Chapter 5

As much as I trusted Severus, I still didn't feel at ease until we were back in the guest house on the Malfoy estate. I could still feel the unseen eyes on me the entire time I was in the village. I climbed onto my bed as Severus went around the small house, just making sure that everything was as it should be. I've never felt this way before. This paranoid. During the war, my father had kept me out of England for the worst of it. I pulled my knees up to my chest and fiddled with the edge of my blanket. Snape came back in, tucking a lock of hair behind his ear.

"Everything is as it should be," he said as he leaned against the door frame. "The person watching us in Hogsmeade definitely wouldn't try and look for us here, but I wanted to check to make sure."

"So, you know who was watching us?", I asked looking over at sighed and nodded.

"I'm almost certain that it was the headmaster"

"Why the hell would Dumbledore be spying on us?" I felt a cool fear slip over my body. "I haven't done anything to make you lose your job, have I?" He shook his head, and a dark look flashed in his eyes for a second.

"No. He was making sure I hadn't crossed any lines." He came over and sat on the edge of the bed. "As much as he claims to, he doesn't trust me. He never truly has. I was a useful tool, and I continue to make myself useful. You are probably some sort of hitch in whatever plan he's preparing in case the Dark Lord returns." I reached out and gently took his hand. He squeezed mine gently before continuing. "I lost everything in the last war. I lost myself by the end of it. I have done things that I am not proud of. Dark things. I didn't want you in the middle of this. I lost one woman that I loved and I will not lose another." He took a deep breath and met my eyes. "We need to meet with the headmaster. We need to assure him that this isn't some passing fancy and that you aren't your cousin." I frowned.

"Well, how are we supposed to do that? I mean, I wasn't even in the country during the war. It's been eight years." I bit my lip. "Does he think I'm trying to lead you down some dark path or something?"

"I'm not sure what he thinks. I wouldn't put it past him to be suspicious of it. I'm going to go to London tomorrow to pick something up. I'll send a letter to him as well, to set up a meeting." He rubbed his eyes, and he looked incredibly tired. "Listen, no matter what happens after this meeting, these past three months with you have been amazing. I've never felt this normal in my entire life. Just know, I would never change them for anything."

"I wouldn't change them either." I lean in and kiss him softly. "I also don't want to be a burden or anything." He shook his head, dismissing my concerns.

"You are not now, nor could you ever be a burden." He kissed my hand. "I'm going to make sure that Dumbledore sees that as well."

Severus is gone before I wake in the morning. I found a note on his pillow telling me he'd be back for lunch. Yawning and stretching I made my way to the shower. Letting the stemming water cascade over my body, I turned my thoughts to the meeting I was going to be having with the headmaster. I had seen Dumbledore only once, when I was much younger, My parents and I had been in England on holiday, and Dumbledore had a meeting with Lucius's father. I had only caught a glimpse of the men in the study as I chased Lucius and our other cousins in some game or another. I didn't give them much regard until my father had chastised me for interrupting the meeting with 'childish shrieking.' Dumbledore had come out and said to let us play, but I had still shivered under his gaze. I still feel those weird blue eyes on me, like they could see into every secret corner of my mind. My father must have sensed my discomfort and ushered me away. As soon as we were back in the States I begged him for Occlumency training.

I stood in the kitchen, mixing cookie dough when Narcissa walked in. She was decked out in her wizarding finery and I raised an eyebrow at her. She flicked her gorgeous hair over her shoulder as she eyed me with curiosity,

"Why are you doing that? Why are you doing it the muggle way?" She asked. I definitely didn't miss the coolness in her voice, or the way she said muggle like it was a dirty word.

"My mom did this when she was anxious. It's a way to keep your hands busy." I say calmly as I worked chocolate chips into the dough, and reached for the walnuts. "Snape and I definitely had an interesting weekend in Hogsmeade, if you're fishing for gossip." By the way her eyes sparkled as she sat down near me, I could tell that was her exact reason for coming to see me. I rolled my eyes and began scooping cookies out onto a baking tray.

"Please, cousin. Do go on." I slid the tray into the oven and set the timer.

"Well, we had a really awful fight our first night. I almost came home."

"Trouble in paradise?"

"Not exactly." I sank into a chair near her. "We ran into Hagrid in the Three Broomsticks and-"

"Let me guess, Sev got all paranoid and pissy" Narcissa cut me off.

