FawkesyLady, thank you SO MUCH for helping me with this chapter despite being super busy! Betas like you are few and far between, and I love how we have a lot of fun and giggles brainstorming. You are the best. :)

Also, a word to my dear readers - this chapter is only short, and as for the very end... FawkesyLady made me do it. She insisted on more sex. :)

Alice looked around her kitchen one last time, finally satisfied with its state. It was almost noon by the time she had finished scrubbing up the last traces of blood and dirt, and as much as she wanted to go down to the basement and clean up her lab, her exhausted body would not allow her to move now that she had sat down at the table. Even coffee did little to keep her fully awake, and she was glad to get some well-deserved rest.

'Alright, Barry?' She asked as her owl flew inside by the back door and made a beeline for his bowl of treats, ignoring her as he gobbled up a good amount. A short time later, he turned his head towards Alice and shot her a questioning look.

'Sorry mate, no bacon today. Had a right tough night, I did. I'm knackered.'

Barry flapped his wings with an angry clucking of his beak. Glaring, he picked up a talon-full of treats and flew out of the kitchen without bothering to drop the usual shit or pellet, as he usually did whenever Alice refused him bacon for whatever reason. Alice found his behaviour odd, but decided not to complain.

She rubbed her temples in an attempt to calm the dull headache that had appeared behind her eyes hours ago. As nice as it was to finally be able to sit down, she found that having nothing to do made her anxious for Professor Snape, who was still sleeping in her bedroom. Thankfully he had no further episodes of convulsions, and Alice could now only wait and hope that the Essence would work as intended.

Alice felt a tingle of self-doubt creep up on her again as she searched for her tobacco tin. For what seemed like the millionth time, she wondered if she had done the right thing by keeping the Professor in her house. She reflected that the man should better live, lest she had gone to all that trouble in vain. Not to even mention the sheer expense of brewing all those potions for him. Her ingredients stash would cost a pretty penny to replace, of that she was sure, and a dead man would not cough up the cash.

'Oh, bugger.' She groaned as she opened her tobacco tin, only to find an empty pack of papers, a couple of filters and the tiniest bit of tobacco dust that would not make even the thinnest of fags. She drummed her fingers on the table irritatedly. The idea of going without fags was too unpleasant to entertain, but she had no energy for a trip to the shop. Even if she did, she was reluctant to leave Snape on his own, even for a quarter of an hour. Anything could happen in that time.

'No fags, no sleep, nothing. Bugger.' She grumbled, rising from her chair. As pleasant as it was to do nothing, she was unable to ignore the washing basket she had placed next to the washing machine. It was full of Snape's soiled robes, and Alice had planned to wash them later, unable to muster up much enthusiasm for this particular chore. She could no longer bear the faint whiff of stench that traversed the length of the room, and decided to get it over and done with.

She picked up the filthy garments one by one, holding them inbetween pinched fingers, her nose wrinkled as she searched his pockets for anything that should not be washed. She found his wand, hidden in the sleeve of his frock coat, and placed it on the floor next to her. It was a lovely piece of wood, polished to a shine, long and slim and dark, just like its owner. It was darker than Alice's rosewood wand, and Alice thought that it must have been made of ebony.

She was surprised to find that Snape didn't carry a lot on his person. In one pocket, she found a leather pouch. She gave it a shake, and the jingling sound it made indicated that there was quite a bit of money in there. She also found a tiny book that appeared to be written in a foreign language, a cheap plastic lighter, and a pack of cigarettes. Her eyes lit up as she opened this particular treasure, and she squealed with joy when she saw that it was almost full. She pocketed it quickly, reasoning, 'Well, it's his own fault for leaving his fags where I could find them! And besides, he owes me.'

The breast pocket was empty, save for the solitary chocolate bar, molten and out of shape. Alice stared at the purple wrapping for a long time, a peculiar wave of warmth rising from the pit of her stomach. Unbidden, a thought slipped into her mind. 'He kept it!'

Grinning at the fuzzy feeling in her belly, Alice put the chocolate next to the rest of Snape's possessions. She made quick work of stuffing everything into the washing machine. She added more washing powder than necessary, reasoning that the clothes really needed a good, thorough wash, and that nothing short of the longest and hottest cycle would do.

