Chapter 19: Before the Start of Term

Severus never made it to the dinner table that night.

The moment he apparated into Rose's sitting room, as they discussed, Rose practically jumped on him. She was so young and enthusiastic, everything Severus was not. Yet both their bodies ached with the longing of their new found need for each other.

Before he knew it, Severus stared up at the bedroom ceiling. Rose was draped over him, her hair sprawled across his bare chest. He contently stroked her spine with his long fingers, still only half believing that he was there.

Rose's bedroom looked as though someone tried to give it personality, but instead just made the room look generic. Anyone could have lived there. Rose had a few pieces of pine furniture, white walls, and bedding. She had taken the time to hang a few boring, scenic, framed posters, as if to make the flat look lived in. She was unsuccessful. Everything about the flat suggested to Severus that Rose spent little time there.

He imagined that she spent as many hours as possible at the hospital, trying to keep herself busy, trying to not have to go back to her actual life. Severus knew exactly how that could be.

"Dinner was lovely," Rose joked into Severus's chest.

Severus smirked. "Was this just to distract me from sampling your cooking," he teased.

"That was my evil plan all along," Rose said, rolling her eyes. Since last night, she found that she was not really that hungry for food.

Severus began to come to Rose's flat every day. Rose, having high status at St. Mungo's, got out of every nightshift. She would apparate into her apartment, dressed in her healer's robes, fully expecting Severus to be waiting for her on her sofa, flipping through one of her books.

She watched the clock at work, anxiously anticipating being with Severus. She never looked forward to leaving work before; she used to dread it after Tiberius died.

On days she was not working, they spent every minute together.

Severus still revealed very little about himself to Rose. She had hoped with all the time they spent together that he would suddenly just tell her everything. That was just wishful thinking. To be fair, at least half of their time together was spent not speaking.

Rose did, however, learn how to get Severus talking. She asked him questions as if she was his student and he would lecture away about potions, defense against the dark arts, charms, and transfiguration. Anything she was ever even slightly curious about Severus seemed to know. Rose could tell when Severus got excited about a topic, he would talk a bit quicker and his voice would go up in volume ever so slightly. Severus seemed to like having a captivated audience in Rose. He was in his element talking about academics. He would look at Rose smugly as he spoke. Severus was quite the show off, Rose realized. She would never tell him so, for she didn't want him to stop. She liked listening to him speak and to learn from him, but mostly she liked to see him happy.

They never ventured outside Rose's flat. She would cook dinner for them and he would assist her. Rose liked to watch Severus in the kitchen, to see his long-fingered hands meticulously cut, stir, and brew. It gave Rose only a glimpse of Severus's skillset in potion making.

One day at the end of August, Rose asked Severus to help her replenish her potion stores. Being a healer, Rose had an extensive background in potions herself, but it was nothing compared to Severus. Rose quickly learned that Severus was not only skilled, but he was also a very bossy potioneer.

"Crush the roots," Severus told her. "Don't cut them."

"The directions say cut," Rose told him.

Severus gave her an exasperated look. "You will get more juice from the roots if you crush them," he explained.

"But-"

"Who is the potion master," Severus interjected, "me or you?"

Rose laughed and crushed the roots. They did release more juice this way. Rose slid her gaze over to Severus.

Severus arched his brows at her. "Your brews could be better, if only you could think beyond the pages in front of you," he told her.

Rose snorted. "Is that your profession opinion, Professor Snape?"

Severus sighed as he added a few drops of newts' blood to the cauldron. "I will have to go back to being Professor Snape shortly." He threw a glance over at Rose, trying to gage how she felt about this. When term began, their time together would become briefer.

Rose produced a little sad smile. "I know," she said. She touched Severus's arm lightly. "Will you enjoy being back?"

"Not one bit," Severus assured her as he tossed a few herbs into the brew.

"Severus, surely-"

"If you met the imbeciles that I'm forced to teach, you would understand," Severus told her.

"Well, I will resent all those children for keeping you from me," Rose teased.

Severus pulled the cauldron off the flame and set it to the side to cool

"I will miss having you around," Rose muttered.

