Severus
They spent the better part of an hour bickering: with Holly proposing increasingly ludicrous ideas to him, and Severus mercilessly tearing them to pieces by pointing out every little caveat in her plans. His posture was cramped but he was too stubborn to even stretch his aching back. They sat on opposite ends of his four-poster bed, glaring at each other as they battled. Her arms were tightly crossed and legs clamped, something he was thankful for at present as it bolstered his focus on trampling her wild ideas. They needed a strategy, now more than ever, and as his past failings had proved he was pitifully easily distracted by her finer details. To his displeasure, he realised her proposals were generally centred around ensuring his survival as well as her own. To Severus, that minutia was not of great import – something she did not seem to grasp – and instead seemed to annoy her to the point that they finally reached an impasse. Severus stood by her never leaving Hogwarts again whereas Holly thought it best to elope and hunt the Horcruxes alone.
'We need Dumbledore's protection now more than ever,' Severus sneered, past all pretence of having a civilised conversation.
She ignored his cautions, 'No one else will get hurt because of me. They can think I ran away. I don't care. But we'll have to stage your disappearance… or you will have to stay–'
'Absurd,' he snarled not caring that she flinched at his venom, 'This is war. Those who have given their lives did not do so only for you.' She bristled at this, but he was ruthless, 'You are not going anywhere alone. You would only do him a favour. Besides, they will hunt you. Hunt. me. Hunt. us.'
'I can't stay here, they'll only get hurt because of me,' she gestured frantically about her at the chamber but he knew she meant Hogwarts.
'Holly, you cannot expect–'
'You're not always right, you know,' she cut him short, fists clenched. 'I know I'm right this time.' She growled and scooted closer to him on the bed, grabbing his hand with surprising force.
The familiar pain of her touch ignited the mark on his forearm. Her honeyed skin was warm against his coldness.
'It will never work,' he ground out, resisting the urge to shake some sense into her. 'They will pursue us – with me as the perverted abductor and defiler of the Chosen One,' he added acidulously.
She laughed humourlessly and poked him in his ribs with a sharp fingernail. He caught her wrist and twisted his body away from her. 'We'll cover it up. Pretend you died or something. And I will just disappear. It will make sense for me to want to run.'
'And what of the Dark Lord? Do you imagine he will merely accept my absen—'
'Think big, Severus. What would the twins do?' Her eyes sparkled and he realised she'd baited him all this time. Feeding him her lesser ideas to make this one shine.
He groaned, suddenly feeling depleted. 'Well?' he sighed, 'Spare me your torture and just spit it out,'
'An explosion. Potion gone wrong. BOOM. No more Professor Snape,' she dusted her hands, as if that was all there was to it. Despite her joking tone, her face was serious.
He chuckled in disbelief but failed to find fault in the far fetched scheme just yet. 'They will call you a coward,' he spat instead.
'And I'll save them anyway,' she said, getting up and planting her hands on her hips.
Severus ran a hand through his damp hair, trying to get his thoughts in line. He looked up to find her still pinning him with her green glare.
'You look just like Lily. When you're angry,' he could not help himself.
'Well…' she faltered, 'I'm right. You need to trust me.'
He sighed deeply, burying his face in his hands. 'Gryffindors,' he mumbled.
She punched his arm hard, jerking him out of his hopeless heap. He rubbed the spot where she hit him, trying to keep himself from lashing out like before by counting to ten. 'You would do well to think of yourself first, Princess. Bravery means nothing if it gets you killed,'
'How about we talk about it again after we took a bath,' she gave a sugary smile, stepping closer. She gentled his hair behind his ear and ignored his wince as her hand neared his cheek.
'This will not be as simple as merely—'
Then a finger was pressed to his lips, forcing his silence. He looked up at her and found her grinning triumphantly.
Never in my life.
Severus huffed at her audacity, and, in the heat of the moment, snapped his teeth at her finger. She yelped and pulled away with an affronted look. But just as quickly, her insufferable grin was back and the mucky spell of troubles they had been trapped in, crumbled about them.
