The Man Who Came In From The Cold

JK Rowling's characters and Wizarding Universe are all uniquely hers. Plot, new characters, new magical terms and abilities etc. are my intellectual property. If you want to borrow then please kindly ask.

ALTERNATE UNIVERSE. If you are looking for strict Canon or even a slight deviation from Canon you won’t find it here.

Summary: The war has carried on well past Harry Potter’s 7th Year. Snape is on the run from Voldemort and the Ministry of Magic, both of whom will stop at nothing to silence him. He finds unexpected refuge in the most unlikely of places.

Note: Check out Antony & The Johnsons in your local record shops.

The Man Who Came In from the Cold


Chapter 012: Hope There’s Someone

For the first time in a long time, Esmé was nervous about performing. It didn’t take rocket science to figure out why, but it wasn’t something she could discuss with her sister. God knows she loved Chris – but Chris wouldn’t understand her getting involved like she was with Sebastian. Her sister had come into the little room that Esmé and the band used as a dressing area. She was all smiles and happy. Gill was going to come tonight and they were going to sit together. This was a very big step and she was confident that he was finally going to end his sham of a marriage.

Esmé hadn’t said a word. There was no point. She had heard this so many times before and yet there was D’Arcy, still with his wife. There was a lot of gossip that strongly suggested the D’Arcys led separate lives – but separate lives didn’t equal getting a divorce. Chris was so bright, so intelligent and it was insane that she was throwing her life away for someone who was not really hers to have.

But she couldn’t tell her sister that. She just listened and was grateful when Didi, the percussionist for the band, came barging into the room. It gave Esmé the excuse she needed to get out of having to listen to any more of her sister’s delusions.

She had wanted to ask if Sebastian was out there; but it would have caused more problems than it was worth right now. The rest of the band piled in the room and Fabrice, their bassist, handed her a toasted panini, crisps and a cold drink. Esmé found that she just didn’t have the appetite for it. Her stomach was turn churning and doing somersaults and she had been running to the bathroom all evening.

‘Hey don’t look so stressed out! It’s a full house out there – no room! They have already earned back the money they spent on us and then some,’ Sergei the drummer said enthusiastically as he tapped Esmé on the shoulder. ‘We’ve got a lot of regulars out there and they’ve brought friends!’

‘The bartender can’t keep up with the orders and the kitchen is going mad too. See – what did I tell you, eh?’ came the booming voice of Fabrice from across the room. ‘And nobody is being cheap. Sandrine doesn’t know what to do with herself out there she‘s making so much money – should be a nice bit of extra for us this time!’

‘Please – the only think you guys are thinking about is how much you are going to get laid…’ Esmé grumbled.

They were interrupted by a knock at the door.

‘Five more minutes – the natives are getting restless!’ Sandrine shouted through the closed door.

‘Woooo oooh! Now that is what I’m taking about!’ shouted Philippe, the main keyboardist. He shared duties with Esmé and they also traded off on guitar. It was he who had convinced Esmé to come over with them in the first place in spite of her doubts. He looked very pleased that he’d been proven right.

The group gathered together in a prayer circle as was their tradition. It was an important ritual – they felt like the gig would be jinxed if they neglected it. But during it all Esmé could only think that she’d made a fool of herself and that she’d likely seen the last of Sebastian unless she turned up at her sister’s place.

After a few minutes the guys quietly took their places on stage behind closed curtains and waited for the introduction. Esmé was pleading with herself to not be sick or lose control of her bowels and fortunately no one else noticed since the boys were too busy pulling faces and flipping signs at each other. She should be really happy for them, but more than anything, she just wanted to get back home to Bayeux.

She needed to forget Sebastian Ravenscroft and what he had stirred deep inside her.

xxxOOOxxx

Esmé took the stage in a heavy red cable-knit jumper and well-worn faded jeans with equally worn boots. Her non-descript look and manner clearly said “focus on the music, and not on me’.

As always, her eyes needed to adjust given the stage lights, despite this, she felt a sinking feeling in her stomach. But it was everything that she could do to not collapse when she saw Sebastian Ravenscroft seated in the shadows in a recessed nook across the room from the stage. It was an almost unobstructed view, and yet was very private at the same time. It was an interesting contradiction, much like the man himself.

The band eased through several numbers as a collective and then Esmé was left on the stage alone. She took her place at the piano and tried not to stare at that fixed point at the back of the room.

