#8 ~ A Rather Catty Situation

Disclaimer: All characters belong to JKR (except Odessa Divine). All situations are mine. No $$$ is being made from this fanfic.
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Chapter 12 ~ Tour of the Lower Levels

Severus showed up at supper in the Great Hall with his wife in a decidedly better mood than he had left it. He greeted his fellow staff members with less snarkiness than normal, and even spared the students his customary before meal glare. He was extremely solicitous of his wife, even cutting her cutlet for her and allowing himself to publicly show a little softening of the eyes when he spoke to her.

Odessa noticed Severus attentiveness to Hermione, and it made her belly go cold. And Marcus noticed Odessa noticing Severus. He nudged her.

“If you keep watching them like that, the jig will be up before anything goes down,” he said.

“Mind your own business,” she spat. But she turned away from watching the couple and focused on consuming her bloody steak and bread.

Marcus looked down at her plate.

“Don’t you eat anything other than really rare meat and bread?” he asked her.

She gave him a predatory smile. “Sometimes,” she replied, not offering more. A chill ran down Marcus’ spine. He would have thought she was a vampire, if he hadn’t seen her during the day. He let his eyes drift over her again, and thought about his own hungers.

“So,” he said, cutting into his breast of veal, “did you think about our little exchange of information?” He looked at her out of the corner of his eye as she chewed her steak. She swallowed.

“Professor Snape will be giving me the royal tour of the lower halls this evening. Based on what happens then, I’ll make a decision. I might not need your ‘information’,” she said evenly.

Marcus snorted.

“You’ll have a better chance of seducing this table, than him. He is stuck on his wife. She has some tendencies that he really, really likes,” Marcus said. He took a drink of his cola.

“What kind of tendencies?” Odessa asked him.

Marcus looked at her. “The cost, remember?” he said, smiling at her, “you’ll have to prepay for that info, Odessa.”

The witch absolutely hissed with exasperation. It seemed Marcus too, was immune to her charms. She wasn’t going to be able to get anything out of him until she gave him what he wanted. What was it with the men of Hogwarts?

“You are a bastard,” she said.

“Yes, I am,” Marcus agreed, “And you are just what this bastard needs to get a little relief. I guarantee I will be easier to get along with afterwards.”

Odessa nearly snarled at him. Ooh, she’d like to get her claws in him, and not in a good way.

Marcus was enjoying taunting Odessa. Her green eyes were flashing at him furiously. She seemed a very passionate woman. He would enjoy fucking her. He took a look at her long, blood red fingernails. He would remember to get a flask of healing draught from Pomfrey before collecting for his information. He had a feeling he was going to need it. She would give in, once she got a dose of Snape. He was a snarky bastard, and would most certainly turn Odessa down if she propositioned him, no matter how hot she was. He really loved his wife. Marcus hoped Odessa wouldn’t try anything too soon. It would end the game before Hermione found out about it.

Hermione had glanced down at Odessa’s end of the table and saw the way the witch was looking at Marcus. She looked like she wanted to kill him. She nudged Severus and gestured with her head to the other end of the table. He looked.

“Looks like Marcus is turning on the charm again,” she said, “it doesn’t seem like he’s having much success. Odessa looks like she’d like to scratch his eyes out.”

“Looks can be deceiving,” Severus said, returning to his meal.

Hermione looked at her husband.

“What do you mean? Obviously she despises the man,” she said, ready for an argument.

Severus chewed, swallowed then raised his eyebrows at her with a smirk.

“I seem to remember a beautiful young woman with chestnut hair who said she would never require the sexual services of a certain, black-hearted but randy Potions Master. Now she’s married to him,” he said smugly.

Hermione colored, and didn’t say another word.

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Right after supper, Odessa latched on to Severus and Hermione again, and walked with them back to their rooms. She inquired of Severus when he would like to start the tour.

The Potions Master looked at the woman coolly, Hermione watching him closely.

“I will come to your rooms in half an hour to escort you,” he said a bit tersely, “please be ready.”

He raised an eyebrow at his wife as if to say, “there, was that satisfactory?”

“That will be fine. And I appreciate it, Professor Snape,” she said.

“It’s nothing, believe me,” he snorted.

Hermione frowned at him as Odessa continued on to her rooms.

“Severus,” she said as she entered the Potions office.

“What? I thought I was doing well. She didn’t look offended,” he said, looking at his wife with an expression of complete innocence. Hermione sighed as she pulled out the book that opened the bookcase to their study.

“I guess you could’ve been worse,” she said, walking through.

“Definitely,” he muttered under his breath.

Hermione looked at him sharply as he walked over to the liquor cabinet and poured himself a small brandy, then walked to the armchair and sat down in it, attempting to relax before taking Odessa down to the lower levels. Hermione’s nagging had worsened his mood again.

