Disclaimer: I do not own the character Severus Snape or the concept of Hogwarts. Snape is portrayed as a more sympathetic character. This chapter contains explicit scenes of sexual interaction. This author does not condone professor-student relationships. (More at the end).
After their weekend together, Severus never thought he would see Morgan Wallis again. She had left him an address, but he never wrote. Neither did she. There had been days when he watched the owls swooping in the Great Hall more intently, but he didn't really know what he was expecting.
It was nearly four years later now, and Snape was far more occupied with the Potter boy and the Triwizard Tournament at Hogwarts. He was going over the events of the Yule Ball in his head again and his conversations with Igor Karkaroff.
The headmaster had summoned him; Severus was sure Dumbledore would want to hear what Karkaroff had to say.
So, when he entered Dumbledore's office, Morgan Wallis was the last person he expected to see. She was standing a few feet from Dumbledore's desk, looking a little travel worn, but she smiled when she saw Severus enter. Snape hesitated for a moment. Even in a dusty travelling cloak and mussed hair, Morgan struck him as oddly beautiful.
Snape nodded in her direction, but addressed the headmaster first, "You called for me, sir?"
"Severus, you remember Miss Morgan Wallis? She was your student a few years ago, I think."
"Yes," Snape turned a little and found Morgan still smiling at him, "How are you, Miss Wallis?"
"Very well, Professor. And how are you?"
"Fine."
They stood in silence, while Dumbledore's eyes flitted between them. "Miss Wallis is working on a project," the headmaster finally said, "She has asked if she could make use of our greenhouses, which Pomona is fine with. However, Miss Wallis has also asked to use your potion stores and a few other things from your classroom."
"Headmaster, with all the extra students this year, I'm not sure what I could possibly offer Miss Wallis."
"Oh, a lot, I'm sure, Severus." Dumbledore seemed to smile, "Miss Wallis?"
"I can replace anything once I've started, Professor Snape. I just need to set my work to brew first. It might take a few weeks."
Severus wasn't sure how to respond immediately. But when he looked at Morgan's smile, he remembered a night at an inn, and almost felt the heat of her against him.
"Of course."
Morgan thanked him profusely. Dumbledore said a few more words and thanked them both. Severus wanted to speak to the headmaster alone, but he couldn't remember what he had wanted to say. So, he found himself leaving with Morgan in tow.
"Where are you staying, Miss Morgan?" Snape heard his slip immediately.
"Just Morgan is fine, Professor Severus."
Snape scowled down at the young woman. When he met her eyes, he was suddenly aware of how empty the corridors were. Old fantasies called out from the shadowed corners. He realized how close she was - close enough to see the familiar tinge of pink on her cheeks and ears.
"Professor Dumbledore set me up in the astronomy tower. One of the old classrooms." Severus made a noise of acknowledgement and did his best to stare ahead of them.
"You can come by the storerooms after dinner, for your...supplies."
They were nearing the entrance to the Great Hall. Morgan thanked Severus again; when he turned to respond, she had disappeared up the stairs.
During her school years, Morgan Wallis had been a prefect and Head Girl, received top marks in all her classes, her O.W.L.s and N.E.W.T.s, and high praise and recommendations from all her instructors. After graduating, despite a seedy stint working for Borgin and Burkes, she became one of a handful of curse breakers for Gringotts Bank. She had good connections, limitless resources, and, if any of that were to fail, the resourcefulness to succeed in anything.
So, why had she come back to Hogwarts to use his storerooms? It must involve the headmaster in some way, or else she could have conducted - whatever it was she was doing - elsewhere. Severus glanced down the table at the headmaster. How often did he let an alumni come and ask for a favor?
Snape looked back at his cup.
Hadn't he come back to Dumbledore years ago for a favor? Begged for one. Traded his life for it. Down the hall, Harry Potter was eating with his friends. The cacophony of the Great Hall was suddenly all Snape could hear as he watched the young boy laughing. The noise throbbed at his temples.
