Punish me, Professor, I dare you

by StephanieFlora

Reader is a student at Hogwarts, and a super rebel with Snape. She gives him hell in every way she can to break his stern behavior, she teases him until he breaks out of his character. The reader has a secret power she keeps under a veil, even from Snape, but a certain attack leaves the both of them vulnerable which triggers a whole new set of changes. This fic is a Power Struggle.

15. Control your emotions

Chapter 15

Control your emotions. Discipline your mind.

Waking up next to my potion professor, naked under the covers is something I never thought I would experience. It's just something magical in seeing his peaceful resting face, his closed eyes now revealing just how long his beautiful eyelashes are. The potioner's steady breathing soothing my senses in the semi-dark room, the sun barely rising. As I lift my head a bit off the pillow to look around, I notice an old-fashioned clock on the wall, reading almost seven. Snape's private chamber is quite simple, not as complicated and filled as his office; a spacious room, one single window on the far left, with a plain desk under it. Sand-color brick walls, dark brown carpet, black stone floor. From the entrance door to the right, Snape has a huge library and a wardrobe, the right-side wall half-covered in books. Facing the door is the medium sized bed, covered with dark green velvet, so this is the first thing a person sees upon stepping in. The black wood bathroom door is between the bed and his desk, situated almost in the corner. And finally, a modest fireplace can be found vis-à-vis the bathroom, facing the bed also. Simplicity is the code here; it seems like Snape likes to keep things uncluttered in his private room. The contrast between his office and his bedroom is noticeable; he keeps both places organized, but the office is home to many many bottles, vials, ingredients; it is loaded with objects on shelves and there is barely a free spot in that place except for his desktop. Even that has papers, books and rolled up parchment laid out on it. But here, everything is clean, simplified, and you have space to move freely without accidentally knocking something over.

My eyes drift back to the potion master next to me, pleasurable little ants crawl all over my skin as I bask in the thought that I just spent the best night of my life with the man I longed after for so long. 'He's so handsome' I think as my gaze follows the shape of his nose and cheekbones, his black wavy hair embracing his face beautifully.

"Thank you for the compliment." he mutters suddenly, with his eyes still closed, and I'm taken aback by his unexpected comment.

"I thought you were sleeping, how did you—?" I bite the end of my sentence, watching him slowly opening just one eye at me in a smug style.

"I already told you; your mind is too open. I can easily hear your every thought, without making an effort. I must start teaching you how to close up your mind, otherwise we will be vulnerable. Especially after last night." He turns on his back, yawning in his palm. As he brings up the topic of last night, I start to search for any sign of regret or unease in his voice and expression, but luckily, I find none. A sigh of relief.

I sit up in the bed, covering my torso with the blanket, and I happily note that the stickiness has disappeared from between my legs, Snape must have cleaned me up after I got knocked out by exhaustion. I can't allow myself to become pregnant this young. This serene morning atmosphere is very much to my liking, and I wouldn't mind waking up next to my half-blood prince more often to enjoy some cuddly, lazy time together. But, we're still far from that. I am somehow at a loss, now, that I got what I've been yearning for, now, that the feverish night is over, I feel satisfied, but it's like I'm left with a huge question mark inside. Hovering. I lost control of the situation from this point on, there's no magic anymore to prompt the potioner to do my bidding; to have an excuse for making the master do naughty things to me, to tempt him into sin. If he wanted, he could tell me off in a heartbeat now, and I couldn't say a word against it, which is the source of my anxiety at the moment. I'm terrified of rejection, since we got to such a delicate junction in our student-teacher relationship. I still have a few unanswered questions inside me, regarding the future. How will we proceed from here? Was this a one-time thing? Are we going to return to our daily life, like nothing happened, or can I hope for some kind of relationship blooming from this point on? After crossing the forbidden line, what are we now?

"Um… professor, how do you feel… about last night?" I attempt to get the serious conversation about feelings started, but Snape dodges my high ball, sitting up next to me.

"Professor, is it?" he smirks, "You may use my first name when we are in private. It's only fair, considering you're sitting in my bed, naked. Although, you already used my first name quite a few times until now, without my permission." he says, throwing a side-glance at me, and I blush at his exposing words, feeling a bit embarrassed.

