Where the Heart Is

A/N: Thank you for the reviews. Smut will be coming in next chapter. I hope you enjoy this one.


Chapter Eleven: The King and his Castle


“I don’t know how the Dark Lord talked me into doing this,” Severus said as they were about to arrive at his ancestral home.

“I’m not that bad of a house guest!” Cassandra exclaimed. “Besides, he wants you to teach me more about the Dark Arts.” The carriage continued down the narrow path, and she blinked in surprise. “You never told me that it was a castle!”

Severus smirked. “Yes, Snape Castle is my family’s home. We’ve had it since the Middle Ages. It was built in the 1400s, although we had owned a manor on the land since th00s.00s.” The carriage stopped at the entrance. A servant promptly came and opened the door. Severus exited the carriage. “Nice to see you again, Paul. Has everything gone well?”

“Yes, Sir,” the servant said and then offered a hand to Cassandra which she accepted and stepped out of the carriage. She felt like she was in another world, another time. “Are the other servants ready?” Severus inquired. “Yes, Sir. They are in the foyer awaiting your instructions.” Paul promptly answered. Severus nodded. “Make sure our things get to our rooms.” He turned to her. “Come, Cassandra.” He then walked confidently inside the castle. Another human servant was there as well as three house elves.

“Welcome back, Sir,” the human servant said.

“Thank you, Anique,” he said with a slight curt nod. “Now, you will show Miss Black the same respect that you show me.” The servants nodded. “Anique, show her to her rooms.” He then turned to Cassandra. “Dinner will be in an hour. I will expect you then.” He then confidently walked off.

Cassandra was completely dumbfounded. She never expected any of this. She woke out of her reverie only when Anique got her attention. “Oh, yes, please,” she said as the servant went to show Cassandra her room. Well, it would technically be rooms. There was an elegant bedroom, her own opulent bath, and a sitting room. It was fit for a queen. She barely had time to sort through everything when it was time for dinner.

She went to the Great Hall. “Wow,” she breathed. There were elegantly furnished tapestries on the walls. A long table was in the center of the room, surrounded by chairs. It could easily fit a hundred people, she figured. Only two places were set. Luckily, she was going to sit across from him, since the places were set at the two seats beside the head of table. She was about to pick one of the spots to sit down when Severus entered. He was wearing black pants and a simple buttoned-down silk black shirt. His shoulder-length black hair had been pulled back. She found that she was staring at him before she quickly averted her gaze. She hadn’t realized it before, but right now, he was, did she dare say, quite handsome. He pulled out a chair and motioned for her to sit. She blushed faintly. “Thank you,” she said softly as she sat down. He moved and sat across from her. Paul then came in, pouring both of them a glass of wine and announcing that dinner would be served in a few moments.

Severus swished the wine around in his glass and took a sip. “Are your rooms acceptable?”

“Oh, yes, they are perfect.” She said as she mimicked his motions with the wine and took a sip. It was a very good red wine. “I never expected to be treated so well.” She realized that it might have sounded wrong. “I mean the rooms and such. It makes me feel like a princess.” She gave a shy smile, feeling nervous.

He raised an eyebrow. “Don’t get too use to it, Cassandra. We will be going back to Hogwarts before too long.”

“Oh, I know.” She said quickly and took another sip of wine. “Will you show me around the castle and grounds?”

“Perhaps tomorrow,” he told her. “I would like to work on some of your training tonight.” She nodded.

Dinner arrived and she ate the meal as formally as she could. She was suddenly nervous in his presence. This was a different Severus. He appeared so noble and formal, like a royal gentleman. Unsure if it was the wine or not, she also noticed that he looked hot!

Severus watched her reactions while they ate. She kept looking at him. He smirked when he noticed that she was nervous. “It is okay, my dear. I won’t bite.”

She laughed out of her own nervousness. “Oh, I know.”

By the end of dinner, she was feeling calmer, figuring that it was the wine. He stood up and went over to her. “Let’s go,” he instructed. She stood nd fnd followed him down to the dungeons. “Take out your wand. I think you need to learn the killing curse first.”

She took out her wand as instructed and blinked. “What? I don’t want to kill anyone, Severus.”

“You should have thought of that before you joined the Death Eaters.” he snapped at her before sighing softly. “Cassandra, I know that you don’t want to kill anyone, but there may come a time when you will have to. I want you to be prepared.”

“Have you killed people?” she asked although she was uncertain that she wanted to hear the answer that she already assumed.

“Yes, I have.” He got out a container of bugs. “You will practice on these to begin with.”

“Severus, I really don’t want to.”

“You have to. In order to succeed with this curse. You have to want to kill them. You have to be angry.” he instructed.

“But, I’m not angry,” she insd.
d.

“You’re not?” he asked and slowly moved around her. He stood behind her, forcing her to look at the insects. “What about your father? Don’t you want to extract your revenge? The wizard who murdered your family walks free. He killed them and he enjoyed it, especially casting the killing curse on your eight-year-old sister…or would she have been nine by now, if she were still alive?” He noticed that she was trembling. He continued though. “Can you tell me that you are not angry at him for killing your family? For taking away those that were dearest to you?” He noticed that she was tense. Her knuckles were turning white as she gripped her wand. He leaned in toward her and whispered in her ear. “Cast the curse. Kill him.” he said in a silky whisper.

Something inside her snapped, and she called out, “Avada Kedavra.” The insects were dead now. She suddenly leaned heavily against him, feeling drained. “You’re evil,” she stated tiredly.