“Hope there's someone / Who'll take care of me / When I die, will I go /

Hope there's someone / Who'll set my heart free / Nice to hold, when I'm tired/

There's a ghost on the horizon / When I go, to bed /
How can I fall asleep at night / How will I, rest my head /

Oh I'm scared of that middle place / Between light and nowhere /
I don't want to be the one / Left in there, left in there /

There's a man on the horizon / Wish that I'd go to bed /
If I fall to his feet tonight / Will allow, rest my head /

So here's hoping I will not drown / Or paralyze in light /
And godsend I don't want to go / To the seal's watershed /

Hope there's someone / Who'll take care of me / When I die, Will I go /

Hope there's someone / Who'll set my heart free / Nice to hold, when I'm tired /”

Christiane was seated across from D’Arcy and noticed his eyes straying from Esmé to a fixed point at the rear of the room.

Ravenscroft.

Her assistant was by himself and taking in the scene in rapt concentration; no different to most in the room. Esmé always had that effect on people when she sang her own songs; a chill went up the spine and it was though time stopped and it was just her and you and the words and music. She didn’t have to work at it – whatever it was; Esmé had it in abundance. She could do so much more with her talent; that much was obvious. But her sister was oblivious – and wanted a simple life. Esmé had been very insistent lately that she’d had one too many adventures and felt it was time to get off the rollercoaster of drama that seemed to have taken over.

And this was Ravenscroft’s first time hearing her. She could only imagine how it made him feel – but there was no denying that her sister was making the stranger in their midst feel. Paying attention the lyrics, Chris finally understood what her sister had always tried to tell her about the love she wanted for herself – and for Chris. They both deserved so much more than they had ever allowed themselves to have and infinitely more than what their mother pressured them to settle for.

‘She wants a simple life and love; but nothing is simple about him…’ she thought to herself as she looked at Ravenscroft. She could only hope that Esmé was following her instincts and that Ravenscroft wasn’t quite the big, bad wolf than he seemed to be given his situation. Her sister’s heart always led her to the truth rather than detached analytics.

But god help them all if Esmé was wrong.

D’Arcy’s eyes continued to flicker back and forth occasionally. Chris put it out of her head as everyone cheered her sister on through two more numbers by herself. Then the band came together for a few more songs and that was it for the first set.

xxxOOOxxx

Esmé let out a deep breath and then stepped down from the stage. She smiled and nodded her way through compliments and anecdotes about other performances from some of the patrons as she sipped a glass of water and attempted to make her way through the crowd. She accepted the bisous a few had for her and bantered happily with those whom she’d come to know during her visits. Chris managed to take her to the side for a chat and no less about what she perceived was happening between her and Sebastian, much to Esmé’s annoyance.

And through it all she could feel the black eyes of Sebastian Ravenscroft taking it all in.

xxxOOOxxx

By the time Esmé made work of the people talking to her and the rest of the band it was time for them to go back on stage. She kicked off her boots and settled down with her guitar as the boys took their places. There were songs of long, star-crossed lovers, betrayed love, tainted love; songs wishing for love or begging for it. Everything in their repertoire was about love in some fashion. To be fair, the band wrote a lot of their own material and the songs they covered they all had to agree on – so it wasn’t just her. However since she was the singer and they were torch songs, it felt far more personal than it really was. She poured so much of herself in her words and music that her observers felt as though they were reading her diary.

By the time it was all over, Esmé was ready to do something unforgivable to herself so that the pain of it would end.

xxxOOOxxx

Esmé tried not to let her eyes wander to her sister and D’Arcy as she walked over to the man who intimidated her more than anyone in the room. She waded through the crowd and shrugged away offers of drinks. She never was any good when she really liked someone and couldn’t figure them out. It was hard to follow her instincts even thought she knew they were the right ones.

xxxOOOxxx

Snape stood up as Esmé made her way through the crowd. He had no reason to be nervous and yet for some unknown reason he was. His mind flashed back to a long-buried memory from his days as a Hogwarts student. As quickly as it struggled to surface he banished it.

He and Esmé met each other halfway and he guided her to the small table he’d secured. There was a bottle of wine and a small plate of canapés. Esmé also found a single long-stemmed red rose at her seat. She shouldn’t care what anyone else thought and she wouldn’t; but she knew what D’Arcy was like and what he had to be thinking about the once-homeless man that she was about to share a bed with for the second night in a row. Sebastian had more than surpassed her expectations and now she felt incredibly guilty.

