A/N: I promise some action will start to come your way in the next chapter...whoever is reading...but I couldn't have gotten to anything I want to write without letting them get to know each other a little bit more, even though they still now squat about each other.

Also my chapters won't be consistent in length...can't control that yet :)

And a big thanks and hey to HalfBloodPrincess6891 my first and...so far only reviewer...boo to the rest of you for not showing some love sigh

Chapter Four

Snape couldn't take his eyes off Abigail's eyes as they wandered through his house. She had to look at every picture on every wall, into every door that stood open and then she would gaze up at him, as if to make sure he was still there, and then back at whatever had caught her eye.

Snape took these moments to take her in again. Like he had thought earlier, she was tall, perhaps five-ten or five-eleven because she wasn't that far from his six-four. It was mostly her legs from what he could tell. The shaking of her hand had proven his thoughts correct, that her skin was smooth to the touch. Her golden hair was thick and rich; it hung from a messy bun and loose tresses curled around her face and down her neck. Once when she had flipped her head to the side her long hair had slapped across his chest and he could smell the faint smell of strawberries in the air. He had an absurd longing to reach out to touch it, as strange a feeling that was he couldn't deny his need to. It took all of his will power to refrain from doing so.

Sick of wanting to touch her hair and having to fight himself not to, he cleared his throat. "Shall we sit in the living room?"

"Okay."

Abby watched the way this mysterious man moved as he led her to yet another darkly furnished room. His entire house was dark, she'd bet that upstairs was the same. Yes, he was mysterious and he was dark but she doubted it was his hand that had made this house look as it did today. As strange as it were, he didn't look as though he belonged in this house. Neither did he look comfortable to even be here. It could just be that she was there but she doubted it.

As they sat she wondered who he was. What was he doing here all alone? Why was he so rude and why did he seem so…she would have thought lost, but he didn't seem like the type of man that would be lost. The best word to describe him was empty, as if there was something he was missing and he wouldn't be complete without it. Most of all he looked tired. Why she even cared she had no idea.

She looked over at him, at his withdrawn expression. His skin was pale over is masculine face. His cheek bones were well defined and he had a strong jaw. His nose was large but not overly so that it didn't fit his face. All in all he had the face and stance of an old-world aristocrat. His raven-black hair was slick and thick down to his shoulders, which were broader than she had first imagined. His eyes which at first looked empty held life. They were black but there was something there, she could feel it. She lowered her gaze to his lips which were a thin line across his jaw. His bottom lip was slightly fuller than the top and she found herself wondering if they were as firm as the looked right now.

She watched as he opened his mouth then closed it again and then he stared past her head to the wall behind her. She turned to look at it but there was nothing there.

He was obviously not the biggest talker.

"Well, I guess I'll begin." She gathered her breath. "As I said, my name is Abigail but I'd rather you call me Abby. I just moved into my house about a year ago." She thought back, "Yeah, a year it would be now. My great aunt and uncle built it; I never knew them, heard from the villagers that they were working with wolves up in the forest. After they died two years ago they left it to me…

Snape watched her full lips move as she went on to tell him that she had moved here from Los Angeles. American. He knew. She explained, again, that she had never met her great aunt and uncle. She told him that while in America she had worked at an animal shelter, but when she had gotten the call that she had just inherited a house in England she found homes for her last few strays and jumped on a plane to England.

She continued to talk about events that took place after she had arrived but Snape's mind had strayed from her words and instead he just enjoyed the move of her lips and the soft sound of her voice. He had just met her and he seemed to be drawn to her. He was a fool, yet he couldn't stop his reaction to her. He had to get her out of his house soon.

"Is there something on my face?"

Her raised brow and amused face jarred his thoughts. He cleared his throat, "No."

She laughed. The sound went right through him, made him want to be capable of laughing, or smiling.

"What do you find so amusing?"

"Nothing. It's nothing." She stopped laughing but her grin was still in place.

"Do tell." Now he was really curious.

"I don't think I will. Let's talk about you."

He had noticed she hadn't told him anything that had happened prior to her gaining the house. She hadn't really told him that much about herself, just pivoted back and forth between not very relevant or personal events. He was suddenly overwhelmed with the need to know everything about her.

Since what he really wanted to do was let her talk forever about herself, he asked, "What is it you want to know?"

He watched as she thought about it and he smiled on the inside. Her face was so vivacious.

The question she asked caught him of guard.

"Are you a vampire or a wizard or something?" she asked as her gaze moved over his robes.

He cleared his throat, "I'm not sure I quite understand your query."

She smiled, she smiled a lot. "I'm just pulling your leg."

Snape had no idea what she was talking about. Muggles's seemed to speak an entirely different language and she was American which was even more different then British. Assuming her statement meant that she was joking with him he responded, "Funny."

"You like to keep your side of a conversation short and simple, don't you?" The smile still hadn't left her face but it did however soften slightly as she made this remark.

"Yes."

"Ah," She closed her eyes and Snape was struck by how long her eyelashes were as they fanned her cheeks. She peeked at him through one eye and sat back up. "Alright, what is it you do?"