Hermione seemed to realize this.

“I’m sorry, Severus,” she said, walking over to him and kissing him tenderly. He looked up at her. “I don’t mean to be such a bitch about this. You did fine. You really did,” she said.

He put on a pained look.

“I’m really going to need soothing after this ordeal,” he stated, flicking his eyes up at Hermione to see her reaction, “I know I’m going to come back tense, edgy, uptight, stressed…”

“I understand, Severus,” Hermione laughed, “don’t be such a drama king. I’ll take care of you when you come back. Just don’t be a bastard to Odessa.”

Severus’ mood improved instantly. He slugged back his brandy, put the glass on the table and pulled Hermione into his lap. “You are a good wife,” he said, kissing her on the forehead and thinking about this afternoon and the night before last as he embraced her. He couldn’t imagine ever tiring of her.

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Odessa changed from her robes into a clingy white t-shirt, some hip-hugging but comfortable jeans, and a pair of white trainers. She looked at herself in the mirror. She looked sexy, but innocently sexy. The clothes she wore were good for the kind of excursion she was going on. She shook out her raven locks and slung her head back, giving her a tousled look. She freshened her lipstick and decided not to put on any scent. She had read somewhere that Severus had a sensitive nose, and she didn’t want to chance offending him. She transfigured a piece of parchment into a notepad, and a quill into an ink pen. She was set. All she had to do was wait. She’d decided not to talk too much, and not to ask a question unless she really needed to. She would make her conversation mostly comments about the files and their conditions, as well as her observations on how she could better do her job. Maybe she could draw him out if he perceived her as dedicated to her work. Hermione had said he was very dedicated to his, so that might put them on common ground somewhat. She didn’t want to appear frivolous.

But her heart was pounding in her chest at the very idea of being alone with the man of her fantasies. He was just as dark and mysterious as she had imagined. He wasn’t handsome, but he had an intensity about him that made her wet. Even when he was stalking away from her after lunch, she noticed how he glided, not making a sound…almost like a big cat She wondered how intense he was as a lover. She wanted to find out, badly. If anyone could make her respond without a terrible ending, it would be him, she was sure. Then, her thoughts turned to Marcus.

She would probably have to let the blonde wizard fuck her if she wanted the low down on Severus and Hermione. She really believed the man knew a lot about their relationship. She wasn’t looking forward to having him grunting and thrusting inside her, and letting him get away with it. But he had something she wanted. She would have to let him go.

A knock sounded on the door. She picked up her notebook and pen, and quickly answered it. It was Professor Snape, looking down at her, his black eyes intense.

“Are you ready, Miss Divine?” he asked, arching a brow at her clothing. It was much too tight and left little to the imagination. It made him think of the loose women in Knockturn Alley. But he didn’t comment. She could wear what she liked. At least she had on trainers.

“Yes I am,” she breathed up at him, trying not to purr. His voice was delicious. She could almost imagine how sexy he sounded when making love.

“Then, let us go,” he said, stepping aside and gesturing for her to proceed him. She closed the door and he fell in step beside her. He looked at the notepad in her hand.

“You brought a pad. Good. You can write down what I tell you,” he said, a slight note of approval in his silky voice.

Odessa made no mention of his wife telling her to bring one. Let him think that she was prepared.

They walked down the hall a few yards, and stopped in front of a wall.

Severus said, “To enter the lower levels you have to press these stones in order. See this stone? It has a small white mark to identify it.”

He ran a long, finger lightly along the stone, stopping at a small white dot. Odessa thought he had the most beautiful hands she had ever seen on a man. What would it be like to have him touch her with those hands?

“Are you taking this down, Miss Divine?” Severus said rather sharply, noticing the woman had zoned out for a moment. Please don’t let that be a habit.

“Er…yes, Professor,” she said jotting down the info about the stone’s mark.

“Now, you press the stones in the following manner to gain access…”

Odessa wrote down the proper sequence of pressing the stones. Severus showed her once, and let the door swing closed, then had her open it. She did it right the second time. If Severus had any negative comments on how she couldn’t open the door the first time with the instructions on the pad in front of her, he kept them to himself. But he had sighed at her first failed attempt.

They entered the stairwell, Severus leading the way. On almost the last step, Odessa stumbled over her lace, which had come loose from her trainer and fell into Severus, driving him into the wall across from the stairs, her soft body pressed into his back. He was not pleased, and would have given her a scathing reprimand, except an angry Hermione popped up in his mind, and he caught himself.

He pushed off the wall, and straightened his robes. Odessa looked up at him, red-faced.

“Sorry,” she said in a small voice.

Severus looked down at her trainers, scowling.