"But returning to your question, I say, it is too early for a topic such as this, so how about we take a bath first? After, we can sit down and place our thoughts and feelings where they belong." he reaches out his hand to me, and I hesitantly put my hand in his. I'm pulled flush to his bare chest, and I gasp at the sudden skin-on-skin contact, but my mouth is silenced by his lips, giving me a tender kiss.

"Good morning." he says in that irresistible sexy tone, goosebumps covering me instantly.

I'm led into the spacious bathroom, the huge window exactly leveled with the ground outside, looking to the Black Lake. As I run my eyes over the place, the mood of it gives me the type of feeling you have on a darker rainy day, but also carrying a comforting tone. The dark brick wall gives off a melancholic vibe, however, the neat decor delivers an uplifting touch to the ensemble. A great white tub opposite the window in the far end, white sink next to it, a cute humidity-loving plant running up the wall, the toilet a bit farther from the tub, and two towels hanging on hooks between the sink and the tub. Looks like Snape has an elementary style in his private life, but when it comes to his teacherly side, things become a bit more complicated.

Warm water fills the big tub, Snape gets in, pulling me along, placing me between his legs, with my back to him. The warmth relaxes my muscles; however, my mind is still a disaster with all the thoughts and feelings racing in my headspace, and I'm slightly irritated by my own adolescent angst, and the fact that I can't enjoy these moments to the fullest because of it. The potioner probably notices my chaotic state, because I feel his right hand sneak up between my breasts, resting his fingers on my clavicle, and he pulls me back into his chest. I blush at the sudden closeness, especially when I can feel his morning wood press into my lower back, the tingle returns to my abdomen as I hear his raspy morning baritone in my ear.

"Do you trust me?" he asks delicately, and I can't help but notice how often he makes me reassure him about my trust. I guess he's not used to people placing their full faith in him, which saddens me to no end. I nod.

"Close your eyes." he instructs, then I feel his other palm on my forehead, pushing my head back onto his shoulder. His fingers slide down, over my eyes, shielding them from light, and calming my senses at the same time. "Now, I will teach you how to silence your mind. This little exercise will benefit us in future occlumency lessons. It is quite difficult to master, but once you do, you will gain complete control over your thoughts, and it will become more and more challenging for anyone to enter your mind palace." my teacher explains, his breath tickling my earlobe, and his fingers drawing small circles on my skin below my neck.

"Did you manage to master it?" I ask, but immediately realize the stupidity of my question. He's a skilled Legilimens, of course he's an expert in silencing his mind. Still, he answers with a chuckle.

"I deceived the Dark Lord for years, what do you think?" he whispers sensually, a small kiss is placed below my ear, and I shudder into the intimate touch. My nipples harden shamelessly, as he teases my soft spot with his nose, and soon enough I feel wandering fingers brushing over my bud, soft fingertip rubbing circles around it. I gasp into the air, pulling my knees closer to my chest, pressing my thighs together to calm the growing arousal between them. I can feel the potioner's member twitch a few times behind me, and I swallow hard. How on earth will I be able to concentrate?...

"Since we're in the tub, imagine yourself in water, but make the space around you limitless. See nothing in your field of vision, only the water your body is currently in. Like floating in the middle of the ocean." he instructs, and I comply, picturing my body floating in the middle of an endless body of water. It is a bit scary at first, to be surrounded by nothing, but I manage to create the image and the feeling in my head. "Now, focus on your breathing. You don't have to count it, just concentrate on the way you inhale, and how the air leaves your lungs." I start drawing deep and slow breaths, focusing on the rise and fall of my chest, my airways, and not much time after, I lay completely relaxed in Snape's arms. Severus ceased any kind of soothing movement, he just holds my body motionlessly, letting me drift towards the meditative state he's guiding me into. I lose track of time, but after long minutes of focusing on nothing else but my breathing, floating in the middle of the ocean, I notice that the sensitivity of my hearing increased, since all sounds sound much louder to me than before. The professor drops his voice to a mere whisper, being fully aware that I entered a different state, and I'm much more sensible.

"Good girl. Now make the water disappear around you, and just levitate in nothingness." I try to follow his instructions as best as I can, fading the fluid wrapping my body, and interestingly, I barely notice the water in the tub anymore. Snape's body is gone too, it's like I lost my sense of touch, but at the same time that sense was heightened a hundred times. I'm levitating in a null space both in my head and in the real world. Incredible, how the body can actually feel what the mind projects on it. I stay in this absolute silence, just existing in everything and nothing at the same time, but the weirdest thing is, my mind doesn't produce any kind of thoughts in this state. No impulses, no opinions, nothing. After what feels like hours, the dungeon bat breathes his words into my ear, making sure not to startle me.

