DISCLAIMER: I do not own any of the Potterverse characters. They are owned by JK Rowling.
Aurelia and a handful of other characters you don't recognize, along with the story, though, are mine.
Timeline: HBP and beyond.
Rating: Mature for language and sexual content … I swear it's coming :)
A/N: Ah, sorry … I'm a day late and a dollar short, or rather 500 words short. I managed to ruin my self imposed deadline and minimum chapter length in one swoop. Go me. For some reason I'm stuck on Lucius the last couple weeks, so even though I've been writing on this story, I haven't been writing on this section. But I managed to pull this out. Sorry it's not very long. And a special thanks to the Harry Potter Lexicon, which I visit almost every time I'm writing, to confirm spellings (which for some reason I have been spelling Kinglsey's name wrong. Got it now), spells, timelines, etc. So yeah, thanks.
Severus.
She had fallen asleep about an hour ago. He had barely given her a second thought, she needed the sleep after spending a good three hours trying to create seamless memories. She was actually quite good at it, but when she became too mentally exhausted they had agreed to take a break. She fell asleep almost instantly on the couch.
He was content to finish his grading there, ignoring the sound of her breathing as it rose and fell with what he could only assume were dreams. But he couldn't ignore the pained noises. She looked for a moment like she was having an argument in her sleep. Her head tossed from side to side, and her breath caught in her chest.
Leaving the papers he was grading on the table, he stalked over to the couch. He was just about to wake her when her face changed to something that was not pain at all, and she moaned in a way he had not heard a woman do in years.
His blood instantly drained from his face and settled much lower. He was rooted to the floor and couldn't even breathe. His eyes were wide as he watched her chest rise with each labored breath. Her hands grasped at the cushions, her back arched every so slightly and he was almost positive he heard his own name whispered. With one last moan, her eyes shot open.
They were both frozen, neither even daring to breath. A million thoughts were flying through his head, and not one ended with him backing away from her. Most included him ravaging her right there on that couch. Her eyes flicked down to his mouth and he finally released the breath he was holding. He was suddenly terrified that she would be able to feel every tormented emotion he was currently feeling. He leaned forward and her eyes fluttered shut.
She wanted him to kiss her. It was a heady realization, but he didn't have enough sense to examine it. It would take only a single movement and he would give into the urges he had been fighting since he met her.
The warm dull pain in his left arm surprised him and Aurelia opened her eyes at his sharp intake of air. The Dark Lord was summoning him. He stood up straight, and took a few steps back, putting enough distance between Aurelia and himself so he could think clearly. He wasn't sure if he was relieved or frustrated with the interruption. Frustrated, he decided. And she shared that frustration. The look on her face made him want to growl. He couldn't tell which emotion was stronger, lust, frustration, confusion or hurt, but the combination made her simply irresistible.
"I'm being summoned. I have to go," came out in one breath. She frowned, clearly confused until her eyes flicked down to where he was rubbing his left arm.
"Oh," she said, standing. When she took a step toward him, he fought the urge to take a step away. He was stronger than that. He watched as her lips barely moved with no words coming out. Then she settled on biting her lower lip.
"Out with it," he said, urging her to say what she wanted.
She let out a slow breath through her nose and then looked at him straight in the eye. The look made him instantly uncomfortable, but he couldn't place why.
"Can I see it?" she asked and her lip was under her teeth again.
He knew she was asking about his Dark Mark, but he couldn't understand why. It represented everything he hated about himself. But she was acting like it was something forbidden and erotic.
How could he deny her when she was looking at him like that?
He unbuttoned the cuff of his sleeve and pulled the fabric up to his elbow, revealing the now reddening scull and snake on the inside of his arm. She took his hand in her left hand, extending his arm for her to exam. She drug her other hand over the tattoo, slowly tracing the marks with her fingertips.
"It's almost hot," she said, never taking her eyes off the mark.
He swallowed, praying his voice would still be intact. The heat was nothing compared to what her touches was eliciting. "It gets worse the longer I wait."
"Then you should go," she said, looking up at him. But she didn't release his hand and for the life of him, he couldn't pull away from her.
But the pain did get worse. He pulled his hand from her grasp, harsher than was necessary and he turned his back to her, pulling his sleeve back over the mark.
"Then I bid you good night," he said stiffly and left, not wanting to chance looking at her again.
Once in the back garden, he felt better, his head sharper. He took a deep breath, letting the cold air shock his lungs and disapperated.
Severus.
It had taken more time than he would have liked getting to his rooms in the dungeons of Hogwarts to retrieve his Death Eater robes and mask. With a quick Floo to Minerva to let her know he was being summoned, he then made haste returning to the apperation point.
Once he arrived at the Malfoy Mannor he cleared his mind, allowing his stride to take on an air of superiority. The study he and Lucius had spent most of their time in, was currently flanked by the Lestrange brothers.
