Love and sex were not mutually inclusive to Severus. Never had been. He had felt love. He'd had sex, but the two were never intertwined with each other. Though his body would often hunger for physical touch, he didn't believe he was capable of such emotional depth any longer.

He conceded, however, that he had developed a sense of patience with y/n he never thought possible. Once she grasped the basics and saw the results of her lessons, she became more receptive to his knowledge. It was her trust in him that finally enabled her to absorb the information he taught her. The more she consumed, the more he fed her.

He was also certain that he felt a possessiveness over her. As the summer drew to its close, and the other staff members returned to the castle, he would remain close to y/n, almost as if guarding over her. She was often regarded as a curiosity, a reaction both her and Severus detested. He knew she did not wish to discuss the obscurial attack and so whenever the subject was broached, he would whisk her away from the conversation at hand, often with a rude choice of words for the person asking.

Their days were filled with each other's minds and their nights became filled with each other's bodies. It was an engaging routine for the both of them.

When the new term began and his schedule became busy with lesson plans, grading, and other school administrative duties, he felt a longing for her. He realized he missed the times spent alone teaching her various spells and magical theories. He missed hearing her soft laughter when she would cast a new spell perfectly for the first time or how she would read aloud a passage of a book he assigned to her. Reading aloud seemed to help her better understand the more complicated topics, he often interrupted her to better explain the concept. He noticed she often underlined or wrote notes in the margins of her books much like he did himself.

Each night, she appeared at his door, which he no longer left locked to her. She entered the room and climbed into his bed as if it were her own and she belonged there. His arm would find its way around her shoulder and he would trail his fingers over her soft skin until he felt her melt away into sleep. Her nightmares had all but entirely ceased. He never initiated any further physical contact, despite often wanting to. It was, however, a fairly frequent occurrence for her to. Wordlessly, she would begin to kiss him, pressing and gyrating her hips against his, leaving no choice but for his body to react. And react it did. She possessed a sense of magic that he knew he would never be impervious to.

Little by little as summer became fall, they each opened up to one another. She would ask him simple questions about his past, and as much as he detested discussing it, he would answer, often with short, vague responses, but answers, nonetheless. He afforded more knowledge to her than most anyone else. He learned about her as well. She would try to describe her muggle life which, to him, seemed to make no sense how she had survived life so far.

One evening, after having to handle the detention of two Hufflepuff students, Severus returned to his room very late. He opened the door and found her quietly sleeping in the bed, the blankets pulled up over her, covering all but her face. Her breathing was soft and rhythmic. Severus gently sat on the foot of the bed. As he removed his boots, he realized he had hoped and expected to find her there asleep. Severus sighed deeply at the realization that after all these months, he had grown attached to Y/n. He looked over the outline of her sleeping body under the covers. Despite his cold hearted demeanor, she had warmed up to him. Between reading about him in the history books, and his correction of their falsities, she knew about the worst of him, and loved him anyway.

She loved him, he realized. Severus stood and went to shower; his mind wondering if he could feel the same for her some day, or if he already did.

Y/n woke in the morning alone which wasn't unusual. She knew he must have arrived sometime in the night, but left again early in the morning. Since the start of term, he was kept busier than ever. No longer could she spend all day at his side learning, instead she had to leave him to his official duties as teacher and deputy headmaster. She would often spend her days sitting in on other teachers' classes, reading in the staff lounge, and on occasion, would take afternoon walks along the Hogwarts grounds.

Once dressed, she realized it was too late to go to the Great Hall for breakfast. Y/n collected her wand and the book she had been reading and decided to seek out a cup of coffee in the staff lounge. Inside she found Severus and the Headmistress. Minerva smiled at y/n as she entered, who smiled back. Severus sat on a large leather couch with a copy of the daily prophet folded out in front of him.

"Good morning, dear." Minerva greeted pleasantly before returning her attention to Severus. "Please finish that report and have it sent off by the week's end, Severus."

Severus grunted in confirmation behind the newspaper as the elder witch left the room. Y/n poured herself a cup of coffee and sat on the couch next to him. Severus made no change to his position. It was a rare moment they found each other alone in the staff room. There was a long silence before y/n broke it. "I missed you last night."

"Not here." He said behind his paper. His mood seemed darker than usual.

Y/n gave a resigned sigh. They had agreed to keep their affair secret. She heard enough whispers from the students as she traveled the halls. She didn't care to give anyone anymore reason to spread rumors about her. But in common areas of the castle, as long as they were alone, she could at the very least elicit some semblance of conversation from him. She opened her book, a rather advanced text on spell theory and began to read. She reached a part that seemed to confuse her, and as always, she re-read the passage aloud.

Severus was used to this habit, and often would interrupt her to elaborate on the meaning. He listened to her for a while intent to ignore her, but his own expertise on the matter got the better of him. "It refers to 'Gamp's Law of Elemental Transfiguration.'"

She furrowed her brow and re-read the passage, tracing her finger over the diagrams within. She shifted on the couch slightly closer to him, getting lost in the book. Severus folded the paper down and looked over at the text. Almost as if he was lost in the moment as well, he shifted on the couch closer to her. His arm, involuntarily, wrapped around her, his fingers tracing the runes in her wake. "This is the law related to Conjuration. The creation of physical matter out of thin air."

Y/n nodded as the information began to make sense to her. They had gone over many books together in this same manner, his arm around her shoulder, as he explained the more elaborate concepts. Several minutes passed as they both held their focus on the text. Y/n relaxed back against his chest as she continued to read and he continued to explain.

Neither noticed Minerva McGonagall had re-entered the room. She stood silently watching the pair in their proximity, she noticed how comfortable with each other's body they had become. And she further noticed an unusual softness to both their faces. Minerva cleared her throat.

Y/n immediately jumped up to her feet. Severus stayed rooted in place, his brow furrowed in anger.

"Perhaps you both should see me in my office later."

The pair sat before McGonagall in her office that night. The Headmistress stared at the two of them. "Care to explain yourselves?"

Neither spoke.

"I see." Said Minerva. She nodded and stood from her desk walking around and leaning against it. "Well, I had my suspicions, I can't say I'm surprised." She continued to look down at the two of them. "Severus…. Does she know? Have you told her?"

Y/n immediately looked at him. "Know what?"

Severus did not meet her eye contact, he said nothing and his expression even less. Minerva spoke directly to y/n. "When you were brought here, MACUSA requested regular updates on your progress. It seems your magical education is nearing its completion."

"So!?" Y/n interrupted. "What does that matter? Why do they care?"

Minerva paused thinking how best to respond. "Even witches and wizards are bound by immigration laws."

Y/n stood up at once shouting. "Absolutely not! I am not going back there!"

Severus reached out and placed his hand on her wrist in his subtle way to calm and reassure her. "Headmistress, surely there is a solution."

Minerva sighed and clucked her tongue. "I don't know… we can delay Y/n's departure, that is a possibility, but as for a long term solution…"

"When?!" Asked y/n.

"After the new year."

"It's already November." Y/n said with a crack to her voice. "I can't go back. Don't let them take me?!" Her words sounded pleading. Her eyes shifted between the other two desperately looking for an answer. "They'll just lock me back up in that facility and poke and prod me." Her hand went instinctively to her chest where the obscurial left its mark.

"I won't allow it." Said Severus, his words slow and deliberate.

Minerva looked at him with bewilderment. She knew he must be thinking of some way to allow her to stay indefinitely. "What do you have in mind, Severus?"

Severus did not respond. Instead he stood and took one quick glance at y/n which she understood to mean he wished for her to follow him. The two left the headmistress's office.