"I can't hear any of your thoughts. Congratulations, you reached complete stillness of the mind. Now come back slowly, focus individually on each limb, and try to move them a bit."

I gradually feel my body coming back to the potioner's bathroom, I'm flexing my muscles in my fingers and my toes at first, then coming upwards, my whole being is back in the tub with the bat. After I come to my senses, Snape removes his hand from my lids, me squinting a bit as I turn my face toward him. He caresses my forehead, and says with acknowledgement,

"Acceptable performance, for a first try." my forehead is caressed by the master's hand, his eyes following the lines of my parted lips. His comment triggers laughter out of me, and I glance back at him, shaking my head playfully.

"You just can't give a proper praise, can you?" I chuckle, "Been fighting for one for three years."

"If you ever see me genuinely praising you, just assume someone took my form with Polyjuice potion. I think my arm would actually fall off if I uttered words of recognition." he says with a smirk, and I smack the back of his hand on my chest.

"Don't even joke with that!" my voice turns into a sad whimper, the memories of that horrible night coming back to me. Snape tightens his embrace around my torso, and kisses my cheek while I pout with a frown.

"You did well." The professor breathes the words in my hair, and my chest warms up from the small compliment. He takes a sponge and a bottle with herbal soap from the little corner-shelf above our head, and starts coating my body in foam, the smell of citrus herbs filling the air.

"Do you remember the state you were in, before you came back to your senses?" I nod, as he rubs the sponge over my arm. "Your goal is to reach that state while being awake and active. While holding a conversation even." he explains calmly, but I freeze, my eyes pop wide open, and I turn around abruptly, utter shock on my face.

"Are you serious!? How on earth will I be able to enter such a delicate state? I need to be still for that! Not to mention my hearing is much more sensitive in that case!" I say in a panicky manner, my brain already flooded with the fear of never being able to master such difficult mind control.

"Practice makes perfect, little minx." Snape turns my body back assertively into its previous position, as if telling me 'stop moving around so much, and let me bathe you properly'.

"Have you ever heard me raise my voice?" he asks out of the blue, and at first, I don't understand what he is hinting at, but after a few moments, I gasp in realization, looking back at him in awe. It makes so much sense now!

"A man with a perfectly still mind doesn't need to raise his voice. The louder a person behaves, the greater the chaos in their head. Once you silence your mind a bit, you actually start to pay attention to your surroundings. Silence the racing thoughts and control the chaos, so you can observe the outer world, thus making you aware and present in the moment."

I soak up the potioner's words like the sponge in his hand, which by the way somehow reached my inner thigh, and the next thing I see is Snape placing the sponge on the tub's edge, and sneaking his hand back between my thighs, tracing his fingers over my folds. His other hand kneading my soapy breast, like some dough, making me whimper in the now steamy air. The warm water splashes a bit around us as my body involuntarily reacts to his touches, the potioner expertly making me squirm with his fingers. How did we get from philosophy and teaching to pleasuring each other in such a short time is beyond me, but all I know is that I'm living for the small circles his finger is currently drawing around my swollen pearl. I drop my head back on his shoulder with a moan, and when my slippery nipple is pinched, I hiss at the pain mixed with pleasure, biting my lower lip in the process. I'm grinding myself in his palm and fingers, his stiff member caught between my lower back and his abdomen, my hip's movement providing friction for him as well. He draws a sharp breath, enjoying the sensation his cock is getting. My mind is dominated by his being, all I can think of is his skilled hands on me, and how desperately I want to reach a trembling climax in his embrace.

"Try silencing your mind now." he says sensually, tracing his tongue over my earlobe.

"Huh?" I'm not able to form coherent words, my vocabulary was flooded by the throbbing need under his fingers.

"Come dear, try it. I can hear your filthy thoughts and exigency for release. Silence your mind. An expert is able to control herself even in the greatest heat of the moment." the bat turns my head toward him, looking down in my eyes, giving me a sloppy, salacious kiss.