He needed to focus this year. He didn't have time to wonder what Morgan Wallis was doing. His left forearm itched. Igor Karkaroff was watching him and Snape feared the man would continue to pester him. His temples throbbed again.
There was the usual menagerie of his thoughts, swarming about. Of his father, of his life. Then Lily, then James, then Harry - and how much he reminded Severus of Harry's parents. There was the usual deep-seated pain that always came with Lily, but also the red-hot anger he sometimes still felt for James and all his friends. In Harry came all of it accumulating at once until all he could think of was banishing the darkness that had been so long offending him.
Then the guilt. Would he have helped at all if Lily hadn't been the one murdered? If the Dark Lord had chosen the Longbottoms, and Lily had lived, would he have ever approached Dumbledore? Would he have tried to take Lily for himself? Convinced her - taken her from everything she loved? Down the hall, he watched Harry take a bite of food.
Quietly, he excused himself from the head table.
His feet led him to the steps of the Astronomy Tower. What was he doing? He remembered Morgan. Yes, maybe he was fetching Morgan earlier so he could get to bed and get something for his headache. Sure.
Near the top, he realized he didn't even know what room Morgan Wallis was staying in. He decided to get some fresh air at the top of the tower, then return to the dungeons, where he had told her to meet him. He continued to ascend, wondering what had come over him. His temples still throbbed, with the pain now blooming up his scalp.
At the top of the tower, the wind pummeled into him, almost knocking him off balance. Snow caked in the corners and flecked across the stone. Severus took a deep breath. The howling of the wind was almost enough to make him forget his headache. But then it also reminded him of the Dark Lord, swirling around. Everything was too cold. There was a prophecy.
"What children have been born recently?" The Dark Lord had asked.
"Severus?" The Potters dissipated at his name, tugged away by the wind.
Always when he least expected it, or when his guard was down, there was Morgan Wallis. She hadn't changed out of her travelling clothes. Instead, she had tucked herself into a large, fleece-lined greatcoat, with her hands stuffed into her pockets. Her hair whipped and curled around her, but she stood firm against the wind.
"Morgan, what are you doing out here?"
"I was just enjoying the weather. And you? Would you like a coat?"
Severus realized he had his arms wrapped around himself. "No, thank you. I…" He stopped, not knowing what he really wanted to say. What was he doing out here? Something touched his neck and he flinched.
Morgan paused. Severus hadn't even realized she had approached him. She was wrapping her scarf around his neck. She was so close, on her tip-toes; when she exhaled, her warm breath touched his face. Morgan finished wrapping him up in the scarf.
"Do you want to see the moon over the Black Lake? It's beautiful tonight." She went and leaned over one of the railings. After a moment Snape stood beside her. The view was captivating. Beyond the mountains, the starry sky peeked through the clouds and touched the lake on the horizon.
Severus tucked his chin down against the wind, burying his face into Morgan's scarf. The scent echoed the memory of them together, years before, in the muggle inn. It was the scent of where her head had been on her pillow and where her body had been in the sheets.
"Would you like some tea?" Morgan had to raise her voice over the wind.
Snape only nodded once, and followed Morgan back into the tower.
Indeed, her room was very near the top, behind a portrait of a gentleman sailing on a glassy sea, sextant in hand.
A fire was already going and they were welcomed with a wave of warmth when the portrait creaked open. Once Morgan entered, she whipped out her wand to conjure a flurry of activity. Her coat flew off her and hung itself near the door, a tea kettle was filled and placed over the fire, the table was set between two armchairs, and everything scooted over towards the fireplace.
"Please, have a seat." Morgan was saying, as she smoothed back her hair and wandered over to a table near the window, where something was brewing in a small black cauldron. Snape stood in the doorway for a while, watching her and scanning the room.
The space must have been an old storeroom, not a classroom. Besides the small parlor area, there was a door that must have led to a lavatory, the small table where Morgan was working, and a bed tucked into a corner full of bookshelves and piles of old tomes and scrolls.
