Chapter 116: Snapes and Formidable Witches
{A/N: Here's Another Update...}
My Thanks To All My Readers And Reviewers...Enjoy-S.S
{"I'm so en-captured, got me wrapped up in your touch...Feel so enamored, hold me tight within your clutch...How do you do it? You got me losing every breath...What did you give me to make my heart bleed out my chest?...I feel we're close enough...Could I lock in your love?...I feel we're close enough...Could I lock in your love?...Now I've got you in my space...I won't let go of you...Got you shackled in my embrace...I'm latching on to you..."} Latch, Sam Smith/Disclosure
The Grounds,Hogwarts Castle, Wizarding World...
Cautious whispers followed Phaeron Snape as he made his way across the grounds. His face an expressionless mask hiding the determination that had been the sole reason for his coming back to this place. The dream he had of his elder brother had brought back the clarity he had been lacking when his emotions got the better of him and it had severely hindered his thinking. The young raven haired wizard made his way toward the Slytherin dungeons his mind already racing with possibilities concerning the elusive Dreamstride Potion. The Potioneer in him simply couldn't wait to get started collecting ingredients and the analyst in him couldn't await to collect data. It had all been for the sole purpose of finishing his father's work and creating the one potion that could save the elder Snape's life. Harry Potter's wretched curse would be lifted and his family could finally have the peace that had eluded them for far too long.
The young Slytherin had not been back long before he was joined by Scorpius Malfoy whom had a worried look upon his face.
"I take it you have been well informed." said Phaeron setting to work unpacking his books.
Scorpius nodded.
"Father and Grandfather made the announcement this morning." he replied his gray eyes shimmering with what appeared to be unfallen tears. "I-I want to help too."
Phaeron arched an eyebrow at this.
"Harvesting the ingredients for this potions is not going to be a simple task." he warned his younger "nephew."
Scorpius' gray eyes hardened.
"I don't care." he said his emotions getting the better of his cool Slytherin demeanor. "I want to help uncle Severus...even if it's a small role."
Phaeron smiled at the younger Malfoy.
He could see the hurt and determination on the younger blond wizard's face.
"Very well." he replied with a sigh. "You may assist me."
Scorpius smiled warmly.
"I-Is he alright?" he asked thinking back to what he had been told of his great uncle's illness.
"Father is as well as can be expected from what mother tells me." replied Phaeron. "Which isn't much to go by I'm afraid...father wouldn't be too keen on allowing her to see how he was truly feeling and she would not want to discuss what she believes to be his condition in a bid not to upset me further."
Scorpius sighed.
"I figured as much." he replied knowing them all too well. "What of Potter?"
Phaeron finished flipping through one of his numerous books and sat down at the provided study desk.
"What about him?" he asked thumbing down the page that held his interest.
"He's responsible for all of this mess." said Scorpius bitterly.
"Indeed he is." replied Phaeron without looking up from his book. "And he is going to help set it right..wither he knows it or not."
It was the younger Malfoy's turn to arch and eyebrow in the wake of this new development.
"I beg your pardon?" he asked with his arms folded across his chest.
"Potter's assistance is going to be beneficial to father in the coming days." replied Phaeron. "Though he is not yet aware of his role in all of this."
Scorpius shook his head. Phaeron had been all about data and analyzing...like his mother when on the verge of a break through.
"I-I suppose." said the younger Slytherin wizard. "But your attempt on his life is well noted."
Phaeron seemed positively bored with this conversation.
"Away with you Scorpius...I've got studying to do." he said dismissively.
Taking the apparent hint, the younger Malfoy made his way out of the dungeons.
The Snape Residence, Muggle London, England...
The scent of jasmine and the soft tickling feeling of a certain witch's bushy brown hair had been the first thing a half-sleeping Severus Snape noted when he opened his obsidian eyes. He had not been aware of how long the two of them had been asleep on the family sofa but he had already started to feel the familiar sensation of numbness due to her slender body pressing into his pale lean form. He had been expertly bandaged as if Madam Pomfrey had come on visit from Hogwarts and with the gritty taste in his mouth he knew the sleeping witch had managed to shove a few potions down his throat.
Feeling him shift about, Hermione's amber eyes opened. Her blurry vision had been met with a weary smile as Snape softly stroked her cheek. He had no idea what the bushy haired witch had been up to as of late but he had a feeling the determination behind her gaze meant she had been on to something.
"Hermione." he said pleased to be home again.
In answer the bushy haired witch pressed her soft pink lips into his pale ones. It had been a sweet and gentle kiss as she had not wanted to cause him any pain while he was recovering.
"I've missed you." she said resting her head against his bandaged chest.
Snape sighed knowing all too well what she had been feeling.
"Is there ever a day that you and I could have where there is not some manner of crisis that needs our immediate attention?" he asked.
Hermione laughed.
"I don't suppose there is." she replied wishing as he did that they could. "Although, there will be plenty of those once we get you well."
Snape had not held out much hope in that department.
"Hermione..." he began.
The amber eyed witch knew how he detested false hope and had not wanted to get into the details of Phaeron's plan. She pressed a finger to his lips and met his gaze.
