Snape's POV
I watched, tense, as my best friend and beloved prepared to duel. Best friend or not, I didn't trust Lucius…especially where Olivia was concerned. I watched him scrutinously as they bowed to each other in the center of the room. I stood, back against the wall, fingering my wand in my pocket.
They stood facing each other at opposite ends of the room, wands at the ready, each waiting for the other to cast the first spell. I saw a gleam in her emerald eyes and a similar gleam in his grey ones. It was a look of hate and excitement, though his excitement of an entirely different nature. I recalled, suddenly, what Olivia had said after she returned from her search for Hagrid…that she felt she would be the one to kill Lucius someday.
It was he who finally grew impatient and cast the first spell. I was relieved that it was only a Stunning spell which Olivia countered with Protego, rapidly followed by a Disarming Spell. Lucius repelled it, of course. He tried Immobulus but she dodged it, countering with Rictumsempra.
I watched their back and forth banter for about 15 minutes, neither of them landing a blow. Things took a turn for the worse when Lucius began using nonverbal spells. A jet of purple light shot out of his wand. Olivia dodged at the last moment. He immediately fired another spell before she'd even regained her footing. Olivia rolled out of the way of the spell, surprising Lucius.
"Furnuculus!" she growled. Before Lucius could react, the curse hit him, causing his flawless pale skin to erupt in large, throbbing boils. His grey eyes narrowed and turned icy cold.
"You little wench! Enough of this, this childs' play- Sectumsempra!" he bellowed.
"Lucius!" I shouted, but nothing came out. I tried to move, to stop the fight, but found myself frozen, forced to watch as he used my own spells against her. Olivia dodged, thankfully, and tried to Disarm him again.
Lucius cast another nonverbal spell which hoisted Olivia in the air by her ankles- another of my own inventions. Her robes fell down, revealing her lacy black underwear. Lucius chuckled wickedly and I tried in vain to move, glaring at Lucius, murdering him with my eyes. Olivia was prepared, however- she hadn't dropped her wand when Lucius cursed her.
"Relashio!" she grunted, fighting to keep her robes down. She fell to the ground hard. She scrambled to her feet, holding her right arm at an awkward angle. Lucius shot off another spell, which she dodged. Several jars on the shelf above her head burst, showering her with broken glass. I could see she had a bleeding cut above her left eye. A furious look came over her face and she pointed her wand at Malfoy.
"Crucio!" she snarled.
Lucius hit the ground, muscles twitching violently, his eyes wide, mouth open in a silent scream.
Olivia kept it up until she collapsed, exhausted. Lucius lay there, breathing heavily. I found I could move, finally, and I rushed to Olivia's side. I rolled her onto her back and brushed her hair out of her face. Her eyes fluttered open and she winced.
"Are you…mad?" she asked. I shook my head.
"No…No, love. Are you okay?"
She nodded wordlessly.
Lucius groaned and got to his feet. I turned to face him, furious.
"Well, I'd say that got a bit out of hand," he said, rubbing his neck.
"A bit?" I snorted. "…Why did you immobilize me?"
"What? I didn't- I know better, you'd kill me-"
"I did," Olivia said quietly.
"You? But why?"
"I didn't want you to interfere…"
Lucius chuckled.
"She certainly is a true Slytherin, Severus," he said to me.
"Hmph. I'm going to take Olivia home now, if you don't mind. Thank you for the ingredients, Lucius."
"No problem. …You two can join us on Christmas, if you like. The Dark Lord will be here."
"We'll see," I said, helping Olivia to her feet. "Come Olivia."
I took her hand and, after nodding to Lucius, Disapparated.
When we appeared in the sitting room, Olivia sat on the couch. I stood, frowning, trying to be mad at her…then I burst out laughing.
"I can't believe you…you used the Cruciatus Curse on Malfoy!" I exclaimed between peals of laughter.
She grinned, but it quickly faded.
"My…my arm," she said, teeth clenched.
"Stand up," I instructed.
Olivia stood, wincing. I unzipped the back of her robes and slowly, gently pulled them off.
Her right arm was swollen, apparently dislocated at the shoulder.
"I'm going to have to pop it back into place- but it's going to hurt…" I warned her.
