A/N: I hope you all are enjoying the story so far. And if you think Snape is in love so far...Your crazy OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoo

Chapter Twelve

They sat for about two hours talking about nothing to important. Their families, their jobs, their future goals, Annabel's children, a bit about her husband and a few other things.

"Annabel I was wondering, why is it that my mother had never mentioned any of you? It seems so strange to just hide an entire part of one's life."

Again Annabel's face turned serious, "Yes, it may seem strange."

Abby waited. Annabel looked over to Severus as if contemplating if they should continue in front of him. Abby who knew he was there the entire time wondered why she even wanted him there for this. She was about to say it was okay and that they could speak freely in front of him when her cousin continued.

"What do you think about the supernatural?"

Abby sat confused and Snape stiffened beside her. Then Abby realized that Annabel was looking at Severus but was talking to her. She looked over at Severus, he looked really tense.

She turned back to Annabel, "I'm not quit sure what you mean."

Annabel looked back at Abby with a pleading look in her eye. "I know this might make you run away from me but I don't want to beat around the bush."

Abby looked at Severus again who was staring with hatred at Annabel.

What was going on? Abby wondered. Supernatural?

"What if I told you that our family may have some supernatural aspects in it?"

Snape suddenly relaxed, but was suddenly tense again wondering where this was heading. This whole time he had thought that she would tell Abigail who he really was since he knew that she recognized him the moment they had met.

"Go on." Abby urged.

Annabel smiled subtly, "Do you believe in magic Abigail?"

"I'm open to new ideas about the world." She answered truthfully.

"What if I told you that things like werewolves and wizards and magic are real?"

"I would find it hard to believe." Abby said honestly, "But I wouldn't run away from you just because of it."

"That's very generous of you." Annabel sat back. "Just hear me out and you can judge the concept later."

"Alright."

"Our family came from a long ancient line of werewolves-"

Abby's eyes widened but she sat quiet.

"Over the centuries however, our ancestors didn't stick to mating with their own kind. Some mated with humans, or wizards or witches, or even muggles."

Muggles? She had heard that word somewhere.

"So our blood lines became less and less pure, meaning the beast wasn't that strong in us. Now our line had a special status in the magic world. We were the Consolers. It was one of the only gifts that had never died through our mixed breeding."

Annabel stopped to let it sink in.

"So what you're telling me is that I'm in some way a werewolf?" Abby asked incredulously.

"Well no, we can't shift, we can't yield werewolf magic and we don't really have many of the wolf's instincts. But you are, like I am, like your mother was, like Great-aunt Cynthia was – a Consoler."

"And what is a Consoler?"

"You can be born a werewolf or cursed into being one. And being a werewolf means that you have a beast inside you constantly. While in a cursed werewolf the beast only takes over the body during a full moon, a bred werewolf has the beast always right there.

Can you imagine what it must be like, having something wild inside you fighting you to take control of your body at every turn? That's why our family was so important; we keep the beast calm until the human part of the body can learn to control the beast within."

"So we are like Ritalin for hyperactive beasts?" Abby asked not trying to sound sarcastic just trying to understand what she was being told.

Understanding Annabel offered her a small smile, "You could say that." She paused then asked, "Haven't you ever noticed that animals or even people are always at ease around you? It's in our nature to comfort and put at ease those around us."

It was true. "I always thought it was my personality, no such luck." She acknowledged. "So, if what your saying could be – not that I'm saying I believe you – but if this all was true - I don't have to turn into a wolf?"

"No." Annabel chuckled.

Abby sighed in relief, "Good, I would not enjoy that."

"You're taking this so well." Annabel stated in wonder.

"Me? I'm surprised Severus hasn't called you a nut and ran out the door. I'm even curious about why you even told me in front of him." Abby looked over to Severus who sat there quietly, his expression hidden but his eyes wary.

"I'm sure he has many things to tell you as well."

Abby whirled around and shot Annabel a confused look, but she was looking straight at Severus.

"What's she talking about, Severus?"

Snape hated the situation, he wanted to tell her but telling her the truth about what he was would eventually become him having to tell her the truth about who he was.

"I think I'll give you two a minute alone." Annabel said and left.

"Well?" Abby asked when he still hadn't said a word; he just sat there staring at his teacup. "Are you a damn werewolf too?"

He looked up at her and sighed, "No. I never thought that this was going to come to this." He said almost absently, mostly to himself.

"I am a wizard."

Abby looked at him, he didn't sound sarcastic; he wasn't one to joke so how could he be lying. But it was all too much and she didn't want to accept these things.

"Is this some sort of sick joke? Did you and Annabel pump heads and decide to play a prank on the new girl in England?" she knew she sounded crazy but anything was saner than what they were telling her.

Snape sighed and pulled out his wand.

Abby laughed hysterically. "Oh my, is that a wand? Are you going to wave it around and hex me into a toad?" she laughed.