But I'm not an expert!... I whine internally as his tongue plays with mine, teasing and pleasing me, but no matter how hard I try to shut everything out, my body is screaming at me to do the opposite; she wants to feel the potioner as much as possible, and enjoy every second of his heavenly touches. At least I'm consistent in being a rebel. Even my body is doing what she wants. Snape's breaths come in a staccato manner too, I can sense, the master is as close to his peak as he can be, only a few more rubs, and he'll be swimming in bliss with me. I fail miserably as my orgasm rushes through me prematurely, exploding too soon in the arms of my professor; and I moan shakily in the mouth of my torturer, riding out my climax, bucking my hips into his hand. With my shaky body pressed to his chest, I feel him tense up, his member twitching behind my back, he's thrown over the edge too, warm seed landing messily between my shoulder blades and his chest.

We lay in silence, with sweaty foreheads and racing hearts, trying to catch our breaths, totally spent, first thing in the morning.

"Is this what you call control? That was subpar." the bat throws the smug comment to me panting, and I lazily slap my hand on his face, fingers open, like an octopus.

"Shut it, Severus, you came too." I say with a grin.

"How dare you talk to me like that?" comes the muffled words with fake outrage from under my palm, and I burst into laughter. Snape starts tickling my sides which enhances my giggles, transforming it into smaller squeals, and soon I'm balled up between his thighs, shielding myself as best as I can from his tickling attacks. When he ceases the siege on my vulnerable parts, his arms snake under my breasts, hugging me tightly, burying his face in my hair, his nose poking my nape.

"Let's rinse ourselves, and get out. I say we're clean enough."

We sit on the dark green velvet covering of the bed, facing each other, now dry and fully clothed. I took my rendezvous dress back on me, since I didn't have anything else to change into, and Snape dressed up almost ritually in front of the body-length mirror placed on the inner side of his wardrobe door. I watched him with adoration as he fastened each button on his cassock, (though I loved watching his bare chest more) and prepared himself for the day, knowing that this afternoon the school will be lively again with students returning from the winter holidays. So now, looking in his eyes, my anxiety rises again in my chest, anticipating the bat's words.

"You asked me how I felt about last night." he begins, with a soft but serious expression. "But first, let me ask you, since I took your virginity… how did you feel?" I hear a slight concern in his voice, maybe he thinks his performance was bad? Or I wasn't satisfied? I could barely lift my head at the end, for Merlin's sake!

"Don't worry, it was better than I could ever ask for. I loved every second of it, you gave me a beautiful first time, Severus. I'm truly happy that I gave my innocence to you." my voice dies down at the end, such strong emotions swirl inside me at the moment, gratefulness, respect, admiration, the feeling of this strong connection finally established between us. I'm touched to my core by the tender handling this man presented me with, and whatever he will say now regarding our future, I will keep this as my prized treasure.

"I want you to know, I feel honored that a gorgeous girl such as yourself decided to offer herself to me, and I'm grateful for your feelings. Knowing I could give you a night filled with pleasure and nice memories is certainly satisfactory for me. I'm glad last night turned out the way it did. However…" Oh boy. Here we go. I grasp the skirt on my thighs, bracing myself for the absolute worst-case scenario. He'll just say that oh, yes, last night was fun and all, but we should just stay teacher and student. Maybe deep down he felt obligated anyways because of the ancient magic. Oh dear, my head hurts.

"I cannot offer you a relationship you wish for." Oh no, Merlin, please don't make me go through this… I squeeze my eyes shut, the piercing pain starting to push through my heart, but he continues.

"What I can offer you, however… are meetings." my eyes pop open, I look at him like he's an alien or something.

"Wait. So, you're not cutting ties with me?" I ask utterly shocked, and I manage to surprise even the professor with my question. He has a face of disbelief, and after a longer pause, he retorts,

"Just how cruel do you think I am? Did you honestly think I'll throw you away after I just took your most precious possession!?" Oh, dear god. I hurt him. With my stupid assumptions I managed to step in his pride and now he thinks I portrayed him like a monster in my mind. How can I be so thoughtless? Panic shows its head inside me, I started to make mistake after mistake, I can't think clearly because of my stupid fear of rejection, and I'm just digging my own grave with this foolish behavior. Get it together.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to hurt you, I just…" I sniffle, the accumulated tension leaving my body in the form of tears, "I was so scared of you rejecting me…" the small drops lazily make their way down to my jaw, and I bury my face in my hands in shame. Snape sighs.