"I know…I trust you," she said, smiling through her pain.
"Ready?" I asked, putting my hands in place. She nodded and we both inhaled deeply. I snapped the bone back into place. At the sound of the pop, Olivia uttered a small cry and that's when everything went black.
I awoke to Olivia kneeling over me, her green eyes shining in concern. She still had a cut over her left eye, but it had stopped bleeding.
"Are you okay?" she asked.
"Yeah. What happened?"
"You fainted."
"That's ridiculous," I snorted, sitting up. "I don't faint. …Must've been an after-effect of you paralyzing me."
"Sure…" she said, smiling.
"Come on- let's get you fixed up," I said, touching the cut over her eye.
Olivia's POV
After Snape had patched me up from my duel with Malfoy, we started work on the Ultimate Healing Potion, even though we hadn't heard back from Dumbledore yet.
"We're not going to Malfoy's for Christmas, right?" I asked, carefully slicing the thorns off the Samento plant.
"Of course not," he snorted. "Not after today. I should not have let you duel. Lucius could have killed you."
"I thought I handled myself pretty well, actually," I said defensively.
"You did- I am quite proud of you, actually. But Lucius is a sick psycho-"
"-and a pervert," I added grimly, squirming as I recalled how he had hoisted me into the air upside down.
His face darkened and a murderous look came in his eye.
"I hate him," he muttered darkly.
"I know," I said soothingly. "…Let's just work on the potion."
We worked on the potion until late that evening, stopping only when we realized we hadn't eaten anything all day. We sat at the kitchen table and Snape summoned food from Hogwarts.
"I'll have to go see Healer Smethwyck in the morning, then I can come back and work on the potion," I said as we ate. He was about to say something when there was a great flash- we both jumped up, wands out- and Fawkes the Phoenix appeared in our kitchen.
The bird alighted on the table before me. He held a package in his claws. I took the package, reveling in being so close to the beautiful bird, admiring his red and golden plumage.
I opened the box to find a small vial containing a silvery substance that could only be the phoenix's tears.
"Thank you Fawkes," I said softly, stoking his feathered head. He let out a soft musical note and within a minute he vanished again.
"I can't believe it… we actually have phoenix tears. …Someone would pay thousands of Galleons for that little bottle in your hand," Snape said. "If we sold that, we'd be set for life. We could leave here… live somewhere magnificent and never have to worry about anything ever again."
"Severus…" I said softly and put my arms around him, looking up at him. "We can't leave. This is bigger than just you and I. You know that."
"I do," he said, resignedly. "…It would be nice though."
"Yeah…"
I stepped away from him to examine the vial I held in my hands in the light.
"So many old potions are useless because the phoenix because so rare," Snape said. "…In the olden days, wizards would keep them in cages their whole lives, confined and miserable, just to collect their tears and their feathers."
"How horrible!" I declared. "How could anyone do something so cruel to such a beautiful creature?"
I looked down at the vial, wishing we didn't need it so- it was heartbreaking to imagine the phoenix weeping.
Snape and I got up early the next morning and resumed working on the potion. I left for an hour or so to go to the hospital and talk to Healer Smethwyck. I found him and Pye in Arthur's room.
"Healer Smethwyck- I've discovered a recipe for an old Healing Potion, one I'm inclined to think will work. But it will take several days and has to be watched closely- I'm loathe to leave it alone, even now," I said, though I hadn't technically left it alone, I'd left it with Snape.
"Do what you need to do, Miss Cain," Smethwyck said. "For the time being, Pye and Arthur are convinced they want to try the Muggle remedy of… stitching."
"Stitches, sir," Pye corrected. "They're quite effective on Muggle wounds."
"It certainly can't hurt to try," Arthur said brightly.
After telling Smethwyck I'd stay in touch, I left the hospital. I did not go directly home, however. It was almost Christmas and I hadn't gotten Snape anything. I hadn't the faintest idea what to get him, so I headed to Diagon Alley to do some window shopping.
Snape's POV
Christmas came quickly, with the preceding days spent almost entirely working on the Healing Potion.
Olivia woke me early on Christmas morning, kissing me awake.
"Merry Christmas, Severus," she said, snuggling her naked body against mine.
