I felt cushioned from all sides. From the back it felt like the pillow softness of man-made cushions. In the front the cushion pressing against me felt rigid and bony but still somehow soft. I could smell the oddly comforting sour smell of brewing potions. My nose was cold. I scrunched it and released, it felt like it took a few moments for the skin to smooth out. My toes were cold, too. Very cold. I could barely move them.
I opened my eyes to find my head resting on Severus' chest. His billowy robes were draped over my shoulders like a blanket. The candles around the room had been reduced to small stubs in pools of wax. The flames were dim and some were extinguished completely.
Suddenly it seemed my brain was finally awake and I immediately felt a rush of panic.
"Severus." I said placing a hand on his chest and shaking him. "Severus, wake up."
He took a deep breath and his eyes fluttered open. Once his sleepy eyes rested upon my face a tired smile stretched across his face.
"We have to get up." I said in a hurried tone. "Do you have any idea what time it is?"
Severus' relaxed energy quickly changed when he too must have realized where we were. He hopped off the couch taking any warmth I felt with him.
"We have to go." He said looking at the entrance to the tunnel.
"We have to clean up." I said gesturing to the mess from the party.
"No one comes here." He reasoned. "We can clean up later."
"We clean now." I said placing my hands on my hips, I dropped them to my side when I realized how much like my mother that stance was.
"I mean," I began. "It's still dark out and we're already here, might as well take care of it now."
I walked quickly to the table and tapped it three times with my wand while muttering an incantation under my breath. The food disappeared. I blew out the stubs of the remaining candles.
Severus stood watching me as if he was unsure of what to do with himself.
"Will you roll up the Unicorn poster?" I asked him taking a candelabra in my hand and rushing off to the room in which I found it.
When I returned Severus had rolled up the poster and picked up the ripped bits of paper from his gifts. I picked up my scarf from the floor and tied it around my neck.
"Would you help me move the table?" I asked placing my hands under the edge furthest from him.
"Locomotor table." He said pointing his wand in my direction.
The table rose off the floor and I moved quickly out of the way feeling slightly ashamed for not thinking of using magic myself.
"It just goes in the next room." I said pointing at the darkened doorway.
He disappeared into the blackness with the table floating in front of him and reappeared a moment later.
I did a final scan of the room and everything appeared to be in the right place and nothing was left over from the party. I patted my hands over the pockets of my robes and felt my wand and the small snow globe against my hands. I picked up the rolled up unicorn poster.
"Let's go." I said and I blew out the last remaining candle. It was a bit shocking how much light that small flame was able to give off and the darkness was disorienting.
"Lumos." Severus said illuminating the room.
I entered the tunnel and soon Severus and his bright wand were next to me. I felt his palm brush against mine and his fingers intertwined with mine. His hands felt warm against my cold skin.
"Why did you let me fall asleep?" I asked.
"It was the first time I'd seen you not talking." He said after a moment of thought.
I looked up at him and saw him smiling at down at me. I gave him a nudge with my elbow and rested my head on his shoulder as we continued through the tunnel.
A few moments later I stared up at the opening that led out from the Whomping willow. I let go of Severus' hand and took a step towards the opening only to have my hand seized and my body twirled around and pulled into Severus. He bent his head and placed his lips hard on top of my own. His fingers sunk into the skin of my arms as he held me tight and close. I lifted my hands and rested them on his waist. I liked the way his slender but muscular form felt under my fingers. I felt my heart sink when he finally pulled away.
"Goodnight, Ruby Winston." He whispered in my ear, his lips gently brushed my ear sending an electric wave all through my body.
Each time I had to leave him it became more and more difficult. The intrigue he once had had now turned into a complete magnetic pull. I wondered when it would finally happen that the attraction was too strong from which to pull away. It was certainly not tonight as he watched me leave the tunnel. I forced myself to drop his hand before I made my way to the front doors of the castle.