The washing machine was relatively fancy - a white front-load contraption she had picked up second hand. It was pretty cheap due to a small fault, and a massive improvement from her grandmother's 1960s top-load. She pressed the start button and kicked the machine soundly to get it running, and gathered up Snape's possessions, putting them in one corner of the table. Falling onto the chair with a heavy sigh, she opened the cigarettes with greedy hands, a self-satisfied grin plastered across her face as she lit up one of the expensive fags and took a deep, contented drag. 'Oooh, this is good stuff. Very good stuff. And free.' She remembered the time Snape offered her one of these. It was heavenly, but at the time, she was too shaken up to truly appreciate just how superior it was to her cheap tobacco. 'Might as well treat meself.' She decided as soon as she was finished, and lit another one. And then another.

Lost in a meandering maze of loosely connected, pleasant thoughts, Alice put her head down for a moment, just to rest her eyes for a little while. Cool against her cheek, the formica surface of the old table was as comfortable as any feather bed, and within minutes, the steady purr of the washing machine soothed her the rest of the way into the deep slumber of an exhausted soul.

Whoosh. Wheeze. Bang.

'Ala?!'

'Are you there, Alice?'

'Hello-oooooo?!'

Alice bolted out of her chair, startled awake by the mighty din. Wand in hand, she ran out into the hallway, her heart fluttering in her chest as she checked her immediate surroundings, trying to determine the source of the disturbance.

'I thought she'd be right here. Maybe she's downstairs? Let's shout louder.'

Fred's familiar voice was coming from the living room, and Alice breathed an audible sigh of relief, dismissing the idea that the Death Eaters have somehow followed Snape into her home and were out to get her. She called out, 'I'm here!', and reflected sourly that it seemed like the wizards of the world were conspiring against her to ensure that she could never get her quota of uninterrupted sleep ever again. She walked into the living room and shut the door behind her, mindful of the noise, and sat cross-legged in front of the fireplace. 'Hello.' She said. Tiny green flames were burning in the grate, and two speckled faces grinned at her immediately, squashed cheek-to-cheek.

'Alright, Ala? We thought you weren't in.'

Alice sighed, 'I'm alright, yeah. Just tired. I haven't slept all night.'

Fred wrinkled his brow. 'How come? Are you sure you're alright? You… you don't look too well. Are you sick?'

Alice snorted with a roll of her eyes. 'Thanks very much. No, I'm not sick. I've been… brewing. All night. Downstairs.'

George piped up excitedly, 'Ooh! Anything good? Do tell!'

She rested her chin on the base of her palm. 'Just bits and bobs. Some experimental stuff. Failed miserably, the lab's in a right state. It's why I didn't hear you two.' She suppressed a smirk at this white lie. Oh, if only they knew.

Fred's eyebrows quirked upwards, and in a careful tone, he asked, 'Failed miserably? That's unusual. Are you sure you're not coming down with something?'

'I am most definitely not coming down with anything, for fuck's sake!' Alice snapped waspishly. The chatter worsened her headache, and she shut her eyes briefly in an attempt to contain her temper. Really, she didn't have the energy to deal with them and their questions today. 'And it isn't unusual for things to go wrong when experimenting. What did you want, anyway?'

The twins shared a look, and Alice could have sworn that she saw Fred mouthing, 'I think she's on her period.' She shot them a nasty look, and George rushed to explain, his voice subdued, 'We just wanted to see how you were, that's all. And ask if you need anything. See if you wanted to come over and work on that Shoes-Off Charm maybe, the shop's pretty quiet today…'

Alice cut in sharply, 'Not today, no. I'm absolutely knackered. I've been working all night and the last thing I want is more work! Even I deserve a bit of rest sometimes, you know!'

Fred threw up his hand in a placating gesture, 'Whoa, lass! Alright, alright, we get it! What's up with you today, love? Do you want us to come and help clean up your lab - '

Alice shrieked, 'NO!', and clenched her fists at her sides. Apparently, Fred and George were hell-bent on pestering her today. They winced at her outburst, growing visibly more confused by the second. She cleared her throat, and continued, 'I want to be left alone today. But if you really want to make yourselves useful…'

She summoned a piece of paper and a pen, and quickly scribbled a list in her chicken-scratch handwriting. 'Here's a list of ingredients I'm low on. Can't brew anything until I have them. Just send them over whenever.' She tore off the page and tossed it in the grate. She needed to get them off her back, and a quick mental calculation told her that she would have to dig deep into her pocket to replace all the ingredients she had used up on Snape's healing potions. It wouldn't do any harm for the boys to replace them - after all, he was a fellow Order member, and besides, they never had to know that her so-called 'experiments' had nothing to do with their shop stock.

George glanced at the list, looking like a whipped dog. 'Alright.' He added quietly, ''You know, if there's anything wrong, you can always tell us.'

