Chapter 18

Owls swooped over the Great Hall all carrying parcels and letters of sorts. It was near the end of the breakfast as students held out their hands to receive the dropped and discarded items raining down from the sharp talons. As owls approached the Gryffindor table, Riley sat laughing at the antics from the latter evening during the Quidditch Cup celebration in the Gryffindor Common Room. Remus flanked her side, listening as Riley recounted to a very embarrassed Sirius all of which he had expelled to her in his drunken and merry state. She was impressed in the manner in which he took the teasing, taking note of her anecdotes with his head in hands. His wavy hair sat laced between his fingers as Riley turned to Remus and gave her best show of pushing Sirius' lips away with her hand.

"I am so sorry, Riley." Sirius muttered into the palms of his hands. "I'm just grateful Snivelly didn't witness that or I'd be hexed to Azkaban and back."

Riley grinned at him and patted him gently on the top of his head with an outstretched hand from across the table.

"There, there, Sirius. I'm glad he wasn't there as well to witness that spectacle." Riley chuckled, her blue eyes sparkling mischievously.

"My head won't let me forget it." Sirius mumbled, rubbing his temples.

Just then a golden envelope fell into Riley's hands followed by the quick arrival and departure of an unfamiliar owl. Remus' light brown hair fell in front of his eyes as he looked over eagerly from Riley's right side. He swiped his hair back with a free hand and looked at Riley curiously.

"Well, open it." He said quietly gazing at the metallic sheen.

Sirius even picked his head up from his hands to look at the glistening paper. Riley nodded and flipped the envelope over. She peeled back the wax seal and opened the flap carefully. She took out a single piece of parchment and unfolded it. With a quick second's glance, a realization flooded her face and it drained of color. Remus and Sirius looked on with anticipation, awaiting her reaction and the answer to their silent questioning stares. Her mouth opened and closed much like a fish but no sound erupted from her lips. Suddenly, noise came out of her mouth in a strained tone like someone had forgotten to fix a leaky pipe.

"I-I-" She uttered, staring at the paper, her eyes wild in thought. Remus and Sirius leaned closer to hear the noise and to possibly see the ink upon the stark white parchment.

"What, Riley?" Sirius said, trying to curtail his eagerness.

Her eyes of blue flashed suddenly and it was as if she had been wakened from a long slumber. She stood quickly with a jump from the seat, standing behind the bench. She gripped the letter tightly and looked at the boys with wide, black-rimmed eyes.

"I have to go tell Severus." Riley shot out abruptly at the two surprised faces.

She dashed out of the hall unexpectedly, turning on her heel with the letter crushed in her fist. Her chestnut bob bounced on the back of her neck as she ran from the Great Hall. Nearly Headless Nick raised his index finger to chastise the young girl for running in the Hall but gave up easily seeing the feral look in her eyes.

Sirius and Remus looked at each other with quizzical expressions. Sirius rolled his gray eyes before setting his face back down into his palms. Remus stared at the top of his friend's wavy haired head.

"Do you think she realizes everyone knows she's in love with Severus?" Remus asked thoughtfully.

"I don't think she's even admitted it to herself, Remus. How else could she resist my charms?" Sirius said, smirking ruefully through the webbing of his fingers.

"Ha, this is what you call your charms, hm?" Remus laughed, poking his friend with his index finger.


Riley ran down the stairs, further and further into depths of the castle, careful to take the staircases before they switched their paths. She still clutched the golden envelope and the parchment in her grasp as she took the steps two at a time. She followed her own trail down towards the Slytherin dungeons, knowing Severus' schedule routinely. He was a stickler for convention and ate his breakfast rather early due to his poor sleeping habits. She knew he'd be getting ready to leave the dungeons soon for his first class and that she could intercept him on his way out. She arrived by the Slytherin Common Room entrance, trying to be inconspicuous by studying the portraits on the nearby walls. She was knowingly glared at by a group of third years as they sauntered out from the wall to the hallway. She ignored their stares and tapped her foot anxiously awaiting the exit of a tall Severus Snape.

She didn't have to wait long as she looked at particularly odd painting of a cow in a pasture.

"You're in the wrong hallway." A cool voice said quietly, giving her goosebumps as she felt the person's warm breath tickle her ear. His deep baritone voice rippled pleasantly through her body like a knife spreading honey on toast.

"Severus!" She said, twisting her body quickly around from the painting, facing him. He stood close to her so that her back was to the wall. He loomed over her, his dark hair framing the sides of his face as his black eyes glittered humorously at her. She momentarily forgot the reason for her presence down in the dungeons as she studied his handsome face and his large difference in height. His black brows drew together as he waited for her to speak. His cheekbones and Roman nose gave him a regal appearance as if he were an ancient dark king. It blew her mind that he still took her breath away regardless of how intimate they'd already been. The tension reverberated between their two bodies as if they were magnetically charged.

"Riley?" He asked, trying to prompt her speech. He dipped his gaze down and looked suddenly at the golden letter clutched in her hand. Riley looked down at her own hand, seeing the sweep of his eyes and held up the letter in one quick thrust.

"I'm in!" She cried, suddenly remembering the reason for her trek to the bottom of the castle. She grabbed Severus by the front of his cape and threw herself into his arms. "I got the teaching apprenticeship!"

