Skuld: making your mind up

Chapter 12

As you probably tell, am not JKR, and don’t own any of the characters except my OC who I’d sell if anyone wanted to buy!
Quick note, sorry this has taken so long this getting the picture out of my head and onto the page is proving harder than I thought, plus works a biatch.


A little later Mia was down in the dungeons potion stores. She balanced precariously on an ancient ladder to stretch up to the top shelves. She’d already secreted a number of small vials into an inside pocket of her robes and was stretching up to reach for the last tiny packet. She groaned quietly trembling with the effort, then suddenly lost her footing, for a split second her heart skipped as she thought she’d fall, but caught her self at the last second breathing out heavily and pocketing the packet. Relaxing for a moment, still on the top rung, she thought “Maybe high heels and midnight theft don’t mix”. As it happened a moment and an out breath was all it took to cause said heels to slip off the ladder and into thin air.
“arghh!”


Severus Snape was escaping from the staff party with mutters about a headache. He was desperate to avoid talking to Igor Karkaroff who had repeatedly tried to draw him into private discussion. He knew what it would be about and that eventually he would have to face the talk but for now he wanted to postpone for as long as possible.
He stalked down the corridors towards the dungeons and his study hoping for a quiet drink and some peace from mindless idiots for at least a short time. However as he rounded the final corner he heard a sharp shriek emitting from the stores a few doors further on. Swooping down the last few steps with a characteristic swirl of robes he smirked to find Mia flat on her back on the floor and rubbing her head.
“It is rather late for work Miss Skuld, I admire you dedication.”
She whipped round and up onto her knees, holding onto the foot of the ladder to steady her self,
“I had to get some things ready for Poppy, but you seem to be out of,” her eyes flicked round trying to think of something plausible quickly, “Salamander blood professor.”
“Hmm, Well I shall have some ordered, and you shall have to manage without for the time being. Now are you able to stand or did you perhaps feel that kneeling was more appropriate?” He smirked at her, and held out a hand to help her up.
“Is that humour professor Snape? I knew you had it in you.” She smiled and took his hand to stand, not seeing the quick flowing thoughts going on behind Snape’s dark eyes.
“Perhaps I have been a little humourless over the last few weeks, let me make it up to you, I was about to have a night cap; would you care you join me.” He was still holding her hand and kept eye contact. Mia now started to suspect that perhaps they were both playing a game and she got the feeling it was likely that his was a more dangerous one for her, no going back now though, she thought of her earlier conversation with Barty.
“That would be lovely, thank you.” They both stood motionless for a second, then she gestured, “please lead on.”
“Yes, yes, follow me” Severus turned on his heel and led Mia into his study.


Mia took in the study and considered that it was cosier than she had expected it to be, even given the quantities of strange looking body parts residing in jars on the shelves.
“Please, have a seat.” He said silkily, handing her a glass of something which smelt alcoholic. Now Mia was definitely starting to smell rat, so far Snape’s manner towards her had ranged the spectrum from contemptuous to complete avoidance but had never hinted at flirtatious despite her best efforts. She sat in the chair he’d indicated and he sat opposite. Eyeing him carefully, she made sure he took a drink first then downed hers. Her first thought was “Shit, that was a huge mistake,” as her head began to feel distinctly odd. She put the glass down on the little side table and held onto the arms of the chair to keep balance. Looking ahead she saw that her drinking companion was leaning forward in his chair, elbows on his knees, fingers steepled and looking extremely smug.
“Excuse me Professor, I’m afraid I don’t feel too good, I’ll have to call it a night,” She tried to stand only to find herself stuck in place as if bound to the chair.
“And I’m afraid that I can’t let you do that, I have a few questions that I intend for you to answer, and I assure you that avoidance will not be an option after the quantity of veritaserum you just consumed.”
“Shit, you bastard!” she spat, her mind was racing, “I’ve got to get out of this, concentrate, concentrate damn it.”
“Save your energy, Miss Skuld or this could be a lot more unpleasant than it needs to be,” He raked one hand through his lank black hair and she sat back and tried to think.
“Now, let’s start with some thing simple shall we? What is your name?” he asked quite calmly.
“Mia.”
“Your true name then, and the rest?”
“That’s it, just Mia.”
“Interesting, why do you use Skuld?”
“It’s a sort of nickname, no not a name it’s a description I suppose, what I am.”
“What does that mean? Don’t think you can avoid the truth with clever answers, I will have the truth and all of it!”
“It’s from the Norse saga’s, The name for a half elf.” She closed her eyes sighing, still trying to concentrate.
Snape raised an eye brow, “well you certainly do not look like a house elf”
Mia shocked him by instantly lifting her head and glaring irately at him, “I am not related to those, things,” she hissed, “subservient, idiotic, crawling creatures.”
“My my a raw nerve, tell me then what of your parentage?”
“My father was an elf of the woods, most people think they don’t exist anymore but in places they do, away from muggles. My mother is a squib. Hardly an eminent pedigree is it? Most wizards react like you.”
“Where did you learn your magic then? Why did you not attend school?”
“I never received the letter, my mother told me the ministry classified my birth as a magical creature, apparently not human enough thanks to her. I learnt from books, mostly.”
“I suppose appearances can be deceptive, I wonder what lies beneath that stuff you plaster on your face? And without the glamour’s? Oh yes I had noticed.”
Mia was scarlet with a combination of embarrassment and rage as Snape slid forward towards her, dropping down on one knee before her he held her chin between his thumb and forefinger inspecting her face intently. She closed her eyes trying still to focus on getting through the potion, but it was starting to make her feel dizzy.
“Look at me Miss S…., well I suppose it should just be Mia now,” Her shook her jaw lightly, “Why have you come to Hogwarts?”
“To win friends and influence people proffessor” She smiled through gritted teeth, straining to find ways around the urge to spill all her secrets. He was quite close to her now and she looked straight into the dark, bitter chocolate eyes that were boring into hers.
“Still trying to avoid the inevitable truth, very well, let’s try this question, what is it you want from me?”
Her mind was starting to swim and she felt a little more effort could let her escape the grip of the serum. Her breathing was quickening now and she could feel his breath on her face.
“To sleep with you.” She breathed out the short matter of fact statement, and saw his barely perceivable pupils dilate against their dark irides. That was not the answer that he was expecting, but she was glad that he had not asked the right questions.
“So Mia,” they were so close now that the tip of his prominent nose rested against the slight upturned tip of hers, “Do you find me, attractive?” His eyes seemed to flash dangerously, obviously expecting to catch her out at this.
She looked again into those eyes, framed by black lashes and breathed in expecting an inappropriate response to come from her mouth, however instead as she leaned slightly forward she breathed, “Yes” into his mouth as she closed her eyes and pressed her full lips against the slight curl of his.
Severus was caught off guard by her positive response but found he was too caught in the adrenaline and hormones of the moment to question any further and instead fell into a deep kiss. Mia opened her mouth and gently stroked his lower lip with her tongue before allowing him to further deepen their contact.
With her breathing further quickened by the contact and mind still racing she pulled back suddenly,
“Professor!”
“What is it?” He whispered reaching parted lips towards her again,
“Oh Severus, I really don’t feel well, I think I’m going to faint.” With that as he leaned back he was just in time to see her eyes roll back as she breathed in sharply then slumped out cold in the chair.