Family affair.

Lying in the bed, her head resting on his stomach she entwined her fingers with his.

"So will you?"

"What?"

"Marry me?"

Propping herself up on an elbow she looked him straight in the eyes, her green ones locking with his black ones.

"Yeah what a great idea!"

She rolled her eyes at the sarcasm and pushed herself out of the bed, twitching as he grabbed her wrist she looked at him.

"We can't – ok?"

"Why not?"

"Honestly, are you ready to settle down? Just one witch?"

He laughed lightly before getting out of the bed and wrapping his arms around her.

"I'll try and be faithful"

"Fuck off!"

Pushing his hands off her she quickly remembered who she was dealing with as her hair was grabbed in a tight grip

"Why so difficult – you know we belong together"

Winching as hairs were pulled out of her scalp she hissed

"Keep telling yourself that!"

As he pushed her to the floor and walked over to his scattered clothes he looked at her again as she was getting to her feet.

"It's been 10 years now, what are you waiting for?"

Amanda sighed while pulling some hair behind her ear, it had been long now, longer than any relationship she had ever had and the most expensive one as well. She had lost everything because of his little game, her family, friends and her future. If she was to be with anyone it had to be him, no one else would do. She had tried but she always ended up back with him and he seemed to always welcome her though he had other options and she had none. Was it still the guilt that was playing a part of the game? Or had the potion had more effect on him than he would admit?

"Why settle for me?"

She gave him a hard look which he returned with a laugh

"Why do you consider it settling?

Shrugging her shoulder she pulled her t-shirt on before grabbing her jeans. His hand gently grabbed her arm and she looked up at him.

"What do you have to lose?"

That question got to her, it always did and like every other time he moved quickly before a fist or an item came his way, high-speed.

"Come on – it's getting old!"

"I hate you Marcus Flint!"

The sound of the door slamming echoed through the cottage for the longest time as he stood alone in the dark, the fire in the fireplace long gone and so was she. She had left before, more than once to be honest but she always had come back but something told him that this time was different.

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An owl screeched at the Potions Master, making him break out of his line of thoughts. Untying the letter from its leg he unfolded the paper and read the few lines before grabbing his cloak and leaving his office though the classroom. The school was deserted as he made his way to the Entrance Hall and out through the Great Doors. At the gate to the castle grounds he Disaperated.

Looking at the door to the small inn he entered without looking around, those days were over and as his eyes had gotten used to the dusk of the small pub he spotted her sitting in a corner, hands holding what seemed to be a cup of tea. Signalling the barkeeper he walked over and sat down across the table from her.

"I could have been busy you know"

"But you weren't, now were you…"

Her voice was cold and she seemed tired, he couldn't suppress a smirk which she caught.

"Get your mind out of the gutter!"

"Calm yourself, I am doing you a favour, remember?"

Rolling her eyes she took a sip before leaning back into the seat.

"It's been 10 years now, the potion is working less intensively but it's still there and I keep returning to him"

He nodded as the glass of Firewhiskey was placed in front of him, taking a sip before he answered.

"We thought that would happen…"

"You have to fix it... you have to help me, I can't live like this. I have lost everything!"

Her ramble died as she caught his eye

"I have to? I don't owe you anything!"

Seeing as her eyes started gleaming with tears he sighed, why did she always cry? Or at least, why did she always cry around him.

flashback

"Miss Wood, if you would please stay for a minute"

Amanda turned and looked at the Potions Master, her classmates were leaving and catching the eye of Susan she gave her a frantic look.

"But Sir…"

"No 'buts' – your essay is inadequate …"

Knowing this was a poor excuse she sent a silent cry for help to her friend.

"Get moving Miss Bones!"

Waving his hand he dismissed the red-head who hesitant left the room, closing the door behind her. The dark haired man moved over to the young woman.

"Why won't you let me try?"

Giving him a look of disgust she moved back, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Because the mere thought makes me sick to my stomach!"

She knew she was out of line and the glare she received from him sent shivers down her spine. He grabbed her arm and pulled her close.

"You don't know what you're missing"

Shuddering she pulled out of his grasp

"I'd rather eat lead!"

Grabbing her again, he pushed her against his desk, roughly, and lowered her onto it, holding her in place with his larger frame. As she frantically tried to get him off her he grabbed her wrist, pinning them to the table.