She hugged his stiff form and kissed the top of his head. His face was now pressed firmly into her thinly clad bust. There was a woman smell to her that was not perfume but a part of her. Holly. He tightened his arms around her hips, listening to her heart's thrum. The sudden desperate longing he felt for her was like pain. He clenched his teeth to it and marvelled at her influence on his mood. Merlin, most of the time he could not even change his mind. But before he could take the satin nipple pressed to his lips between his teeth, she pulled him to his feet.
'Let's go,' Holly said as she slipped back into the bathroom. Once inside, she called, 'Afterward there's a surprise for you.'
Severus shook his head as he joined her in the black tiled bathroom. He had not noticed before, in the face of his anger, but the room was filled with small flickering candles.
She was fiddling with the taps, reheating the water their bickering had cooled.
'I hate surprises,' he said bitterly, leaning against the sink.
'It's a good one. Practical. You'll appreciate it,' she said, not looking up as she stirred the water. The tips of her inky hair floated in the maelstrom.
Immediately suspicious, Severus frowned, 'I did not get you anything,' he said gruffly.
'You made me a magical ring,' she exclaimed, an incredulous look on her face. 'Now come here, and take off those wet robes.'
With a sigh, Severus drew closer to her and started undoing the buttons of his frock coat. For the first time since their argument, he realised that he was chilled to the bone.
'We will start your lessons tonight. Occlumency and using the ring. I will not be forgiving any longer. You need to learn. And quickly. I will not tolerate laziness and unwillingness of any kind,' he stated harshly as he peeled off the layers of damp clothing.
Holly took her old seat on the edge of the bath, 'Fine,' she said, challenging him with a stare. He glared back, pushing into her mind and forcing her to throw up mental barricades. For a moment he revelled in her surprise but then she coolly teased the fine straps of her dress from her slender shoulders and let the garment fall. It hitched at the curve of her hips.
He swallowed, pausing his work on his trousers, his attack thwarted successfully. 'Foul-play,' he objected.
'Hey, you attacked me. Besides, I just know my enemy,' she shrugged. He was certain she knew the movement would make her tits bounce as they did.
Severus did not think it possible to ever get used to her.
Her body was strong and wiry, but feminine in all the places that mattered. Soft where he was angular. She was his opposite in every way. Her feminine form was so foreign to all he had known up to now. His entire life, he had been rarely touched, even as a child. But now it has somehow changed.
She said she loved me. Could she have meant it?
Holly slipped from the dress and stepped onto the highest step, stirring the water as she waded deeper. He found himself staring again at her thighs, mound, stomach, perfect little breasts. Everything she hid from the world, that he was allowed to see now.
The witch turned and as he was admiring her backside, she sank into the water.
'If you want more, you'll have to get in,' she announced to the room in general, her feet coming up to the surface as she floated in the steaming water.
Sighing, Severus ran a toe through the water to test the temperature. It was too hot for his liking, but if the witch preferred it, he would endure.
She was still turned away from him, her hair now floating in a halo around her. He quickly stepped out of his trousers and onto the top step, determined to hide himself in the water's warm embrace.
As if smelling his fear, Holly turned and peered at him through lashes and fogging glasses. He suddenly felt vulnerable without the layers of clothing to hide in. It was strange then, to read desire on her face. She bit her lip and he instinctively probed her mind again, finding courage in the desire he found there.
She wants me.
But try as he might, she saw in him that which he could not see in himself.
He sank into the water, keeping a safe distance from her by occupying one of the seats sloping from the side of the gigantic tub. The water was the kind of temperature that would have him looking like a boiled lobster by the end of the bath, but he refrained from complaining. The beaten brass reflected the small candles dully and ensconced them in flickering, soft golden light. The sourceless soft music still played somewhere.
They looked at each other in the candlelight for a long moment, then Holly stood, her hips above water, and joined him.
She produced a steaming sponge from the depths of the water, 'May I?' she asked, already lathering it with a bar of soap.
