Bound in Leather

oh my... such a long time between chapters. sorry, i\'ve been preoccupied with real life. forgive me. i didn\'t mean it! honestly, i didn\'t. but i\'m back now, ready to put more down for you to read as you will. just so you know, this is not making me any profit. i do it purely for our enjoyment. mine and yours. most of it comes from the wonderful mind of j.k. rowling. the rest is my own. i\'m only borrowing her brilliance for a bit so i can play. then i\'ll put it back. i swear. no, really i will.

i\'m thinking there will be nothing along the lines of smut here. but one never knows. just thought i would warn you ahead of time, in case it should jump out at you from behind a darkened corner. imagine how frightening that would be. you\'d need a pair of strong arms to keep you from falling over. to hold you close while sweet words of longing and love were whispered in your ears. to hold you while.... oh goodness.... never mind.

as always, reviews are welcomed. you don\'t have to leave one, but i wouldn\'t complain too loudly if you did. but, should you decide to do so, please be kind about it. this isn\'t just a passing fancy for me, really. i want it to be both believable and enjoyable for everyone, so i strive hard to do that. helpful suggestions are good, you know. and so is praise. up to you, though.

Chapter Sixteen: I\'ll Take Brooding For $600, Alex
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The black and green private jet cut into the thick layers of clouds, slipping through the vaporous cotton billows like a heated knife through softened butter. It emerged on top, cradled between the vast expanse of blue sky and snowy cloud bank. Severus stared out the window moodily, ignoring the obnoxious behavior of his bandmates as his mind raced over the one single thing that seemed to occupy it of late. The loss of his child. He had been of the opinion that he would be able to push it from his mind in only a matter of days, never to think on it again. Unfortunately, a curious sense of lingering anger had joined forces with the oddest feeling of loss to help the thought remain firmly entrenched in the gray matter of his brain.

He couldn\'t seem to stop the morbid part of his mind from wondering, repeatedly, if he wasn\'t somehow missing out on some great and wondrous thing. And the more he dwelled on it, the more confused he felt. He knew that he disliked children. His days as Hogwart\'s Potions Master had taught him that. Still, the idea of molding his own child had a certain appeal that he couldn\'t deny. He had never thought to carry on the Snape name or bloodline. And yet, here was the perfect opportunity, and the notion of bringing forth another generation of Snapes kept trying to push fruther into his head and take up residence.

The words Poppy had spoken to him echoed in his mind. The truth was hard to deny. Alasdair was a Muggle. Any child born of their union might be a Witch or Wizard. Then again, the child might not be. How could he, a pureblood Wizard from the House of Snape, produce anything other than another pureblood? That was a slight to the Wizarding World and the memory of his family that he\'d never be allowed to live down. Should he truly wish to procreate, he would do better in doing so with one of the remaining Witches of the great pureblood families.

He ground his teeth when he tried to picture himself saddled with one of those pretentious, uptight, over-bearing and conceited women. They thought that since they were purebloods, the sun shone out of their arses and they were entitled to act as bitchy and as nasty as they wished to anyone they deemed unworthy. It was from this pool of females that he should consider children. It was from the small grouping of those pureblooded Witches that he should consider marriage to. It was one of those women that would be the ideal choice.

A woman of pureblood descent. A woman with great beauty, but no heart. A woman who believed that expensive, designer robes were her gods given right. A woman as cold as the North Pole. A woman who would do her damnedest to change him, turn him into something he wasn\'t. He certainly didn\'t want to be, couldn\'t see himself, saddled with such a creature.

No. If he closed his eyes and attempted to imagine a woman at his side, the face that swam into view was pixie-ish, with eyes bluer than the sky and a honey-kissed mop of brown hair framing it. A face that was slightly tanned but still pale. A face with kissable, talented lips. A face that belonged to Alasdair Maeve Wyndham.