Snape frowned at her, "Would you like to see some magic Abigail?"

"Why of coarse Severus, I thought you'd never ask."

His face as still as stone he said, "Lets start with the basics." He did a dramatic flick of his wand and said, "Orchideous." A bouquet of flowers appeared out of his wand.

He threw them to her and she stared at him, "Nice trick."

"Not convinced?" he pointed his wand at a plate on the counter, "Locomotor-plate." It rose into the air and hovered from side to side before lowering back to the counter.

Snape watched Abby think, he could see that her mind was fighting her eyes.

"Trick of the eyes."

Annoyed at her, at Annabel, at everything Snape continued, "Alright then, how about something else?"

He aimed his wand at a glass statue a few feet from them and calmly said, "Confringo." It exploded into pieces. "But that's not enough. Reparo."

Abby watched as the statue exploded when nothing had touched it, then she watched as it slowly put itself back together bit by bit. Her heart racing she had had enough.

But Snape didn't stop there.

"How did you enjoy your cookies, Abigail?" he pointed his wand at them, "Geminio." A duplicate of the stack of cookies appeared. He kept saying it until the table was overflowing with cookies.

"Please." Abby whispered in distress.

Snape didn't hear her; he blew up more items around the room and made them repair themselves.

He was scaring her. He looked deranged, completely mad and she knew he wanted her scared, that's what scared her the most. His hair was covering most his face, his eyes wide and crazed. "Please, Severus, please stop."

The sound of her voice, the way it cracked as she said stop stilled his advances. He looked up at her; she looked like she had seen a ghost. The worst part was that she looked scared and defeated and even lost and he had caused this.

He issued one last spell, "Evanesco." Everything he had duplicated vanished. He hadn't even realized he had made a duplicate of everything in the kitchen.

If he were someone else he would apologize, he would hug her close and say that not everything she had found out today was bad, that she was going to be okay and that if she wanted he would just go home. But he was Severus Snape.

So instead he got up and walked out the door.

"She didn't take it to well, did she?" Annabel's voice came from behind him. Snape turned and stared down at her.

Before he could stop himself he said, "I scared her."

Annabel just stared up at him, "She needs to know about our world. I'm sure she'll get over it in time."

"Our world? I was under the impression that werewolves were on the edge of extinction."

Annabel laughed, "Well you're completely wrong. But we'll talk about that another time. What I would like to know is what you are doing with my cousin?"

Anger and defense rose in Snape, but before he retorted she added, "I don't mean that offensively Mr. Snape. I have heard many things about you, many bad things, and horrible things even. But then I have also heard honorable things and things of greatness."

Snape stood tense before her and she continued, "I will not judge you on anything I have heard but I will say that whatever it is you want from Abigail, I hope it's nothing horrible."

Snape was about to say something, whether it was going to be something nice or cruel he would never know because at that moment Abigail stormed out of the house and didn't stop storming until she was right in front of him.

He was stunned at her expression, she was royally pissed. Fuming even.

"We need to leave, now." She said through clenched teeth and if Snape wasn't so tense by her attitude he would have shivered.

Abby turned to Annabel and her expression softened somewhat, "I'm sorry for my poor behavior, I hope you understand that this is way too much to handle in one day. Would it be okay if we came back tomorrow?"

Annabel nodded sympathetically, "Any time would be fine."

Snape tried to make eye contact with Abigail on the drive back to the Inn, but she had her gaze settled outside. Her face was expressionless but he knew that her mind was working up a storm. He wondered what he should say to her, if he should say anything at all.

She probably hated him, wanted to never see him again, and in some ways that would make his life easier but he didn't want her to condemn him and that fact really pissed him off. He wasn't someone that wanted to be accepted, he didn't need it, and he didn't need anyone, including her.

When they reached the Inn Abby headed straight for the bathroom. Snape sat on his bed and listened as she drew a bath and listened as she got in and all he could think about was her being naked right now, barely feet away from him. He tried to fight down the images.

Abby sat in the tub until the water grew cold. Sighing she dried off and wondered if she should refill the bathtub and start all over.

Magic? Werewolves? Wizards? What next unicorns, flying pigs, Chewbacca? She shuddered to think about the possibilities. Everything Severus had showed her in Annabel's kitchen made everything they had said hard to deny.

Was it such a bad thing to have magic in the world? No, she decided. She was scared earlier because he had thrown the evidence too hard at her when she wasn't even ready, and for that he was a prick. But then how else would she have come to believe it?

Abby sighed again, she didn't want to but already she wasn't mad at Severus anymore. Her ability to stop hating him so quick was really starting to piss her off.

She headed for the door.

A/N: Don't you just love the way they hate how they react to eachother? Its how you feel when you fall for something your not meant to fall for.

Up next...o I don't know. More confessions?