"Come now, how could you think I wanted to send you away after what we did in the bathtub? If I planned to get rid of you, I wouldn't have invited you for a soak now, would I?" he has a soft reproaching gaze but an understanding tone, and I can't do anything but blink up to him with my wet lashes.

"See, another great example demonstrating why you must learn to control your mind. If you let your fears take over you, that results in making reckless decisions, and unwanted consequences. This wouldn't have happened if you had a clear mind." he reaches over, wiping a tear from my cheek with his thumb.

"I understand." I squeeze the remaining water from my eyes, smudging it with my palm on my face.

"As I said, due to the positions we're in, all I can offer you, are secret meetings, and even those, not too frequent. I can't even befriend you openly, seeing the students know you as 'my nemesis', on the other hand, I'm not known to make any kind of relationship with students." he illustrates, and I know perfectly what he means. If we suddenly become buddies, that will be too suspicious to anyone, especially since I've been an extreme rebel with him until now. "We shall have to do something about your rebellion too. I'm afraid you have to find an excuse for your schoolmates as to why you stopped your riot against me. As tempting as private time together sounds, I do not wish to continue assigning you detention almost daily." he says with a tired sigh, but my eyes spark up hearing this.

"No! That's it! This is exactly what we have to do! If we want to avoid suspicion, we must carry on our days exactly the same. Maybe smaller pranks and insults, and less frequency, but still, continuing. We can use the detention for our meetings as an excuse, and if someone should catch us together, you can always say you were supervising my detention." I tell him enthusiastically, and for a second, he seems deep in thought.

"Alright. We shall go with that strategy. On another note, I don't think it would be wise to use my office for our meetings outside detention, so we should find a suitable place shielded from curious eyes." Snape says, crossing his arms on his chest. A brilliant thought crosses my mind, but I question if it's ok to give voice to it at first, knowing that if I tell Snape what I'm thinking about, I'll be disrespecting some serious moral rules. However, the desire to have secret rendezvous with my teacher is much greater, so I decide to betray the trust of my people in front of 'the enemy'.

"I really shouldn't mention this to you, or to any other teacher ever… and I'm probably breaking the student code right now…" I begin with hesitation, and the potion master shifts his suspicious gaze on me, eyes slightly wider than normal, with a smaller frown. "…but there's this place here, called the Room of Requirement."

The potioner's face is a mix of surprised and stringent, the newly revealed secret leaving the professor with even more question marks.

"In the castle?" I nod. "And why are you breaking this 'student code' you talk about, by telling me of this place?" he raises one eyebrow in true teacherly manner, and I awkwardly scratch my nape, averting his stern look.

"Because it's a magical place used by students to sneak into when they want to do something that's against school regulation. Like holding smaller parties in the middle of the night or using it as a love nest on valentine's day. Teachers don't know about it, only the fifth, sixth and seventh years are let in on the secret, students of smaller years have their memories wiped by the prefects of each house, so they don't snitch on us." I illustrate, feeling a dot of remorse that I betrayed my fellow comrades, but hey, me and Snape are going to use the room for the exact same reason other students use it: sneaking away. So technically I didn't snitch.

"Where is this room located?" Snape asks seriously.

"Seventh floor. Near the Barnabas tapestry." I look up at him sheepishly. The bat glances on the old clock on his wall, taking a deep breath through his nose.

"Take me there after breakfast."

I watch the stone ground below my feet as I slowly walk toward my dorm, lost in my thoughts. The bell already rang for breakfast, and I plan on gathering Drax to sit down with him and talk over some toast and eggs, asking him about his date, and telling him about mine. Since he planned his date on the same day as me, I'm truly curious how he managed the rich kid. I say the password, the door opens itself, and I make my way quickly up the stairs to my bedroom, but Drax is not in his designated bed next to mine. Maybe he moved back to the boys' chambers? I hurry over to the gentleman's section, grab the knob, and swing the door open, but a surprised gasp leaves my throat as I turn away from the scene before me with a beet red face.

"Sorry! I didn't mean to interrupt!" I cover my eyes in awkwardness, as a certain cherry prince with a bare chest straddles my also half naked best friend on top of the bed. Drax with his back to the wall, Vincent in a riding position on top. I probably just ruined a hot snogging session or foreplay for them, they fly apart upon me barging in, Vincent covering his naked upper body with a blanket.