He frowned, clenching his teeth together painfully. He was such a fool. He had no idea how Alasdair would react when she found out he was a Wizard. She was bound to. The girl was too smart for her own good at times. She would eventually discover certain things about him that were best left hidden. Like it or not, she was lost somewhere in the middle of his life. Sooner or later, Alasdair would know all his secrets. That thought did nothing to reassure him. He muttered a curse under his breath. \'Fucking sheep.\'

\'Dude, what are you doing?\' Fallon asked him, settling into the well-cushioned seat next to his singer. The guitarist looked out the window to take in the view. A blue, blue sky rolled above the plane like the ocean, vast and endless. Beneath them was a thick layer of bright white clouds. The sun shining off them reflected back at the windows with glaring intensity. \'Keep staring at the clouds like that and you\'ll go snow blind.\'

\'How can one possibly go snow blind staring at the clouds?\' Severus asked, interested despite his inclination not to be.

\'This is what its like when you go skiing on the mountains. A crisp blue sky above you. Fresh, pristine powder covering the slopes. The sun shining overhead, reflecting a dazzling brilliance at you off the snow\'s surface bright enough to make you blind. Snow blind,\' he explained patiently.

\' Indeed,\' Severus replied. He found that the description fit his relationship with Alasdair well enough. Her personality was like the sun, reflecting the gentle purity of her soul at him so brightly that he was blind to the danger he was in. Somehow, the small slip of a girl had captured a part of him he\'d long thought dead. She now held his heart. He muttered a curse under his breath.

\'What was that?\' Fallon asked curiously. Severus laughed, shaking his head at himself mournfully. He glanced out the window one last time, taking in the sun as it glared off the white beneath the plane, then looked back up at Fallon. His expression was full of self-loathing.

\'Fuck me, I am in such trouble!\' Severus exclaimed.

~*~*~*~*~

The crowd was swelling toward the stage, screaming at him. Yelling. Whistling. Wanting something. Wanting him. The noise was overwhelming, filling the arena. Feeding the four men behind him. Feeding him and bringing him to a fevered pitch. The thousands of sheep filling the venue had been going wild for over ten minutes before he and the group had returned to the stage. Yet another fifteen minutes had passed as they shouted for more. The band awaited his signal to start their final encore. They\'d already done three and still the crowd demanded more. He heard them crying out their demands, song titles floating to him on the hot, smoky, stale air like the prayers of the dying. He was their god. He would answer their prayers. But in his own fashion. He would choose what they received.

The house lights were still dimmed from when they left the stage the last time. Only a few faint bulbs burned, more to mark positions on the stage than to illuminate any one person. He loved the sound of the crowd, screaming for more. Begging them to keep playing. It was as if the people on the floor worshipped him, wanted him to never stop. As if they wanted him to make them feel that they were more than what they were. It was at times like this, when they cried out for him to give them what they wanted, that he felt as if he held all the power of the gods in his hands.

He turned his head to look at the silent figure at the very back of the stage, giving the slightest of nods. Almost at the same moment, the house lights came up, soft ones in pale blue coloring him and the rest of the band. The person standing behind the drum kit and slightly to the right was a woman, someone he\'d hired for this show only. She wore a black dress that hugged her frame, her ash-blonde hair piled up on top of her head in a messy yet stylish bun. She nodded, then lifted the violin to her shoulder, tucking it beneath her chin before drawing the bow across the string.

A second figure, a man this time, standing on the opposite side of the stage was cast in blue light the moment the bow touched the strings of the woman\'s instrument. He had a viola up to his chin, his hand moving back and forth in a rhythm to match his partner\'s. They played skillfully, the soft hum of the strings swelling out of the p.a. system. A moment later an acoustic guitar joined them, the music strumming to life under the guidance of Fallon\'s gentle hand. The three sounds met and melded together, becoming one delicate note to soothe and arouse the soul.

Drums and bass sounded a single note together, only slightly buried under the vocals as the three came in at the same time. His voice was soft, caressing the words as a gentle lover would do with his partner. He curled his hands over the microphone, holding it close to his lips as he sang the words into it. The band was soft behind him, the music coming from their instruments as delicate as his voice.

\"Threw you the obvious and you flew
with it on your back, a name in your recollection,
thrown down among a million same.\"

Severus looked out at the audience, wondering if they understood that he was singing this song to them. Not for them. He wanted them to know that he was more than what they assumed him to be. The screams carried over the sublte play of the instruments behind him. A girl in the front row pulled her shirt off, giving him a view of her perfect, naked breasts. She was proud of them, it seemed. She\'d obvious paid quite a bit for them.

