Enjoy kiddies.
Chpt. 14- Why?
Snape glared at Lyric as she sat on the floor rubbing her head. Snape had been carrying an abnormally large book, the title of which Lyric was sure had been imbedded on her forehead. Lyric, too frightened of the Potions professor to move, simply sat on the floor and stared.
"When I say eight o'clock, Miss Dumbledore, I mean eight o'clock. I do not expect you to wander in whenever you damn well please." Snape silently stared at her on the floor for another minute. "Get up, stupid girl," he commanded.
"If you'll just excuse my massive head trauma," Lyric said as she picked herself off the ground. She had been rude to everyone else today; it was hard to know when to stop.
If at all possible, the angry look on Snape's face became even angrier. "There is no running in the halls. Ten points from Gryffindor and I'll extend your detention another week."
"I was running to get to your office," Lyric complained. Upon seeing the look on Snape's face, she quickly added, "Sir," in a much nicer tone of voice.
"Miss Dumbledore, I realize that because of who your uncle is, you don't feel the need to follow that rules as the rest of the students must do. But that sort of behavior will not fly with me. If you ever again speak to me like that, I will recommend that you be expelled. Do we have an understanding?"
Snape's dark eyes were boring into Lyric's green ones. Lyric felt as though he may be trying to read her thoughts. "Yes sir," she said, free of sarcasm. Snape simply nodded, then turned to walk down the hall to his office.
Lyric stood for a minute staring at the back of Snape's head as he walked away. He then turned and looked at the girl, "I believe you're supposed to be following me," he hissed.
Lyric silently followed Snape to his office. His office was much like his living quarters. Random collection of furniture, including a ratty looking brown leather couch and a large mahogany desk that had no doubt been beautiful at one point, but had was now shabby with years of abuses. There was another collection of scary things in jars, some more terrifying than in his bedroom. Bookcases flanked a long table against the farthest wall filled with old potions textbooks. Gloriously absent was any sign of Muggle literature that Lyric had found so intriguing in Snape's living quarters.
Snape nodded to the long table against the farthest wall. It was full of a few random papers and a large tray that contained several vials labeled with students' names. "You'll be helping me test these tonight, Miss Dumbledore. My first years have been having trouble brewing this simple Engorgement Potion."
Lyric looked at her professor with disgust.
"Don't give me that look! Do as you're told or you'll be on the next portkey out of Hogwarts," he barked.
Lyric obeyed her professor and walked over to the tray of potions. She took the out of the first one and lifted it to her lips. Snape grabbed the vial from her grasped and stared in disbelief. "Stupid girl, did you think I wanted you to drink the potion?"
"You said to test them!" Lyric protested.
"Not on yourself! For Merlin's sake, I didn't think any seventh year would be that daft," he insulted. "These potions are potentially poisonous. They were brewed by first years after all, though I now think some of them to be smarter than you. Do you think I'm trying to end your life?"
"As a matter of fact, I do think you've had it out for me since you came to this school. I wouldn't put it past you to kill me!" Lyric shouted. "Though, I'd rather be dead than serving detention with you!"
Snape's voice had calmed considerable. "I assure you, Miss Dumbledore, that if I was inclined to kill you, I would be sure to inflict more pain than a simple poisoning," he hissed softly. "But," he added in a slightly more pleasant tone of voice, "I am not a murderer. However, if you are so inclined to end your life rather than serve your detentions with me, I won't get in your way." Snape offered the vial back to Lyric.
The anger within Lyric wanted to take the potion, just to show up her professor. But somewhere in the back of her head reason spoke up, telling her drinking the vial would not have been a good idea. Lyric silently cursed her sense of reason, as she took the vial from Snape and replace the stopper. Trying desperately to save face, Lyric glared at her professor as she sweetly asked, "How would you like me to test these potions, Professor Snape?"
Snape responded by pulling a large jar out from under his desk. It was filled with greenish-grey goo and it appeared to be moving. "Slugs," Snape said. "A few drops for each should be sufficient. You'll need to simply write down the reactions, I will assign the grade later," Snape slipped a roll of parchment and a quill at Lyric. "You'll want your wand at the ready. Just in case." Snape then turned towards his desk, where he sat down and began grading.
