Christmas Present

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Chapter 2

She stood frozen in position, her hand still extended out toward the
light switch as she blinked in surprise.  Although Jaques had
shown himself to be quite adept at impersonation, she had no doubt that
it was Snape himself who had answered her. Peeking nervously around
the edge of the door, she peered into the room and and saw that he was
indeed seated upon the sofa, dressed as usual in black pants and a
pristinely white shirt.  His long legs were stretched out upon the
leather
ottoman that matched the sofa, and he was holding a snifter of cognac
in his right hand.  Lights were blazing in both the living room
and kitchen areas of the small flat, and to her even greater surprise,
she realized that he had not, as was his usual practice, thrown the
dark
cover over the grey parrot\'s cage.  Jaques continued to whistle
and
dance excitedly upon his perch, while Snape appeared to be reading a
small
pamphlet that was balanced upon his lap.  

In quick succession, Celia felt a sense of shock, a warm flood
of gratitude that he had decided to visit her, and then a rapidly
expanding feeling of dread.  She could only imagine how scornful
and derisive he would be toward her pitiful little Christmas tree, and
as her heart started beating wildly within her chest, she debated her
options.

\"Are you not coming in?\" he asked, his voice taking on a slightly
exasperated tone as he continued to frown down at the booklet.

\"What?  Oh, yes of course,\" she replied.  

Hoping that he was truly engrossed with his reading material, she
quickly bent down and placed the sack containing the tree back upon on
the floor in the hallway.  As she did so, she prayed that she
would have the opportunity to return to it later and find a better
hiding place for it before Snape stumbled upon it.  Hurrying into
the flat, she slammed the door behind her and busied herself sliding
the locks and chains into place.  She turned to face him as he
spoke again.

\"You appear to be quite surprised?\" he said, his head still bent over
the pamphlet.

\"I am,\" she admitted.  \"I mean,\" she added, \"I didn\'t think that
you had planned on spending-\" She hesitated and bit her lip.  \"I-I
thought you probably wouldn\'t be back until the weekend.\"

\"Yes,\" he murmured, bending down to set the snifter upon a coaster and
then carefully folding down down a corner of a page to apparently
keep his place before tossing the brochure onto the table as well.
 \"I was unexpectedly called to Diagon Alley this evening,\" he
said, rising
to his feet, his arms above his head as he indulged in a particularly
languid yawn.  

Even as she was standing there, a jumble of thoughts and emotions
surging through her, she could not help but admire the graceful flow of
his movements. She was reminded of the time she had observed a panther
in the zoo slowly rising to its feet and stretching lazily after a
prolonged nap in the midday sun.  But like that animal, she knew
that a skilled and dangerous hunter lurked underneath the veneer of
apparent indolence.  Even more frightening, she was quite aware of
the fact that she had no bars to protect herself
should she she be unlucky enough to arouse his predatory instincts.

\"Having made that journey, I thought it only reasonable to pay you a
visit as well.\"  Raising his hands to his neck he massaged it
wearily for a moment. \"Fortunately with the most of the students gone,
my absence will not be noted.\"  His scowl deepened for a moment as
he continued:
 \"Although the headmaster requests that I make an appearance in
the
Great Hall tomorrow for the main meal.\"

Oh, gee I wonder why?  Could it be there is anything special
about the day tomorrow?  

She had to struggle to suppress a grin as that thought ran through
her head.  But her amusement faded away quickly as she wondered
just
why he had been in Diagon Alley.  More often than not, it
indicated
that he had been meeting with other Death Eaters, and he was always in
such
a foul mood after one of those assemblies.

\"Am I unwelcome?\" he said, tilting his head to the side and glaring at
her.

\"Of course not, sir, I\'m just surprised,\" she said. \"But delighted to
see you, as always.\"

Taking a step to the side, she placed the bag containing the food items
on the floor as she quickly removed her coat and hung it on the rack
that stood next to the door.  Snape\'s heavy traveling cloak and
was already occupying the top peg, his black frock coat hung over
another.

He snorted.  \"Oh, of course,\" he replied.  \"But where have
you been?\"

\"Just out for a walk,\" she replied, her eyes fixed upon the coat
rack as her heart began to race again.  She had no doubt that
should
he choose to interrogate her, she would find herself babbling out the
whole story about her impulsive purchases this evening.

She heard him sigh deeply and with a start realized that he had glided
silently glided across the floor and was now standing directly behind
her.  \"You are indeed a \'Hopeless Hufflepuff\' are you not?\" he
asked,
his voice low and full of reproach.

\"What do you mean?\" she asked, in a startled voice as she turned to
face him.

\"I mean,\" he said, stepping back slightly and crossing his arms over
his chest.  \"That even though it is freezing out tonight, you have
not only decided to go traipsing about the neighborhood, but you have
neglected, as usual, to button your coat.\"  He sighed again and
shook his head.  \"It is no wonder you are continually falling ill
with chills
and fever.\"

\"Oh,\" she laughed, feeling unbelievably relieved.  It was
true that she had undone the buttons on her coat while waiting in the
rather warm restaurant, and had neglected to refasten them before
venturing
back out in to the street.  \"It isn\'t that cold out, and I didn\'t
have very far to walk,\" she explained.