\"Difficult not to feel a little bit disappointed
and passed over
when I\'ve looked right through
to see you naked but oblivious.\"

The fans cried out for him, men and women alike begging him to take them backstage and fuck them. Even in the midst of a song meant to be a commentary on how pathetic he was beginning to think they were, they wanted him. They wanted to be able to claim that they had fucked Severus Snape, Rock God and all around bastard. They didn\'t give a shit about him.

\"And you don\'t see me.\"

They didn\'t see him. Not the real him. Since he\'d started this whole sordid affair, the only person he\'d met who had even thought to treat him as a person and not some object to worship was Alasdair. She knew him as a person. Not a sex object.

\"But I threw you the obvious
just to see if there\'s more behind the eyes
of a fallen angel,
eyes of a tragedy.\"

Severus stared at the people in the crowd, pushing forward toward the stage. Pulsing like the life\'s blood in his veins. In a manner, they were. They fed him with their fervent need to touch him. Hear him sing. To be him. Then there was the money they poured out to buy his cds and concert ticket, shirts and posters. It was like a river of green blood, keeping him happily alive. And yet, it was flat. Empty. Meaningless.

\"Here I am expecting just a little bit
too much from the wounded
but I see through it all
and see you.\"

He did see through them. His celebrity was both a blessing and a curse. He was starting to feel as if it were a hollow thing. As if he were a hollow thing. He enjoyed the success he had achieved. But it had come with a price. He had thought he would find real happiness here. He was rather disappointed to realize that he found nothing more than blind idolatry. These people... these sheep, worshipped him as if he were an ancient pagan god. And he detested it.

\"So I threw you the obvious
to see what occurs behind the eyes of a fallen angel,
eyes of a tragedy.
Oh well. Apparently nothing.
Apparently nothing at all.\"

He saw nothing in their eyes that told him they were anything other than mindless.

\"You don\'t see me.
You don\'t see me at all.\"

None of them saw him. Not for who he was. Not simply as Severus Snape. They always saw him as Severus Snape, Rock God. Except Alasdair. She was the only one he knew outside of the band who saw Severus Snape for who and what he was. A man. A singular man who happened to have found a niche that suited his personality and attitude quite well.

The last strains of the music died with his voice echoing hauntingly over them. The mass of people before him errupted into screaming applause, the noise booming through the enclosed auditorium like rolling thunder. The lights went down, the darkness enfolding him in it\'s comforting embrace once more. Under the cover of simulated night, he and his compatriots slipped from the stage and into the wings.

The eternally present flock of groupies waited for them, their skimpy attire and come-hither looks working with one another to try and draw the attention of the men in the band. Turlough was already stalking off, dragging a petite brunette after him. She was well proportioned, a trait Turlough seemed to like on every woman he had. Fallon and Jesse had managed to pick a pair of identicle twins. Severus was sure that they would share the two of them, then compare notes later.

Clarette waited for Deek with a soft smile on her face that bespoke of far more tender feelings than a simple liason between groupie and band member. The two of them had, over the passing months, become quite inseperable. Not that Severus begrudged Deek his happiness. He had seen a change in his drummer since he\'d met Clarette. The woman was unlike any band whore, which he no longer saw her as, that he\'d ever met. She was not tall and thin, yet nor was she short and squat. She was simply a real woman with curves where they were meant to be. And Deek saw the beauty within her soul.

As Alasdair did with him.

Severus scowled at the thought. He spent far too much time thinking on the chit. He shouldn\'t have even taken her to his estate. He could come up with no logical reason for doing so. He was of the opinion that she was some sort of spell caster, weaving her individual magic about him to lure him and bind him to her side. He detested the trailing emotional vines that women used to capture men in their trap. They were only good for one thing. A woman was only needed for the pleasure she could provide him. And he could use some of that at present.

Alasdair was not the only woman in the world, and certainly not the only one to attract his attention.

His gaze roved over the gathered throng of female flesh before settling on a busty red-head with brightly painted lips. She was giving him a critical look, her pouty mouth turned up at the corners with the faintest hint of a smile on them. An invitation. She obviously liked what she saw. Her clothes were short and tight, barely covering the required bits of her body. She knew how to attract attention, it seemed. And she\'d caught his. A motion of his head saw her feet moving after him as he made his way up the hall to the band\'s dressing room.

