Insubmission
The alarm clock rang, Sev woke up. Wow, the sun didn't wake us up, and Lauren was holding me. Let's see if she does it again when she turns it off. She has done it immediately and she has embraced me again, with her whole body stuck to me, also her bare legs. Let's see if she has set the alarm clock a little earlier and we have a little while to be like this. But I won't look at the clock, I'll ask her.
"What time is it, Lauren?"
"Seven fifteen."
Good… "Do you mind if I turn around?"
She doesn't answer me, she has to think about it. He laughed. I'm going to encourage her, she needs a little push. "Come on, Lauren, think fast. We only have a quarter of an hour."
She also laughs, how well it has suited her. I'm going to turn around. He did it. "Good morning gorgeous." He caressed her face tenderly.
"How you look at me, Severus."
"Because I adore you, Lauren. You look at me like that too."
She caressed him too, tracing his features with her fingertips. They remained looking at each other and caressing each other like this during that brief quarter of an hour.
She is no longer compelled to desire me, because she has been with Jack and she is satisfied in that regard. She can allow herself to give and receive affection from me without wanting anything else, how nice. Too bad we can't meet very often. She's going to get burned from the Time-Turner and the sleep potions and she must take out the Defense OWL.
"How did you sleep?" Sev asked.
"Wonderfully."
"How glad I am, Lauren."
I would stay like this all day. Just adoring her and caressing her, here, in the open air, in the sun. I already told you that I would send everything to get fresh air and I would stay to live here. But my guts growl, we haven't eaten for twenty hours. When we do this at night, we have to think about bringing something from the kitchens, to eat again before bed. "Aren't you hungry?"
"A lot. But I feed on you."
They smiled at each other. How many years must she have wanted to do what she is doing right now. She adores me and I her, how good.
Sev checked his watch. "Half past seven, time to get going," with a sad smile.
"What a pity…" she too.
"Yeah, don't worry. Next time we'll take more time if you want."
"Sure."
They got up and dressed quickly, picked up the bed and carried everything inside the house, leaving the blankets also piled on the furs by the fireplace. Sev went for his backpack, which he had left in the living room. They walked briskly back the way they had come the night before, chatting animatedly. They reached the door of the Room of Requirement.
"A quarter to eight," Sev said.
"Shall we go separately?"
"Take out the Map."
Lauren pulled out the Map and unfolded it.
"Filch can't be seen," he said. "He hasn't started patrolling yet, he starts at eight. We go together but quickly, even though Dumbledore doesn't have his Map yet, to get used to it."
"Okay."
They left the Room and ran to the passageway from the seventh to the third floor, down it, and from there to the dungeons via the stairs. It's not about stealth anymore, it's about spending the minimum amount of time out in the open for when Albus has the Map and maybe looks at it.
They got home before ten to eight. At the bottom of the stairs that went up to the dormitories, separated for the girls and boys, he told her, "Give me a kiss, gorgeous."
She flung herself into his arms and gave him a brief, passionate kiss with her lips. Sev projected to her, "I love you. See you in a while."
They separated. She hasn't told me anything. It doesn't matter, she already tells me everything with her actions. Sev went upstairs to his bedroom and went straight to the shower. Today I don't have to wash my hair, I already washed it yesterday to be with Lauren, I tie it up with Audrey's scrunchie so as not to get it wet.
Wednesday, my day off from Turning Time. I already told the old man that I reserved Wednesdays for myself. If he doesn't make an appointment for tomorrow or the day after, I'll go with Audrey to the Mental Arts classroom tomorrow, with a day in between to see Lily on Saturday, and for Friday I'll propose a short meeting with Albus, for a couple of hours, to talk about the new demands.
When he arrived at the Great Hall Sev projected to the Headmaster, "Good morning, Albus. Were you thinking of appointing me this week?"
"I wasn't, Prince, the most urgent thing has already been done. I was thinking of letting you rest."
And also for him. In the evenings, between dinner and curfew, he is teaching Genevre, Alice, and Frank Occlumency, in turns. And making his Map the rest of the day. "Great, but I would like to meet on Friday for a couple of hours, if you can. I have business to talk to you about."
"Of course," Dumbledore replied.
Another one who is always at my disposal. Not only am I Head of Sly, I'm already Acting Headmaster of Hogwarts. If we have time to spare, I'll tell him about the basilisk. He has already recovered from the disgust of the Horcruxes. "Shall we do as when I went to St. Mungo's, after lunch?"
"Alright."
"Until Friday then, if there is nothing new before," Sev said goodbye.
He projected to Lauren, "My awakening today has been one of the best of my life."
He saw her smile. "Mine has been the best without a doubt."
How much we love each other, Sev thought.
He projected to Lily, "Honey, I'm going to dedicate breakfast to Lauren. We'll talk in Potions. Does it seem bad to you?"
