She whispers to me
She whispers her secrets to me
And I feel her breath as it brushes my cheek
And her voice is the only sound I hear
And if I don't move
She pulls me off of my bed
And she makes me dance to the songs in my head
And it's late, but please just sing it again
She's under my skin
She's under my skin
And if I say no
She kisses the scar on my chin
And before I can speak, we're dancing again
We turn, and spin right out of control
Wherever she goes
She carries a smile in her hand
Like a thief, she can steal any grin that she can
And I watch, I wait, to see her again
Under my skin by Peter Bradley Adams
Severus jumped up in a flash and emptied the still laid breakfast table with one movement, while I put a disillusionment charm over me and hid it in the farthest corner.
He nodded at me and rushed quickly to the door, where there was another strong knock, along with a snooty voice.
"Snape? Open up, I don't have the whole day," Lucius Malfoy shouted, so that I could easily hear it in the kitchen.
"Lucius, what joy. Come in before the neighbor's cat lures you with your voice, she has a soft spot for songbirds," Severus said teasingly.
"I see you haven't lost your sense of humor in the face of the circumstances," I heard Lucius reply, while a corresponding sound revealed that he had taken off his heavy robe in the hallway before his footsteps lit up from the living room.
A short squeak and Lucius had taken a seat on the old couch, while Severus sat down opposite on the armchair, not without taking a quick glance at me in the kitchen, where I was standing at the crack of the door to listen and catch a glimpse of the two men.
"May I offer you something to drink, Lucius?" asked Severus in a relaxed voice.
"I would need something strong, but it's clearly too early for that. I just came back from the Quidditch National Championship a few hours ago. Thanks to a donation to Fudge for St. Mungo, we had excellent seats in the grandstand. Unfortunately, that's not what it used to be, now every pack goes there. Imagine, there sat Potter and these Weasleys. Terrible, just unimaginable," Lucius babbled, but it sounded as if he was somehow calming down. Severus seemed to feel this too, since he had not interrupted him.
"And that's why you tortured this Muggle family and placed the Dark Mark in the night sky?" Severus asked with a serious expression, but he had added a touch of amusement to his voice.
"Severus, I beg you. Torturing a few Muggles was quite a pleasure after such a long time. We just wanted to show that we're still here. But to conjure up the Dark Mark... no, we weren't, you know that for sure," Lucius said, sounding visibly uncomfortable.
"So? Do I know that? Well, I think it's quite possible if the blood boiled up like in the old days," he replied with a sneer.
"But that's it. There was no one left of us. I know from Fudge that Crouch's house-elf was arrested for this. That's why I'm here. With your razor-sharp mind, do you have an idea? Or would you like to confess it yourself?" Lucius asked, which made Severus laugh coldly.
"Me? Why should I do this? I'm far too comfortable at Hogwarts at this old wizard's side to give it up for a disdainful display of the Dark Mark," Severus said in an icy voice. "But Crouch's house-elf, you said? He's now head of the Department of International Magical Cooperation at the Ministry of Magic after his demotion, isn't he?" Severus asked, his fingers sliding thoughtfully over his pressed lips.
"You are brilliantly informed, my friend. And do you also know the reason for this personnel restructuring?" Lucius raised his eyebrows appreciatively.
"Certainly. But he's dead. Died in Azkaban. So, it doesn't make sense," Severus said, leaning back on the chair.
"Then it must be another Death Eater who hasn't been arrested. But unless they were all with me in the parade against these Muggles," Lucius said sharply, running a hand over his straight platinum blonde hair.
"Are you thinking of Black?" Severus asked mockingly.
"Honestly, I've always doubted that the Dark Lord would trust any Black again after his brother was such a bitter disappointment with his sudden disappearance," he said, shaking his head.
"Well, I guess I can't help you. I don't know of any former Death Eaters who are currently here and would like to summon the Dark Mark," Severus said with a gentle grin.
Lucius looked at him scrutinizing him before hesitantly raising his left arm and stroking it over it, so that Severus tensed up again.