Morgan had pulled off her gloves and was stirring the cauldron. There was something distilling behind it and something else covered with a cloth. Snape noted how neat the bench area was. He took a seat in the armchair facing the door.
"How have you been?"
Snape had sunk into his chair a little, and was surprised by Morgan's voice. "I thought you didn't like small talk?" He realized he was still wearing the scarf and quickly took it off, laying it over the arm of the chair.
Morgan came around, smiling, and sat down in the other chair. "I don't like pointless banter. I'd like to know how you've been."
Severus didn't respond and Morgan didn't ask again, busying herself with preparing the tea. Again, Severus noted, she was doing it by hand.
She asked him how he liked his tea and served it to him. She didn't press him with any further questions. Instead, she held her cup and dozed in her seat. After a while, even Severus found himself drowsily slouching into the chair.
"How long are you staying?" He found himself asking.
"A few weeks. Not too long."
They were quiet for a while again. Comfortably quiet, Severus realized, and his headache had gone with the last of the tea. Finally he invited her down to collect her supplies, and she followed him closely to the dungeons.
Snape left her in the storeroom and sat at his desk at the front of the class. He had only graded a few essays before Morgan emerged. He watched her scan the classroom, before she went over to the potions bench in the front corner - the one nearest his desk and the storeroom. It had been her desk when she had been a student.
"You have everything you need, Morgan?"
She didn't respond right away. "Yes, thank you," she smiled. "I miss this place. Things seemed so much easier." She sat down in her old seat. "Potions was my favorite class," she smiled up at Severus.
Severus made a noise of acknowledgement, but continued to scribble at an essay. When her words sunk in, curiosity wormed its way through his concentration. Morgan was still sitting there, looking through a first-year potion book. Severus forced himself to finish grading the essay before asking, "Any particular reason?"
"Hmn?"
"Was there any...particular reason. That you liked Potions?"
Morgan paused. "People never really talked," she laughed, "Compared to other classes. You could keep to your own devices, without anyone bothering you." Another silent moment, and she got up, "I was able to learn a lot from you. Thank you, Severus." A long pause, then, "I should let you work. Good night."
"Morgan," Snape quickly stood up, went around his desk, and down the short steps to where she was. Except he hadn't meant to. Now they stood very close, and Snape wasn't sure what to say, "You were a very...diligent student. You are free to use the storeroom as you need, provided you replace anything particularly rare."
There was that familiar pink tinge to Morgan's cheeks and ears again. Severus tried to tell himself that it was just because she had a long day. Yet, she was staring so steadily into his eyes, that Severus couldn't help but slip into her mind. She was thinking of kissing him, with her hands tangled in his hair.
Severus wasn't sure what it was, but old memories of Morgan's fantasies and their night at the muggle inn seemed to convulse and meld in his mind, until all he could focus on was her blush and her scent and her warmth when they were skin to skin.
There was his arm around her, as she was tucked next to him in bed. They could wake up every morning that way. There would be teaching at school and going home to the smiling Morgan, where he was safe and wanted. Where Harry Potter was just another student, and Lily was just a portrait of an old friend hanging in the hall.
His arm itched.
Snape had to turn away. He couldn't let himself get diverted. If Morgan knew what he knew about her, she wouldn't be interested, then he would just get back to work and back to his life. "Are you familiar with legilimens, Morgan?"
Morgan tensed. Her eyes lost their glazed look and her blush deepened. "Yes."
He wandered over to one of the benches and seemed interested in the ingredients there as he spoke, "You...don't always need a wand to cast legilimens. If a person is...open enough, it is fairly easy to slip into the mind. Undetected...in some cases." A knot was growing in his stomach.
"And?" Morgan hadn't moved.
"I think you're intelligent enough to understand the implication."
"You've been looking into my thoughts?"
Snape idly flipped through a nearby book, "Since your sixth year in Hogwarts."
