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A/N: I apologise for not updating for years and years! I'm really enjoying working on this fic again and can't wait to continue Róisín's story. I also went back and edited all the previous chapters, fixing small things here and there. I made no major changes though so don't worry if you don't have the time to re-read . Anyway, enjoy the chapter! Thank you so much to all of you who believed I would continue again! And to everyone who reviews and follows and favs, I appreciate it so much.

Chapter 29: Bicorn Blood

Róisín's feet were a little shaky as she turned the final corner on the climb to Ravenclaw Tower.

"If the exchange rate is five knuts to the pound, and you have three sickles, how many 50p muggles newspapers can you buy?" the eagle knocker asked.

Róisín rubbed her face with her hands, sighed, and conjured a pencil and a scrap of paper. She lent against the door as she scribbled equations. Finally she answered,

"Sixty-nine muggle newspapers."

The door swung open.

"Five minutes, Róisín, not bad!" Richard called out. He was reclined on an armchair with Angus and Eóghan on the couch opposite him, a mountain of buzzing fairy cakes and piles of transfig books on the coffee table between them. "After half an hour we just opened the door for poor Angus here."

"Are you just sitting there judging how long it takes people to do the maths?" Róisín teased.

"Ah sure, Richard's favourite thing tae do is watch fellow purebloods struggle with arithmetic," Eóghan responded, his tongue rolling over his r's. "He thinks he's better than the rest because his parents hired a muggle to teach him sums."

"Well my dad's a maths teacher," Róisín said proudly.

"A maths teacher?" Angus asked, incredulous. "All he teaches is maths? How much maths do muggles have?"

"Oh, you'd be surprised."

Eóghan shot her a knowing grin but Róisín avoided his eyes. In-between her legs still throbbed a little and the sound of Snape slamming his office door was echoing in her head. Richard held out a fluttering fairy cake to her.

"Oh, no thanks, I -" Róisín began, until she smelt the buttery sponge, "Actually, that looks delicious." She took the bun and plonked down on the couch next to the two boys, wincing as she hit the cushion. Richard raised an eyebrow at her reaction and asked,

"Alright, Feral?"

Róisín imagined how they would react if she told them she was sore because she'd just had sex with the potions master.

"Fine."

"So, how come you weren't in class?"

She swallowed her mouthful of lemony-cake while grabbing another and said,

"I got the bookworms." The three boys grimaced and leaned away. "Don't worry! Pomfrey said I'm in the clear."

"Gods Feral, could you for once not be the epitome of a nerdy Ravenclaw?" Richard joked. Róisín feigned shock,

"The cheek of you!"

"You're always catching the bookworms from some weird arithmancy book."

"Ha, well just cus you've never gotten over not being placed in Slytherin like your father…"

"Ooooh," Eóghan crooned at her retort.

"Well, at least he's not the one cozying up to Slytherins on his birthday," Angus muttered.

Abruptly, Róisín's mouth went dry and she swallowed her cake with difficulty. For a moment, no one said anything. Then Eóghan commented,

"Ah got the notes you missed today in charms."

"Oh, thanks, I'll take them from you tomorrow," Róisín replied.

She knew her "everything-is-normal" mask would slip if she didn't retire soon so she nonchalantly grabbed a couple more fairy cakes and said goodnight to the lads.

When she woke the next morning her head was still swimming with vague nightmares; black-robed figures sweeping down on her as she lay paralyzed and silent. She had to plead with her drained body to climb out of bed, fingers crossed that there would be crêpes with nutella for breakfast.

Something red shone playfully in the glow of her bedside lamp. As her eyes became accustomed to the thick winter gloom Róisín realised the house elves had hung up holly branches. In barely a week, she would be home in Dublin for Christmas. She had bought a mini, magically enhanced telescope for her father and eight yarns of golden-flecked, sky-blue wool for her mother. She had even gotten their old collie Brandy a present, a toy niffler that squeaked and scurried around.

That morning, Anna and Ida were collecting the morning dew off the periwinkles with the rest of the seventh year Herbology students so Róisín had breakfast alone, hiding behind a spare Daily Prophet in order to discourage her other housemates from engaging her. She skimmed past a press release from the Auror department on the hunt for Rookwood and instead read a piece discussing the rise of a new generation of politicians, "practical, rational wizards" like Fudge, better than the previous "flamboyant grandstanders" who "encourage troubled youths to spew nonsense."

