparently had a green thumb—there were a number of exotic, useful, and difficult to grow plants in the room. There was a deep fishpond in the center of the room, not inhabited by goldfish or coy, but by the sort of fish one would eat.
Severus didn't look too carefully; he had a deep aversion to water, hot or cold. He had nearly drowned in the bath as a child and had since restricted his washing to what could be done in a sink with a washcloth. He didn't bother with that often, either. He really didn't see the point.
The last door led to a small library, with woefully empty shelves. I wonder if Nagini would mind if I put my books in here? he wondered. He rather hoped she did mind, as he was going to put them there. Leaving some of his precious books behind at Hogwarts had been quite a blow. At least Wormtail brought the ones from my house. Books are knowledge, and knowledge, power.