A few hours later Severus woke up with a headache and his lungs still hurt with every breath. And even a soft body was lying on him. He opened his eyes carefully and saw Sarah's head on his shoulder and her hand on his heart. He frowned then realized how the girl ended on him. He glanced at the table but the cauldron was cold and motionless. He grimaced and tried to get up but immediately felt nausea. He lay back down to wait until the nausea passed. He watched the girl who seemed to be shivering a little. She was wearing one of Severus' long sleeved shirts and her legs and feet were bare. The magician gently brushed her hair out of her face and felt her forehead. She seemed to injure herself in the fall. Though it didn't look like anything dangerous he decided to take a look at it.
When he finally managed to get up, he picked the girl up and laid her down in the living room. He glanced at the potion again but it had a disgusting color that made even Severus shudder. So he left the cauldron and knelt beside the girl. He started wiping her forehead with a cooling potion. The scent of herbs made Sarah recover quickly.
"What… what happened?" She asked wearily.
"The potion I was making knocked us out."
"What kind of potion?"
"Someone asked me to make a love potion." The wizard felt his sore wrist. "It was the customers wish to make the effect three times as strong as usual. But it turned out to be too concentrated. I'll kill you for this, Malfoy…" He muttered to himself.
"Love potion?" Sarah smiled. "I thought that only existed in fairy tales."
Severus returned the smile, surprising himself. He coughed to hide his embarrassment and started pacing.
"It's okay, I'll make a new one." He said.
He picked up some firewood, seized them around the fire and scattered black magic dust into the fire witch turned the flames green. Sarah recoiled:
"What are you doing?"
"I'm making an ash lizard." Severus replied cheerfully. "Come, take a look!"
Sarah wrapped a blanket around her and stood beside him.
"What is an ash lizard?"
"You'll see!"
They looked at the fire for a while. When Sarah became a little bored Severus took her hand and pointed to the flames. She cried:
"How cute!"
A gray lizard appeared in the fireplace. Apparently it wanted to get out but the firewood stopped it. It crouched in the corner and began shaking.
"What is it doing now?" She asked excitedly.
"It's laying its eggs." Severus whispered.
The continued watching it. Severus leaned closer and counted the eggs then nodded. The animal, after finishing, vaporized.
"Poor little thing." Sarah sniffed.
The wizard pulled out his wand and cooled the eggs. When they very cold enough he picked them up.
"W-what are you doing?" She asked indignantly.
"I'm taking its eggs." Severus said. "They are necessary ingredients for my potion."
"What?" Sarah exclaimed. "You kill the babies of that animal after it sacrificed its life for them? You kill them to make stupid potions?"
"Stupid potions?" Severus' eyes widened. "There are no animal in these eggs! It's a deception! These eggs would burn down the house! They can only be used in potions! All true ash lizards are born in fire!"
Sarah felt a little stupid for not knowing this and lowered her head. Severus stood up, murmured something about stupid potions. The girl smiled and stood up too.
"Severus…" She began. "Is there a place… where I could… wash myself?"
The wizard stopped dead for a moment.
"O-of course." He said.
Severus made the potion angrily. The nervousness began affecting him more and more as he heard the girl's voice from the bedroom. The wizard found a huge vat on the attic and enchanted it so the water would stay warm. He left the girl alone who enjoyed the rose scented warm water. She washed her body with a sponge. She watched the water droplets slipping off of her arm.
Outside, Severus didn't know what to do; he was nervously pacing in the living room. The potion was ready and he put it on the shelf so he can take it the next time he met Malfoy.
It was dark outside. Severus went to the door to ask Sarah if she needed anything. And he peered through the gap between the slats. One of his worst qualities was his overwhelming curiosity. He got into trouble so many times because of it…
The girl's back was in his view, she just stood up. The water was running down her hips. She reached for the towel and started wiping herself.
Severus closed his eyes while a pleasant shiver ran down his body. He leaned against the door and sighed softly…
"Severus!" The girl called from inside.
The man recoiled in horror: he thought he was caught.
"Would you help me?"
He straightened his shirt and entered the room.
"A-are you done?"
"Yes, it was great, thank you. Can you help me? Now that I'm wrapped in this towel I can't get out of the vat…
She looked at him. Severus nodded and offered a hand to her.