Róisín glanced towards Dumbledore at the head table, wondering whether he had read this particular article. The headmaster was in discussion with Snape, taking huge mouthfuls of egg and sausage while nodding thoughtfully to what the potions master was saying. Snape paused to take a drink from his cup and threw an eye over the Slytherin table. Then, as though he had felt Róisín watching him, he looked directly at her. Her heart skipped a beat and she tucked her head back in between the pages of the Prophet. Memories of last night flooded her; Snape's hands as they unbuckled his belt- the feeling of them slipping beneath her waistband- his long finger curling inside her- the warm smell of coconuts- the stinging heat as he entered her- his thrusts echoing through her body-

She thought of Snape violently slamming Potter against the wall.

Róisín lurched up from the table and hastily folded the newspaper. Dumbledore trusts Snape, she told herself. He wouldn't allow him to teach at Hogwarts if he suspected he wasn't on Potter's side. She kept her eyes steadfastly on the ground in front of her as she hurried from the hall.

"Alohomora"

The chains locking the gate to the bicorn paddock slithered off and hovered in the air. Róisín smiled with relief that her charm had worked and followed Eóghan into the arena. This week they'd been assigned together for their designated hours of Magical Creatures husbandry. They only had the bicorns left to tend to, as they had already cleaned out the Diricawl pen, collected the eggs and re-iced the frost salamander vivarium.

"Hello, Professor!" they called out. Hagrid was standing on a tree stump, peering into the mouth of a young male bicorn and tapping his wand along the creature's molars, each the size of Róisín's fist.

"Are Drogo's teeth ok?" Eóghan asked.

"Yer, all good, just givin' him a last check o'er before he's shipped to Tajikistan."

"I thought he was going to Almaty," Róisín said.

"Well, the Kazakhs can't take him 'til the spring an' I think we're already pushin' our luck with Lotho."

"Was der a scuffle?" Eóghan asked with concern.

"Not yet, but Drogo's been sniffin' at the heifers and I can tell Lotho's not happy. Which is fair enough, him bein' the alpha and all."

Róisín whistled and Daisy, a female bicorn with a long cappuccino coat and two curled horns, trotted from the adjacent field into the paddock. Róisín stretched up to give her a bundle of hyacinth she'd collected on the way and the bicorn huffed with delight.

"I'm rearin' a kneazle kitten so will you leave a bottle aside fer me Róisín?"

"Of course Hagrid." Róisín slapped on her dragon-hide gloves and stepped under the huge bovine with a case of ten bottles.

"Professor Snape's coming to take horn shavings and a vial of bicorn blood. I was thinkin' we'd use Daisy. Would you mind helping him?"

Róisín hesitated.

"Yer Daisy's favourite, and she isn't too fond o' men so it'll be easier for her if you were there," Hagrid added.

"Er, yep, of course I will sir."

Róisín was almost finished milking Daisy when she heard Eóghan click his tongue aggressively and call out,

"Ge' away outta tha', Drogo!"

Róisín jumped out from under the female bicorn just before the creature stumbled forward as Drogo tried to mount her.

There was a rumble, then a thundering of hooves as a black cloud of hair tore into the paddock, heading straight towards them, it's two long horns held down ready to skewer anything in its path. Hagrid bellowed,

"LOTHO" from the other side of the paddock, Drogo squealed and scampered to dismount Daisy and Eóghan yelled and spread his hands as if to protect the bicorns. Róisín lunged in front of the huge black bull, threw her hands out and yelled,

"ARRESTO MOMENTO"

The force of her spell flung her backwards into Eóghan, but Lotho was still charging towards them, and just as Róisín threw her hands up to brace for impact, the bull stalled, straining to move as though it had hit a wall of treacle, it's pointed horns a mere foot from them.

"Somnus," Snape's deep voice called out from behind them and Lotho fell to the ground with a massive thump, dirt from the paddock billowing into Róisín and Eóghan's faces. They coughed and sputtered and Eóghan wrapped his arm around Róisín's waist as she felt her legs buckle out from under her.

"Christ on a bike, Róisín, fair fucks! You dinnae even use your feckin' wand!" Eóghan exclaimed.

"Indeed," Snape remarked through clenched teeth.

Róisín shot her professor a nervous glance, still being supported by Eóghan's arm holding her against his chest.

"And you Professor, to put a beast like Lotho asleep with a somnus is insane!" Eóghan added.