His bandmates looked up at him as he entered the room, the red-head in tow. She smiled at them in a superior manner, then stopped before him when he threw himself down onto the couch. His dark gaze raked over her, taking in every single feature. He scowled when he found himself mentally comparing her to Alasdair. The red-head\'s breasts weren\'t as perky, her lips too full. Her eyes didn\'t have the same slant. Her waist was thicker.

\'Dude?\' Deek\'s voice cut across the sudden silence. Severus gifted him a nasty glare that clearly told the blonde to mind his own business. Clarette put her hand on the drummer\'s shoulder. He looked at her questioningly.

\'Let him be. He\'ll figure it out on his own,\' she whispered to him. She could see the worry in Deek\'s eyes. He was obviously thinking of Alasdair. She smiled at him gently, then motioned with her head to where the brooding lead singer sat. \'Watch and learn. He has to make the choice himself.\'

The room fell back to silence as the red head turned a knowing look on the others, making sure that she held everyone\'s attention. She wanted them to watch her seduce the untouchable singer. Every eye was locked on her. She gave a faint nod, then turned back to look at Severus. His gaze was still narrowed on her, waiting for her to begin. She smiled at him, a knowing curl of her lips that promised a world of pleasure. Her arms crossed over her stomach, fingers curling around the hem of her shirt. With a singular, fluid motion, she lifted her arms and pulled the shirt over her head.

The bra she wore was black lace, barely holding her ample breasts within the cups. They were enhanced with surgery. A strike against her, as Alasdair\'s breasts were her own. The red-head\'s stomach pouted a little more than he thought necessary, while Alasdair\'s stomach was almost completely flat. The skirt followed the shirt, and more comparisons sprang to mind. The more of the red-head Severus saw, the more he realized that he didn\'t want her. The more he thought on it, the more he realized that the woman before him couldn\'t compare to the one awaiting him at his home in England. He was more than surprised to find that he only wanted Alasdair.

He came back to himself at the precise moment that the red-head\'s hands settled on the zipper of his leather trousers. His scowl deepened, his lips pulling back from his teeth in what could only be called a feral snarl as a growl slipped from his throat. The startled gaze of the red-head went to his face. She physically drew back from him when she saw the look on it. \'You may remove your hands from my person and leave the dressing room.\'

\'What the hell?...\' she asked in a strident voice, the question trailing off when he stood and glared down at her from his towering height.

\'You will remove yourself from my presence. Now!\' Severus snapped. She stood, picking her shirt up from the floor and covering her chest with it.

\'What are you? Some sort of egomaniacal bastard who gets off on leading a woman on? Is this a power trip for you? You wanted me to come back here. You wanted me to...\' she spat angrily.

\'I want you to leave. As I am Severus Snape, reigning bastard of the free world, I can have you do whatever I want you to. Now get out,\' he snarled at her. She stared at him a moment or two, then stomped her foot in much the same manner a ten year old would, then turned and stomped from the room. Deek relaxed back into his seat, Clarette slipping her arms around him as she smiled.

\'See? I told you,\' she smiled at him. He nodded silently, then turned to kiss her soundly on the lips. Severus scowled about the room, his look letting one and all know that they should forget that the little episode had ever happened. All eyes shifted away from him, allowing him to sink back into his chair and slip into silent contemplation.

~*~*~*~*~

\'And over there, on the other side of that hill, is a small pool,\' Remus pointed. Aletha followed the direction of his extended hand, noting the hill he spoke of. She offered him a small smile, then turned back to the trees to her left. A vast wall of solid tree trunks blocked out what Remus insisted was the best stream on the property. And there seemed to be alot of that. This estate they were on was apparently rather good sized, if his information was anything to go by. Her glance shifted back to the house, noting the window on the second floor where the draperies were cracked open just wide enough to allow someone to peer out at the green lawn.

Alasdair was watching them, she was sure. Aletha couldn\'t be sure if Dare was wishing she could be with them or if she was concerned about what would happen between the two of them. Aletha sighed and turned back to look up at Remus. He was watching her with unreadable eyes. She smiled at him gently. \'You\'re worried about her,\' he stated. She sighed again, this time it was heavier, and shrugged at him.