I could hear the rapid crunching sound of footsteps through snow when Severus finally emerged. My heart bounced and I hoped he was running after me to give me just one last kiss. My lips tingled in anticipation. When I turned around I saw that he was running to the part of the castle that contained the passage down to his classroom as I knew he would be but it was no less upsetting.
I was well within the castle before I remembered that my hands and feet had been cold. Fingers and toes were now throbbing and burning. I was sure that the skin under my fingernails would burst through the barrier like magma through the cracks of a volcano.
I wasn't sure how late it was but there was no one in the corridors. The castle had a deep silence that I had never heard before.
I turned down another hallway when I heard the faint melody of the school song. I noticed the sound was getting clearer and closer. I dodged behind a doorway surround jutting out from the rest of the wall. I peeked carefully around the corner to see Peeves floating down the hall with his arms full of something.
"Hogwarts, Hogwarts, smelly hoggy Hogwarts." He sang gleefully as he dropped a small black orb into a vase standing against the wall.
He continued in my direction singing his song and I plastered myself against the wall hoping that the shadow cast by the doorway would conceal my presence. He dropped another orb at the base of the door way I was hiding next to and I lost the ability to breathe. He was going to see me and make a big scene about me being out of bed.
He floated past still singing, apparently too preoccupied with whatever mischief he was in the middle of to notice the student in front of him. Once he was gone from sight my heart began to beat again. I took a step out from by hiding place to be greeted with a pair of glowing yellow eyes.
"Mreow." Mrs. Norris growled and ran from me to no doubt tell Filch.
"What is that?" I heard from around the corner and flung myself into the corner on the other side of the doorway.
There was the sound of many things hitting the floor and he reappeared at the end of the hall. Mrs. Norris was headed to the other end of the hall.
"Not this time, my feline foe." Peeves said and launched himself off the cat.
There was the sound of scuffle during which I held my breath. Peeves reappeared grasping a flailing Mrs. Norris by the tail.
"Let's see if cats have the same aversion to paint as they do to water, shall we?" He suggested to Mrs. Norris who was hissing and clawing madly.
I heard Peeve's maniacal laughter after he disappeared from sight. Soon I could not hear him nor the cat's hissing.
I quickly scurried from the hallway and made record time for arriving at the door knocker outside Ravenclaw.
I knocked once very quietly awakening the eagle. It blinked a few times.
"No admittance at this time." He said before closing his eyes again.
"No, no, no." I said knocking again. "I need to get in."
He opened his eyes and sighed. "We hurt without moving. We poison without touching. We bear the truth and the lies. We are not to be judged by our size. What are we?"
It was much too late to solve a riddle like this. My fingers still throbbed and my body ached with wanting rest. My mind was still half with Severus. I searched my entire vocabulary as I searched for words that might fit. I repeated the riddle over in my head hoping that one part would jolt something into place.
"Hurt without moving." I repeated out loud hoping it would help. "Poison without touching…they don't move or touch…they are both truth and lies…"
That part made me jerk my head out of thought. "They are truth and lies that don't move or touch and meaning isn't based on size! Words, the answer is words."
The door popped open and I raced inside. The common room was empty and the fireplace was only dimly glowing embers. I tip-toed up the stairs to the dorms and I headed to my bed for my .
I went into the bathroom for a soak in the tub to warm up. The water felt like fire on my toes, I was sure I would blister. As I warmed up I began to think the water was even a bit on the chilly side. I was too tired to try and refill the tub with warmer water. I decided that snuggling under the covers was how I would warm up the rest of the way and the soak was a good starting point.
After I put on my I quietly went back to my room and hid my dress I had been wearing back in my trunk. I buried myself under my blankets and wiggled my feet hoping the friction against the sheets would warm them quicker. I pulled the covers up to my chin and rolled the edges over my fingers for added warmth.
My head sunk into the pillows and normally the feeling of being bundled and sinking into my bedding would have been bliss but I couldn't help but think of how secure it felt to be cradled against Severus. The weight of his robes draped over me was better than any blanket at making me feel at ease. I moved my right hand from under the roll of covers and placed it on the pillow next to my head. I spread my finger and pretended they were splayed across his chest as they had been not long ago. I could almost hear the gentle beating of his heart as my eyelids drooped lower and lower.
