Chapter Thirteen

I was laying on my back on the sofa in the ground floor sitting room, my head in Lucius' lap, my book floating above my head as I read, when Professor Snape walked into the room wearing jeans and a long sleeve shirt. I had only just become accustomed to Lucius dressing down, and now I was struck dumb again by seeing my professor in anything other than his robes and waist coat. I inhaled sharply through my nose as Lucius' hand, which was resting on my stomach, shifted, pulling up the hem of my shirt to brush the skin now exposed above my jeans. I jerked up, slamming my head into the book and sending it flying across the room, and groaned.

"Good evening Lucius, Miss Campbell."

"Professor." I gritted out as I shot Lucius a glare before making my way across the room and snatching the book off the floor. I took a moment to collect myself before turning around to face them. "I wasn't aware it was that close to six."

"You have a jewelry box with eight watches in it." Lucius responded airily as he stuck his bookmark between the pages and stood.

"And you are already wearing a watch and could've just said something." I growled as I flipped through my book to try and find my place.

"I see she's regained her voice." Professor Snape said, and I blushed.

"It's never gone for long." Lucius said solemnly.

I rolled my eyes and headed out of the sitting room. "I'm going to have dinner; you two can just stand there and talk about me all evening if you'd like."

The table was set and filled with dishes of steaming food as I took my seat, and a few moments later they followed me in - Lucius taking his seat at the head of the table, and Professor Snape sitting across from me. I kept my head down as I filled my plate and started to eat, and as an afterthought took a large gulp of wine. I kept my thoughts light and definitely didn't take notice of and think about the fact that the professor had pushed his sleeves up and I was watching how his long fingers grasped the wine glass and cutlery, considering how they deftly chopped potions ingredients, and what else they could do… Oh, Lucius liked to shove his fingers in my mouth, Severus' fingers were much longer… would I gag?

"Olivia?"

Lucius was snapping his fingers in front of my face and I jerked when I realized I'd completely zoned out and been staring at Professor Snape.

"What? Huh? Sorry."

"Severus just asked which program you were considering." Lucius' smile was completely devilish, and I knew that my staring hadn't gone unnoticed.

"Oh, right. Well, Mugworth is the most logical option, and it's highly regarded."

"I went to Mugworth. It is a wonderful program and they'd be lucky to have you."

Professor Snape had just complimented me. To my face.

"I haven't brewed anything in years." I shrugged. "I have to decide on my entrance potion and then brew it a few times to make sure it's perfect. Actually, I should probably brew a few practice ones… that's what I should've been doing this past week instead of reading and… reading." I finished lamely and cleared my throat. I was going to say 'instead of reading and having sex with Lucius' but chickened out at the last minute.

"You're a natural." Severus waved a hand dismissively and I followed his hand with my eyes before catching the smile on his face. Goddamn Legilimens.

"I've converted one of the rooms on the second floor into a lab for you. That should give you the space to practice and complete your assignments."

How did he accomplish that without me noticing? Then again, it's not like I followed Lucius around all day…

"Thank you. It'll be nice to have a designated area to work in."

The conversation bounced between a few different subjects with them talking the most while I chimed in occasionally. It's not that they were ignoring me, and they made a surprising effort to include me, but it was hard to be a part of a conversation where two people were so obviously close friends. We finished dinner and Lucius led us up to my new lab which consisted of a few work benches with places for multiple cauldrons and the walls were lined with practically every potion ingredient known to man. The walls and floor had been transfigured to stone, likely to protect the hardwood from any spills. I watched as Professor Snape walked the shelves, taking note of the labels.

"Ah, I forgot I have a Floo chat with a business associate in a few minutes. I'll meet you two downstairs in the sitting room after." Lucius said, and before I could object, he had kissed me on the forehead, winked, and disappeared into the hallway, closing the door behind him.

Professor Snape glanced over at me before continuing his perusal of the ingredients on the wall, and as I was feeling flushed, I pulled my wand out of my pocket and tucked my hair up with it.

"Professor, do you have a recommendation for which potion I should send in?" I asked as I fidgeted nervously.

"I am no longer your professor, Miss Campbell." He turned on his heel to look at me and I huffed. I was well aware.

"And I won't be Miss Campbell in a week, so here we are." I held my hands up and then dropped them.

"Fair point, Olivia." Oh gods, he said my name just like Lucius did. Like it was melted chocolate on his tongue. "And you may call me Severus."

"Severus," I stumbled over his name. "Do you have a recommendation?"