“Tie that lace, Miss Divine,” he said in a tight voice, “firmly, if you please.”

Odessa kneeled and tied her laces securely, aware she was almost on her knees in front of Severus, one of her fantasy positions. When she was pressed against him, she could feel his musculature. He was hiding a taunt, firm body beneath those robes. Still kneeling, she looked up at the Potions Master, who had a severe look on his face. She could have creamed herself.

“Are you finished, Miss Divine?” he asked impatiently, wanting to get this over and the clumsy woman back to her rooms.

“Yes,” she said shortly. They were standing before another wall. Severus showed her the proper sequence of stones to press to open it, and let her try after she wrote the instructions down. This time she got it right on the first try. The wall opened on a hallway of doors, with a door facing the hallway at the end.

“These are the rooms with the records in them,” Severus said, opening the first door. Odessa walked in and looked around. There were boxes of papers, stacked on one another, and a lot of papers scattered all over the floor, evidently from torn boxes tossed in the corner. She first examined the undamaged boxes of paperwork, silently, pulling out sheets and studying them before returning them to the boxes. She then went to the torn boxes and examined what contents were left in them, then picked up a few of the papers on the floor and looked at them closely. She nodded to herself, and walking past Severus, went into the next room.

To Severus’ surprise, she didn’t have much to say to him. She simply went into each room and examined its contents, jotted down a few notes and continued on. When she came to the room with the boxes pulled together in the rectangle…she studied it for a quite a while, before closing the door, not touching anything.

“I think I’ll need gloves to inspect those files,” she said shortly to Severus before continuing on to the next room.

Severus looked at her curiously. She somehow seemed to know what went on in that room. There was come all over those files. Old, but still human emissions. He followed her down until she came to the office. She seemed to sniff the air. She examined the desk.

“This will be suitable as a base,” she said more to herself than Severus. Then she looked at the Potions Master.

“These files are in disarray, but it isn’t because of the passage of time, though it’s has had some effect. Most of the files were purposely thrown about. It seems this area has been used for more than storing files. Particularly that room with the boxes pulled together.

Severus felt the need to respond.

“Some students probably came down here to hide and do whatever it is students do when they are unsupervised,” he said, looking at her.

“Probably,” she said shortly, “but actually, I don’t think the job will take as long as I first anticipated. The files in the boxes seem to be in order. I will have to check them thoroughly. If they are in order, I will simply have to collect the scattered files and sort them. If I do them room by room, it will be easier. I doubt that the ones who scattered them about took any to other rooms. I can probably get some house elves to help me pick up the papers and box them up so I can sort through them later. Then I can repair the papers that were ruined…that will probably take the most time. But all in all, I should be able to get everything in order in about four to six months. That’s good time.”

Severus nodded, reluctantly impressed by Odessa’s quick summation of what needed to be done. Obviously she had an organized mind. The witch looked at him.

“Well, that’s it. I’m done. We can go,” she said, snapping her notepad closed and sticking her pen in the spiral binding.

Severus was pleasantly surprised. The total tour had taken about an hour and fifteen minutes, and she hadn’t bothered him with any silly questions. It hadn’t been as bad as he thought it. would be.

“Very well, Miss Divine,” he said. He waited for her to precede him and followed her to the wall that led to the stairs. She pressed the proper sequence of stones without referring to her notepad and opened it. She smiled at Severus.

“I’m a quick study,” she said, and started up the stairs. Severus followed her.

At the top of the stairs, she also flawlessly opened the wall leading to the dungeon hallway.

They exited the stairwell and walked side by side to her rooms.

“Thank you for the tour, Professor. I know you had better things to do with your time. I appreciate it,” Odessa said, smiling at him. Then she gave him a lingering kiss on the cheek and walked into her rooms, closing the door behind her.

Severus stood stunned. Nobody kissed him other than Hermione. He had been taken by surprise. He scowled at the closed door, wanting to reprimand Odessa for taking such a liberty on his person. But she was gone.

Still scowling, he walked to his office door, unwarded and entered it, then pushed open the bookcase to his study. Hermione was sitting in front of the fireplace, curled up with a book. She looked up at her husband, noticing his scowl.

“How did it go?” she asked, as he walked past her dazed, and took the other armchair.

“It went fine,” he said, still scowling.

Hermione looked at him a little closer. Something was on his cheek.

“Severus? What’s that?” she asked, leaning closer to look.

“What’s what?” he asked, looking at his wife.

Hermione leaned very close, a frown creasing her brow.

“On your face. That looks like lipstick,” she said.

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A/N: uh oh. :::shakes head::: How is Severus going to explain this? I’m pretty sure Odessa knew what she was doing. She did reapply her lipstick before going to the lower levels. Let’s see how understanding Hermione is.