"Severus...please." she said exhaustion clearly in her tone. "Let me...let me have this...at least for now..."
Seeing that his wife needed the hope that he would be saved even when it seemed impossible, Snape elected to keep his mouth shut. He had not want would could very well be the last few moments with his wife to be filled with bitterness.
"D-Do you need some assistance?" he said just wishing to spend as much time with her as possible. "I've notice you had a list of potions ingredients on the desk...are you brewing?"
Hermione smiled noting that he could actually be put to work on this little project given his expertise.
"T-That would be lovely." she replied. "Perhaps we could do it together?"
Snape took the hand that had been resting against his chest and brought it to his lips. She sighed happily as he kissed it and pulled her closer toward him.
"Perhaps...Mrs. Snape...fortune will smile kindly upon us once more." he said trying to appear optimistic at least for her sake.
"Perhaps it will." agreed Hermione fighting to stay optimistic herself.
She had no other choice really, the alternative was in-visioning a life without Severus, and that she simply could not do.
The Grounds, Hogwarts Castle, Wizarding World...
Phaeron had been half-way through two of his newly acquired books when he looked up to find Lily Luna Potter staring back at him. Her brown eyes filled with sorrow. She had heard from Scorpius that Phaeron's father had been ill and possibly dying. She knew that it had been her father's fault and that Phaeron must have been greatly enraged at the moment. She had not known what to do when Phaeron shunned her in the wake of her father's actions coming to light, and their encounter at the Hog's Head Inn had stayed with her for quite some time. She knew the older Slytherin wizard had been under the control of that nasty witch Bellatrix LeStrange and had elected to avoid him for her own safety.
Now, he had been sitting at the lake in the very spot his father frequented in his youth reading a book rather intently.
The red head Gryffindor witch gathered her courage and made her way over toward the dour young wizard. Her family seemed to only cause his a good deal of pain and she sought to change that. Out of all the Potter children, She had the most vested interest in Phaeron Snape, although Albus Severus had shared his house and been a close friend of his.
"W-What are you reading?" asked Lily in a bid to make conversation.
"It's a very complicated Potions journal." replied Phaeron without looking at her though his voice had a hint of annoyance.
"Really?" asked Lily actually impressed. "Who's it written by?"
"My father." replied Phaeron looking up and meeting the younger witch's gaze.
Lily seemed to be further impressed as she invited herself to sitting at Phaeron's side.
"Your father seems really cool." she said with a weak smile. "I-I'm sorry he's sick...I heard my parents talking...they said it didn't look good...Mom is really upset with my Dad."
"Naturally...your brainless git of a father deserves not only her ire but the ire of everyone else." said Phaeron looking rather confused when he met the younger witch's gaze. "But there is nothing that can't be fixed with the right medication...father will be fine."
"That's good to hear." said Lily pleased. "I hope he does get better."
"T-Thanks for your support." said Phaeron not sure why he found himself suddenly uneasy in the wake of her kindness. "I'll be sure and relay it to father the next time I see him."
Lily smiled at him.
"You're still the strangest boy I've ever met." she said pleasantly.
Phaeron turned his attention back to his father's potions journal. He tried to ignore the pleasant scent of lilac that had been coming from the red head witch as he read. His father's words had become difficult to decipher with Lily being so close to him. His mind traveled briefly back to that kiss she had tricked him into. She had been quite cunning for a Gryffindor witch, perhaps the sorting hat made a gross miscalculation placing her in that wretched house.
Lost in his thoughts, Phaeron had not taken notice of Lily scooting rather close to him and vaguely did he register the warmth of her slender frame as she rested her head against his shoulder. The young raven haired wizard simply continued to ignore her as she wrapped her arm in his and looked down at the journal.
His heart rate had increased and his palms began to sweat as he gripped the journal not wishing to acknowledge what the young witch was doing to him.
"I think you just might become a Potions Master Phaeron." she said sweetly. "You obviously have the dedication of one...and the way you chop ingredients..."
Phaeron arched an eyebrow as he listened to the witch speak but battled himself to ignore her. Had she been serious?
"I...I..." he started not able to form the words.
Lily smiled shyly.
"You know I really enjoyed that kiss." she admitted. "Despite how it turned out...I guess it was alright for a first kiss anyway."
Phaeron couldn't believe what he was hearing.
"F-First...?" he started. "I...I had no idea."
"That's alright." she replied looking out over the lake. "You being my first kiss makes up for the delivery...I suppose the proper Gryffindor thing to do would be to apologize for tricking you into it..."
Phaeron stopped reading and met her dreamy eyed gaze.
"But I'm not." she replied with a smirk. "Is that bad?"
Phaeron couldn't help but to laugh at this. She had truly been a mischievous little minx.
"No." he replied. "That's not bad at all...well perhaps to a Gryffindor it would seem as such...but not to me, we Slytherins don't believe in wasted opportunity."
"That's good to know." said Lily. "Because neither do I."
Phaeron had attempted to get back to his book when she suddenly tackled him and pressed her soft pink lips against his firm pale ones. The raven haired Slytherin found himself kissing her back for all the good fighting himself did.