That was what Severus was waiting to hear. Before Rose could take another breath, Severus was pulling her into his arms. He did this without reservation now. It took a few weeks, but Severus finally seemed to grasp that Rose wanted to be near him; he still didn't understand why, but somehow, she did.

Rose wrapped herself around him. She found that she fit perfectly, her head tucked underneath his chin.

"How much will you miss me?" Severus breathed into her hair.

"So much that it will physically hurt me," Rose answered.

Severus pulled away slightly, but did not dare let her go. He looked into her eyes. It had become his habit that every time she said something so sweet to him, he would survey her large brown eyes to see if she was being truthful. Of course, he found the same thing every time he looked; Rose had no room for deceit in her eyes.

Severus took her by the hand and led her over to sit on the sofa.

Rose rested her head on his shoulder, their fingers intertwined.

"We will see each other weekly," Severus said flatly.

Rose nodded.

"But between those times…" he reached into his robes and pulled out a small parcel wrapped in brown paper. He handed it to Rose.

She sat up straighter. "What is it?" she asked

Severus rolled his eyes at her. "Why don't you try opening it."

Rose smirked and unwrapped the little bundle. It was a circular mirror, slightly larger than the compact that her mother carried in her purse, but it still fit in Rose's palm. Rose held the mirror up to her face, but she did not see herself. The reflection was dark.

Rose looked at Severus curiously.

He held up a finger for her to wait. He reached into his pocket again and pulled out a second mirror. He held it up to his face.

Rose looked into her mirror again. Where it was once dark, Severus's reflection appeared before her.

Rose grinned over at Severus. "That's brilliant," Rose told him.

Severus gave her a tight lipped smiled and stowed his mirror back in his pocket. He reached out to cup her face in his hand. "I just thought that if you need me or wanted to see me…" he trailed off, feeling foolish.

"I love it," Rose assured him, pressing her cheek into his palm. "And I love you."

Severus swallowed. He could never help but be surprised by her words. "I love you too," he whispered back. He pulled his hand back. "That mirror," he began, his voice taking on a firm tone, "you will keep it with you always."

Rose's brows knit together. She gave Severus some grace, but she was never a huge fan of men or anyone telling her what she must do. "Why?" she asked.

"I thought you just said you liked it?" Severus said drily.

"I absolutely do," Rose said. "But you want me to carry it around with me everywhere I go?"

Severus examined her. "Yes," he replied, chewing on the word. He had just given her a gift, why was she making things difficult?

"It first seemed that this mirror," she played with it in her fingers, "was for us to use when we missed each other. But suddenly, it feels like it will be a way for you to keep tabs on me."

Severus brought his hand to his temple. "That was not my intention," he said through clenched teeth.

"Do you not trust me?"

Severus let his hand fall. "Merlin," he swore. "Why can you not just…"

"Just what, Severus?" Rose said coldly.

Severus grasped Rose by the shoulders, as if suddenly fearful she would leave; he did not like her looking so cross with him. "Look," he said, trying to make his voice calm, "let me explain." He paused as if waiting for Rose to object. Her eyes were narrowed, but she stayed quiet. "You were right. I did have ulterior motives to giving you the mirror, but it's not what you think."

"What is it then?" Rose pressed.

"That day in Diagon Alley," Severus explained, his voice growing bitter, "I will never erase that from my memory."

"Severus, but I'm fine."

Severus shook his head. "I cannot be with you all the time. Who's to say that something like that will not happen again, especially if you are going to associate yourself with me."

Rose frowned.

"If you need me," Severus continued, "I will come find you no matter where or when. That is why I gave you the bloody mirror."

Rose looked at him for a moment and then wordlessly slipped the mirror into her pocket.

"Thank you," Severus sighed, pulling her into him again. Rose curled up against Severus, resting her legs over his so that she was practically in his lap. Severus held her tightly to him. "Just so it is clear," he told her, "you are the only one I trust." He pressed his lips to the top of her head.

Rose smiled into his chest. She was going to miss him terribly.

DEAR READERS,

Please review. I really could use some ideas on different scenarios for Rose and Severus. What do you think this far? And THANK YOU for reading!

Thora Jane