The early light of the September morn found ways to penetrate through the thick drapes, and sunlit shards fell on the narrow bed.
It had shrunk in the night, decreasing its width with stealth so as not to alert its occupants - slowly forcing them unwittingly closer to each other.
Severus stirred, refusing to open his eyes so as to prolong his stay in that place between sleep and awake - where reality was foggy and Dumbledore wasn't dead and Lily was still alive.
That morning, something was different though.
He felt comforted by an unexpected physical warmth that, at first, he couldn't place… And then his lids sprung open.
Finding his view obscured by a platinum waterfall of hair, he had the startling realisation that he was accidentally spooning the young woman who lay beside him.
He froze. Not just at the unfamiliar intimacy, but with the realisation that the disobedient bed had made it so that there was no space to retreat without falling out onto the floor.
Worse was yet to come though, as the slow assessment of the situation alerted himself to the unavoidable fact that he was… hard.
It was not unexpected - a natural reaction of many men on waking - but the problem was that, not only was his involuntary arousal snug against Cassandra's back, but she was laying unnaturally still - which implied she was most likely feigning sleep.
"Are you awake?" he asked, his desire to know winning out against the embarrassment he felt.
"Yes," was the simple reply.
"The bed has shrunk, I..."
"Yes," Cassie murmured. "I realised that."
"How long have you been awake?"
"Several hours."
Why hadn't she got up then? He thought, annoyance prickling at him. If she had they wouldn't be in the situation they were now... Unless she was afraid to move... How long had she been laying there with his erection pressing into the small of her back?
"You could have got up," Severus accused.
"I didn't know where to go."
Gingerly he shifted himself - a slow rotation to keep safely on the mattress, and then snatching up his wand, he began to mutter under his breath.
Cassie lay unmoving, her back to him as she felt the bed slowly expanding - a reluctant stretching of matter, as if the bed wanted to refuse.
When she felt it was safe to do so, she finally turned, shifting herself up to a sitting position.
She watched him, her eyes following the movement of his wand as the curtains changed. The figures fading away, swallowed up by the rich emerald green that replaced that saucy toile de jour.
She'd been around magic all her life, and yet, in that moment, she thought that she'd never seen something as graceful and hypnotic as the way Severus Snape worked his gifts.
In the hours that she had spent since waking, finding herself in his unconscious embrace, she had been mulling over how little she really knew about marriage.
Her parents loved each other, she was sure, but while terms of polite endearment peppered their speech to each other there was no displays of physical love.
They had separate rooms as well, and while Cassie could recall a few mornings where she had found her father in her mother's bed, she had remembered her surprise and curiosity at such occurrences.
Now, she herself was married, and the bed was to be shared as it had been last night, and with it their lives too perhaps… As long as her secret stayed secret… He had said that she did not have to please him, and yet she'd been feeling his physical reaction to her closeness since daybreak. It was all so confusing, both him and her own reactions to him.
What were they to talk about? What could she say that would interest him? She wanted to be useful to him. To create a mirage of safety for herself - even if it was just to stop her breaking down from fear... But what did married men and women talk about? What did adult women talk about to each other let alone their husbands? It had been years since she had truly been in company, and every word out of her mouth had been vetted even back then.
In the chamber, Severus lowered his wand, his dark eyes tracing over the bed with satisfaction. It was wide enough now as to prevent a repeat of that morning's performance, and those embarrassing curtains had gone. He had debated smoothing out the wood carvings, but he felt that was somewhat sacrilegious to the work that had gone into creating them.
His gaze shifted to Cassandra, taking in her concerned expression.
He wasn't going to mention what she had felt, it was too embarrassing and she'd have to make of it what she wanted. He wasn't going to provide her with a biology lesson on how it was purely an inconvenient bodily function, and that she shouldn't take it personally. And yet… if he was being honest with himself, he'd felt something shift. One couldn't share a bed with someone as they had without feeling a level of connection - it was too familiar, too close in every sense… And though he hated to admit it, he knew on some level he craved such intimacy… Just to be close to someone after being alone for so, so long.