"I'm ok now, thanks," Róisín muttered as she pushed lightly against Eóghan to extricate herself from his embrace, overly aware of Snape's eyes on her. In the far corner of the paddock they could hear Hagrid cooing gently at the squealing Drogo while intermittently calling him a muppet. Snape ignored Eóghan's praise and instead instructed him,

"McCormack, help your professor calm the juvenile and then levitate the alpha into a suitable stable for when he rouses." Eóghan inclined his head and jogged over towards the half-giant. Róisín felt herself shrink as her professor turned his dark eyes on her.

"Accio Feral's wand," he said coolly. On the other side of the arena's fence, Róisín's rucksack unbuckled, allowing her wand to fly out and sail into her professor's palm. "Fetch the bicorn," he ordered before heading towards the stables. Róisín clicked her tongue at Daisy and the fluffy heifer followed them into the first stall. Now sheltered from the bright winter sun, Róisín's eyes blinked as they adjusted to the shadows.

She started and took a step back as Snape strode towards her.

"This,"-her professor spat as he held up her smaller than average wand- "will be up your sleeve at all times. It is to be an extension of your person, you will not take it off even when you undress, in the same way you do not take off your own arm. Am. I. Being. Clear?"

Róisín's heel hit the stable wall as she ran out of space to retreat to. Her chest tightened.

"Crystal, sir."

Snape thrust her wand at her and she hastily snatched it off him and slipped it up her sleeve.

"After I take the samples, fetch McCormack so I can obliviate him."

"Sir! Please-" Róisín started to protest.

"If you'd prefer I didn't purge your friends' minds every second day," Snape said silkily, "then I suggest you start using your bloody wand," he finished in a snarl. "The Dark Lord is looking for a young witch who is proficient at wandless magic and regrettably, your lackadaisical approach so far suggests you don't comprehend the repercussions of being discovered by him."

Róisín swallowed. "...Is looking, sir? Does he know of me?"

"He is always looking for tactical advantages, whether he knows them to exist or not," Snape replied through gritted teeth.

Is that what she was, a tactical advantage?

Last night flashed across her mind; Snape slipping his hand under her waistband-"I can't do this if you're anxious, not without hurting you"- the sting and sweet ache when he curled his finger inside her- "Unfortunately, using legilimency requires a level of lucidity that I find unattainable when there's a woman in my bed" - the intensity of his warm, hard member penetrating her- his clenched jaw as though it was taking every bit of his self control not to pummel into her-

"-Feral," Snape growled.

Róisín snapped out of her memories. Her professor looked different, less angry but somehow more intense.

"I may not be able to perform legilimency in bed," he said smoothly, "but that does not mean I'm incapable of it now."

Róisín's hot cheeks pounded with her heartbeat.

"Sorry, sir, I didn't mean-"

"-To distract me?" Snape drawled. He took a step back and looked away from her, pinching the bridge of his nose as if to dispel his thoughts. "For Merlin's sake, just keep your wand on you, understood?"

"Yes, sir."

He put his hands on his hips and a moment passed before he sighed and said,

"Ready the bicorn."

He did not immediately move away so Róisín had to awkwardly step around him. She clicked her tongue at Daisy and climbed up a stepladder so that she could reach the bicorn's head, then she slipped a rein onto the creature's chin and around her horns. Róisín stayed perched on top of the steps, her feet at her professor's head level, petting and humming softly to the bicorn as Snape took the blood samples.

"You were in pain."

"Sir?" Róisín asked, confused.

Snape straightened to look up at her.

"Last night."

Her stomach dipped. Róisín shook her head in disagreement.

"I was fine, sir."

He raised an eyebrow at her and asked,

"Are you still sore?"

"Only a tiny bit," she admitted.

"Come to my office after classes are finished for the day and I'll give you a pain reliever."

After Snape had collected the horn shavings, Róisín clambered down from the steps. Her heart pounded in her ears when she asked,

"Sir, just there, when you read my mind-"

"-I did not read your mind, I was making eye contact as I spoke to you which is normal human behaviour when you flung your thoughts at me." Snape kept his eyes on the vials of blood he was holding up to the light. "A muggle would've seen your recollections, your magic was so desperate to advertise them."

Róisín brow furrowed,

"Wha-? But why?"

Snape turned to her and cocked an eyebrow as he slipped the vials into his pocket.

"I would speculate because I was frustrated with you and your magic thought to… change my intentions." The corner of his lip turned up in a slight smirk.

"Oh God." Róisín covered her face with her hands, her heart thumping like it wanted to escape her chest. "Could that happen with another man?"