"Of course not, Sev. See you in half an hour."
"Thanks my love."
He spent breakfast chatting with Lauren, finally recovering from the unease that had plagued him the week before and part of that very night.
In Potions the scene from the previous Wednesday with The Marauders was repeated. This time I look with hate at the rat. Well, I've made him look down too. Mastered, only with my eyes. So I can smile and wink at Remus, who returns it to me. He projected to him, "Friend, I already have your Marauder's Map."
Remus chuckled, looking down in embarrassment. Sev continued, "I solemnly swear that I'm up to no good. Mischief done."
Remus has had a fit of giggling. Sev went to his place, laughing too. Lily and Cecile do it too, they guessed that I projected to Remus because we laughed at the same time. And Lauren smiles amused, she knows I'm joking with the Gryffs. The other three must be thinking what the joke is. If they only knew… the joke is themselves.
He spent an hour and a half of the two in class conversing only with Lily, about what he had read about Bonding and Union of Souls. And the ritual in the cave has worked, I remember everything I read verbatim.
He only interrupted himself, like the week before, to tell Lauren and his housemates about the Potions changes. If loudmouth Slughorn tries to give us ten points again, I'm not going to let him, Sly's Head is me.
He concluded, "Lily, I have secrets that I would not like you to know, but it is essential for me to know that I will be able to keep you safe at all times even if you no longer trust me."
Lily thought, What I was telling you, if I were missing, even if I wasn't with him anymore, Sev would sink. Of course I will never let him down, but I must reassure him on that aspect. "Sev, I would never stop doing it, but if that makes you feel safer and better, I won't mind getting to know you completely. On the contrary, I'm looking forward to it and I'll accept whatever comes from you."
Just the answer I was expecting, he thought. "I will not wait for that moment to tell you things. I will do it little by little, in the summer, when we are together."
"Sure, Sev, it seems fine to me. Nor would I like to find out everything at once, and even less at a time like this. We must do it already knowing each other completely." I'm keeping a big secret from him too, but he's going to find out as soon as we get home, she thought.
"That's what I think." I know that she is going to accept everything else, but let's see how she takes the Horcruxes and Lucius, she is going to have a terrible time for me. I have made a mortal enemy who is immortal, he thought.
"And Lauren, how is she?" Lily asked him.
"She spent the whole night eating her head, deciding whether or not to sleep with me."
"And in the end you did it?"
"Yes, in the open air. It has been fantastic," he answered.
"Wow, Sev, how glad I am. And how did she feel?"
"Wonderfully, she is unknown. Much better still than Monday and yesterday, despite we only had a quarter of an hour to pamper ourselves after waking up."
"Sev, she loves you much more than Jack."
"I know, Lily, you don't have to tell me."
"You have to be with her at least one night a week."
"I'll try that, but I don't want her to burn herself with the potions and the Time Turner," he said. "She has to get the OWL out."
"But being well with you will give her fuel to do it. Let her do without Jack for a bit."
"Well yes. That's what I think she should do, but I can't talk to her about it, Lily. Talk to her for a while, I'm sure she'll listen to you now."
"Okay, Sev."
Lily projected to Lauren, "How are you, beautiful?"
"Wonderfully, Lily."
Good… "Sev told me that you were studying the Red Magic book yesterday." Let's see if she tells me something about it, Lily thought.
"Yes, it was very interesting."
She doesn't tell me anything, discreet Sly. I bring up the hot topic, to see how he reacts. "And that you slept in the Room of Requirement, in the open air."
"Yeah. It has been fantastic," Lauren confirmed it.
Well... To encourage her, without revealing that I know they slept together. "He also told me the same thing. You have to do it again at least one night a week, between now and the end of the school year, take advantage of the good weather."
"Sure, Lily. If Sev wants to, we'll do it."
Wow, how strange, she already has it very clear. Very easy, now that she takes care of herself and studies. "He wants to, Lauren, don't doubt it. You must take care of yourself and reserve time for him and to study. Save your energy for the things you really want to do, you have to give priority to what you want."
She doesn't answer me, she's already eating her head, not being able to give up Jack a little bit.
One minute later Lauren projected to her, "I just want so many things, Lily…"
I understand her, she does have a divided heart. She would be happy with Sev alone if he could give her everything, but he doesn't want to, and I understand him too. I must continue to encourage her to find a way to handle it. Organization, as Sev says. "Well, get organized and you will reach everything. You know how to take care of yourself and what you need to be well. Prioritize."
Another long minute without speaking.
"Okay, Lily, I will. Don't worry about me, continue talking to Sev."
She has answered me with absolute certainty, she is going to do it.
Lily projected to Sev, "Sev, it's done."
"So fast?"
"Yeah. So fast."