\' I can\'t help it. I\'m her mother. I should be sitting with her right now. But she doesn\'t want me there. She tells me to go explore, that she\'s fine. And I know she\'s dying inside. When she told me, she was so excited,\' Aletha explained softly, her gaze unfocusing as she recalled the events of that day clearly. He watched her, waiting for her to continue when she paused in her narrative. \'She wanted to have that baby so much. I could tell. It was in her eyes and voice. She\'d make a good mother, you know.\'

\' I\'m sure she gets that from you,\' Remus remarked gently. The woman at his side focused and looked up at him, now looking so much more like sister to Alasdair than mother with her health returning.

\'Flatterer,\' she teased a moment, then went serious again. \' I should have stopped him. I could hear him, hear his fists hitting her. I just couldn\'t crawl out of the bed. I was so weak,\' a sob tore from her throat as she remembered the sounds of abuse coming from the otherside of her bedroom wall. How helpless she\'d felt lying there, not able to help her only child. She felt the strong embrace of his arms come around her, pulling her into his chest to cradle her as she sobbed out her heartache.

\'There was nothing you could do, Aletha. Don\'t torture yourself. I\'m sure Alasdair will still give you a grandchild,\' he whispered in her ear.

\' I should have protected her,\' she replied through her tears. \'That\'s what mothers are supposed to do. Protect their children.\'

\'You were sick, laid up in bed and barely able to care for yourself. I think Alasdair would have been even more upset had you hurt yourself trying to protect her,\' he reasoned out gently. \'Severus will take care of her. I know he will, no matter how.... distant he seems at times.\'

\'She\'s as good for him as he is for her,\' Aletha snuffled, drawing back to lift her sleeve up and dab at her eyes and nose. \' I hate to see her alone as she is. When he came to the house looking for her that first time, I was so happy to know that someone had seen her for the beauty she is. Both inside and out.\'

\'Severus is a hard man. And I\'m sure he\'s just now coming to realize the value of Alasdair as a person. He can be a bit thick at times,\' Remus informed her in a conspiratorial whisper. She couldn\'t help but laugh at him.

\'Most men are, dear,\' she once more smiled at him, patting his arm in a manner meant to be patronizing. He grinned at her. The smile fell as quickly as it came. \' I only wish that he would visit her. She hasn\'t left that room in a week, and she won\'t talk to me.\'

\'She\'s grieving. And if I know Severus as well as I think I do, he is at this moment pondering how he\'s going to face her. He would never admit it to anyone, not even himself, but he feels guilty. He knew that Kevin was abusing Alasdair and I think he feels he should have confronted the man about it sooner. Or Alasdair. I know that he, along with myself, wanted nothing more than to go to your house and show him the error of his ways.\'

Aletha looked up at Remus, her eyes widening with the growl she heard in his voice. She was certain she hadn\'t imagined it. He\'d actually growled with his anger. Like a dog or a wolf or a wild beast. She shook her head. He didn\'t act as though anything out of the ordinary had happened so she let it pass. It made her feel better though, knowing that he and Severus both cared about her daughter enough to want to risk life and limb against Kevin.

\' I don\'t want you thinking of going after Kevin and doing to him as he did to Alasdair. He\'s a monster. He\'ll hurt you, and I couldn\'t bear the thought of it,\' Aletha told him, her eyes narrowed on him as if she knew that was exactly what he was thinking of. She was rather surprised when Remus chuckled softly, then burst out into full laughter. She reached up and pinched his arm. \'This is no laughing matter.\'

\' I apologize, Aletha. I\'m not laughing at you. I find it amusing that you think neither Severus or I could take care of ourselves against a simple bully such as Kevin Marks. There is more to the two of us than one can see with their eyes. I find your concern very touching,\' he told her, his laughter tapering off into an occasional giggle. He felt undignified. A grown man giggling as he was. But he found Aletha\'s concern for him oddly unnerving. Very few people of his acquaintance thought of his welfare.

\'Still. I don\'t want to have to worry about patching either of you two up. Severus means too much to Alasdair for him to try and return Kevin\'s abuse in kind. And so do you. She cares about both of you,\' Aletha smiled up at him. \'So do I. My happiness is tied to hers. You and Severus make her happy. Therefore, you make me happy.\'

\'Thank you, Aletha,\' he returned her smile with his own. Her obviously genuine feelings were a nice change of pace for him. Most people who knew him knew what he was. They shunned him for it, despite the fact that it was neither his fault nor did it change who he actually was. And yet, here was a Muggle woman showing concern for him though she didn\'t know him terribly well. She acted as if he mattered to her. Beyond whatever feelings Alasdair had for him. Aletha herself seemed to care about him. It was rather a shock and a pleasant surprise all at once.