"You noticed it too, didn't you? This morning?" Lucius asked quietly, this time there was some dread in it.
"Yes." Severus' voice sounded firm and composed, completely unthinkable that he had been completely desperate and panicked because of this event almost two hours ago. He looked in front of Lucius as if it didn't bother him. I was impressed by this ability of him, and I knew it was something that would not come easily to me.
"Narcissa noticed it when we freshened up after the whole disaster. She has such a tic to always check my left forearm for a change. She immediately noticed a slight discoloration," Lucius said quietly.
"You didn't notice anything else? Like a short burning?" Severus asked, staring at the left forearm, which his friend had now exposed to convince himself that the Dark Mark was now a little clearer.
"No, you?" Lucius asked, staring into the bottomless black eyes in front of him.
"Maybe it was an imagination due to my loneliness in this house," Severus said, looking very composed and relaxed.
"Mh, aren't you afraid of his wrath? I mean, you work for Dumbledore," Lucius asked, frowning at his old friend, a flash of great fear in his eyes.
"You know exactly why I put myself in the hands of him. Even if it's an old fool, he's one of the most powerful wizards that ever existed, and he trusts me. What better way to benefit the Dark Lord than where I am right now?" Severus asked, grinning.
"Very well thought out, Snape," Lucius replied, tilting his head slightly to the side as if he were wondering what could free him from the noose around his neck.
"But why are you worried? Aren't you looking forward to resuming your place at the Dark Lord's side?"; Severus asked, scrutinizing Lucius' widening cold grey eyes.
"You know very well, I have nothing to fear. I just thought... after such a long time, he would be destroyed forever," Lucius said softly, staring at the ground, completely absorbed in his golden days that were now coming to an end.
"And that thought seemed comfortable to you, didn't it?" Severus asked.
"I suppose that's as comfortable as you are," Lucius replied evasively. "It is Narcissa, who is afraid. Not from the wrath of the Dark Lord. She's more worried about Draco."
"Draco? Well, he's a boy who does you all the credit," Severus said, smiling slightly at the thought of that boy, an ornament for Slytherin, isn't he?
"Exactly. Therefore, he will certainly be eager to emulate in these matters, to find his place," Lucius said in a sorrowful voice, apparently aware of what might await his son under a new reign under Voldemort. A boy, who has so far been spoiled by the wealth of his pure-blood parents with an excellent reputation and who should now grow up in a war?
"The Dark Lord no longer chooses half-strong people. He has already had to learn that it is a mistake. I rather suspect that he is reflecting on the rest of us who have remained. To the true followers," Severus said reassuringly, but I knew his words were ambiguous, that neither he nor Lucius were actually meant.
"Well, we have to assume that, don't we? That he remembers who has always served him faithfully," Lucius replied and nodded in agreement, but seemed thoughtful and still anxious.
"Shouldn't I offer you a fire whiskey? I need to have another bottle somewhere. You know I rarely drink, but they mainly give me drinks like that, as if that's the only way I'm going to survive," Severus said with a smile. At that moment, however, Lucius again put on a haughty expression, as if it were a protection from his true fears.
"It won't be necessary, but I thank you for this refreshing offer. This brings me back to what else is going on at Hogwarts this school year. The Triwizard Tournament. You're certainly involved to some extent, aren't you?" Lucius said, running a hand through his hair to give place to a stray strand of hair.
"I suppose this information came from your good connection with Fudge?" Severus asked, grimacing a little.
"You don't sound very eager to commemorate this big event?" asked Lucius, looking extremely irritated.
"I couldn't care less to be honest. Just a big distraction from the students' learning materials as far as I'm concerned. They have the attention span of a goldfish without a tournament, let alone with one going on. " Severus smirked.
"I see," Lucius said, rising from the couch to straighten his robe before offering his right hand to Severus to say goodbye. "Unfortunately, I have to leave now. I need to clarify some things in the ministry. We hope to see you again soon. Narcissa would like to invite you to dinner, then we can talk about the future tasks about the participants of the tournament. Narcissa will send you our owl soon," Lucius explained, already turning to the door.