"Can't you knock?" the redhead barks at me with an even redder face. Drax breaks out in a giggling fit, and gathers Vincent in his arms, hugging him close, closing the blanket on his torso.

"Looks like we have to postpone our fun, darling." Drax purrs to the prince, holding his chin between his thumb and index finger, bedroom eyes looking down to the Slytherin boy in his embrace. "I'll make up for it tonight." he drags his thumb over Vincent's lower lip, and the boy pouts with a blush on his face. "It's alright. Give us a few minutes, please. We'll be the common room shortly." I am addressed this time, and I follow my friend's orders in a hurry, just to get away from the awkward situation. Closing the door, I run down to the common room, and throw myself on the sofa, patiently waiting for the lovebirds to arrive. Well, I can see that their date went quite well, if I can judge by the scene I just witnessed. I can't help but smile at the image of a shy Vincent trying to cover himself. Who would have thought that the school's number one cruel bully actually resembles a bashful princess rather than an evil aristocrat. All of a sudden, he's not so frightening anymore, huh. Of course, I won't make fun of him, even if he did make fun of people close to me, classmates, friends, and many others. I dig my nails in the sofa a bit as I see Drax walk down the stairs with the cherry prince, now fully clothed, put together. I feel bad for interrupting them, but let's hope Vincent won't hold an eternal grudge against me. Drax crashes down next to me, and signals to his sweetheart to join, but Vincent just folds his arms together, and turns his head away from us.

"I think I'll return to my dorm." the boy says awkwardly, a little red tint still visible on his cheeks.

"Alright, dear, I'll see you at breakfast then." Drax sends him a warm smile, but before Vincent could reach the door, I bolt up, run to him, and grab his hand, making him face me.

"Look, Vincent, I'm sorry again for interrupting you two, I hope you can forgive me." I have a weirder smile on me, this is the first time hostility is absent from my tone when I speak to this guy. He always behaved like the ultimate jerk, so I didn't give him any respect during our rare verbal spars, when he decided to drop a snide remark on me or my friends.

"It's nothing." he grumbles with a frown, gaze on the door rather than on me, desperately avoiding eye contact.

"Listen, in all honesty, I don't have anything against you. You can be a very nice guy if you drop your prideful and pompous behavior." I start, putting a rather perplexed expression on the prince. "We could even be friends if you want, since you're with Drax now, and it wouldn't be too good if you date my best friend, but stay on bad terms with me. What do you say, shall we make peace?" I offer him my hand, and watch as Vincent lets a heavy sigh out, hesitating a bit, but ultimately, he slams his palm to mine saying, "Deal." and then he's out the door. I turn to Drax with an outraged but smiley face, throwing my hands in mid air, signaling 'what the hell was this?'. Drax bursts out laughing, then simply says,

"He's not used to kind behavior. It's just his shyness, but he'll come around, you'll see."

I shrug it off, and gesture Drax to follow me to breakfast. We have all the time in the world, if the cherry prince needs time to adapt. My friend stands up, and we're walking down the hallway to the Great Hall.

"So, tell me about your date!" I usher him in a hushed tone. I'm excited to hear their romantic outing, considering it was this big of a success.

"Well, yesterday after you left with the bat, I took Vincent out on a small picnic to the edge of the Black Lake. We were hidden from public, since I managed to find a spot with many willows, the water was deep there, but we weren't planning on taking a bath anyways. I talked with him about his feelings, told him that what he feels is completely normal, he shouldn't be ashamed. In the first period I have to constantly remind him, because if not, he'll close himself up. I asked, when did he start to feel like this, and brace yourself, it turns out, he was attracted to me since second year."

"No freaking way." I look at him, dragging my jaw on the floor.

"Yes freaking way. He managed to hide his feelings so well, no one ever suspected anything! But as I confessed to him in the infirmary, he lost his composure, and didn't know how to handle his overflowing emotions. So, he chose to insult me in order to mask his embarrassment." Drax explains as we enter the Hall, my bat already sits at the teacher's table, giving me a warm and playful look with his eyes. The room is back to its normal look, the four big feast tables lined up next to each other, we'll have a full house at dinner. We sit down next to each other, but somewhat close to the teachers, more specifically to the potioner. I sneakily throw a wink at Snape before we fill our plates, and we continue our conversation with Drax, although now, with the palm-code. Drax has his palm open on the surface of the wood, I'm drawing the symbols. We don't bother to completely hide our hands now, it's partially concealed by our torso anyways; plus, we're almost alone at our house's desk, and nobody pays attention to us. That's what I think at least.