"Hold on to me."
Sarah put her arms around his neck while the man lifted her. They looked at each other for a moment then Severus lowered his eyes and put her on the bed.
"Thank you." She whispered. Severus relaxed and looked at the girl not even realizing that their lips met for a moment. It was a gentle short kiss, more like a clumsy attempt than a passionate kiss. When Severus opened his eyes again he looked right into Sarah's sapphire ones. His face burnt and he could barely swallow.
"I…" He stammered hoarsely. "Forgive me!" He said quickly and left the girl.
After he closed the door behind him he gently leaned against the wall and stared at the ceiling. He hesitantly touched his own lips then swept out of the house. He was running away. He walked on the usual path while his brain was working hard…
The sun was coming up when he leaned against the railing of the bridge. His eyes shoved fatigue, his face was pale and her limbs all felt sore after the all-night walk. His shoes and pants were muddy.
"I am so stupid… there is no doubt about it… How could I be such an idiot?"
He never would have thought a woman can do that to him, that his lips would ever touch the lips of a woman, that his hands would touch a woman's body… And that this woman would be a Muggle. It's impossible. What did he do to deserve this punishment? At least it should be a witch! But being a Death Eater and having a relationship with a non-magical person. Fate has a twisted sense of humor sometimes…
No way, he thought. This has to end. He would let the girl go home, so he wouldn't see her anymore. This whole thing is meaningless and has no future and it makes awkward situations.
He kicked off the mud from his shoes and with a sigh opened the door.
Sarah was sitting at the table and jumped up when she saw the man. She ran to him and threw herself at him.
"I was so worried about you! I thought something happened to you out there! Where have you been?" She asked in horror.
Every decision he made crumbled like a house of cards. He even figured out what to say to let the girl go, but when she threw herself in his arms worried he couldn't say any of it. He looked into Sarah's big eyes and wanted to say something but he could only gap. The girl buried her head in his neck when she saw that he was okay. Severus felt their heart beating slower and their body close to each other. He put his arms around the girl and hugged her too. He gently stroked the girl's hair then closed his eyes to enjoy the peaceful embrace…
In the afternoon they went for a walk in the woods. Sarah sometimes bent down and picked a flower to put it in the bouquet in her hand. With her other hand she held Severus' sweaty fingers. She had to look at him from time to time because the man seemed nervous. He smiled in embarrassment but said nothing. He didn't like others to know about his weaknesses but the girl immediately found them.
They stopped on the bridge. Severus opened up slightly and told her a lot of things about the wizard world, his own matters, the Death Eaters; but he barely said anything about the Dark Lord: the mention of his name made him shiver; he thought it would be disrespectful to talk about him.
Sarah became glum when he heard the stories of the dark wizards but she waited until Severus finished.
She turned to the railing and looked into the water. She found her own reflection.
"You're not saying anything?"
"You know, it's hard… and it's quite controversial. How can someone hate half-bloods and mudbloods when he himself is a half-blood? His father was non-magical… Where is the logic in it?"
"Don't try to find it." Severus looked at her pleadingly. "It's all because of his childhood offenses. It's about something else. It's about power."
"Why is it so important to you?"
"Maybe because I've never had…" The man smiled bitterly.
Sarah stepped to him and embraced him lovingly. They gently stroked each other's back and rocked. It was a nice feeling to hold each other in the cold autumn wind. Their kisses were much more passionate and caring now. The embarrassment was still evident on their faces but they felt a new feeling building in them…
"You never make proper food for yourself?" Sarah asked with a smile. "Ever since I've been here we ate nothing normal…"
"I can't cook." Severus murmured and straightened his robes. He was about to leave.
"I make dinner while you're gone."
The man smiled gratefully. He kissed the girl and grabbed the vial of the love potion then looked around to see if he left something out.
"Take care of yourself." Sarah said.
"You too." The other whispered while they embraced. "The house is protected from the outside; no one can harm you while I'm gone. If something bad happens… escape through the trap door into the basement… No one will find you there… I'll try to hurry…" He kissed her gently and stepped back then with a faint pop, he apparated.
Sarah was a bit frightened and stood there for a while then started cooking.