The Snape Residence, Muggle London, England...
The soft cushion of the mattress pressed against Severus Snape's exposed pale back as he looked up into the heated amber eyes of his bushy haired wife whom had been towering above him breathing just as ragged as he had been and equally sweat blasted. As spent as she was it did not stop her soft pink lips from crashing into his pale ones with intensity that made him feel as wanted by her as the first night they shared his bed down in the Hogwarts dungeons. He ran his fingers through her bushy hair as she pressed her slender form into his lean pale body.
Snape let out a groan feeling himself slip from her warm depths and she leaned back onto the bed. He attempted to catch his breath as she rested with her stomach pressed against the mattress and her back to him. The Potions Professor smirked and scooted closer to his wife trailing frequent kisses along her exposed flesh as he did.
"That Mrs. Snape...was the highlight of my evening." he said meaningfully.
"Really?" she asked stroking his sallow pale face when he turned to face him.
They kissed briefly and Snape sat back against the headboard.
"I suppose you becoming my wife was the highlight of my life." he said in a serious tone. "You've turned my entire world on it's ear with a single hand, witch."
Hermione smiled. It was rather strange considering how they had began this whirlwind romance.
"And to think none of this would be happening if Dumbledore hadn't forced you to marry me." she said thoughtfully.
"You give that old meddling sod too much credit...as I recall it was a certain bushy haired, know-it-all that insisted on this marriage." said Snape folding his arms across his chest. "She simply appealed to Dumbledore's sense of superiority to get it."
Hermione couldn't help but smile again.
"What can I say...It was a good deal." she said with a smirk befitting a Slytherin.
Snape shook his head.
"That boy is in serious trouble if he finds himself in the cross hairs of a witch like you." he said thinking of his elder son.
Hermione arched an eyebrow at this.
"I beg your pardon?" she said not at all understanding what he meant by that remark.
It was Snape's turn to smile as he caught her off guard with a kiss of his own.
The Grounds, Hogwarts Castle, Wizarding World...
James Sirius Potter had been on his way across the grounds when he happened upon his baby sister and Phaeron Snape by the lake. He had been watching them from afar curious as his sister approached the raven haired Slytherin who appeared to simply be reading. He had not really known how to feel about the Slytherin git. He had been his enemy for as long as he could remember and yet, when the git went and got himself hurt, James had no choice but to do the honorable thing and help get him to the infirmary. Possibly out of consideration for when Phaeron saved his life during the Quidditch match.
But this...this whatever it was with his sister was going too far.
Snape Jr. had crossed the line.
"THIS IS NOT HAPPENING!" shouted James II enraged beyond reason as he gripped his wand and started toward Phaeron and Lily.
The red head witch pulled away from the stunned raven haired wizard.
"J-Jimmy." she said with her eyes wide. "Don't!"
Phaeron had barely registered what she had said when he felt the sudden and painful sensation of a hex hit him square in the chest. The wide obsidian eyes of the Slytherin wizard held all the confusion and aggravation of someone who had not saw this coming and wished they had.
"AHHHHH!" shouted Phaeron clutching his chest.
"Keep your greasy hands off my sister!" shouted James II.
"Leave him alone James." said Lily gripping her own wand and glaring rather murderously at her brother.
"You stay out of this Lily." growled James II. "No greasy Slytherin git is going to get away with snogging my baby sister."
Phaeron got to his feet feeling the stinging sensation of the malicious hex sent by James Potter II in his chest.
"James...I SAID LEAVE HIM ALONE!" shouted Lily flicking her wand almost effortlessly. "EXPELLIAMUS!"
Phaeron's eyes widened when he noted James Potter II had gone sailing into the lake with the giant squid. Apparently the little witch had been quite formidable when she wanted to be.
James II found himself splashing about in the murky water in a bid to avoid the squid's tentacles. With another flick of her wand she levitated her elder brother from beneath the slick surface of the lake and onto dry land.
"That was low Lily!" he shouted. "I would have expected something like this from the git...but you?"
Lily simply shrugged.
"You may go now James." she said dismissively.
Phaeron simply smirked at the shameless effort she put into humiliating her own brother.
"This isn't over Snape." spat the elder Potter child bitterly. "You can't hide behind my sister forever."
"He doesn't need to hide behind me." countered Lily still very annoyed at the antics of her older brother. "I simply like making you look like the idiot that you are."
"Nicely done." said Phaeron when James II stormed off dripping and furious.
"I'd like to think so." replied Lily.
She helped him gather his books as he noted the time.
"I guess I'll be getting back to Gryffindor tower now." she said.
"Yeah." said Phaeron noting the dreamy look in her eyes. "I guess you should."
Feeling much more confident, Lily kissed Phaeron on the lips once more before taking her leave of him.
The raven haired Slytherin looked down at his books. He could still taste the hint of peaches from her girly lip balm on his lips. It seemed that Lily Potter had been a very peculiar young witch. As he sat back down to continue his studies, Phaeron noted that he had not been too bothered by that aspect of her mysterious personality.
He had not been bothered by that at all.