"Exactly. Apparently, he was worried people would think I was a prostitute." Narcissa nearly fell off her chair from laughing.

"Sorry, dear," she said wiping a stray tear away so it could not ruin her perfect makeup. "You are just so not the type. You are also not his usual type either. The women he's been seen with the last few years haven't been the cookie-baking type." I shot her a look as I pulled the first tray of heavenly-smelling cookies out of the oven.

"It's not like I'm exactly a chaste little schoolgirl." Narcissa nodded.

"Oh trust me, I know. I still remember that time I visited you and we went to New Orleans." She wrinkled her nose. "The stench of firewhiskey still makes me nauseous. Nevertheless, Severus has been through so much more, and he ended up so much more damaged on the other side. You don't become a right-hand man without it." Those thoughts had also crossed my mind lately. I trusted him completely. I knew he served two masters already. I hoped I wouldn't add a third to that.

"I know. I don't know details of what he did during the war, and I don't want them. No, I don't need them. I trust him. Completely."

"Well, that's good to hear" came a drawling voice from the doorway. I looked up, and felt my whole body warm. Snape casually walked in, past Narcissa without so much as a glance, and swept me up in a searing kiss. I felt his slender fingers tangle themselves in my dark hair as he held me close. When he ended the kiss, he turned to look at Narcissa. "Spreading doubt, 'Cissa?"

"Never, Severus," She said as she stood to leave, iciness once more lacing her words. "I was merely checking the well-being of my cousin. I'll be leaving." She sauntered off, back to the big house, as Severus went to the door to make sure that she did. He ran his fingers through his hair as he turned and walked back over to me, giving me a soft kiss.

"What did she want?" He asked as he stepped over to the cooling cookies and took one.

"She's still trying to warn me off of you." I chewed my bottom lip. "How was London?"

"Productive. We'll probably hear from the headmaster tomorrow, if not tonight. Don't worry about that." He grabbed her hand gently. "I promise you I will handle the headmaster, and all you'll have to do is be your normal beautiful self. Also, bring some of these because they're wonderful and Dumbledore loves sweets." He wrapped his arms around her from behind and gently kissed her ear before whispering, "I will always protect you."

Word came the next morning from Dumbledore. He agreed to meet them on the morning of September 1, just before the start of term. I spent the final week before the meeting Worrying and baking. I'm a stress baker. On the actual day of the meeting, Sev sat on the bed and watched with a small smile as I changed into my third dress in the closet, The other two I had tried on, more traditional red and black numbers, hadn't gotten enough of a reaction from Severus to boost my confidence. Now I know I didn't need to prance in front of the Headmaster of Hogwarts in a slutty dress, but feeling a little sexy could go a long way. I pulled a deep green number from the back of my closet. I looked at myself in the mirror and decided this would be the one. I grabbed my black cloak and stepped out of the closet. Snape's eyes widened as he took me in. It was a deceptively conservative dress, the emerald fabric clung to my curves like a second skin, and the lace along the sweetheart neckline tickled the tops of my breasts. I slipped into my black ankle boots and looked at Severus to find his eyes absolutely glued to me.

"You're wearing that to meet Dumbledore?", he said, his voice sounding deep and husky. Mission accomplished.

"What, most of my body is completely covered, and I might have needed the confidence boost," I said as I felt a blush creep up my neck,

"You needed to feel sexy to meet with him?" He furrowed his brow slightly, but a smile played at the corners of his mouth. I knew he understood perfectly what I meant, but I played along.

"Well, teasing you will give my mind a little bit of distraction. So yeah, I needed to not be the only one flustered." I stood and walked to my dresser to get my jewelry for the day as I felt his arms start to snake around my waist. "We don't have time, sev…" He chuckled softly and pulled my back against him. His slender fingers danced over my curves over the fabric of the dress before he cupped my breasts, making a small moan escape my lips.

"You can be such a brat sometimes" he muttered right against the shell of my ear before gently dragging his teeth along the tender skin of my neck. "I should mark your neck up so that the headmaster knows for sure that you're my little whore." I groan and grind back into him, his thick cock was rock hard on my ass. Then, he was gone. I watched him walk out of the bedroom, heading for the fireplace, laughing. The rat bastard. I took a few steadying breaths and followed him. At least I knew he liked the dress.