"You can go where you please… in reason," he said, returning to her previous statement as if the past five minutes had not occurred, and dismissing his own confusing internal reflections. "I would suggest however that you stick to the main areas such as the library-"
"Are there any books you want?" Cassie interrupted.
His brow furrowed with confusion. "What?"
"Books - that I could fetch for you... or perhaps I could prepare ingredients for you. I can cut things for you, and I can grind."
"Grind?"
"Yes, I'm very good at grinding."
"Are you?" he replied mildly.
"Yes."
"That will not be necessary."
"I can be useful!"
He looked back at her in surprise and with a smidgen of guilt. Had he made her feel so useless? Incompetent – with his reaction to the 'lack of Lumos' incident? That guilelessness got to him again, and for the first time he contemplated how lucky he was. It could have been so much worse. He could have been made to marry someone who would mock and sneer at him while she plotted his downfall, rather than the wide eyed with desire to please young woman he saw before him... Though of course, Cassandra could be lying. It might all be an act, a way for her to worm herself into his business- and yet he felt sure he would easily see through such dissembling. No, he was becoming convinced that she was what she was - an unfortunate pawn in a game her father had lost… and that warm feeling of waking up beside someone, beside her… No! No, he couldn't think this way. He couldn't allow himself to show weakness - as much for her as for himself. She might be an innocent, but if she was to discover what was really going on she could turn on him. At the end of the day, she was a Malfoy and Sanctimonia Vincet Semper - he couldn't let her purity conquer him when so much was at stake.
What was this anyway? Pure Loneliness? The fact she had been reluctantly entrusted into his care? The desire to prove to someone like her that he wasn't the monster that everyone else thought he was.
" I have a school to run and many papers to deal with. The most useful thing for me is to have you make yourself busy elsewhere," he intoned stoically.
"Where?"
"Somewhere else than here... the Owlery, perhaps. You are fond of birds, aren't you?"
"Is there an aviary here?" Cassie asked hopefully.
"No, but the Owlery will be filling up today with different breeds as the students return."
The students, oh, Merlin, how was he to face them? And yet he had to, had to stare them down and play the part.
"Oh," she replied looking crestfallen,
"You don't care for owls?" he asked irritably.
"No, I do, I... I just wanted to be... I'll do as you ask," she conceded.
It was better, she reflected, to try and get the layout of the castle before it filled up with curious eyes - so that she could try and walk the halls with confidence when others were watching.
"Good," he replied curtly, and then his expression softened slightly. "Casandra, I want you to be happy here."
He meant it. He'd destroyed everything else, ruined lives, been forced to make those he respected and cared for hate him... But with her he didn't have to do that, not yet anyway.
"Thank you," she smiled softly.
For a moment he found himself caught by her expression - that gratitude at a small kindness, that he had seen the day before as well.
Was this why he found himself desiring to see her smile more? To find ways to make her smile - because he couldn't afford to show humanity elsewhere? Or was there something more to it, the slight stirring of emotional reaction to her, that warmth deep with- No! No weakness! He couldn't allow himself to read too much into it, he had other things to be doing, other important tasks. He couldn't allow himself to be distracted. Especially by her, and yet…
"I'll summon you some breakfast." Severus said, turning to the panel, feeling the need to get away from her presence and the thoughts it was bringing, though a very confusing part of him wanted to stay. "Tonight, we will have to eat in the Great Hall," he added as he exited the bed chamber.
An hour later, Cassie walked along the first-floor corridor for the sixth time, her simple black robes brushing against the stone flooring as she made her way to the grand staircase - mapping out the throughfares in her head and growing in confidence.
Breakfast had been delicious, and it had been something of a relief to eat alone – to just be herself without that constant fear of discovery. Her mind drifted back to her husband's promises of the night before - She'd have an elf soon and then everything would be easier.