"Mm. I've got a present for you," I said, kissing her forehead. I sat up and reached into the bedside table for the present I'd bought weeks ago.
"Close your eyes," I told her. "And sit up."
She did so, smiling. I brushed her hair aside and fastened the necklace around her neck. I kissed the nape of her neck gently.
"Okay," I murmured against her skin. "You can open your eyes now."
She looked down at the tear-shaped emerald on the simple silver chain and gasped.
"Oh, Severus! It's beautiful," she said and kissed me. Feeling quite pleased with myself, I kissed her back.
"It also has protective enchantments on it," I said. "To help keep you safe."
"It's amazing. I don't know how I'm going to match that, my gift isn't nearly as extravagant…"
"Just seeing you wear it is gift enough for me."
"Yeah? And I'm not wearing anything else," she said with a smirk.
"I am well aware," I said, also smirking.
She kissed me hungrily and moved to straddle me.
About an hour later we made our way downstairs. Olivia wore nothing but a fluffy black bath robe. Her hair was damp from sweat. I kissed her forehead as she sat down at the table.
"This is the best Christmas ever," I said as I moved over to the stove.
"…Are you cooking breakfast?" she asked, smiling slightly.
"I am."
"Can you even do that?" she teased.
"Of course I can cook," I snorted.
"I've got something for you. Be right back," she said, heading upstairs.
I cooked scrambled eggs, bacon and toast. When Olivia came back downstairs she had a gift wrapped in green and silver paper.
"Merry Christmas," she said, kissing my cheek.
I sat at the table to unwrap my gift while she fixed herself a plate of food. I pulled off the paper to reveal a very old book called Potions Across the Globe.
"Wow. I've never even heard of this. Where did you find it?" I asked.
"Showed up at Borgin and Burkes. Do you like it?"
"Of course I do. Thank you, Olivia…"
We ate breakfast in comfortable silence while I browsed through my book. Olivia was putting dishes in the sink when there was a knock on the door. We both froze and looked at each other.
"…How bad could it be?" I said, shrugging my shoulders and getting up to answer the door. She followed me into the hallway. I peered through the peephole and let out a sigh of relief and slight annoyance.
"It's Albus," I said. Olivia rolled her eyes.
"Well, open the door," she said.
"Aren't you going to go upstairs and put clothes on?"
"What? It's a robe, it's fine," she said with another eye-roll.
I rolled my eyes as well and opened the door.
"Merry Christmas Severus!" he beamed. "And Olivia!"
"Albus," I said, stepping aside to let him in. "What brings you here?"
"Just wishing you Christmas tidings…and I have a few things I would like to discuss with you."
We went to the study and Albus sat in the armchair. I sat on the couch and Olivia flopped down beside me, crossing her legs beneath her. Albus waved his wand and a bottle of sherry handed us each a glass.
"Merry Christmas," he said, toasting.
We drank deeply, then Albus set his glass aside.
"First off, Severus. I think, in light of recent circumstances, you should give Harry Occlumency lessons after the break."
"What? Why me?" I demanded.
"You're the only one who can do it. …I'm afraid it won't be long before I am forced to leave Hogwarts. You can, of course, have the use of the Pensieve for the time being. I understand there are some memories you do not wish for him to see."
"…Fine," I said, scowling, knowing there was no point in arguing. I knew I was going to regret it, but I also knew it was extremely important that the Dark Lord not be able to penetrate Potter's mind.
"Excellent," he said, sounding pleased. "I also have to tell you that the Slytherin Head Girl, Marilyn Scruggs, won't be returning after the holidays, so you will need to find a replacement."
"Why is she leaving?" I asked, frowning. "She is a bright girl and this is her last year here."
"Apparently young Marilyn has gone and gotten herself pregnant."
Olivia choked on her glass of sherry and set the glass aside, coughing. I raised an eyebrow at her and Dumbledore smiled politely.
"Sorry. She just always seemed like such a…prude," Olivia said.
"Just because she is pregnant, does not mean she can't continue her education. We have accommodated pregnant girls before," I said to Dumbledore.
"Her parents don't wish for her to return. It is my understanding they are making her marry the man who got her pregnant."