“I know,” he said, holding her up. “You did well. I’m sorry. I had to do that.”

She bowed her head and began to cry. She didn’t want to kill anyone before he started speaking, and technically she hadn’t, but she was angry. She had wanted to kill him, the wizard who had killed her family. She wanted it so bad, actually. She felt like she was falling and didn’t realize that she was being sent to the ground. She turned toward him and cried against him as she sat in his lap.

He knew that he had been very cruel, but he had to be. She had to learn the killing curse. It was a matter of life or death. Knowing that she was crying, he slowly sat down with her and put his arms around her, trying to be as comforting as he could be.

Slowly, she calmed down. She was exhausted, and her eyes closed. Her breathing began to deepen as she fell asleep against him.

After a few moments, he tilted her head toward him, realizing that she was asleep. He picked her up and took her to her rooms and got her to bed. “It’s for your own good,” he said almost trying to reassure himself as much as her.

* * * * *

Cassandra woke up that morning, wondering how she got back to bed. Stretching, she looked around at her bedroom, realizing that it was well into the morning. She was hungry too. She got up and bathed, putting on a pair of pants and a shirt afterwards. She went downstairs and saw Paul, who instructed her where there was breakfast for her and that Severus would meet with her afterwards. She ate at the table in the Great Hall in silence while imagining what it must have been like when there was a magnificent party going on. She had just finished eating when she heard a male voice being cleared. She turned around and saw Severus there.

“Ready for more less” he” he inquired as more a statement than question.

She didn’t really want to have any more lessons, but she knew there was no getting out of them. “I guess.” She thought that it was rather ironic that she had just graduated a few days ago and was now getting even more lessons. She followed him back down to the dungeons, noticing that there were mice there this time. “I don’t want to kill poor cute little mice!”

“Cassandra, you need to practice this on mammals as well.” He gave her a look. “Practice for a while, and then I can show you around the castle and grounds. We could even have a picnic lunch. Does that sound acceptable?”

She sighed and nodded. She wasn’t happy with him at all right now and tried to focus on the anger to hurry up and get this over with.

They practiced for a while. She only managed to knock most of them unconscious, despite Severus attempts at goading heain.ain. He finally called it quits for now. “Are you still going to show me around?”

“Yes, I am. You did try.” he said almost reluctantly. He found Paul and told him to pack up a lunch for them. He then showed her around the castle. She was amazed at the architecture. She was also very impressed by the size of the library and the quality of the potions lab. She thought that it must be nice to have such a great home. A wave of sadness went over at at that moment. She really didn’t have a home any more. She remembered those silly Muggle welcome mats that said sappy things like ‘home sweet home’ and ‘home is where the heart is.’ She never really thought much of them, but she missed not having a place to call home. They then went outside to look around the grounds. “You have a stable!” she exclaimed. “Can we go riding?” She hadn’t been riding in ages.

Severus chuckled, glad that she liked the place. It was a nice place, but he never cared much for it. It actually brought too many bad memories, especially of his father. “I’ll tell the stable hand to get two of the horses ready while we eat.” She nodded. They ate the lunch, finishing just as the horses were ready. She mounted the horse, a black gelding named Thor. Severus easily mounted his personal horse which was a solid white mare named Bianca. “I’ll show you around the grounds,”toldtold her and got his horse started at a walk.

They rode around the grounds, having a nice conversation actually about literature. They were caught up in the ride and such that they did not even notice the darkening clouds until a streak of lightning flashed across the sky. The sky seemed to just open up as the rain poured down on them. “This way,” he called out to her, making his horse go into a gallop. She kept up with him. There was an open barn, and they rode into it. Severus swung his leg over and got off the mare. They were drenched from head to foot.

“Well, that was fun,” Cassandra said as she looked at him.

Severus smirked. “Fun, indeed.” he said rather sarcastically. He tied his horse up and then hers and raised his arms, easily lifting her off the horse.

She had her hands lightly on his shoulders, actually surprised that he had gotten her off the horse. There was a loud clamor of thunder, and she jumped slightly, moving closer to him. She looked up at him and smiled. He was drenched, and she had a feeling she was too. Another flash of lightning illuminated the sky. Severus gently reached with one hand and pushed back some of her hair from her face. Her dark eyes met his, and she didn’t know what had gotten to her. She moved her hands, wrapping her arms around him as she leaned up slightly. “Thank you,” she said softly. Her lips were inches away from his, and with a bounce on her toes, she closed the distance, kissing him. He had stiffened slightly at first, not kissing her back. Slowly, his hands moved to her waist as he brought her closer to him. He kissed her back, becoming hungry for more. His tongue ran lightly across her lips, parting them gently before slipping inside her mouth. He could taste the chocolate and wine that they had had at the end of lunch. Her tongue slowly began to twirl around with his. She moaned softly into his mouth as a warm feeling spread across her stomach and lower regions. She was getting wet in more places than just from the rain. She had never been kissed like this. It was so passionate, so wonderful. Hungry yet gentle. She never wanted it to end as she clutched to him tighter. Another loud clap of thunder sounded with the neighs of the horses as their marks burned. He pulled apart from her, reluctant to let her go, especially since she had awakened him. “We have to go,” he said softly in a silky whisper as his hand gently stroked her cheek.

She slowly nodded. She sighed, not wanting to go, but the insistence of the mark made her realize that they had to. He had shown her more of his world. They had kissed. She looked at him before they apparated to the Dark Lord. She vowed secretly to not let him go.


A/N: Please review!! I do like to get feedback as it helps to know if people are liking the story and all.