"I certainly hope not, otherwise I'll have to teach you occlumency," Snape said while plucking some caramel hairs off of Daisy and placing them into a vial. He glanced at Róisín and noticed her anxiously tapping her foot. He sighed. "There is no need to be apprehensive, Miss Feral. I was not being entirely serious when I said a muggle could've accessed your thoughts, only someone with some legilimency skill could've seen them." He strode out of the stables and gestured for Róisín to follow him. "More importantly, I don't believe your magic would show memories like that to someone who wasn't… a participant in them." His voice was relatively gentle, but Róisín felt her eyes prick with embarrassed tears.

Eóghan and Hagrid were nowhere to be seen and Róisín presumed they had gone to Hagrid's hut so that Eóghan could meet the kneazle kitten. Snape unlocked the paddock gate and handed Róisín her rucksack from the ground. Then they began to make their way along the path to the castle, the highest towers of which they could glimpse every so often between the tops of the spruce trees.

Róisín felt a little thrill as she thought of making the long walk back to the main grounds with her professor. After a few moments of awkward silence, Snape said,

"You were about to ask a question before, concerning my inadvertent use of legilimency."

"Erm, I was going to ask-" Róisín hesitated, regretting her question now, "how did you know I felt pain? I've never read someone's- I mean- I've never done legilimency, do you feel the same pain the person felt when the memory was formed?" Róisín had to do a little jog every so often to keep up with Snape's long strides. He slowed down to a more reasonable pace and turned to her,

"Think about last night."

Róisín glanced away as her mind eagerly supplied her with memories- Snape shifting his weight from his elbow to his hands as he thrust into her and asked roughly "You ok?" and the small tight sound she made in response-

"Feral," Snape snapped, but when Róisín focused on him again she saw he wasn't angry but mildly amused. "Do you want me to drag you into the forest and have my way with you? Or are you going to control your thoughts?"

Róisín's stomach did a somersault and she glanced at Snape with wide eyes before quickly looking away, her heart beating in her ears. Snape rolled his eyes and gave an aggravated sigh.

"That was a misguided attempt at humour, not an actual threat, Miss Feral." Róisín said nothing but kept her eyes glued to the path. Snape sighed and added, "My apologies, that was flippant and inappropriate." Róisín felt a pressure between her legs and she realised her body was reacting as though it expected him to carry through on his threat. She let out a shaky,

"It's fine," the words sounding even more breathless than she was afraid they would.

"I just meant for you to remember last night for a moment, not to make everyone in a fifty metre radius relive the experience," her professor muttered. "My point was that you can remember the pain, correct?"

Róisín nodded.

"But it isn't the same as experiencing it, is it?"

Róisín shook her head.

"In the same way, when I view someone's memory, I understand how they felt without feeling it physically myself," Snape cleared his throat and added, "Obviously, it would be impossible for me to understand exactly how you felt at that particular time, but I could apprehend pain."

"Oh," Róisín said, not really sure what he was getting at.

"Because I'm a man," he added in a mutter.

A quiet snort escaped her,

"I'd noticed, sir." Róisín smacked her lips closed, surprised at her own cheek.

"Well it'd be concerning if you hadn't," Snape added dryly and a little giggle bubbled out of Róisín, and she realised her chest was aching to relieve some of its anxious tension. She looked up at the tall wizard and a little wave of heat dragged over her lower torso.

"Will I go get Eóghan from Hagrid's hut when we reach the east terrace lawns, sir?" Róisín asked. "Although, he's always known I was good at wandless magic so-"

"I'll find him myself."

Róisín sighed, feeling defeated.

"What about Hagrid, sir?"

"Professor Hagrid isn't a concern to me. I will inform him it is in your best interest that your skills are not promulgated. I trust him unconditionally. Eóghan will believe you cast nothing and that my sleeping charm stopped the bicorn."

"Ok sir," Róisín replied quietly.

"Obviously, I'm not in the habit of going for strolls with seventh year Ravenclaws, so it would be prudent for you to take the right path around the greenhouses while I continue towards the main entrance."

"Yes, sir."

After their paths had diverged Róisín realised with a huff of annoyance that Snape had given her the significantly longer route to walk.

A/N: I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Please leave a review if you have the time! I'd also really appreciate it if you told me whether you're a new reader who just found this fic or someone who's been reading for years. Also, if anyone wants to leave recommendations for similar fics in their review that could help everybody find more to read. The next three chapters of The Stirring are written and I just need to get my Beta to proof-read them so hopefully they will be out soon.

Thanks again for reading!