‘Mr. D’Arcy seems to take a keen interest in your affairs,’ Snape observed as he stared at her in the light of the candles that now lit the room – and the single candle at their table.

‘That’s another story for another time…’

Snape looked at her guardedly and Esmé placed a hand on his.

“I will tell you – I just don’t think this is the right place for that...’

‘It sounds quite serious.’

‘It was… and no – it wasn’t D’Arcy, but someone very close to him. In fact, it was the man his wife should have married…’

‘It sounds rather… incestuous.’

‘An interesting analogy – and quite fitting.’

Snape took her hands in his.

‘We won’t speak of it now. I propose that we make the most of this evening and banish all talk of Mr. D’Arcy and your sister.’

‘Agreed… Sebastian?’

‘Yes?’ Snape said softly as he marveled at how small and soft her hands were.

‘I’m glad you came…’

‘So am I...’

xxxOOOxxx

The staff were bringing out more chairs so that some of those standing could at least sit. Tables were pushed together and Snape pulled his and Esmé’s further into the nook. When all was done her chair was next to his and they found themselves seated across from D’Arcy and her sister albeit with just enough space for some semblance of privacy. Some of the regulars who were musicians starting an impromptu jam session with some of the band and it was a welcome distraction so that they could spend some time together without being pulled into other people’s conversations.

Esmé and Snape talked over several bottles of wine and a selection of breads, meats and cheeses as they were passed around. Chris noticed that her sister seemed relaxed, a lot more relaxed than she’d been earlier. And dare she say it – Esmé looked happy. Sebastian wasn’t entirely usual taciturn self; there was something a bit different in his manner tonight. Having never seen him with another woman there was no way to gauge his behaviour, but she was pretty certain that the change she perceived had everything to do with her sister. It went a long way towards explaining why she had the feeling that he was just getting home when she became aware of him stomping through the snow to get to his house this morning. Chris should have already been up; but instead she was in bed…and with someone else’s husband.

‘I can understand what the attraction would be from his side; but I would not have imagined that he would be her type…’ D’Arcy sniffed as he looked at the unlikely couple.

‘If my sister can’t see something worthwhile in anyone; it is because there is nothing worthwhile about them…’ Chris answered defensively.

‘You don’t mean to tell me you approve of such a match? The man was nothing more than a beggar and none of us know anything about him.’

‘Who am I to pass judgment on her anymore with the life I lead? And it was you that brought him into our little community with your random act of charity. Had you left well enough alone at the terminus he might not have ever crossed our paths.’

‘I am no Sebastian Ravenscroft…’

‘No – you certainly aren’t. For a start he’s not married and he also doesn’t pretend to be anything other than who he is – he certainly is no hypocrite.’

‘Christiane I do not want to argue with you, but...’

‘Then change the subject to something other than my sister and the man who’s helping me to repay my debts to you! I didn’t think she’d ever get over what Michel put her through. Your good friend, remember? He treated her like shit – typical spoiled rich boy who thinks he’s the Master of the Universe and above reproach. Butter wouldn’t melt in his damn mouth!’

‘I know Chris – and no one feels worse about what happened than I do!’

‘Someone does, Gill: Esmé! She wouldn’t have bothered with Michel if it wasn’t for us! Me and my mother have caused no end of problems for her – always insisting that we know better than she does when we don’t. Esmé sees people exactly for what they are, good and bad. She didn’t want to get involved with Michel, but oh no; you wouldn’t hear a bad word said about him and I wasn’t going to contradict it. She and Sebastian are both adults and whatever they get up to is their business. If her instincts are telling her he’s fine then I’m not going to contradict her. And at the end of the day – it’s none of your business!’

D’Arcy reached over and placed his hands over hers.

‘The only person I am concerned about is the woman I’m sitting with…’

‘Right – you sure do have a funny way of showing it!’

‘I’m getting my affairs in order – I’m leaving her. I’m leaving Lizzie and I intend to file for a legal separation so that the divorce will not turn into some long, drawn-out affair.’

Christiane looked at D’Arcy open-mouthed.