"How enchanting. Tell her my thanks!" Severus replied sweetly and Malfoy rushed out of the door into the bright daylight, which blinded Severus' eyes. His eyes were still sensitive to bright daylight, even though he had not needed clades lassitudine for the last few weeks, the after-effects lasted longer with his daily consumption.
"He seemed unsettled, didn't he?" I asked quietly after I stepped out of my safe hiding place and released the spell from me.
"Absolutely, yes," Severus replied, running a long finger thoughtfully over his lips. "It will have been a big shock for many of them this morning. Assuming they've even noticed."
"Why did you actually feel it? The Dark Mark, how it wakes up and Lucius doesn't?" I asked, looking at him a little apprehensively.
"I can't answer it for you," Severus said dryly and went to his books, he was looking for a specific book. When he pulled it out, I was able to read the title, Black Magic Connections and Their Apparitions by Colbert Vilis. "I'll see if I can find what I'm looking for here."
I nodded and sat down next to him with another reading. That's how we always liked to read, close together.
The next morning, I received a letter from Remus that contained the following lines.
Dear Friend,
I know that you are enjoying your holidays as usual as a couple, but unfortunately I have to ask you something that will certainly give you food for thought as well.
Our furry friend has received a disturbing message from Harry, in which he writes that he could feel a burning pain in his forehead scar, as if Voldemort was near him. Hence the question to you as a healer: can curse scars hurt after years? Especially in view of the latest events, this matter is more than disturbing. By the way, Dumbledore was informed at the same time as you.
Greetings, Remus
"Severus, you're going to be interested in this," I said, passing the parchment. Severus took it off irritated, but his eyes quickly widened in surprise at the explosive content.
"Well? Can curse scars hurt just like that?", Severus asked me curiously and at the same time a little apprehensive.
I shook my head because I had already combed through the book collections of St. Mungo.
"No, the fact that Harry feels pain when Voldemort is around him is extremely unusual. I had already told you about the case I read in a chapter about curse scars. There was a case when a man named Oliver Plorat told that it hurt him when the perpetrator who caused this wound stood in front of him. But this case dates back to 1650 and I haven't found any further details about it, as the St. Mungo was founded shortly before and no long case files have been created yet. But I found Oliver Plorat in the archives of the hospital and the one who had caused the wound and scar was Oliver Plorat's own brother," I explained to Severus, who looked at me with a blank face.
"So, you're thinking of a possible familiar relationship between the perpetrator and the victim?" he asked after a short silence.
"In this case, it may have been the necessary connection. But with Harry, I don't see any close familiar relationship to the Dark Lord. The only connection is that the Dark Lord wanted to kill him and instead almost died himself. No one knows exactly what happened back then. At first, I thought that the killing curse from Lily's sacrifice was directed against himself."
"But then the Dark Lord would have to be dead, but he still existed," Severus agreed.
"Exactly," I confirmed, and we looked at each other thoughtfully.
"You should write it to Dumbledore. He can put this information to good use," Severus finally said.
"Yes, and I will inform Remus that I have shared my knowledge with Dumbledore," I confirmed, nodding.
"Very good, so this information does not reach Potter in order to put even more nonsense in his head because of his peculiarity."
"I wanted to alleviate the worry of Sirius, Remus and Harry. This way, Harry won't be unnecessarily burdened and Sirius and Remus know that Dumbledore will take care of it. Sirius doesn't have to give up his hiding place," I explained with a grin, because I had apparently thought of everything. But I later learned from Remus that Sirius was back in the UK and was in contact with Dumbledore in order to be able to assist Harry in the best possible way. So, you couldn't think about everything or be prepared for everything.
"Can you imagine how humiliating it was when Moody searched my office after he arrived?" Severus asked, swallowing his bitterness loudly as the rain drummed loudly against the little cottage by the sea.