"Amortentia, Veritiserum, or an Alihotsy Draught would all be acceptable." He plucked a vial off the shelf and pocketed it.

"Are you stealing my potions ingredients?!" I asked in surprise, walking toward him.

"Occamy eggshell – very rare. Lucius will buy you more." Severus winked at me as I came to a stop in front of him.

"Shameful. What kind of depraved individual would steal from poor, disadvantaged me?" I poked out my lower lip and blinked up at him. My breath hitched when he stepped closer, his hands in his pockets.

"Don't you know that the foundation of mine and Lucius' friendship is depravity?" he said softly, his eyes flicking down to my lips, and on impulse I licked them. I don't think I'd ever been this close to him. He had beautiful eyelashes, and his hair looked like silk. He held my gaze for a moment before stepping away and continuing his perusal of the shelves. "Armadillo Bile Mixture would also be an interesting submission."

If my knickers hadn't been wet before, they certainly were now. I had wanted him to touch me so badly. I heard him exhale deeply and he glanced back at me.

"I didn't think Legilimens could hear thoughts that easily." I complained, crossing my arms over my chest.

"It depends on how powerful the witch or wizard is, how often they train, and how loud of a projector the subject is."

"And I'm a loud projector?"

"You're practically screaming at me, Olivia." His eyes darkened and a smile played at the edge of his lips.

"What am I saying?" My voice was barely above a whisper, and I was hoping he'd come back. I'd gotten so used to Lucius touching me that I kind of craved it, and the idea of Severus doing the same made me feel… well, horny obviously, but also excited. To have two powerful men wanting to touch me? It made me feel powerful.

"You want me to touch you, you think my hair looks like silk… and you seem to have a fixation with my hands." Severus walked over to me and stopped just before we were flush against one another. I could practically feel his body heat.

"I wouldn't call it a fixation." I muttered, but my sass evaporated as he raised his hand and traced my jawline with his fingertip.

"You've captivated Lucius. It's a bit different for me. You were my student."

The rejection shot through me like a hex, like a bullet. My face burned with shame and I stepped back quickly, muttering a quick apology before darting out the door. I hit the hardwood with socked feet and slipped, slamming to my knees and catching myself with my hand. I felt the pain radiate in my wrist as I landed wrong.

"Olivia, wait." Severus was coming through the doorway as I scrambled to my feet.

"No, it's… I'm so sorry." I mumbled, not meeting his eyes as I took off down the hallway quickly, practically running to my bedroom.

I was mortified. I had just made a complete fool of myself in front of a respected mentor, and probably ruined my chances of having him help me with my admission potion. I wanted to blame Lucius, but he hadn't said explicitly that Severus had agreed or even been interested, just that they'd discussed it. Maybe I'd made it all up in my head. Or maybe Lucius was just using my crush and fantasy to appease me.

With a sigh, I trudged into the bathroom to run a hot bath with bubbles. I picked up Eragon since I'd left my other book downstairs, charmed it to float above the water, and then stripped and sank into the heat. My knees and wrist were aching and the water felt good. So I read and fiddled with the kitten charm on my necklace for the next two hours, steadily avoiding my colossal mistake and facing Lucius. He had instituted rule seven, which was that I was never to take off the necklace without his approval, and that would most likely only be to swap it back and forth with the official collar he was having made.

Once I'd gotten myself nice and pruned, I drug myself out of the bathtub and changed into a nightie before taking my book and wand over to Lucius' room. He was sitting up in the bed, reading, and he looked over at me as I slunk in and climbed into the bed. I was a little clumsy given my wrist, but I managed it, sitting cross-legged and settling my book in my lap over the comforter.

"Goodnight." I said lightly.

"Kitten…"

"Nope." I popped the 'p' and swallowed hard. "I know that communication is important, but I would really appreciate it that if we have to have this conversation, we wait until tomorrow, because I haven't cried, and if you start with the 'kitten' and the coddling, then I will cry." My voice started cracking toward the end and I pinched my arm, clearing my throat.

He was quiet for a moment before saying, "Alright."

"Thank you." I whispered, and I started reading, fidgeting with my necklace.

Surprisingly, Lucius let me avoid the conversation. I gave up on reading and laid down before him, but I couldn't take not touching him, so I scooted closer and wrapped my arms around his thigh, nestling my face into his hip. His hand immediately tangled in my hair, and I fell asleep shortly after that.

"Did you do anything to Artemis after he and I argued?"