'So, this is why he was a jerk with everyone all these years!' it makes so much sense now. Vincent was ashamed of his sexuality and he vehemently tried to hide it by bullying almost everyone.

'Yes. He thought if the school feared him, then no one will dare to start sniffing around about him. Which wasn't a stupid strategy, might I add. But the saddest part in this, is his father's strict principles. Vincent told me his dad despises any kind of non-traditional relationship, and calls them utter failures of society. If his father ever found out about his own son being gay, I think he would try to kill Vincent.' Drax writes with a sad and scared face, taking a bite of his toast.

'That's horrible. No wonder he was terrified of anyone finding out…' I copy Drax's concerned expression, but as I'm about to receive the next message, I hear Snape's voice crawling inside my head.

"I've never seen a sign language such as that before. Is this your invention?" my teacher asks curiously, and I applaud his eagle-eyes for noticing and realizing what we're doing.

"It's our invention with Drax. We always talk like this when we don't want to be heard."

"What's the matter? You have an awfully sad look on you, did something happen?" asks the bat with a side-glance at my form. I swing my head around towards him for a second, to see him take a sip of his coffee, watching me over the rim of his cup. I face my friend again to avoid suspicion, and I whisper to Drax, "The bat.", responding to his inquiring look. He's still confused, so I quickly jot down my message in his palm,

'Legilimency. I'm talking with the bat.' then respond to the professor too, "It's about Drax and Vincent. I'll tell you later. Your student might be in danger." Severus just raises his eyebrow, but resumes his meal, leaving me to my chat.

'I'm worried about Vincent. We have to be very secretive about our relationship, otherwise all hell will break loose.' he hangs his head in sorrow, and I caress his back a few times, comforting him.

'Don't worry, Drax, we'll figure something out. I have Snape on my side now, we'll think of a way to protect the cherry boy.'

"Quite quick to sign me up on a mission." Snape interjects again, and I throw a frown at him this time. I'm irritated that he just lets himself inside my head without permission, and on top of that, he adds his piece to a conversation which he's not even a part of. "I can still hear your thoughts dear, don't forget that. Especially when you mention me too. Until you learn how to silence your mind, you'll be an open book to me, so if you want to be mad at someone, be mad at yourself." the potioner has a smug smile and my frown deepens as I stick the tip of my tongue out to him, when no one pays attention.

"Mind your behavior, miss, or I'll make sure to put that tongue to good use." the bat threatens with a smirk, and I chase him out of my head, although he awakens a wave of want inside me with his suggestion.

"Please let me talk with my friend in peace. We have important things to discuss."

"Like gossiping about having sex with the dungeon bat?" he chuckles inside my head and I send him an angry look over the table.

"Get out. Shoo." my tone is irritated and serious, but Severus just sinks his gaze in mine, saying,

"Make me."

I tear my eyes away annoyed, and offer my palm once more to Drax, massaging my temple in the meantime.

'That was quite a serious chat between you two, based on your expressions. And since when can you use legilimency so expertly to have full on lectures with him in your head!?' I chuckle at his dumbfounded face, but usher him to finish telling me how his date went.

'So yes, we talked a lot, mainly about his family and emotions, I told him a few of our stories from childhood too, but we got surprised as a mermaid suddenly emerged from the water.'

'A mermaid?' I ask wide-eyed.

'Yes. I was left speechless too. We approached the water, and the girl came close to the shore. She looked young, almost a child, but we got scared when she asked us if we were lovers.'

'What the hell!?' I read his message in absolute confusion.

'Her voice sounded beautiful, it had an enchanting vibe, and I decided to tell her, yes, we're lovers. Of course, Vincent gave me a nasty look, but technically we were halfway there, no?' Drax shrugs, smiling, and I snort at his laid-back style.

'Yeah, you were.' I chuckle.

'So, the mermaid tells us to wait, she disappears underwater, and after a longer while, she returns with two smaller clams, each containing a magical pearl inside. She tells us to wear those, and only open it when the time is right, because it will protect us in a moment of urgency and need. I still don't know how she knew we were there, or why she gave us those clams, but one thing's for sure, the whole scene seemed like it was meant to happen.' his face takes a deep-in-thought form, and I prop my head up on my elbow.