"Did he say what exactly he was looking for in your office?" I asked with raised eyebrows.
"No. He just said he had discussed it with Dumbledore. However, I can't imagine that. The headmaster trusts me. By the way, I also made your esteemed former colleague understand that," Severus grumbled next to me.
"Weird. Alastor wouldn't lie about something like that," I said thoughtfully, narrowing my eyes and remembering him from our time together in the Order, where I had patched him up a few times and he taught me an excellent disillusionment charm out of gratitude. He was always honest, a quality I appreciated about him, as well as his direct manner.
"Maybe age made him even odder," Severus said, shaking his head.
"It's usually a matter of character and I can't imagine that he has changed that much," I replied seriously.
"Are you saying that Dumbledore agreed to search my rooms?" Severus asked irritably.
"Of course not. Dumbledore would never order such a thing. Did you talk to him about it personally?" I asked, looking into Severus' narrowed eyes.
"No. It's been humiliating enough for anyone else to even notice," he said quietly, bowing his head.
"But he didn't steal anything from your office? Nothing secured?" I asked.
"What should he find? A shrine to the Dark Lord, where I pay homage to my past?" Severus said bitingly and fixed me again, but I couldn't help but smile at this idea.
"That would have been at least a surprise for Alastor," I giggled, earning an irritated look from my converser.
"It might have been what he had hoped for," he said quietly. I bit my lower lip as I looked at Severus. He looked extremely tense, dark circles under his eyes were clearly visible and his skin had become frighteningly pale again.
"And how are you coping otherwise?" I asked him.
"As always. New fools in the first classes to replace the old ones," Severus sighed softly, his eyes half closed, as if he had no strength to open them completely under his weight. His long fingers looked yellowish, another side effect of his magic potion, which he now apparently took daily against his tiredness.
"How's your sleep?" I asked softly, but Severus pursed his lips and shook his head. I sighed softly and my gaze continued to wander around the living room in search of something that might take his mind off things, until my eyes saw the drops slapping against the window glass.
I stood up and reached out to his.
"Come with me, Severus," I said, smiling encouragingly at him as he looked at me irritated.
"What are you up to?" he asked softly, but he readily shook my hand and stood up. I pulled him to the door, where he stopped to take his cloak, but I shook my head.
"No, leave this one. We don't need the cloak. Neither do shoes, it's warm enough," I said, ripping open the door and stepping into the lashing rain, which immediately aroused my skin. My bare feet touched the soaking wet warm lawn below me, I had some trouble keeping my balance.
"Go!" I said, and my hand tugged at that of Severus, who hesitantly stepped into the warm dark night.
I pulled him close to me, felt the rain soak my dress and run down my warm skin. His black hair immediately clapped over his face and I lovingly pushed the strands of hair aside to look at his confused eyes.
"And now?" he asked in a deep voice.
"Now we're dancing," I replied, my lips forming a sweet smile so that he couldn't possibly disagree with my request.
"I don't usually dance," he said weakly, but I put his hands on my hips without protest.
"That's a good thing. Me neither," I whispered, snuggling up to his body, which had also been soaked by the rain in the meantime.
He cleared his throat softly as we began to move, first slowly, then rhythmically. We danced past the front yard of the cottage, spun along the surf where the raindrops combined with the seawater.
At some turn I heard his throaty laugh and he waved me faster through the rain, I threw my head back and let the rain fall directly on my face, felt the raindrops slide down when Severus and I suddenly lost our grip on the soaked ground.
There we were. Laughing, wet and out of breath. Severus immediately grabbed my hand and brought it to his wet lips for a kiss.
"Thank you, Catherine," he whispered in a throaty voice, happy to experience a beautiful side of life again.
"Gladly, Severus," I replied, turning with a jerk on his trembling warm body to kiss him passionately on the mouth while the stars shone above us when the rain clouds gave them the opportunity. It was like Severus, his glow only showed itself on occasion, but it was all the more beautiful.