I had avoided Lucius all day. After he left for his morning run, I disappeared into my lab, and then Draco was at breakfast with us and he kept Lucius occupied after. I ate lunch in my lab as I tried, and failed, to work on my personal essay. We were eating dinner now, and it was just us. I think Draco was eating dinner with Hermione at her flat, which reminded me that we needed to chat before the wedding because I really wanted to know how it had gone with her telling Ron, Harry, and Ginny her decision. Ginny and Hermione had accepted my invitation to the spa, so I took that as a positive indicator. Probably.

"Why do you ask?"

"Hermione said that Artemis came back to work on Friday beat to hell." I was watching him as he took a sip of wine, his face neutral.

"And you think I had something to do with it?"

"I think you're avoiding the question, which makes me suspicious."

His lips quirked up. "I did have a conversation with Artemis. He needed to understand the consequences of damaging my property."

My hand instantly went up to touch the charm on my necklace. I should be outraged at being called Lucius' property, after all, part of my argument with Artemis had been that I wasn't an object to be bought and sold. But it was also kind of hot that Lucius had gotten in a fist fight to defend my honor.

"I never saw any bruises on you – did you go to a healer?"

I got a full smile this time. "It was fairly one sided. Artemis is not one for hand-to-hand combat."

"Oh and you are?"

"I am."

I was picking at my potatoes when he spoke again. "How is your wrist?"

I knew he genuinely cared, but I also knew it was his opportunity to bring up last night. "It's fine. Oh, you know what, I think I left a flame going under a cauldron. I should get back upstairs." I stood and started to leave the dining room.

"I find it hard to believe that you would do something so careless, Olivia, but I shall come with you so we can talk."

I heard his chair scrape across the floor and then his footsteps as he followed me. With a sigh, I continued back upstairs to my lab, where there were obviously no flames going.

"Ah, look at that. Perfectly safe." The feigned surprise in his voice made me glare at him. He leaned back against one of the tables, crossing his arms and his feet at the ankles. "Now, about last night."

"We really don't need to talk about it." I said as I sidled up to him, placing my feet on either side of his and leaning closer. "We could not talk…" I ran my hand down his arm and stood up on my toes to kiss him. He buried his hands in my hair and kissed me hard, leveraging himself off the table and walking me backward until my back hit the opposite table. His hands fell to my waist and he grasped my hips as he pulled me closer and then lifted me up to sit on top of the table. I opened my legs and pulled him closer, locking my ankles around his back as I ground against him.

He pulled back and kissed down my neck, and I recognized his process of leaving hickies. "Can I suck your dick, please? The more I practice, the better."

"We're still going to discuss Severus." He said against my neck.

I pulled away from him and dropped my legs, shoving at his chest. "Fine, but not while you're kissing me." The rejection and humiliation were still sitting heavy in my gut, and it wasn't the same kind of feeling that I had experienced previously. Was it possible that there were multiple kinds of humiliation?

"Severus was caught up on one woman for most of his life. He's emotionally detached and generally uninterested in fostering emotional connections with women." Lucius paused, inhaling deeply. "He is unused to women wanting him for himself. And he is a little concerned about the age difference."

"He's younger than you!" I exclaimed, throwing my hands up. "And you're the one marrying me! I'm not asking for him to declare his undying love for me and trot me up and down Diagon Alley, shouting to the world that he's fucking his former student! And you're the one that keeps bringing up sharing me with him. I assumed he was okay with it." I clenched my teeth. "And he could keep the fuck out of my head if what I'm thinking bothers him so much."

"Easy, kitten." Lucius chided, settling his hand on the back of my neck. "You didn't give him the opportunity to explain last night, and - "

"I was not going to stand here and suffer through the humiliation of being rejected by him." I choked, trying to push him away so I could get down off the table, but he wouldn't budge. "I can't. You've built up my confidence and I wouldn't let him crush it."

Lucius was silent as he stared at me, and I avoided his gaze steadily. I hadn't meant to say that last part out loud. I didn't need to voice how pathetic I was.

"You have to stop reacting immediately, kitten. Take a moment, process the information, and then act." He pulled on my hair until I looked at him. "I understand your instinct to protect yourself, but you need to trust that I will never put you in a situation that would harm you, emotionally or physically."

"So I didn't do anything wrong?" I asked. "I mean, to make him… not like me."

"No, you did not do anything wrong. Severus is just… Severus." Lucius lifted one shoulder in a shrug. "I'll make sure he works his shit out before we try again."

I narrowed my eyes at him. "I knew you set me up."

"That terminology is so ugly, kitten. I simply gave you two an opportunity to spend some time alone."

"Mmhm. Whatever you say, Lucius."