She jumped up in down in his arms wildly like she had just won the Quidditch World Cup. He looked at her with an amused expression watching the girl bop up and down. As quickly as she started, she stopped and began looking into his eyes rapidly with her blue eyes, searching for an answer.

"Did you get a letter too?" She said abruptly, still clutching her letter and Severus' cape. Severus rolled his eyes and dug a long fingered hand into his pant pocket. A golden letter slid out of the pocket and into his hand. He held it up for Riley to see as she ripped it out his hand, releasing his cape from her grip. She wretched the letter out of the envelope before he could say anything and unfolded it. Her swift blue eyes flew over the words written gallantly in the finest of quill ink. Finally, her eyes shot up to Severus' face and a grinned stretched over her tanned, balmy face.

"You're in!" Riley cried loudly, so that the portraits around them stared in irritation. She jumped up and down repeatedly again, grasping his hands in hers like a child excited about going to the candy store. She laughed loudly and spun around in front of him, throwing her hands in the air.

"We're going together!" She squealed in a very un-Riley-like tone, resembling a fame hungry teenager. Severus stared her now with an embarrassed coloring creeping on to his face, her display growing a little too exuberant for him. His eyes fluttered back and forth to the entrance to the Slytherin dungeon and he reached over to capture the excitable girl by her shoulders. He used his height to his advantage as he led her further down the hall towards an alcove hidden by the shadows of the lower floor.

"I'm not sure I want this apprenticeship." Severus told the enthusiastic girl, holding her arms by her sides to keep her from jumping again. "I have to consider it first."

Riley ignored his words, knowing that he was inflexibly negative about positive outcomes. She looked at him with an even wilder expression, her cheeks growing flushed at her own thoughts.

"We could live together. Outside of school!" she blurted out unable to hold back anymore. Her eyes grew wide and incredulous, almost in awe at her own words.

Severus' face reddened once more at her outburst, surprised at her boldness. He was in shock of how blunt she was and that she was considering living with him. His face grew crimson as he began thinking about the possibility of being with the girl he fancied all the time, without restrictions. Her words always came at him abruptly and sporadically so that he had no time to ready his occlumency shields. Riley looked at his face and toned down her glittering eyes with concern.

"But if that's too much," She babbled, in an anxious sort of energy, "We don't have to…I don't think my parents would approve anyways. With us not being married—" Riley reddened too, "Not—not that I'm saying we should get married. That's silly. We're only 18. I mean—that's crazy—"

Severus was silent as he placed a gentle index finger upon her cherry lips to subdue her babbling. She was nervous, excited, and anxious and apparently could not control her mouth or her thoughts. She stared up at him with huge orbs for eyes, waiting for a response from her crazy burst of verbal contemplation. He could tell that he needed to choose his next words carefully staring down at her, seeing the hopefulness in her eyes. This was a lot for him to consider, never imagining that anyone would want to live with him. Thinking about the fact that someone would tolerate him long enough to be around him for more than a day. So he changed the subject, uncomfortable with all the emotions that surged throughout his body.

"What about Quidditch?" He said in a very firm tone. "Have you considered that you might still be scouted?"

Riley's wide eyes returned to their normal size as she scrunched up her face grumpily. His current questions were not the words she wanted to hear. She did not do well hiding her feelings as she stared up at him.

"I'll worry about that when that happens, if that happens." She said in an annoyed tone, annunciating the "if" strongly. She set a firm determined look in her blue eyes and looked up at him expectantly, awaiting for him to chime in about their living situation. He grew internally frustrated at his failed attempt to distract her and noted the quick way her expression changed. For as much as he internalized, she equally expressed herself in a very physical way, her face like a mirror that had been enchanted to show her soul. He sighed and gave in knowing that he would be given thwarted glances for the next several days if he did not response to her comment.

"You want to live with me?" He asked her with an irritated puzzled expression. "But you'll have to see me all the time."

Riley's face grew even more frustrated and she shook her head, rolling her eyes.

"Merlin, Severus, you make it sound like I'll be entering an infirmary with the plague. This self-loathing stuff is getting old."

He silently glared at her as he loomed above her.

"I love you, you ass." She said angrily.

Severus' face was wiped clean of any anger as he stared down at her in shock. Too irritated to be surprised by her own words, she placed her hands on her hips. Severus stood silently as he studied her face, his eyes searching her eyes for something that told him she was joking. Nothing looked back at him except for sincerity and irritation. It dawned on him that she wanted nothing in return for this verbal revelation and he took her again by the shoulders and pressed her against the stone wall in the alcove. He pinned her to the wall with his hands and took her lips in his, kissing her deeper and deeper without taking a breath. He heard jeering behind him as some of his housemates passed by them in their embrace. He ignored their remarks as they left the hall and continued to kiss her as she kissed him back furiously. Her hips began to press into his from the wall as he gently parted her lips, growing too eager with their interaction.

"If we lived together we could do a lot more of this." She said breathlessly in a tantalizing tone. "It would be a great way to settle all of our disputes."

An unexpected laugh rose from Severus' throat and he kissed her forehead in reply still smiling.


a/n: Thank you as always to my loyal readers and welcome to any new readers! Your enthusiasm brightens my day!