Skuld: making your mind up

ok after the smut interlude I found it hard to get back into non smut chapter, but here it is, nest one hopefully within a few days.

Chapter 19


The sun was streaming through the small high window of Mia’s bedroom when she and the man currently sharing her bed finally awoke. Very different thoughts were coursing through their hung-over brains.

Severus woke with a throbbing headache, he wondered idly for a moment why the bed was so warm and why he was hugging the pillow,
“pathetic!” he internally berated himself, before finally achieving full consciousness and finding that it was quite certainly not a pillow he was hugging since it moved and was pressing firmly against his morning arousal. That arousal was however soon killed by the sly guilt that seeped into his heart realising that for some hours he hadn’t thought about a certain green eyed red haired witch.


Mia woke feeling constricted before realising that she was being held in an iron grip, spooned by the sleeping, so she thought, potions master. Her second thought was that she desperately needed a wash and to brush her teeth, after passing out last night straight after their tryst. Lastly she also felt a bead of guilt creep in as she realised that from the moment she’d been kissed last night not one thought of Barty Crouch had entered her head.


Slipping her hands from besides her head on the pillow, she slid them down to gently rest them over the unfamiliar pale fingers which lay between her breasts. Noticing the change in his breathing she guessed he must be awake too, so took a deep breath and tried to remember what she was supposed to be doing.


“Morning.” She whispered, turning in his loosened grip, his arms now loosely lying across her, as he was at a slight loss as to what to do next.


“An excellent observation.” He grumbled, as the light caused his eyes to ache.


“Feeling a little fragile this morning Severus?” Mia gave him a small smile, pulling his hand between them, stoking tiny circles round the knuckles.
His response was a snort, brain still trying to process what the next step should be.


“Listen I’ll draw you a bath and get some food, I think its still before noon at least so we can still call it breakfast.”


“No, I should go.” He sat up, the sheet falling to round his waist suddenly reminding him of his awkward nakedness.


“Don’t go yet, it’s the holidays so no classes. Anyway, you can’t go wandering round the castle looking like this, bed hair and crumpled robes, you look shagged.” she sat up beside him, also exposing herself, pressing against his back, running her hands down his back and arms. “It would ruin your reputation.” She kissed his shoulder lightly.


Snape sat forwards, swinging his legs out of bed, so he could rest his elbows on his knees, head hanging forward. He gestured to her to get on with it, to tired aching to argue.

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Sitting in the bath Snape’s neurones began to return to normal fully functioning state.
He firstly couldn’t remember the last time that he’d been even slightly intoxicated in the presence of someone else; losing one’s guard could be a dangerous game. Although he couldn’t completely regret the passed evening since it had also been quite some time since his last orgasm at the hands of a willing and, “hmm,” he thought, “certainly talented” woman.

Pushing past the more pleasant aspects as ever he found the next thoughts contained much darker dilemmas. He watched the clear water running over the faint mark which covered his left forearm scowling at the lines which darkened, it seemed almost daily recently.

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Mia was sitting at the small table, which was now set out with various foods for brunch, when Snape stalked back into the room, still not quite dry form the bath, and wrapped from the waist down in one of her fluffy towels.


“Coffee or tea?” she asked gesturing to a pot on the table. Before she could continue with breakfast small talk she was pulled to her feet as Snape grabbed her wrist and jerked her upwards.


“Why didn’t you mention it?! You must have seen.” He hissed at her, teeth gritted.


“I don’t know what you’re talking about, ow Severus let go.” He did, and she took a step back rubbing her hand, noticing finger shaped redness encircling there.


“This!” he thrust his own arm forwards, showing the mark. “Witch, squib, whatever, there’s no one in the wizarding world who doesn’t recognise his mark. Now tell me why you haven’t mentioned it.”


Mia sat back down, and poured tea, from the pot. “What am I supposed to say? And you know shouting at more would be more effective if you weren’t just wearing a towel.”


“What should you say? You should be horrified, disgusted. You should be telling me to get out. Not, making tea.”


“I, well. Ok I’ll be honest with you. I suspected, well I knew already. I thought you’d talk about it when you felt ready.”


“When I felt ready?! You are completely incomprehensible woman. How did you know?” dressed by now he sat, opposite her, cheeks coloured with building stress and ire.


This was a moment that she’d been preparing, knowing that there would be an inevitable confrontation concerning the mark, preparing an adequate explanation without coming down too firmly in either political camp too early had taken a great deal of thought, but now the moment was here, words seemed be coming of there own accord.


“I told you before that from when I started here I had the intention of starting something with you. When I came for my interview with the headmaster I saw you, I don’t know what it was but I felt something, like a connection I can’t explain it.”


“Get on with it; stop trying to butter me up. Get to the point”


“OK, ok.” She took a sip of tea, tucking a stray strand of hair behind her ear. “So when I came to start, I was talking about you with one of the other professors.”


“Who?”


“I’m getting to that. I was talking to Professor Moody, while I was dressing his leg, terrible sores you know, and he told me I should stay clear of you, he said he was an auror and he shouldn’t be telling me etc etc but basically he told me about where you stood in the war.”


“Damn Moody, interfering old goat. He knows nothing about me, and neither do you.” He stood up; Mia stood as well, closing the gap between them as he turned for the door.


“How can anyone ever get to know if you keep on walking away?”


“Had you thought perhaps, that is the idea, I might just want to be left alone?”


As he reached the exit she stretched out her hand placing it over his where it rested against the door frame.
“Meet me again.”


He half turned,
“I’ll think about it.”
Then was gone.