"I am a professor."

"You teach in a college?" she asked her eyes widening with interest.

Snape sighed; every word between them had two different meanings. "No, it is actually a secondary school system that I work for." Obviously he left out the part about it being a wizardry school. He wondered how she would react if he had told her as much. From what he could tell about her she would probably laugh and respond with something that would shock him as much as that knowledge should have shocked her.

"What subjects do you teach?"

"Chemistry." It was, to some extent.

"Wow, I flunked that class in high school." Her eyes narrowed and her smile shifted, became more subtle as she thought back.

"Indeed."

"I love how you British folk say that," she laughed, "You say it more than the average Brit though."

He raised a brow at her. She was so ludicrous, and yet he didn't find her annoying like he would if she were any other person. How odd.

"My boys are in high school, I wonder if they attend where you work. What is the school's name?"

Snape nearly choked on his breath.

"Oh my, are you alright?" Abby was by his side in a second. She slapped him hard on his back but stopped at the ominous look in his eyes. One moment he was choking and the next he was fine and reprimanding her for trying to help. Again she felt as though she had imagined what had happened.

She placed her hands at her sides and sat back down. "I was only trying to help."

He ignored her statement and asked, "You have children?"

Understanding what had caused his near death she was slightly flattered that she had caught him off guard, since she doubted that many people did, she forgot about his reaction to her touching him and smiled.

"Oh, well no. I'm taking care of a friend's two kids while she's in Germany for the summer. Johnny is fourteen and Fred fifteen. They are at summer camp now but they still needed somewhere to go during the weekend. They will be visiting during the weekend; I'll introduce you to them then."

She watched as he began to relax and watched his expression change to something she couldn't quite comprehend. "How old are you, if you don't mind my asking?"

"Twenty-nine."

He was composed again, but she was sure something in his eyes shifted when he said, "I honestly thought you were younger."

"I'm flattered. Do you mind if I ask you how old you are?"

"No."

And he waited, he lifted a brow and she laughed. "Ah, that was a joke. Never thought you had it in you."

"Indeed."

"So, how old are you Severus?"

The sound of his name leaving her lips did something to him, and he hated it. Not many people called him by his first name but even if they had, coming from her mouth it came out in what he could only describe as a caress. "I am thirty-eight."

"Hmm." She mused.

"Yes?"

"Nothing." She smiled. She watched his gaze lower to her lips and she felt something in her begin to warm. She was definitely attracted to him.

"What is your line of work, Miss Anderson?"

"Abby." She corrected and waited.

"Abby then."

"Well, I guess you can say I'm a bum." She looked at his face and clearly he had no idea what she was saying. "I inherited some money; it should keep me going for a while. Right now I'm just helping out the animal shelter, fostering dogs and trying to find them homes. I also volunteer at the old folks home in a neighboring village because their low on staff." She leaned back on the couch and stared at the old ceiling sighing, "I will have to look for a job soon though, saving the world doesn't pay what it used to."

"Indeed it doesn't." He agreed. The way he said it sounded as if he knew exactly what she was feeling.

Abby hadn't realized how close she was sitting to the mysterious man until she realized that the heat she felt around her was emanating off of his body. She shifted her eyes to one of the few windows and saw that it was getting darker with every second that pasted, but she had the strangest feeling that she shouldn't leave, just sit there with him a little while longer.

Snape wondered if this woman realized how close she was to him. Her soft thighs brushed against his and if she didn't start talking again he was afraid that he might go mad. The smell of her hair engulfed his senses and he was suddenly consumed with the urge to lean over and rub his face into her mass of hair. He could still feel the imprint of her hand on his thigh from when she tried to balance herself as she slapped him on the back earlier. He didn't like his reaction to her. Did not like the way she didn't seem to annoy him the way everyone does. He was a private man and she was evading his privacy.

"It will soon be dark; I do not want to keep you from your duties."

"My duties?" she asked, still staring at his roof.

"Do you not have things to do?"

She chuckled and the sound rolled over him. He was on his feet a second later staring down at her.

"Trying to get rid of me so soon, Professor Snape?" She lifted her head and stared into his eyes.

Snape, who has never been lost for words, struggled to think of how to reply. He didn't want to hurt her feelings for some reason, but he had to get her out of his house immediately.

"You should join me for dinner tonight." Excitement brightened her eyes.

"I…I don't think that I could," Snape was horrified, he hadn't stuttered since he was a student in Hogwarts. He was definitely not going to be spending more time with this woman. He valued his solitude. He didn't need this, nor did he want this.

What is 'this'? His mind shot at him.

He didn't know, he just didn't want anything to do with this woman.

"Well, it wasn't a question or a suggestion."

Snape pushed his wild thoughts to the side and once again narrowed his eyes at her. "It was indeed a suggestion."

Abby could see that he was trying to push her away. Well she wasn't having it. "Well now it's an order, Mr. Snape." She got up and strode to his front door leaving the flabbergasted dark man sitting on the couch.

"Dinner will be ready at eight." She yelled behind her.