"Tell your friend that those pearls are called the Tears of Nymph, and the clams are magical seals. As soon as a Tear of Nymph is exposed, it starts to evaporate, creating a strong protective shield around the user, until the pearl is gone. As long as you're surrounded by the guarding veil, nothing can touch you, neither magic nor physical assault. Mermaids sometimes come up to the surface, and if they see a person near the lake, they approach them out of curiosity. Since they have strong mental abilities, they're able to read a person on first sight. Should they deem certain people worthy, merpeople give Tears of Nymph to wizards as gifts, showing respect and appreciation in front of a pure and benevolent mind." Snape interjects again, giving an answer to our pondering. I'm still bothered by him listening in on our private talk, but since he so kindly gave us the information we needed, I can't help but feel grateful for his act. So, I repeat the bat's words to Drax, and with shining eyes, he places his hands together, bowing his head to him, signaling a thank you. Snape just scoffs and finishes up his coffee, then standing up, the bat strolls out of the Hall, sending one last message to me,

"See you on the seventh floor after breakfast."

I still smile, feeling a tingle whenever I hear his obscenely sexy voice, and shifting my attention back to Drax, I let him continue his storytelling.

'Then we came back to the castle, it was getting dark anyways. We attended the party, you should have seen it, Flitwick got a bit more drunk than he intended and started dancing with the students to rock songs!' His chest shakes with laughter. 'The kids picked him up and spun him around like a doll, and everyone was losing their mind laughing! McGonagall had to step in and tear the teacher away from the students!' Drax falls onto the desk, trying to hold back the strong cackle fighting its way up his throat.

'And when we all went outside to view the fireworks, I led him away from the group, behind a wall, and snogged him until our mouths got tired.' Drax's eyes light up remembering the pleasant start of year, and I'm full with the giddy happiness he's radiating.

'We stayed at the party until about 1 a.m. and then we got back to my dorm. At first, he was super shy and awkward, he probably thought I'm going to jump him or something, but after he saw me do nothing "dangerous" Vincent finally let himself go, and we talked for like two more hours about our lives and how we should handle each other from now on. He said "well, if you told the mermaid that we're lovers anyways, I suppose we should be together then". He's so adorable!' he clutches the shirt on his chest, overloaded by the powerful feeling of cuteness.

'And I suppose you wanted to take things with him to the next level this morning, but I ruined everything.' I hang my head in theatrical shame, but Drax pats my back with a chortle.

'No, I wanted just some slight petting, don't blame yourself. I want to take things slow with Vincent, seeing that his true nature is quite bashful. I want him to have complete trust in me before we do anything.'

he says, closing his eyes with a warm smile. Then suddenly, like he just remembered something he slams his palm violently on my upper arm, and starts writing furiously.

'But never mind my sorry excuse for a sexual act, you just lost your fucking virginity last night, woman! With a teacher, on top of that! Details! Now! And don't you dare leave anything out!' Ah yes, the gossip-queen is back. I chuckle to myself as I slowly ease into my story, telling Drax our trip to Hogsmeade, the prefect's bathroom experience, and then the steamy night with a banger finish, literally. Drax reads my every word with undivided attention, the farther I get into the story, the more Drax's face turns a deeper shade of red. As I submerge in the delicious memories of yesterday again, my body gets worked up, and suddenly if feels like I have my own inner sauna, the colder air of the Great Hall soothing my heated skin. Finally, as the bell rings, my best friend sits with his hand glued to his forehead and eyes, only peeking out from under it, the blush reaching the tips of his ears, slightly panting. I'm finished with the description, and I watch Drax with a smirk, drinking the last few drops of my orange juice, while the boy is trying to gain his composure back. His fingers shroud his eyes, as his face is deeply planted in his palms, breathing a bit uneven, but it's barely noticeable that he's in a not-so-calm state. After long minutes of silence and deep inhale-exhale exercise, my friend taps my forearm, asking for my palm to write his last message with an annihilated expression.

'Dear Merlin, woman, you gave me a fucking erection. And I'm not even straight.'

Laughter bubbles up from my chest, as I caress his back in sympathy, but my words find their way in his ears through a whisper before I stand up to leave,

"You should learn a few tricks from the master. He knows how to make you lose your mind."

Patting his back, I leave the table, and I'm out the door to run off into a new adventure. A new adventure, like, seven floors above me.