"Ruby…" I heard drifting quietly somewhere.
"Ruby." It was louder this time and I was slightly more aware of existence.
"Ruby." I opened my eyes and squinted in the brightness of the sunlight.
Susan was sitting next to me on the side of my bed. I felt as though I had only just gotten to bed and she was already waking me up.
"Where were you last night?" She asked.
"Defense Club." I mumbled as I rubbed my hands over my eyes.
"That's what you say." She said eyeing me suspiciously.
"What's that supposed to mean?" I asked with a tone of defense in my voice.
"I mean that I waited in the common room for you until after one in the morning." She said bristling. "I don't think a school club would be out so late, especially considering how early you all started."
"Well, clearly it did." I said faltering already.
"And another thing," She had the sound of attack in her voice. "Why is it that no one seems to have even heard of this club?"
"I told you not to say anything to anyone!" I argued.
"You did." She said. "But you're there so often now and I figured at least someone else had to have heard of it, but no one has."
"I told you it's a very selective group of people." I explained.
"That's the thing though," Susan countered. "I asked Professor Edgewoode if it was really a good idea to have defense club so often since O.W.L's and N.E.W.T's are approaching and he looked at me as if I were crazy and had no idea what defense club was. I know you said it was his idea so it just seems odd that he wouldn't know about it."
I could feel my throat closing. I choked on words but all that came out was sputtering.
"So I'll ask again." She announced. "Where were you last night?"
"You're not a member so I'm sure he just…"
"Stop it!" She shouted at me. "Stop lying to me. What could you be doing that's so horrible that you can't tell me? Even after I've caught you in the lie."
"You'd be surprised." I tried to play like it was a joke but Susan wasn't in the mood. "Look, Susan, you have this way of over-reacting and to be honest a normal reaction to my secret is more than I can handle from anyone. Maybe I'll tell you eventually but to be honest the secret that I hold isn't completely mine alone."
She leaned back and the tension released in her shoulders as her attack drained. She shook her head. "You don't have to tell me anything. Ever."
"Susan?" I asked questioning her tone.
She stood up from my bed and walked calmly to the door. "Because we aren't friends anymore."
"Susan!" I shouted and flung myself from my bed only to be entangled in my covers, I fell to the floor. "Stop."
I heard the door close while I was struggling off the floor and when I stood up the room was empty. I sat down on the edge of my bed. 'This isn't anything new' I tried to convince myself.
She's done this sort of thing before. This is exactly what I was talking about when I brought up how she over-reacts. Maybe I shouldn't have said that. She'll come around by the end of the day. She can never stay angry with me for very long.
I was still so tired. I wrapped myself in my covers and slept through breakfast and lunch. I felt so groggy when I finally did decide to get up I thought I would have been better if I had just gotten up after mine and Susan's argument.
I got dressed, grabbed my bag of homework and headed down to the common area to work on it. Susan wasn't there and I guessed she was in the library or somewhere with Mark. I sat down and studied until I noticed others leaving for dinner. I had completely forgotten about eating and realized that the last thing I had to eat were the few bites of cake before presents.
The first thing I did once I entered the Great Hall was look for Susan. I saw her sitting at our usual spot and I immediately rushed over to her.
"I'm sorry." I said as I sat down. "I shouldn't have said anything about you over-reacting."
Susan didn't look at me.
"I might tell you eventually what I'm up to but if I don't then it probably didn't amount to anything." I explained. "I just don't want to bother you with something like this if I don't have to, it's for your benefit, really."
I saw her jaw clench before she pushed her plate of food away and stood up. I followed her as she walked over to Mark and tapped him on the shoulder. He stood up and gave me an agitated glance. He hated me. I wondered what Susan had told him. She hadn't even spoken to me, she hadn't acknowledged me whatsoever.
Maybe this time was different. Maybe this time she meant it.