There was a long silence "And what did you see?"
Severus turned to look at Morgan. He had expected her to be angry - he wanted her to be appalled and betrayed, so that she would never want to speak to him again. Maybe he wouldn't be so distracted by her if she hated him. But her voice had nearly broken and her eyes were moving rapidly over her old desk. He wanted to take it back, but he knew he shouldn't. The knot tightened.
"When you approached me at that pub, Morgan, I don't think I would have accepted if I hadn't. I wouldn't have believed you were...interested. But all those thoughts you had here in school..." No, no, what was he saying? He needed a firm resolve. He needed her to leave.
A strange look seemed to pass over her face, but it was quickly replaced by some happy realization. She burst into laughter. Severus was taken aback; he had never heard Morgan laugh.
"This is embarrassing," she finally faced him, "I'm sorry. It must have been so awkward in class."
Severus smiled despite himself, "I was glad when you graduated. I dreaded ever bringing it up to you."
Morgan reached out for Snape's robes and pulled them together, "Were you interested in me, as a student, Professor?"
Snape quickly put Morgan at an arm's reach, "It would have been entirely inappropriate. But, I will not deny that it did make me think differently of you as an adult. Though the age difference is another issue."
"We're ten years apart. It's hardly a generation, Severus."
Snape removed his hand from her shoulder and wouldn't meet her gaze. There was a slurry of thoughts in his head now. He had confessed, and it hadn't changed anything. Indeed, the knot that had been there was becoming that fluttering that settled in his stomach and groin. His fingers tingled. But there, in the back corner of his mind, sitting prominently, was his life. What he needed to dedicate his life to. How could Morgan always side-track him like this? Why did he let himself get side-tracked like this?
"I need to return to my work," he said brusquely, as he whirled around back to his desk.
Morgan waited until he was seated before saying, "Whatever you've seen in my head should tell you how I feel about you, Severus. Even if it's just a friend for tea, you know where my room is."
A friend for tea.
Severus couldn't help but watch her leave. She never looked back.
Severus found Morgan in the storeroom early the next morning, just as he was heading out for breakfast. She looked washed, but still disheveled. She didn't look like she had gotten much sleep, but he recognized the determined glint in her eye and knew that it hadn't been because of their conversation.
Severus had woken up with a splitting headache; spending most of the night going through letters from old Order members had left him more than cranky.
"Good morning, Severus. I'll be out in a moment." She continued to shuffle through the uppermost shelves.
"And, what are you searching for?" He couldn't help his tone. He felt like being rude.
"Boomslang. You used to organize it with the powdered bicorn horn."
"It was moved after I noticed someone was stealing from the stores."
Morgan slid down the ladder, "Could you spare two centimeters? Again, I can replace it later."
Snape narrowed his eyes, "What exactly is the urgency? I know you could have acquired any of this yourself."
Morgan searched his face, "All I can tell you is that I'm brewing something for a very practical purpose, and the sooner I can set it to brew, the better. Something like boomslang is difficult to acquire for anyone." She opened her mouth to say something more, but stopped herself and just stood smiling.
Severus could easily see it in her mind, "It's also a very good excuse to come and see you." she had wanted to say.
Severus turned on his heel, muttering something about getting the skin. With everything that was going on in his life, having Morgan around was almost surreal. He could almost fool himself that he had the time for romance. Romance? He scoffed at the word. He pulled at his memories - those fortifications that Dumbledore always hinted at - to remind him of what to focus on.
But when he returned to the student's storeroom with the jar of Boomslang, all he could see was Morgan's legs and hips, curved against the ladder. She was up at the middle shelves now, tapping jars down with her wand.
Severus cleared his throat, "I hope this is all you need from my private stores?"
Morgan had her wand between her teeth as she descended and just nodded in the affirmative. She gave a gruff 'thank you' before she turned to a table to begin measuring out ingredients. He remembered the look, the coldness she had when she was engrossed in her work.