\'So this is Severus\' ancestral home?\' Aletha asked, glancing across the grounds so she could take in everything.

\'Yes. Its been in his family for a very long time,\' he nodded, putting his hand on her back to guide her toward a small patch of well tended wild flowers bursting with color. She found it odd that she welcomed the light touch, casual and warm on her skin through her clothes. He pointed to the flowers. \'His mother let those grow and Severus never found it in his heart to cut them down. It is one of the few things he has left of her. He is the last of his line. Which might be a good thing for the world at large.\'

\'What a terrible thing to say, Remus,\' the woman at his side tilted her head to stare up at him in dismay.

\'Actually, I\'m sure he agrees. Severus was never interested in prolonging the name of Snape. Until now, perhaps. Alasdair has probably given him something to think about,\' Remus chuckled at this. Aletha punched him playfully, surprised to find herself enjoying his company. He seemed to be a very gentle soul, not at all the type to be hanging about with someone known as the biggest prick in rock and roll.

The two of them spent the rest of the afternoon strolling about the lawns, looking at as much of the estate as they could before Aletha tired out. Remus found himself enjoying his time with her, and he took every moment he could to study her from underneath his lashes. Under Poppy\'s watchful eye, Alasdair\'s mother was blooming with health. Color and vigor had returned with rest and a few potions slipped into Aletha\'s tea. She was actually a very nice looking woman when she wasn\'t deathly ill. Very nice, indeed.

~*~*~*~*~

Al let the curtains fall back into place, sighing heavily as she did so. She was happy to see her mother spending time with Remus. She liked Remus, and she thought he would be kind to her mother. It was good to see her only parent looking so well after having been sick for so long. It was also good to see her enjoying her time in the presence of a man. She knew her mother needed someone, despite her poor experiences with Kevin. Remus would be a good choice for her. And perhaps time in his company would help ease some of her mother\'s concern for her. She was sure her mom was worried, since she wouldn\'t let anyone into the room. But she couldn\'t bear the thought of seeing the pity on their faces.

Wrapping her arms about her legs, Al dropped her head to her knees so that her cheek rested on them. She stared at the far wall of the elaborately appointed room, not really seeing the painting that covered a good portion of it. She was instead dwelling on what she couldn\'t change. Her mind wandered back to that day, to her visit to the doctor\'s office. She\'d decided, after having been sick for a week straight, that she needed to confirm her growing suspicions. She\'d barely been able to contain the joy she\'d felt as she\'d left the office and driven home to tell her mother. And she\'d practically gushed as she\'d spilled the words to her mother. As she\'d told Aletha that she was going to be a grandmother. Her mother had hugged her tightly, happy for her.

Then she\'d stepped from the bedroom to find Kevin standing there, glaring at her. He\'d called her a whore and asked who she\'d slept with. When she\'d refused to answer him, that was when the fists had flown. She couldn\'t recall how she\'d made it to the diner. All she knew was that she\'d ached everywhere and before she could even launch an argument with Brenda, everything had gone black. When she\'d woken, she\'d been safely tucked into the large bed here at Severus\' estate house.

Al frowned, angry with herself when she felt the warm flow of salty tears on her cheeks. She didn\'t want to sit and cry. She didn\'t think the tears would solve her problems. She wanted to be wrapped in Severus\' arms, to feel him hold her while she wondered what she had done to deserve this. There had been no question in her mind that she was more than willing to have his child when she\'d learned the truth. And now, it had been taken away in so cruel a manner. She was heartbroken and wanted nothing more than to curl up in his arms and take solace and strength from him. The stupid bastard couldn\'t even be bothered to call her and let her know he was thinking of her.