"Ooh, a man. Not a teenager, then?" Olivia asked interestedly.
Dumbledore shook his head and smiled.
"How is the healing potion coming along?" he asked us.
"Quite well. It will be done within the week, it has to stew for 24 hours before we can do anything else to it," I said.
"Excellent. I was at the hospital earlier visiting Arthur. They are quite busy this time of year. Family disputes- things are looking nasty down in the lobby. You may want to go in, Olivia…unless you and Severus have plans?"
"No, no plans," I said quickly. "She can go."
Albus smiled and stood.
"I'm afraid I have to go as well," he said. "You can keep the bottle- my Christmas gift to the two of you. Merry Christmas."
Olivia's POV
Snape saw Dumbledore out, then came and sat back beside me on the couch.
"So it's not all that uncommon, girls getting pregnant at Hogwarts?" I asked curiously, sipping my glass of sherry.
"You put a bunch of teenagers together like that, hormones raging, it's bound to happen. Not everyone has brains enough to whip up a contraceptive potion," Snape replied.
"Or they are too embarrassed to ask the nurse- I know I would be. How come I've never seen any pregnant girls around Hogwarts?"
"They are ways of hiding such things, charms and all," he said with a shrug. "…Do you want to be Head Girl?"
"What? No."
"But you'd be able to give detentions, use the Prefects bathroom, patrol the castle at night, sometimes with me…you even get your own private room, with a password."
I had to admit, that did sound pretty cool…
"Alright, I'll do it," I said with a grin.
"Good. …You should go to St. Mungo's," he said. "You promised Albus."
I groaned.
"But it's Christmas… Fine. I have to take a shower first- care to join me?"
He smirked and followed me up the stairs.
I worked with various patients, sorting out the results of some rather nasty family arguments, until a little after lunchtime. I decided to go check on Arthur- Smethwyck had agreed to try Pye's idea of stitches, but it hadn't worked out as well as he had hoped. It seems the venom in the wound merely dissolved the stitches and caused the wound to bleed even more than before.
I passed Potter and his friends, Hermione and Ron Weasley, in the hallway, though they didn't recognize me. I figured they were visiting Arthur for Christmas. As I approached Arthur's room, I saw Lupin leaving the room, shutting the door behind him.
"Remus," I said, greeting him.
"Oh, hello Olivia. What are you doing here?" he asked, smiling.
"Working. You?"
"Visiting Arthur. Only, well…"
He fell silent and I could hear the sound of Mrs. Weasley shouting at her husband.
"The stitches weren't your idea, were they?" he asked me.
"No, of course not. That was Pye's idea. Mine is much more clever and effective, though it is taking a while to complete."
"Let me guess- a potion?" he asked, smiling.
"Of course."
"Would you like to have a cup of tea with me? I believe there is a tearoom on one of the floors…"
"The fifth floor," I said. "And yes, of course."
"Merry Christmas, by the way," he said as we made our way upstairs. "How is Severus?"
I smiled to myself as I recalled our rather eventful morning. Lupin raised an eyebrow and I felt myself blush.
"Same as always," I said quickly.
"I'm not even going to ask why you are blushing. I don't want to know," he said.
"No, you don't. How have you been?"
"Well, the Order has kept me busy," he said with a shrug.
"Seen much of Tonks lately?" I asked casually.
He gave me a curious sort of look before responding.
"We've worked together some. Why do you ask?"
"You like her, don't you?"
"What? No. Don't be ridiculous- she is half my age."
"I can tell when you are lying Remus. You shouldn't deny what your heart feels. …She likes you, too, you know."
He said nothing until we reached the tea room. We both got a cup of tea and sat at a small table in the corner.
"What makes you say that?" he asked, sipping his tea.
"We are friends. Girls talk about this stuff."
"Hm… Did you tell her about us?" he asked, frowning.
"Well…" I said evasively.
"Did you tell her about you and Severus?"
"She guessed at that one."
"Olivia," he said, exasperated.
"You should invite her out for drinks sometime. I know she would say yes."
"She deserves someone better than me. Someone she can spend the rest of her life with, have children…be happy."
"Oh Remus," I said exasperated. "You sound just like Severus."
He made a face.