Alice grumbled, 'Everything's fine.' She wished with all her heart that the twins would just leave her alone. She could read it it from their crestfallen faces that their feelings were hurt, but found that she simply couldn't care. They would have to get over it and seek comfort from each other this time. She had enough on her plate.

Fred opened his mouth and was about to say something when Alice's ears pricked up at a creaking sound from above. Scrambling to her feet, she dusted off her knees and said, 'Right, I have to go. Can't keep my eyes open. Maybe I am coming down with something. I'll, erm… speak to you soon.'

Without waiting for an answer, she waved her wand at the fireplace and cut off the connection, ignoring the pang of guilt as she caught a final glimpse of her two best friends, confused and miserable, staring at her as though she had killed a kitten. In a snit, she stomped upstairs to check on her patient, muttering, 'Not a moment's peace in this madhouse.'

'Well?' Sharon asked, looking up at Barry with hopeful, shiny eyes.

'No luck.' He replied as he perched next to her on the fence, which had become their usual meeting spot. 'But I got these,' He added quickly, noticing the distress etched across his lady love's pretty face. He dropped the collection of treats at her feet and fluttered over to stand at her other side as she ate.

'Thank you.' She said gratefully, and when she finished eating, she moved closer to Barry, who extended his wing in an offer of comfort and shelter. Quietly, she added, 'My wizard always returns by morning, or sends me to the big castle if he knows he's going to be out late. I am so worried!'

'Don't worry, my dear'. Barry put his wing around Sharon protectively, and gently prodded the side of her head with his beak. 'He'll be back soon, I'm sure. If he doesn't come back shortly, I'll go back home and see if there are any of those funny purple things knocking about. I'll keep you safe.'

'You will?' Sharon looked up into Barry's eyes, breathing, 'My hero!'

Barry puffed out his chest. 'But of course! I couldn't leave you all alone!'

'Won't your Human chase me away? She does sound pretty dreadful…'

'Oh, she is dreadful. But I promise to scratch her eyes out if she causes any trouble. She won't chase you away, don't worry. I'd never let that happen!'

Sharon sighed, and turned her head to bury her beak in Barry's warm neck. Nuzzling it lightly, she said, 'I don't know what I'd do without you. Thank you for staying with me all night.'

Barry stroked her gently with his wing feathers, crooning, 'You're welcome, Sharon. And if you want, I'll shit on your wizard's head. Just so he'll remember never to lock you out again!'

*** Later In The Evening ***

Alice had spent the day taking short naps and tending to Snape, who was still asleep in her bedroom. Physically, he was recovering incredibly well. He would wake periodically, but when he did, he wasn't making much sense. Sometimes, he would scream and yell at her. Other times, he would go as far as to proposition her, making lewd comments whenever her hands came into contact with his body.

Most of the time, she ignored him, blaming his delirium. On one particularly memorable occasion, however, he called her over, mumbling that he needed her help desperately. When Alice leaned over him to better hear what he wanted to say, he inhaled deeply, and looking her straight in the eye, whispered, 'Now, Empress. Be a good little witch and suck my cock, will you?'

She wasn't sure what had possessed her then. Equally taken aback, intrigued and amused, she replied silkily, 'You want me to suck your cock, you dirty, dirty man?'

Snape looked at her through hooded eyes. 'Yessss…'

Tempted as she was to dip her head under the covers and sample the taste of Severus Snape, Alice held back. She placed the tip of her finger on his lower lip, gently tracing its outline, and chuckled when the man shuddered as she slowly slid it down his chin and neck. 'Well, I'll tell you what. If you ask me again, in your right mind, I'll give you the best blowjob of your life. But you'll have to shag me afterwards. Is that a deal?'

'Gods, Empress. I'll give you the best, hardest Slytherin fuck you could possibly imagine.'

'Good.' She purred, rising from the bed and walking towards the door. Before she left, she called out from over her shoulder, 'But first, you'll have to have a proper long wash.'

His answering smile nearly knocked her off her feet. It completely transformed his face, turning his usual sour demeanour into something different, warm and radiant and utterly attractive. In that moment, he was gorgeous to her eyes.

Seemingly amused by Alice's expression of wide-eyed surprise, he started laughing, a deep, rumbling sound coming from the depths of his belly. Alice left the bedroom and closed the door behind her then, not entirely sure what had just happened.

Now, as she laid down on the living room settee with an episode of Coronation Street on the television, she mused that perhaps finding out how the Slytherins fuck wouldn't be such a bad idea. As unlikely as he was to remember this exchange, he had awakened her curiosity, and perhaps she could be persuaded to take him up on the offer. If only to find out if he was as grumpy in bed as he was everywhere else.