"Listen, you might enjoy it…"

Laughing darkly he cocked an eyebrow at her

"I have never had to persuade someone"

Doing her best to get him off her and away from her she started to cry as it she felt it was in vain, he was too strong. Seeing her tears he laughed again, the fear and the purity was truly exciting to him, it had been a while, the Dark meetings had come to an end as the Dark Lord had come to his. As she felt him lick a tear of her cheek she squealed in panic and started fighting him with renewed energy and with a moment of shifting and redoing his grip on her wrist she took her chance and swung at him, the blow throwing him out of balance and combined with his foot on the hem of his robe he found himself on the floor in seconds. Seeing the fall in slow-motion Amanda froze, this was not good and the outcome of this would be regrettable for the both of them. Making a run for the door she quickly found herself flat on the floor, her knee and hip hurting painfully from colliding with the stone. Rolling her over he straddled her, a strong hand her clenching throat.

"You should have learned by now, to oblige and there will be no pain but apparently Marcus has been too gentle with you."

Wheezing she gave him a begging look while mouthing a 'please', an action which he just laughed off.

"I am not your average Slytherin, I do not have empathy for what you might feel or dislike"

Wrapping her hands around his wrist she tried to break the strangle but in vain and as her eyes started to blacken she suddenly felt the weight of him disappear. Rolling over she coughed and saw the Potions Master sprawling on the floor a few meters away. Turning she saw Marcus standing in the doorway, his wand raised and a pale, scared-looking Susan Bones behind him.

"I told you to stay away from her!"

Getting up the Professor straightened his robes

"Calm yourself lad"

"NO! I warned you!"

Seeing the young man pointing his wand at him the Potions Master glared at him, subconsciously feeling his pocket to make sure he was still armed, should it come to it. He had seen the former Slytherin Captain angry before, furious even but never like this.

"I thought we had an agreement"

Marcus sneered as he took a few strides into the room, placing himself in front of Amanda, shielding her from view. Susan followed him, kneeling by her friend.

"Are you ok?"

Nodding Amanda coughed again

"What is he doing here?"

Susan blushed and nervously picked at her nails while eyeing the two men.

"I sent for him, I didn't know what else to do… "

Amanda hugged her friend

"Thank you…"

Present time

Rubbing her face with her hands Amanda took a deep breath.

"I know you don't owe me anything but I am desperate otherwise I wouldn't be here and you know it…"

Severus Snape gave her a snide look

"How desperate are you?"

Amanda glared at him coldly

"I'm one step away from the parapet."

Nodding the Potions Master took another sip of his drink.

"Well, we can't have that, it would be a terrible waste"

Rolling her eyes at him she pushed her, now cold, tea away.

"He asked me to marry him…"

Severus Snape laughed

"Did he really? How noble of him"

"He's only doing it because of the potion, he feels guilty"

"My dear, he's a Slytherin, we do not feel guilt"

Cocking an eyebrow at the older man she scoffed

"Not everyone is like you, you know…"

"Have you ever considered that he actually loves you?"

"I didn't know that Slytherins could love"

Her eyes were cold but a small smile lingered in the corner of her mouth

"We can, it might be rare but not impossible"

Sighing she rested her head in her hands.

"I have nothing left…"

"Aww poor baby"

He cooed mockingly while patting her hair, an action that made her head snap up.

"Don't touch me!"

"Calm yourself or does it still make you sick to your stomach when I touch you? If I am to help you, there will be a lot of touching"

Shuddering Amanda gave him a disgusted look

"You're honestly still on that path? Why don't you think with that brilliant brain of yours and not your lower regions?"

"Because it's worth a try, you have slept with young men until now, am I right? And to be honest, as much a ladies man as Marcus is, he is still young. I bet you that if you go for a bit of more experience you will see new aspects and other results."

Amanda measured his face for a few minutes, he seemed to believe what he was telling her but could she bring herself to do it? Would it make a difference? Previously she had ended the relationship after only a few dates, the physical act just didn't do it for her, it felt wrong and she got nothing out of it. Why should he be able to do it differently.

"Fine – like said, what do I have to loose"

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/br

"Sit down please"

She took a seat in a big comfortable chair by the fireplace, dully looking around the room. She had never been here before, the Potions Master kept his private life… well, private.