She corrected herself, knowing that he had a busy schedule. He wasn\'t really a bastard. She couldn\'t expect Severus to baby sit her. She was an adult, after all. But it hurt that he wasn\'t there at night when she cried herself to sleep. It hurt more than anything she had ever experienced. Al wanted him there to pull her close and hold her when she cried and cried until she slept from exhaustion. She just wanted to know he cared. She wasn\'t so simple as to think he was like any other man she\'d ever known. Even without his position in the music industry, she knew from watching him that he was a very solitary and private man. That he shared any part of his life with her was amazing. But surely he could find some way to let her know he felt something for her. Couldn\'t he?

Pushing aside the thoughts that plagued her more than any others, she once more let her mind wander over the time her mother spent in Remus\' company. Her mother had asked her to come with them while Remus showed off Severus\' land. Al had turned her down as gently as she could. She just didn\'t have any desire to leave her room. Three days after arriving, Poppy had given her permission for Al to be up and about, but Al couldn\'t find the energy to leave the room. The trip from the bed to the window was as far as she wanted to go at the moment. Besides, she didn\'t want to intrude on the time her mother and Remus spent together. If her mother needed anything, it was someone who would be her friend. Anything else was secondary.

Al slipped from her perch on the window seat, making her way across the thickly carpeted floor to the adjoining bathroom. It was nearly as large as the back room of the diner back home. The floor was tiled with black and green squares of marble. The tub was also black marble with golden fixtures, the spigot in the shape of a serpant\'s head with mouth opened wide to allow the flow of water when the knobs were turned to the on position. The sink and toilet matched, while all the linens, including the shower curtain, were in green shot through with silver. The room was as ornate as the bedroom it was connected to.

She moved to stand before the mirror, looking at her reflection. Her hair hung limply around her shoulders, clumped with dirt and oil, her face pale except for the dark circles rimming her eyes. Her clothes were rumpled, her nightgown looking worse for the wear. She had to admit that she should perhaps change it. She\'d been wearing it since she\'d arrived here. At least, she thought she had. It had been on her when she\'d woken up the first time and she hadn\'t bothered to change out of it. She supposed she should shower and clean up. But what was the point? She wasn\'t trying to impress anyone.

Turning the handle of the faucet so that cold water rushed from the snake styled spout on the sink, she leaned down to splash some of it on her face. Perhaps the chill water would encourage her to do something other than be apathetic. She doubted it, but the least she could do was try. She took her time, splashing her face more than once, before standing, eyes closed as she searched out a towel to wipe her dripping skin with. Her hand curled over a towel and she started when her cold digits encountered warm ones. She popped an eye open to look toward the fuzzy towel.

\'Madam, you look like shite,\' the comment, though said in the coldest and snidest of tones, did much to warm her heart. A smile, the first real one in a week\'s time, broke across her face with all the beauty of the dawn as the sun lifted over the horizon and showered the world in it\'s heavenly radiance.

end chapter sixteen.
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as always, thanks to everyone who supports me through my endeavors. it means muches and muches to me. this chapter is self-beta\'d, so any mistakes are my own. please don\'t hurt me if you find any.

if you enjoyed this, please feel free to let me know. i enjoy a kind word. i also enjoy gushing praise. but i won\'t be selfish and ask for that. also, if you have a problem, please let me know in as nice a manner as possible. thanks ever so.

ack!!!! i forgot this first time around. bad, bad me. i need a spanking! the song listed above is called \"3 Libras\" by a perfect circle. it appears on their cd \"Mer de Noms\". it was published in 2000 on Virgin Records. check it out if you get a chance. its a really good song.


finally...

to star: i suppose he was a bit of a jerk... but he\'s learning to deal with new experiences and feelings to. let\'s not be too harsh with the nummy rock god in leather. you might hurt his feelings, then i\'d be forced to make him feel better. oh wait. maybe you should... and i\'m sorry you cried on this. it must have been my awful spelling or something. i\'ll try to do better next time.

to Red: you know your praise means so much to me. you help keep me going when despair creeps in and tells me to quit. i do seem to have a way with writing the snarky git, don\'t i? ~beckons her closer~ i\'ll let you in on a little secret. i love him, too.

to Echo: aw, thanks hon. *huggles* i\'m glad you like this story. intrigue? i\'m not certain about that. and as for Remus, i felt he needed to be given a chance to be in the spotlight without being in the spotlight, if that makes sense.

to jkrazed: i\'m kind of interested myself. i have no clue how she\'s going to take it when she finds out who and what he is. hmmm..... might want to get prepared. you never know what will happen then.