Rodolphus opened the door and Severus entered. He only had a moment to take in his surroundings, the Dark Lord sitting comfortably in Lucius' favorite chair in front of the fire, Nagani curled at his feet, Avery and Dolohov standing to his right conversing quietly, and Nott sat in a smaller chair to his left. Then he knelt to the ground, bowing.
"Leave us," the Dark Lord hissed with a dismissive wave of his hand. Severus remained kneeling his feet but was relieved when the room cleared out quickly and quietly. The Dark Lord wanted to share information with Severus not punish him. It wouldn't do for shows of superiority if there was no audience.
"Severus," the Dark Lord addressed him as soon as they were the only two in the room. "I've heard some distressing information. That the Order is trying to acquire something."
Severus looked up at the pale being he wouldn't call a man anymore. "This is true, my Lord. Although, I'm unsure why it is distressing."
"Because I didn't hear it from you."
"I apologize," he bowed his head again. Someone was being leaked information, and was trying to use it against him. "I was attempting to have a full report for you, instead of half information and my own unconfirmed theories. Was this informant able to acquire more information?" He sounded truly interested.
The Dark Lord didn't answer right away. Finally, he said, "No. He simply knew they were attempting something." Severus got the distinct impression he was not a he at all. "Well, what are your theories?"
Severus took the question as leave to stand and give his report. "I know that Dumbledore is going outside the Order to acquire what I believe is a Muggle artifact that may have some sort of historical value. But I'm not sure."
"Why is the old man not giving you this information? Has he lost faith in you?"
"No, I don't believe so. His health has continued to deteriorate and I think he is trying to spread out the information and tasks. I think he's finally starting to realize his Order is not invincible."
"Good," he said and dropped his hand to the side of the chair. The giant snake lifted its head and allowed it to be stroked like someone would do with a dog. "What tasks has he given you?"
"He is still trying to have me create antidotes for the new poisons that the Ministry has found."
"Your poisons?"
Severus smirked. "Yes. And he keeps having incompetent wizards help me, so it's been easy to hide the results." The Dark Lord tightened his lips into a line that should have been a smile.
"How is the young Malfoy handling his new task?" he said absently.
"Dumbledore is still alive," Severus said flatly. "I have far more opportunities and ability than the boy does. It may take him all year. If you want Albus dead now, it would be easy for me to accomplish it for you."
"No," Voldemort hissed. "If it is true what you say about his health, he will be gone soon enough. This gives Malfoy the chance to prove himself."
Severus swallowed. It was worth a try. "Would you like me to proceed as normal with the boy?"
"You can offer help if you'd like."
"Very well," he nodded. "Is there any information you would like me to feed the Order?"
"Yes," he said thinking. "Let them know that we are aware the Order is attempting to acquire whatever it is they are trying to acquire and see if Dumbledore will give you any more information." The Dark Lord smiled again and it unsettled Severus. "Tell the old man you think me to be losing faith in you. Convince him a piece of useful information would help to bring you back in my graces."
Severus.
Everything was clean in his classroom, nothing out of place. He knew this because he had gone through it all three times this evening. The Defense Against the Dark Arts room was brighter than the Potions room, which made sense as it wasn't in the dungeons, but Severus still managed to make it dark and dreary. It fit him. He was dark and dreary. Not to mention sarcastic, mean, brooding and perhaps even outright evil.
What he most certainly was not, was an overactive, hormone driven teenager. At least that's what he kept telling himself.
It had been two weeks to the day that he had last seen her and he had made a point to stay away. He had tried hundreds of things to keep his mind busy, but he knew he was only slowly driving himself crazy. He hadn't been to meals in the last four days. He knew Minerva would be able to discern that something was wrong and he wasn't going to admit something to her that he could barely admit to himself. He knew he couldn't control his emotions enough when he was around Aurelia. And she was too stupid to simply ignore them.
That wasn't fair. She wasn't stupid. He was stupid. There was no room in his life for a relationship as complicated as one with her would be. Severus had already surmised that Albus wasn't hiding her because of what she could do, but because of who she was. Not that she wasn't an amazing witch in her own right, in fact, she may be more powerful than even Albus knew. But he was fairly sure they were hiding her from the Order and or the Ministry as opposed to the Dark Lord himself.
And he had nothing to offer her. This time next year, if he wasn't dead, he would definitely be a wanted man. Neither liked nor trusted by the Order, Ministry, and who knows, maybe even the Death Eaters. And Aurelia would hate him.
He stopped his frustrated pacing behind his desk. Or maybe, that was the perfect solution. No commitments, no emotional ties, a relationship with an expiration date. They could use each other. She had proven to be an adequate distraction, and if coerced could be a great physical relief. He could provide the companionship that she was obviously lacking in her solitude.
And they worked well together. He was fairly certain she was going to figure out the problem he was having with the antidote, he still refused to call it by the asinine name she had given it. And if she did solve the problem, she would need an extra pair of hands to brew it. Plus there was still the matter of the task Albus has assigned her.
If this war was going to be won, he needed her help. And so be it if her help also provided him with something he wanted.
So it was decided. He would visit her the following evening.