"Close your eyes "

Glaring at him he scoffed

"We have to establish some sort of trust"

Sighing she did as told, listening to him walk around the room, closer to her and then further away. Wondering what he was doing she found that she actually did not care, she had entered the lion's den or rather the serpent's lair and no matter what now happened, things could not get worse than they already were. She felt empty, her emotions either spend or suppressed for so long that she had forgotten about them. Hearing him walk closer she caught a whiff of something familiar and as a glass was gently placed in her hands she suppressed the urge to look.

"What is it?"

"Just drink it"

"More potions?"

"Just trust me"

Moving the glass to her lips she took a small sip, the fluid was sweet and heavy with a strong aftertaste. Clearing her throat she laughed lightly.

"Wow – that has a kick to it"

There was a moments silence before he spoke again.

"Drink a bit more please"

Raising the glass to her lips again she took another sip, this time the fluid was cool and lemon-y with a strong alcohol aftertaste. Sucking in air between lips pressed tightly together she swallowed several times, the drink had made her mouth almost dry. The next sip tasted like almonds and was fizzy like soda. It tasted like her favourite drink and that had been the smell she had first noticed. As he took the glass from her hand she nervously chewed her lip but before she could say or do anything he had answered the question that lingered in her mind.

"Continue to keep your eyes shut please"

Doing as told she leaned back into the chair, feeling warm and fuzzy all over but bolted up straight as she felt his hands on her shoulders.

"Schyss, relax!"

Carefully leaning back she felt as he ran his hands over her shoulders and up her neck, running his fingers through her hair, making small circles over her scalp with the very tip of his fingers. Feeling as she breathed deeply and seemed to relax more, he smiled. Walking over he kneeled in front of her, tracing his fingers over her skin as he walked around her. Schyssing her as she was about to speak as a reply to his fingers on her face, he gently ran a tip along her brow, down the bridge of her nose, over her lips and cheeks, down her neck and throat and to the top of her collarbone, tracing the edge of her shirt, down her shoulder and down her arm, over her wrist and down her fingers. Entwining his with hers he noticed that her eyes fluttered open but as her eyes met his, she quickly closed them again. He laughed lightly before he spoke.

"You can look if you want to but I promise you that keeping your eyes closed will open your other senses more"

Obliging Amanda nodded but couldn't help a small flinch as she felt his hands running up her leg, he was cold, she could feel that through the denim of her jeans. Having those cold hands touch her all over made her stomach turn, not just because of the temperature but also, it was him! As his hands moved over her thigh she moved uncomfortably in the chair, he noticed and released her. Sitting back on the coffee table, across from her, he looked at her, no doubt she was straining her ears to figure out what he was up to but right now he needed to think, she was difficult, not only did the two of them have a strained relationship but she was also bound to someone else. He would have to use every trick in the book if he was to have any hope of making this work. What on Earth had he gotten himself into? To be honest, breaking a Ambrosia-overdose was not that important, 10 years ago it had been about adding spite to Oliver Wood's trouble but she was no teenager anymore, all innocence was gone and what started out as a, more or less, harmless joke was now a full-fledged problem. Was she still a mark on the bedpost, a challenge to be won or had this changed? He, honestly, did not desire her like he used to, the forbidden part was gone, she had come out of her own free will. He was all about the hunt, the game and the challenge but that was all gone now, the game was over and the prey was a tame, domesticated pet. He could seduce her with words, make her do as told with a sentence, no need for force, bindings of any sort or magic.

"Go home…"

Looking at him, in disbelieve, she frowned

"What?"

Getting up he turned his back to her

"Go live happily ever after with Marcus"

Amanda could not believe what she was hearing, was he giving up or was this another one of his games? Pushing herself out of the chair she spat at him

"Are you kidding me?"

Crossing the distance between them she almost slapped him but wisely decided not to. Pointing a slender finger at him, poking him in the chest with it, she growled.

"A few years ago you almost forced yourself on me, I know if Marcus hadn't come, you would have gone through with it and now you tell me to go away? I am painfully aware that if you give a boy a toy, he won't play with it, he will always want the thing another child is playing with but I never knew that goes for grown men as well"

Rolling her eyes she grabbed her jacket from a nearby chair.

"Honestly, I think you're in the wrong profession if you're only turned on by teenagers and large children!"