'As you wish,' Severus conceded meekly.
Holly brought the sponge to his skin, carefully running it over his chest and shoulders, moving closer all the while.
As if to keep him from fleeing, she curled a leg over his. Her body was a welcome sensation, and he found himself growing taut as he watched her sponging him down.
She rested her empty hand on his bicep as she worked to gently wash his torso.
'Stand up, please,' she said, just as he relaxed to her ministrations. He stood, swallowing his pride and letting her continue the soapy trail down his body. Severus let her do this, thinking all the while that she knew not how hard it was for him to let his guard down like this.
But soon a holy sensation bloomed in his groin as she lovingly circled his cock with the sponge, folding it over his length and pumping him for a tense few strokes before moving on to his thighs. After every application of soap, she washed it away with hot water, making for a wonderful, albeit foreign, sensation.
'Sit down,' she indicated at the seat again, 'and give me your feet.'
Severus lowered his body back into the water, closing his eyes as Holly carefully brought up his legs to wash his calves and feet. When she reached his toes, he jerked away, 'No tickling!' he cried, louder than he intended.
This, of course, made her laugh and grip his ankle tighter as she sought to nettle him further.
'No more, please,' he begged, trying in vain to hold laughter from his voice.
'I didn't know you were ticklish,' she smirked at him, still holding his foot hostage.
He pulled it free forcefully, sending a wave of water over the tiles and extinguishing a few candles. 'Well. Now you know,' he said, gathering his dignity about him again. 'I forbid you to do that again,' he added loftily as a lord.
Laughing, she slid behind him. 'Lay back, I want to wash your hair,' she bade him softly.
Something inside him turned sideways. 'I'll do it myself,' he retorted, pulling away and sinking into the dark, warm water to wet his hair. He slapped shampoo on and quickly washed it off, feeling particularly foolish as he realised he'd given away another insecurity to her.
'It's okay,' she said, smiling like Lily and reaching for his hand underneath the water. Her thumb smoothed over his knuckles lovingly.
He could not help but return the smile half-heartedly, thinking that this was the most intimate, and strange, thing they have done together so far. Severus struggled to think outside of the moment they were creating. There was only her, and she focused only on him.
'Your turn,' he said, yanking her closer and spinning her sideways to catch her shoulder with his chest. He nestled his stiff length between her thighs and kissed her hard, the water running down his face wetting her as well. Her lips were soft, warm and willing. After too short a while, he detached himself from her with immense willpower.
He reached for the sponge and soap and started with her back, smoothing it over her skin. 'Stand,' he ordered as he reached the waterline.
She stood, with her back turned to him, her buttocks the level of his face. He took a moment to pinch each cheek, testing the soft flesh before washing the rest of her body.
'Put your leg up' he said then, slowly washing between her thighs after she heeded him.
'Now the other,' he poked the back of her supporting leg, 'and turn around, I want to see you.'
She turned, a dopey smile on her face. She took hold of his shoulders to keep her balance as Severus pulled her to him. He closed in on her and licked her slit until her nails dug into painfully his skin and her knees shook.
When he had her dripping and mewling, he spun her back round and drew her into his lap, and, with his cock in his fist, quickly found her hole. She surrendered to his will, her body becoming slack and her head falling to his shoulder. The permission she gave him was absolute.
'My princess,' he murmured into her ear as he eased into her languidly. Severus was achingly aware of every scent and touch of her. The warmth and suppleness of her body against him in the warm water. All his thoughts and concerns were suspended in his awareness of her. She gasped at each entry and moaned at each exit. Before long she became restless at her lack of control and squirmed to face him. He let her turn, already anxious to get back inside. She kissed him. Her green eyes were clouded with lust as she caught his lips with her own. The simple act of offering up her mouth to him was like opening a floodgate. Holly held the sides of his face, keeping their lips together and trying to keep up with his tongue.
His cock found its way back inside her without help and she took over control of their pace. When she let his face go, he stared up at her in awe. The wild sparkle in her eyes as she looked down on him took his breath away. At last, he found his voice, 'I love you,' he managed hoarsely.