Severus stood there, watching her. It was easier to admire her without her looking. He wanted to reach out and touch her, because when they were together his past was just a memory - something he could look on almost fondly, instead of harboring the pain.
He left without another word. His headache persisted throughout the day, worsened whenever he saw Potter or Karkaroff, and was still there when he woke up the next day.
And there was Morgan in the storeroom again, grinding things together in a mortar. He watched her from the door, and the same feeling crept up his neck. She muttered to herself as she worked, and often rapped her fist on the table, before writing something down in a little notebook.
Snape approached her quietly. He pressed himself against her back, his arms on either side of her. He felt like he had done this before, but knew that it was just something he had seen Morgan think of. And that was the issue. After spying on her fancies for two years, it was like their relationship had really had progression. He admitted that to her - he bent his head down so that his lips were near her ear and whispered it.
Morgan had tensed, but as Snape spoke she seemed to relax. Slowly, her hands creeped over to cover his own, her fingers lacing into his.
When Snape finished he kept his head stooped to her. Morgan turned her head to kiss him.
Severus liked that it was so easy to kiss her. She made just enough contact, and alternated between softer and rougher kisses. He felt that it didn't really need to go anywhere at that moment - just being intimate with her was enough.
Snape pressed his lips to hers again, and lingered there until he realized that his headache had soothed down into a dull warmth at the base of his skull.
The feeling lingered, even as he went through breakfast and his first class. But in his second period, a Ravenclaw had caused a cauldron to implode, which quickly threw him into his usual dour mood. He was scolding some first years just before lunch, and as they hurried out the door, he caught Morgan smiling at him.
She was leaning against the wall at the back of the class. A few more students were still lingering around.
"Is there a reason you're skulking in my classroom, Miss Wallis?"
"I'm sorry to interrupt, could I get some things from the storeroom, Professor?"
The last few students filed out as Snape followed Morgan to the storeroom. Snape watched as Morgan scanned the bottles.
She was already getting ingredients down and placing them on the work-table, "Can I come and see you tonight?"
"I'm grading papers tonight, are you free tomorrow or…?"
Morgan caught his lips, and dipped her tongue into his mouth. She pressed firmly against him, with her hands pulling at his robe collar. Severus' hands were at her hips, and slowly moved down to fondle her backside.
"Are you free right now?" she smiled.
Severus' eyes flitted to the door only briefly to see that it was locked, before he nodded, still holding Morgan close. She pressed against his chest lightly and he released her, carefully watching her move. Morgan removed her pants, folded them, and put them on the work-table; she pulled the ladder closer and locked the wheels, before climbing up a single rung, and turning to face Snape.
His eyes had locked on her underwear; he hurriedly approached, his hand spreading over Morgan's stomach, beneath her shirt, before raking it down over the front of her pubic mound. They were the same height now, and Severus could easily lean forward to kiss her, as his thumb drew circles along the edges of her underwear..
His fingers slipped around the cloth and into her, eliciting a small gasp. Her knee was rubbing against his growing length.
"You were watching me think of you like this for two years in school," Morgan smiled, "You should tell me something equally embarrassing." She began unbuttoning his shirt.
"Ah, hmn…" Snape was looking around the room. He had his hands on her waist now as he thought. He could easily say he had a very different school life compared to Morgan. Morgan was already at his last shirt button when he said, "I took the picture you drew on your last day of classes."
"Oh!" Morgan's surprise quickly shifted into a smirk, "Oh, did you like it? I'd always wondered where that went."
"I may have...stimulated myself with it."
Morgan's smirk grew; she slid his coat and shirt off, letting them fall to the floor, "Where?"
"Here." Severus unbuckled his belt. He thought he had never seen Morgan so gleeful.
"Would you like to re-enact it?"
Severus Snape and the concepts of this magical world belongs to J.K. Rowling / Warner Bros. Only Morgan Wallis and aspects of this character are original.