Stopping dead in her track, she had seen the line and she had full-blow crossed it. Starting to shake she felt her heart pounding in her chest, something would hit her any second now, a curse, a hex or something physically. Merlin have mercy on my soul! The silence was deafening. What to do? Make a run for it? Turn around? No… pretend it was nothing and leave…

Walking, as calmly as possible, on shaking legs she grabbed the doorhandle only to find the door locked. Not really a surprise to be honest. Licking her lips and praying for her hands to stop shaking she turned, slowly, seeing him stand by the fireplace. Eyeing him nervously she swallowed hard before opening her mouth, an apology would be right, just about now.

"I'm-"

The spell hit her hard, knocking her back against the door, the back of her head colliding with the wood, black spots appearing before her eyes. Sliding to a seated position on the floor she blinked her eyes furiously, a vague attempt to make her vision clear. Seeing as he kneeled down in front of her she closed her eyes. Make it quick! As he grabbed her by the collar of her shirt and pulled her to her feet she pressed her eyes closed. Knocking her against the door, firmly, she wheezed. Severus smirked, what an insult, it had truly brought fuel to the flame, he was a fan of younger witches, not children though but the older teenagers who could be trained and exploited and whom were willing to please. She was in no way too old for him, an good age, experience and still firm. A hand entangled in her hair he made a fist, tilting her head back and hissing.

"I'm guessing you're sorry, it's just too late for that now"

Tossing her to the floor he smirked, this was more like it. She feared him, she always had. Part of it was disgust, part the things he had done and insinuated that he would like to do and part was, he guessed, him being him. He was not exactly a loveable person and he preferred it like that. Walking over he watched as she scrambled away from him, on hands and knees, until she was pressed against the wall between a bookcase and his desk.

"Please don't…"

He laughed darkly

"Like said, a bit too late"

Reaching down he lifted her onto the desk, clearing it of papers and notes in the process. With a flick of his wand her wrists were locked to the surface. Seeing her squirm he smirked as he shrugged his robe off his shoulders before climbing onto the table and settling himself between her legs. He grabbed his letter opener and cut her jeans open, making sure to cut the skin of her thighs and stomach in the process. Her scream of pain made him breathe deeply, it had been so long. Her shirt was the next, long red gashes opening along her ribs and chest and as a drop of blood ran down her side he caught it with a finger, holding it up to the light while admiring the deep red against his pale skin. Watching the woman panting and sobbing, crying obviously painful as it stretched the mutilated skin, he undid his trousers and pulled out his erect member and entered her forcefully and quickly. Another cry of pain echoed through the room and it did not take long before he came. All spent, he redid his clothes and cleaning her blood of him with a wave of his wand before he undid her bounds and walked over, sitting down in one of the winged armchairs by the fireplace, leaving her to compose and pick herself up.

Hiccupping Amanda slid of the table, hugging her legs to her naked chest and it took a few minutes before her breathing was back to normal and she started to look for her wand in order to make her clothes ware-able again.

Moving over to the fireplace she sat down in a chair opposite to him and as he offered a glass she nodded in response. Feeling a trickle down her side she pulled her jacket closer around her while accepting the glass. She knew this was odd behaviour, what he had just done to her was on the brink of torture but to be honest, she was so very numb that it all didn't matter, it would be over soon. Taking a sip of the amber liquid she wringed at the taste, it made her tongue seem on fire. For a long time they just sat there, him staring at the fire and her staring at him.

"Why?"

"I've told you before, a single word is not a question"

"Why do such a thing to me for a simple act of insolence?"

He chuckled

"I wanted to and I could"

"Fantastic, I feel just a tiny bit more special now!"

Looking over at the young woman Severus frowned slightly, she was very pale now.

"Calm yourself, I could have done it worse"

Giving him a lazy glare she tried to laugh but it came out as a mere breath.

"I pity your former lovers"

Severus looked at her again, what was going on? She seemed to be falling asleep and she was growing increasingly pale. Frowning he sat up straighter

"Are you ok?"

Opening her eyes she smiled lightly at him

"No, but I will be soon"

Slumping further into the chair she closed her eyes again and dropped her head to the side. Severus jumped to his feet and first then did he notice; the chair was wet, soaked in a dark fluid and that's when it dawned on him: she hadn't healed herself!

"Oh you stupid girl!"

Pulling her out of the chair he removed her clothes all over again, this time faster and not with the same intention as before. Running his wand over her he closed the wounds but there was no returning the blood to her body so scrambling into his office he found the bloodreplenishing potion he was searching for and returned to the living room, tipping the content into her mouth he prayed it was not too late. He had killed before, old and young, people he knew and people he didn't but he drew the line at expecting mothers.