"Tell me," he asked.
Lily told him.
"Ugh… she's going to go back to turning the issue again," Sev said.
"I don't think so, Sev, not at all. Do you have class after?"
"We don't. She has free that hour of electives."
"Well, she can allow herself to think about it for a while, at least she will do it in a constructive way. It is true that she is delighted with the night she has spent with you, she is not going to give up that happiness."
"I hope so."
They kept chatting until the end of class. When Slughorn congratulated all seven of them and again tried to award Sly ten points… "I see that all the students in my house have achieved excellence again. I grant…"
"Don't!" Sev yelled.
"What is it, Mr. Snape?"
"For starters, my name is not Snape, my name is Prince, my mother's last name," in a bad way.
Lily thought, His mother that Slughorn would receive in his office without telling him that he has a brother. But Sev doesn't know, he's treating him like this for some other reason.
He's been left speechless, Sev thought.
Wooow... Sev standing up to the loudmouth, good... Let's see how Slughorn reacts and Sev answers again, Lauren thought.
"That is not the way to address a professor and even less to your own Head of House," said Slughorn. "You must call me sir and speak to me with other manners."
What you want, bigmouth, Sev thought. "No, I won't," authoritarian and blunt. "You are no longer Head of Slytherin House. I am."
Booah… what a mess. Unsubmissive to the core, Sly to the core, Lily thought.
He doesn't say anything, he knows I'm right, Sev thought. The trio must be hallucinating, they don't know what awaits them.
'Take that! Yeah! I tell you you are,' Lauren thought.
"Mr. Snape, you lose…" said the teacher.
"No! You neither take away nor give me points. Shut up, bigmouth. Let's go," he said to his escort, who had already picked up and left the classroom without looking at anyone.
Wooow… And he has insulted him, Lily thought. What is happeningwith Slughorn? I'm dying of curiosity.
He has snapped it to his face, Lauren thought. Merlin, there is no other like him. What good taste I have, I caught him on the fly as soon as I saw him for the first time. He's perfect.
Sev and his housemates went to Arithmancy, and Lily, Cecile and Remus to Runes. Remus asked Lily on the way, "What fly has bitten Sev with Slughorn?"
"I have no idea, Remus," she replied. "He hasn't told me anything about it."
"The fame is getting to his head a bit," Cecile said.
"Not at all, it's not that at all. Something must happen." One of those secrets he's going to tell me in the summer and I might not be able to tell Remus and Cecile.
"Yeah, you're right, I don't think so either, in training he doesn't behave authoritatively," Cecile said. "He will have his reasons. Maybe something happened at home that he hasn't told us about."
"Yes, that's probably it."
Meanwhile, Anthony was asking Sev, "Why didn't you let him give us points?"
"Because I am sick of the competition between Houses, it contributes to the disunity," Sev answered. "Furthermore, he does not give them to us, he gives them to himself. He is very proud of what we have done without having lifted a finger."
"You're right."
If you only knew... His tongue was what he moved the most, Sev was thinking.
Meanwhile, Lauren, very proud of Sev's behavior, since she was the only one who understood it, calmly collected her belongings, stop by her house and left the castle, towards the Forest. She went to the pond where Sev had taught her how to fight.
She had already been there the previous afternoon, knowing that she was going to practice the talking Patronus with him, and had checked if her happiest memory had changed by spending those two nights with Jack, and no, it hadn't. It was still the night of the song, which is why she had decided to take the alarm clock to the Room of Requirement to sleep with Sev.
When she returned to the Forest that morning and tested the memory of the song, it came up an incorporeal one. She then tried the awakening of that same day, those fifteen minutes of looks and caresses, and the panther appeared.
So she went back to the castle without thinking about it at all, she already knew what she wanted. She would spend a night or two a week with Jack, and another, which she would not give up under any circumstances, with Sev.
As soon as they sat down to eat lunch, Dumbledore projected to Sev, "What happened withProfessor Slughorn this morning, Prince?"
The big mouth has already gone to tell, Sev thought. "And you ask me, Albus? I have put him on his place. I've called him loudmouth, which is what he is."
"You can't expose yourself like that."
"Albus, I am beyond fright. Voldemort is after me because of him, I have every right to get even. I don't want to keep talking about it, I'll get in a bad mood and I already have enough with what I have."
"You're right."
(Of course. And Lauren just walked into the Hall.) "See you on Friday if there is no news," Sev said goodbye.
"Alright."
As soon as Lauren sat down she projected to Sev, "Reserve me one night a week."
Good… "Of course, Lauren. Which?"
"I don't mind. Depending on the job you have."
(She's putting me ahead of Jack. Very good.) "Okay, I'll try to let you know in time," Sev replied.
"Shall we chat with Lily?"
"Sure."
They continued talking among the three of them.