‘Come – I think we should be somewhere a bit more private,’ D’Arcy said firmly as he stood. ‘But I do I love you. I always have and nothing can change that’.

xxxOOOxxx

Chris walked over to her sister and whispered in her ear before leaving. Esmé’s only reply was a pointed look of resignation.

‘Don’t be like that Esmé, please... I’ve waited a long time for this,’ Chris murmured as she tried to ignore Ravenscroft’s glittering black eyes.

There was so much Esmé wanted to say to her sister; but the subject matter was really for her ears only. There was so much Sebastian didn’t know; so much he needed to know and God only knew how she would find the strength to tell him. The checkered past of her love-life was nothing compared to the other secrets of her past nipping at her heels. And she would have to tell him that so that he would understand what had happened with D’Arcy and his friend.

‘Goodbye, Chris,’ she said out loud wearily. ‘I’ll see you tomorrow…’

Chris gave her two bisous as was their custom back home and then looked at Snape.

‘The only thing I will ever ask is that you work hard to deserve her…’ she sniffed.

There was no reply.

‘I really hope D’Arcy can be everything you want him to be. I hope he will finally do what it takes to deserve everything that you’ve given him.’

Chris gave a slidght nod and then left with D’Arcy.

Esmé couldn’t help the way she felt or what she knew to be true. But she couldn’t help but to feel that the situation with D’Arcy was just… doomed.

xxxOOOxxx

‘You were wonderful tonight,’ Snape said quietly as they crunched through the snow to get to the motel that Esmé was now staying in. The B&B had asked her to leave due reports from other guests of disturbing the peace.

‘You don’t have pretend it was so great…’

‘Accept the compliment Esmé; I speak as I find.’’

Esmé stopped him in the middle of the lane and gave him a kiss on the cheek, turning bright red as she did it.

‘I want a picture of you; and one of us together…’ she said running over to a lit box a few feet in front of them.

‘I make it a habit not to be photographed.’

‘Please – just one… for me?’ Esmé asked he reached her.

She placed her hands on the color of his coat and pulled him down for a kiss. His mouth parted hers and their tongues engaged in a passionate dance made them both go weak in the knees. Esmé disengaged herself and led him to the booth, closing the door behind them. Snape took off his coat as she arranged the stool and then gestured for him to sit. A few sullen-faced photographs later and then it was her turn.

‘The camera is very kind to you,’ Snape said as he pocketed the pictures.

Esmé had no idea since he’d snatched them up and put them in his wallet without her getting a chance to see them.

Snape put his hand on the door handle and the young woman pulled him back.

‘Please?’ She asked sweetly as she stood and pushed him on the stool. ‘Just one set of us together?’

‘It’s freezing in here!’ Snape complained weakly.

‘Hmmm can’t have you dying of frostbite, now can we?’ Esmé smirked as she sat on his lap and wiggled as she leaned back.

There was a FLASH as Snape ran his hands under her sweater. Another FLASH as they began to kiss again. The final FLASH in the series of photos they ended up having was of the two of them looking contented in a way that only intimates can in the afterglow of lovemaking.

They gathered themselves together and in ten minutes later were settling into her motel room. Snape had a shower and forbade himself to think of anything beyond the ‘here and now’. However, try as he might, his mind did wander to the woman waiting for him in bed. He’d never doubted that he would come to see her tonight, just as he also didn’t deny that they were going to be intimate. He wiped his eyes and looked at himself in the mirror; for the first time in a long time he looked… happy.

But how long could it last when they were about to be separated in a few days’ time?

xxxOOOxxx

‘Come stay with me in Bayeux,’ Esmé murmured as Snape pulled her into his arms after withdrawing from her.

‘I can’t – I can’t leave the island. I don’t have identity papers..’

Esmé thought for a moment as she cradled his face in her hands.

‘What if… what if something could be sorted out? Would you at least consider it then – coming back with us for the holidays?’

‘Esmé it’s impossible to…’

Snape was silenced by two fingers placed to his lips. He kissed them and then kissed Esmé again properly.

‘If I sort it out… will you come?’

‘A miracle such as that would be well worth considering; but there are circumstances that…’

Esmé silenced him again with a kiss and then hugged him tightly. He understood how she felt all too well. He thought of the songs that she sang on her own and how they had resonated within him, especially the first one.

‘Yes,’ he said softly as he held her and stroked her hair. ‘If you can manage it, I will come…’