Lyric turned her attention to the slugs. Snape hadn't given her gloves or anything, so she assumed that she was to just reach into the jar and grab one. She bravely reached into the jar and grabbed for a slug. Her hand made a squishing noise as she fished for one of the animals. Lyric brought her hand out of the jar to find a particularly large slug clinging to the back of her hand. She tried to shake the slug off, but it stuck fast. Lyric used the quill to pry the slug off. She wondered if it was too late to take the potion.
Lyric's work was surprising fun, though she didn't dare let on. Few slugs actually grew as they were supposed to. Several had blown out a puff of blue smoke. One slug had burst into brilliant green flames that were cold to the touch, and a majority of the slugs had begun to enlarge, but instead bounced up and stuck to the ceiling.
The room was abnormally silent. The only noise was the occasional squish of a slug and the two quills in the room scratching across parchment. Lyric wished so much that there were music. She had grown quite fond of a Muggle band called The Beatles over the past few years. Unfortunately, she had not figured out a way to play their music without use of an electronic device, so was without them during school. Without really noticing it, Lyric had begun to hum Across the Universe as she worked.
"Will you desist that awful humming?" Snape suddenly snapped in to the room.
Lyric, a bit embarrassed she had been humming, was eager to have another shouting match with her professor. "Since the conversation seemed to be lacking, I needed something to break the silence. You're not exactly good company, Professor Snape."
Lyric regretted snapping at Snape as he practically jumped out of his seat and crossed the room in two long strides. He bent down to her height and put his face very close to Lyric's. She could feel his breath, hot and moist, on her face. She stared into his black eyes and he stared right back. With merely an inch between them, Snape spoke, "What is it that you'd like to discuss, Miss Dumbledore. You breaking into my chambers? You undressing me? You dressing me up and taking pictures?"
Lyric said nothing. She longed to turn her gaze elsewhere, but she couldn't stop looking into those black eyes. The flame from the candle on the table reflected and danced in his eyes. It was hauntingly beautiful. As Lyric inhaled a breath of air, she drew her face closer to his, which sent a shudder through her body to somewhere deep in her loins.
For a moment, Lyric and Snape stood with faces nearly touching, staring at one another. Lyric, unable to stop herself, moved even closer. Lips nearly touching, Lyric opened her mouth slightly, not quite sure why.
Without even a touch, another tremble went through Lyric's body, inciting an intense pleasure and making her heart race. Lyric gasped audibly and closed her eyes as another quiver of pleasure brought sweet release to Lyric's body. She opened her eyes to Snape's black gaze. The fire in his eyes was no longer from the candle, but from within. Snape's expression had softened as he moved himself ever closer to Lyric.
Just then, a slug detached itself from the ceiling and landing with a splat on the table.
Snape immediately drew back, and turned his gaze away from Lyric. His previous demeanor had returned, "You wanted conversation and now you're silent, is there anything you would like to talk about?" Snape then plastered a sour look upon his face, hoping to make up for his weakness just moments before.
Lyric's heart was still racing from the encounter, but she wasn't about to let Snape in on it. "There is one thing I've been wondering," Lyric said pushing her hair back behind her shoulders, hoping to regain some composure, "why haven't you expelled me? In your short time here, you have proven yourself the most feared and hated professor at Hogwarts. Students flee at the sight of you, and even other teachers are scared to confront you. You were given the opportunity to use the ultimate punishment, and you let me get away with detention. Why?"
Snape's sour look faded, "Why did you pull that prank? In your time at Hogwarts, most people have considered you to be kind and good-hearted. Everyone likes you, students and teachers. And yet, you do something that is so petty, so out of character, so cruel. Why?"
"You didn't answer my question," Lyric said.
"I won't answer yours until you answer mine," Snape said, crossing his arms defiantly in front of himself.
"Same to you," Lyric said, crossing her arms likewise.
"Then it appears we are at an impasse," Snape said.
Lyric was about to respond, but the clock struck ten, interrupting her.
"That is all for tonight," Snape said putting the lid back on the jar of slugs. "Shall we meet again, let's say Saturday evening, eight o'clock sharp?"
"Fine," Lyric said walking quickly out of the office. When she got out of view of Snape's office, her legs became rubbery and Lyric immediately sank to her knees. She sat for a minute, fighting the urge to cry. Eventually she got up and walked to Gryffindor, legs wobbling the entire way there.