"Sometimes love is more than just 'having someone to spend the rest of her life and have children with'. That doesn't always mean happiness, you know. Happiness is being with the person you love, who you make happy and who makes you happy. You make Tonks happy…and don't try and tell me she doesn't make you happy."
"I'll think about it," he said with a sigh.
Snape's POV
I spent most of the day reading the book Olivia had gotten me for Christmas and working on the healing potion. It occurred to me that it had been exactly a year since Olivia and I began our…relationship. I wondered, and not for the first time, what would become of us after this year, when Olivia was no longer in school. It seemed foolish to think she would not still want to be together. For whatever reason, she loved me. Of that, I was certain. Could we possibly, with her no longer in school, pursue a normal relationship? One we would not have to hide?
Olivia returned late that evening, looking tired but pleased. She sat on the couch beside me and proceeded to tell me about all the cases she had handled today, which she said ranged from several incidents of accidental alcohol poisoning to incidents of intentional poisoning among relatives. I looked her over, thinking how cute she looked in her light blue Healer Intern robes with her hair pulled back. She smelled like Dittany and other herbs used in healing potions, including a faint scent of ginger. I leaned over and kissed her.
"Well aren't you feeling frisky?" she said, smiling against me.
"I guess that is one word to describe it," I said, also smiling. "I am quite proud of you, Healer Cain."
"I don't want to be a healer," she reminded me. "I want to be a veterinarian."
"Dr. Cain, then?"
"I suppose that works, yes," she said, still smiling.
"Well, Dr. Cain," I said mischievously. "I believe I have a snake who needs your immediate attention."
She giggled, blushing slightly.
"Oh my," she said through her giggling. "I believe that feels more like a basilisk than a snake."
I kissed her hungrily and she snaked her hands down into my pants.
"I think a kiss may be just the thing to cure your snake," she said with a naughty grin and I let out a low groan as she put her lips on me.
Olivia's POV
It was late the next day when Snape and I finished the Healing Potion.
"I can't believe it!" I exclaimed. "We did it!"
"Of course we did," Snape said, smiling. "We're the most talented Potioneers in all of Europe. Together, we can brew anything."
"I've got to get this to the hospital. You want to come with me?" I offered.
"No, that's quite alright. You go on ahead," I said.
I went upstairs and got dressed, then went back down and bottled the potion. I kissed Snape goodbye and Disapparated.
I Apparated into St. Mungo's and looked around for Healer Smethwyck. I couldn't find him, but I did find Pye who was moping, cleaning out bedpans with his wand, a task usually reserved for nurses. I raised an eyebrow at him.
"My stitches idea didn't pan out well," he explained. "Arthur's wife was furious."
"Well she won't be for long- Severus and I have just finished our Healing Potion. Has Smethwyck gone home?"
"Yes, but I can fetch him. Give me five minutes."
Ten minutes later, Smethwyck, Pye and I stood around Arthur Weasley's bedside.
"Olivia, if you will do the honors," said Smethwyck. I unwrapped Arthur's bandages, which revealed the still-open wounds which immediately began to leak blood. I uncorked the bottle of potion and allowed several drops of the Ultimate Healing Potion to fall onto Arthur's leg. The wound immediately began to smoke and new skin began to form. Smethwyck let out a cry of utter amazement.
Within minutes Arthur's wounds were healed and the potion almost completely used up. I looked at what was left in the bottle, then offered it to Smethwyck.
"No my dear," he said. "You made it, you keep it. In fact…"
Smethwyck pulled out his wand and with a flick transformed the bottle into a small crystal phial that could fit in the palm of my hand. He also fashioned a leather thong so that the vial could hang around my neck.
"Keep it with you always- it could mean the difference between life and death one day," he said. "Use it well."
Author's Note: Hey guys! Thanks for all the wondermous reviews and keep it up, pleeease! They keep me writing! Sorry if this chapter has very many errors, I didn't get much time to edit before uploading. And if anyone is trying to PM me, for whatever reason the site keeps disabling my PMs. Anyone else have this problem?
I will have more posted soon. In the meantime, why not go read and review my Sweeney Todd fanfic? It's really good! ;-)
Thanks, all!
~LilReporterGirl