She made no reply other than announcing her orgasm in his neck and clamping down around him in spasms soon after. He mingled his moisture with hers and they slumped together in the cooling water for a long while. He held her close until their fingers had raisined before they finally got out and dressed in silence.
666666
When they returned to his bed, she brought him a small, gaily wrapped box. He took it wordlessly, mostly because he had no idea what to say.
He opened it carefully to find a muggle object inside, the same as she had used earlier.
'It's a phone,' she announced helpfully, pressing a button and making the mirror-like surface light up. 'You can use it to contact me when we're apart.'
'Thank you,' he said distractedly, turning it over in his hands.
'It's simple really, but you'll have to get used to using it. This is the home button here. And this is the… picture… you tap on to talk to me. And this one you can use to send me a message. If I send you a message, it will alert you with the sound of a bell.'
'I see,' he mused. 'It does seem practical,' he admitted, putting it aside carefully. 'Thank you, Holly.' He squeezed her hand and cleared his throat. 'Now, Occlumency.'
Severus spent the following few hours challenging her Occlumency shields until she was pale and sweating, begging him for rest. After he was sure she'd given him everything she had, they shared the food she brought from the kitchens and he showed her how to use the ring to summon him into her dreamscape. He led her through a couple of visualisation exercises to practice and managed her expectations of it: 'You will have to take Dreamless Sleep for a little longer, we are not ready for Him yet,' he suppressed a shiver, having seen the Dark Lord so recently, Severus privately thought that a severe understatement indeed.
666666
Holly
She woke alone in his bed. She rolled over and scrambled to find her glasses on the nightstand. Last she remembered he was sitting against the headboard next to her, stroking her hair as she fell asleep on his lap. He had thoroughly exhausted her with Occlumency and meditation exercises, just as he promised. She checked her watch. 3:05 AM.
Where is he?
Holly shivered as she got out of bed and bundled a knitted green blanket around her on second thought. She went down to his office, finding a soft green light filling the room. The sound of bubbling and a rather foul smell accompanied the eery light.
'What are you doing?'
Severus did not look up from the scale he was using to measure a heap of silvery scales. He wore gloves and a stained leather apron working around a large cauldron on the worktable in the corner of his office. The Dark Lord's potion. She knew it was his because of the size of the cauldron, the rancid smell, the overall look of it. Crow's legs, black tentacles, vials of what could only be unicorn blood, toad innards and some strong-smelling orange paste filled the table. All screaming of the evil purpose it would serve when combined. It disgusted her.
'It is called Mutatio anima. For the Dark Lord,' he replied dispassionately, strewing the scales into the cauldron and glancing up at her. Shadows were gathered across his tired face, and a determined frown split his brow. She rarely saw him without that frown anymore.
'You're going to make the real thing?' she struggled to hide her disbelief.
'I have no choice, Holly. Denying him will only ascertain my death,' he said, counting stirs under her breath. 'It is extremely complex and takes a long time to complete. That being the case, I thought to start – at least until we have a plan.'
'We have a plan!' she exclaimed icily.
'Lower your voice,' he said distractedly, continuing to stir the foul potion with one hand as he ran a finger down a page in an ancient-looking book.
'We have a plan,' she repeated through clenched teeth. 'I'm going to leave and pursue the Horcruxes. If you want to come along, you will have to make preparations.'
He grimaced and picked up his wand to cast a stasis charm on the foul brew. 'You mean staging my death?' he sneered, drawing closer to where she stood huddled in his quilt.
'Yes,' Holly said, raising her chin.
His shoulders slumped suddenly and he leaned heavily against the desk.
'And how, pray, will we do that?' he asked softly, but this time, his voice held no sting.
666666
Dear readers, I'm a snail of a writer. But I see myself as a marathoner; slow but sure. I finished the first draft of this story in November and will be only working on edits from now on! Thank you to everyone who has supported, remember to leave a review for more 3