Slowly, his warm hands drove down my body, elegantly unfastening the zipper of my soaked dress as his kiss became more demanding.
I fiddled with his shirt, which he usually hid under his frock coat before I could look at his torso in the starlight. His skin was warm, damp from the rain and gentle on mine. I caught his scent, which in school days might have been bitter potion ingredients, but beneath the surface it was definitely himself. I couldn't describe it, but not only did a wave of pleasure spread through me, but also the feeling of security. Something I only had in his presence, and I wished that we could stay here forever, tightly embraced in our love for each other, far away from all the other things that weighed on us.
Severus slowly pulled the dress over my body so that I felt every inch of exposed skin, the cool rain drove us both, but it did not prevent us from satisfying this desire within us.
He began to run his lips over my neck, I closed my eyes and a pleasurable moan of his name. "Severus..." escaped me, a joy at his touches tingled on my skin, my body and inside me.
He gently put me aside and already felt over my body.
"Today I'm taking the lead," Severus whispered to my lips.
He kissed my breasts, licked my stiff nipples as I felt him slide my underwear to the side already and with a finger into me and slowly out again, then he added another finger and I felt the inner walls of my vagina heat up, get wet, his black hair tickling on my naked torso, which began to bulge under the desire for more.
And his fingers became more demanding as his mouth found my lips again and kissed me, wild, exciting. His thumb began to rub against my clitoris, drawing circles so that I couldn't breathe.
"So fast?" Severus laughed as I began to whimper under his touches and felt my body ready to release the tension in a climax.
But Severus withdrew completely, and I felt an emptiness inside me. I moaned loudly in disappointment and lifted my upper body upwards while he grinned at me with a mocking expression.
"You know I want everything from you," he said softly in a low voice and began to put his head between my thighs.
Suddenly I felt his tongue, his hair tickled my thighs as I leaned back again. His tongue licked alternately delicately or hard over my clit or crawled into my opening, ready to taste my liquid.
And quickly I felt my body wanting to let go again, I clawed my hands around his head, but immediately Severus let go of me again. I cursed, while the rain tried to cool down my heat.
"Pay attention to your language!" he commanded with a sneer, putting his tongue over his moist lips with relish.
"Um, so good," he breathed and leaned over me to kiss my lips when I suddenly felt him penetrate me with a violent thrust. My walls were so ready to finally find satisfaction, finally the release from this lust that had built up and left my body in extreme tension.
I whimpered softly as his thrusts became more violent, strong and rhythmic his balls clapped against my butt and now made him moan with joy too.
We looked into each other's eyes as my body began to shake again and this time he showed mercy and skillfully intensified his movements so that I could finally live out my orgasm.
I didn't know if I was screaming or what else was happening around us, it was so intense that I only perceived how some kind of wet explosion was taking place inside me. Afterwards I heard Severus moan loudly and I saw how he closed his eyes with relish as he made his last thrusts into my still shaking walls.
"Longbottom managed to destroy the sixth cauldron in my class. It's starting to ask for an award for this top performance," Severus said mockingly as he took off his cloak and carefully placed it over the chair. Before he closed the door, I heard the waves crashing against the surf and a salty breeze carried through the door into the interior of the house.
"Neville seems to be coming after Frank, isn't he?" I said lightly, smiling at the thought of Frank in his time at Hogwarts. He had a certain talent for spilling or setting fire to things in Slughorn's potion class. Luckily, he quickly worked with Alice on a cauldron, which certainly prevented quite a few accidents.
"He is definitely a threatening source of accidents in my dungeon. What I have already prevented, this good-for-nothing does not even begin to know. Just because he can't read and doesn't follow my instructions a bit. I allow a third of his mistakes at all, and only so that he feels how dangerous it is to work unfocused and incorrectly. During detention, he is allowed to salt toad brains. It is extremely unfortunate that I have to teach such students like him," Severus barked angrily to himself. He clearly needed someone to listen to him and I was glad that it was me who always confided in him, because it meant that I could open up new perspectives for him.