She was planning to make her way to the entrance hall, and then out into the grounds. Perhaps visit the Owlery or if she dared the very edges of the Forbidden Forest. What rare and unusual birds might make their home within the trees?
And then Cassandra came to an abrupt halt as a figure suddenly loomed up before her and she found herself blinking in concern at the familiar face who looked down at her.
"Mrs Snape. We meet again," Amycus Carrow smirked.
"Mr Carrow," Cassie replied, a prickle of discomfort tracking up her spine.
"Amycus, please… I want us to be friends."
Fighting the grimace that threatened, Cassie forced a polite smile.
"Getting familiar with the school, are we?" Amycus continued.
"Yes… I thought it was advisable to."
"I can give you a tour if you like?" Amycus offered, unable to hide the leer from his tone.
"No, thank you," Cassie replied, her eyes darting about, hoping that someone else might arrive to break the uncomfortable atmosphere.
The smirk from Amycus' face dropped slightly at her rejection, though he let his eyes rove freely across her form, his gaze coming to rest on the empty hands she clasped in front of her. "He took your wand?" he enquired, that overfamiliar note back in his voice.
The wand! Stupid! Stupid! She'd left it by the bedside cabinet. Oh, how her mother would scold her for such a blunder!
"A wise move, or a foolish one," Amycus continued without waiting for a reply, a slow sneer now curling his lips. "After all there are many dangers down these corridors for the unsuspecting - but perhaps it helps you feel closer to your family? What with your daddy losing his as well."
"Amycus! Be nice!" a new voice ordered, the owner sidling into view from behind her sibling's back. "You'll have to excuse my brother, Mrs Snape."
Despite the fact it was Alecto Carrow who had come to her rescue, Cassie couldn't help but be flooded with relief.
"It's quite alright," Cassie replied. What else could she say? She couldn't afford to make enemies of them and she had been taught to be pleasing. Conflict was as foreign a concept to her as the use of a muggle telephone.
"He means no harm," Alecto continued, giving her brother a playful shove, "He just likes to tease… Say sorry to Mrs Snape, Amycus."
"Sorry, Mrs Snape, I was just joking with you," Amycus replied with a grin.
"See," Alecto added with a twinning beam, as she took a step towards Cassie. "We're your friends, Cassandra… We're new at Hogwarts this year too… How about we let my brother continue in his duties and you and I have tea in my little parlour? Wouldn't you like that, Cassandra?... Or can I call you Cass?"
"I- erm," Cassie began, caught between wanting to be polite; concern that there was some ulterior motive to the offer; a desire for human connection if Alecto was genuine and the fear that she might make a slip… though without her wand she couldn't be expected to-
"Cassandra, your wand," Severus intoned, stepping from the shadows, and pointedly blocking her from the Carrows' view.
She took it, her fingers grazing the smooth willow as she quickly pocketed it.
"I will show you the way to the Owlery," Severus continued, and then he stuck out a stiff arm for her to take.
The relief she felt at the offer surprised her, and she reflected that perhaps the forced intimacy of the previous night had shifted something in her thoughts of him, or perhaps it was his promise that he wanted her to be happy, or maybe just the fact he was offering her an escape from the Carrows' unsettling attentions. Either way, she clutched on to him, and then, without a word to the two spectators of the exchange, he led her quickly down the corridor.
The siblings watched them go, their calculating gaze on the retreating backs.
"If this is going to work, you need to stop being such a creep, Amycus," Alecto reflected softly.
"I don't know… you coming in as her saviour seemed to work pretty well."
"We need to get her to trust us, confide in us - and not out of fear! I know it goes against every inclination of your being, dear brother, but, for once, try and be a gentleman… at least until we've got what we need."
Drifting over to the window, Alecto looked down, her beady eyes finding the couple now walking in the grounds below. She noted the body language; the arms still linked; and the subtle signals that Cassandra and Severus seemed oblivious to… And with growing satisfaction, Alecto smirked..…