Spinner's End

Chapter 10

Severus regarded Raven across his glass of burgundy. Her eyes sparkled as she looked back at him.


He had left her house earlier dressed again in his torn and dirty clothes. He had to walk back across the street. He despised having to traipse around the streets like a muggle. Most especially in torn clothing. As he crossed the street though he didn’t encounter another soul. Upon entering his house though he did encounter Pettigrew.

Peter looked at Severus, a smirk crossing his face as he began to speak, Severus touched his wand inside the edge of his pocket, and Peter was suddenly struck mute. His lips moving but nothing came out.

“What’s that Pettigrew? “ Severus asked snidely. He cupped his hand behind is ear for added effect. “Cat got your tongue?”

Peter began animatedly shouting at Severus. His face turning blotchy, he waved his arms around.

Severus apparated upstairs to his room, Pettigrew still shouting silently behind him. He had to make, as quickly as he could, the anti-impregnation serum for Raven. Fortunately it was an elixir that could be made from items he had on hand and even more fortunate, for more souls than just he, it was also an elixir that only required a couple of hours to stew and become effective. He poured the required amount into a small dark colored vial.
From his larger bottle he also included his own sterility concoction. He observed its bright yellow color as he measured it and poured it into a drinking glass from the nightstand. Drinking down the yellow liquid, he thought that using both might be over kill but he would rather go overboard in this instance.

He tried to repair his torn clothes using his wand, however there was only so much that magic could do to the material world and both the shirt and the pants were beyond repair.
He pulled fresh clothes from his wardrobe. He chose a dark navy colored shirt of silk and black pants. At his cuffs he wore links made of obsidian. His boots were tall and black also. He regarded himself in the mirror and wondered if the idiot, Pettigrew, had possibly but him in a dark mood. Severus scowled into his reflection. He suddenly wanted to do something painful to Pettigrew, not just a silly silencing charm. He suddenly heard a thunder clap from outside.
“Damn.” Severus said under his breath. Now he’d have to wear an overcoat. He suddenly had one on. It was black reaching almost to the ground.

He apparated back down the stairs. Peter Pettigrew Glared at Severus.
“ I see you have gotten a grip on yourself Pettigrew.” Severus said as snidely as he possibly could. Loathing dripped from his voice. “If you will promise to not make a sound until I leave, I will remove the spell. However if I hear a sound from you.” He gestured with a flick of his hand. “You will be in silence for quite a bit longer.”

Peter nodded.

Severus removed the spell.

Peter rubbed his throat.

“Remember. “ Severus said, holding up his finger, a smirk on his face. “Not one sound.”
He turned and exited the door. He fully expected to hear Peter begin shouting foul words as soon as the door closed, but it didn’t come.

In a way Severus would have preferred to hex Pettigrew for the rest of the night, but he also knew that pushing the weaker Pettigrew too far and too often, could work very much against him. He reminded himself of his constant tightrope balance.

As Severus crossed the street he felt the rain hitting him. He had forgotten an umbrella, as the thought occurred to him, one appeared in his hand touching him against his leg. He raised it over his head, snapping it open.

Looking across the street, he could tell that Raven had her kitchen light on. The darkness having just barley settled around him.

Raven had felt bad sending Severus out onto the street with the ripped clothes. But she didn’t have anything that he could borrow with out looking even worse. She assured him that he wouldn’t see anyone in the short distance anyway. She had felt worse about the ripped and torn clothes, when she he had picked them from the floor and hung them on her door hanger on her way to the shower. She had seen the tag inside the pants had said, Armani Collezioni, the shirt had said Ermenegil do Zenga. She didn’t know very much about men’s clothing, but she assumed that they were expensive name brand clothes.

Raven dressed in one of her nice dresses. She chose her pink rose, satin, Vera Wang dress. She felt a little scandalous, she decided to look very posh but she wore only thigh high nylons instead of regular nylons. She pulled on her new platform sling backs.
Looking at herself in the cracked mirror on the back of the closet-bedroom door, she decided that she would look the best tonight that her Severus had ever seen her.

She went back into her bathroom to put more gel on her hair to hold it down and in place. Right when she patted the product onto her hair she heard the clap of thunder.
“Damn.” She swore loudly. Now she’d have to wear a coat.
Going back into her large closet room she looked at her only two possible coats. The one she wore to work everyday, she thought looked too ugly to wear with the sweet pink colored dress. But the other coat, her swing coat, really didn’t match at all either.

Donning the cobalt colored swing coat, it hung below the dress hem, much to her relief. Raven beamed at herself in the mirror. She pulled the coat off and went down stairs to wait for Severus.

Now the pair sat in the restaurant regarding one another across the vessels in their hands.

“What?” Raven asked of Severus as she noticed he seemed to be staring at her with some intensity.

“Oh just thinking that my steak was perhaps a tad over done and that I should complain.” Severus answered smoothly. He kept his expression serious. Since he had actually been picturing Raven in his mind with considerably less clothing and swimming with him in a pond deep in a forest.

“Something’s over done that’s for sure.” Raven responded. “I think that perhaps you are thinking about something completely different than your dinner.” She raised one eyebrow at him, seeming to ask a question.

Severus, seeing that Raven had adopted one of his favorite behaviors, could not help but smile at her. He snaked his hand across the table and took her thin hand into his large one. Gently he slid his thumb across the rise of her knuckles as he puller her hand towards his lips. Looking into her eyes, he poked just the tip of his tongue from between his lips, sliding it slowly from one side to the other, across her knuckles, so softly, without even the touch of moisture. He looked at Raven through half closed eyes, speaking silently of seduction.

“Yes.” He said, answering the unasked question. He pulled her hand towards his mouth, placing a feather weighted kiss on it. “The steak was definitely over done.” He said, eyes suddenly full of mischief, Raven’s hand still at his lips.

Raven returned his look, saying, ”How would you like a little knuckle sandwich?”

Severus tightened his grip on her hand saying, “ No thanks, I’m not hungry. I just ate.”

Raven laughed.

To Severus the sound of her laughter was music. He laughed at her laughter. He felt as though he had suddenly reached a new status in her life. Suddenly he felt that he was the source of her joy and he liked the feeling it instilled in him.