"He's not doing it on purpose. He's just a little clumsy. And his parents... you know it," I said to us, thinking of Alice and Frank, as they were certainly staring at the walls of St. Mungo again, unable to express themselves because of their unimaginable torture.
"I can't spare him because of his family situation. On the contrary, the talent of his parents must be somewhere. If I tease it out of him, he could help Potter too," Severus said, looking at me with thoughtful eyes. So that was it, he wanted to give Harry more talented friends in the fight against Voldemort. I found this purpose quite reasonable, as Harry almost always relied on the talents of others and his own luck.
"But I think then you have to proceed differently. In any case, harshness doesn't seem to solve the problem," I said gently, because I knew that even with Frank, the hard and strict hand of his mother did not lead to anything good, but only the love and confidence of Alice.
"Certainly not kid gloves either. Nobody touched the two of us with it and see what has become of us," Severus said seriously and looked at me.
"Do you mean two people hiding their relationship?" I asked with a grin, but Severus rolled his eyes.
"Of course I mean our ability, our talent, our aptitude for magic," he replied, as if it were self-evident that our unpleasant childhood had made some contribution to this.
"But every person is different and reacts differently. Maybe you should be less strict?" I said in a soft voice, putting my hand on his. I saw his breath calm down a bit before he answered me.
"No, I demand a certain amount of perfection in my teaching," Severus stated and brought his hand to the bridge of his nose to massage it a little.
"Yes, I know. I think you would have made me nervous as a teacher and I would certainly have gotten punishment from you," I stated thoughtfully, thinking of my own clumsiness, which still occurs today.
"So? And do you think you would have liked to have come to detention?" asks Severus smugly and his gaze now wandered over my body.
"It depends on what kind of punishment it would have been with you, I suppose. In any case, salting toad brains or rat brains would not have been for me," I replied with a smile and pulled him close to me by the collar and tilted my head slightly to signal to him that I wanted his caresses, literally longing for them.
"You know I prefer a mature woman to a little brat," he whispered onto my neck before I felt a gentle kiss on my skin.
"You mean a woman your age? Who has known you for a long time and even when she was a stuttering little brat?" I breathed back.
"You never were. You're just thinking that, but you've always had a certain maturity and thoughtfulness that fascinated me from the start." He replied and I felt his hands on my breasts, only the thin fabric of my dress prevented skin contact, which we are still doing both longed…
As we enjoyed the sunrise on a walk on the beach shortly before his return to the breakfast table at Hogwarts, breathing in the fresh air that the sea offered us, Severus told me about Hogwarts' preparations for the upcoming Triwizard Tournament, which literally robbed him of his last nerve.
"Dumbledore plans to draw a magical age line around the Goblet of Fire. Its spells are known to be proof. So, there is no need to fear that a participant under the age of 17 can throw in his name," Severus explained with a springy step and I knew exactly who he was thinking of in particular.
"It's a pity that you can't enchant the Goblet of Fire yourself, so it doesn't accept participants who are younger," I said softly.
"You know that there is an ancient spell on this chalice that makes it impossible to manipulate the selection. You can only determine how many schools participate," Severus explained, somewhat amused by my application.
"Regrettable. And the tasks for the participants have already been set?", I asked, because that of course made me curious. No one has seen such a spectacle since 1792.
"Yes, we teachers are responsible for setting up the grandstand and the pitch in the first task. In the second task, we hardly have to do anything except build up the ranks around the lake. All of this can certainly be done well with a few spells. However, we are fully involved in the third task. We have to patrol for security and set the tasks for a maze, so I will be quite involved, especially in May and June. But I hate all this frippery that revolves around the tournament as if the inattentive students weren't enough."
"But you don't want to tell me the individual tasks? Are you afraid I'll pass it on to the other schools?" I asked laughing, so that Severus couldn't help but smile before he told me everything he knew.
But we should have known that the opening of the tournament itself fell on Halloween, which was not a good sign.