\"But you are looking rather ashen,\" he said, suddenly reaching
out to press the palm of his right hand against her forehead.
 \"And
yet you are rather warm.\"

\"Oh, I\'m fine,\" she protested.  In truth, her appearance and
temperature were directly related to her shock at seeing him combined
with her anxiety over what his reaction would be should he find the
Christmas decorations.  As such, it was a relief to see that his
attention was now drawn to the paper sack lying on the floor beside
her.  He bent down slightly and sniffed sharply with his large
nose, his eyebrows subsequently rising again.

\"Wembley\'s?\" he asked.

She nodded, for that was indeed the name of the restaurant where she
had gotten the food.  \"Yes,\" she replied, a smile appearing
upon her face.  \"Lobster bisque and rolls,\" she added, but by this
time Snape was already reaching down to retrieve the package.

\"An excellent choice,\" he murmured, opening up the bag and peering into
it.  \"It\'s a rather generous portion for one though, is it
not?\"  His eyes shifted upward to her face.  \"Were you
expecting
other company tonight?\"

\"Oh, of course not,\" she said, a hint of exasperation creeping into her
own voice.  Really, it was just like him to show up unexpectedly
and then to bristle petulantly with suspicion because she had not been
there to greet him with open arms.

\"And what in blazes is this?\"  Balancing the package upon his left
arm, he reached into the sack and with a frown, retrieved the bottle of
eggnog.  As it was clearly labeled, she remained silent while he
peered at it suspiciously.

\"Muggles bottle this?\" he asked at last.

\"So it seems,\" she replied, shrugging her shoulders.

\"Have you fallen into the habit of imbibing by yourself?\" he inquired
haughtily.

\"No,\" she answered, feeling a new blush spread across her cheeks.
 \"And no, I didn\'t buy it because someone else is coming.
It just came as part of one of their specials.  But I do admit
that I intended to treat myself to at least a glass of it tonight.\"

\"Hmm,\" he said, rocking the bottle slightly in his hand as he continued
to regard it doubtfully.  \"But I do not believe that you have any
rum.\"

\"Oh, I\'ve always drunk it with bourbon, actually,\" she replied
with a smile.  Although she seldom indulged, there was a small
bottle of that liquor in her cupboard.

\"Ah, yes, a remnant of your years spent in the southern United
States, no doubt,\" he snorted.

\"As a matter of fact, yes,\" she admitted.  \"Shall I make yours
with the cognac?\" she asked, holding out her hand for the bottle.

Drawing himself up to his full height, he glared down at her scornfully
as he replaced the bottle within the bag.  \"I assure you I have
no intention of tasting a drop of this obnoxious concoction, much less
allow you to debase a noble liquor by mixing it with such a bourgeois
beverage.\"

\"Fine,\" she said, reaching out for the sack.  \"I\'ll make one for
myself then.\"

\"No,\" he said, stepping slightly to the side and blocking her way to
the kitchen.  \"I personally think a hot rum toddy would be more
advisable in your condition, but if you insist upon a-\"  He paused
briefly to grimace once more.  \"Bourbon-laced eggnog I shall
prepare one for you.\"  Extending his hand, his twined his long
fingers around her upper arm and turned her slightly to the side.
 \"While you get into the shower and warm yourself.\"

\"I\'m not that chilled,\" she protested.

Snape frowned again and gave her a slight push. \"Go!\" he ordered, his
right index finger pointing imperiously toward the short staircase
leading to the sleeping area and bathroom.

\"Yes, sir,\" she said, once again having to fight to keep a smile
from spreading across her face.  She was rather surprised that he
had not already torn her clothes off as he usually did upon arriving at
the flat.  But though she truly did not feel that she needed a
shower, she was relieved that she had, at least for the moment, managed
to evade any more questions about what she had been doing this evening.
 Trudging up the stairs, she noted that he had turned on one of
the bedside lamps as
well, and she saw to her amusement that one of her most elegant
nightgown and robe sets was already laid out upon the bed.  It
seemed he had been at the flat for some time and had already decided
upon her wardrobe for the evening.  

She stopped for a moment in front of the low bureau and began to remove
the pins from her hair.  As she did so, she heard music begin
playing in the other room.  No Christmas carols or even
Tchaikovsky for Snape, however-he had decided upon a Mahler symphony
instead.  Shaking out her long curls, she reached down to retrieve
her brush and heard the mirror whisper excitedly.

\"Oh, dear, aren\'t you pleased that he came to spend Christmas with you
after all?\" it asked.

Confident that the music would prevent Snape from overhearing them, she
leaned closer to the mirror and whispered back:  \"Yes, although it
doesn\'t look as though he\'s planning on staying long.\"  

\"Oh, I wouldn\'t be too sure,\" the mirror answered, its voice sounding
quite amused.  \"I think he might even have brought you a present!\"

\"You\'re joking,\" she replied.  \"What makes you think-\"

\"I do not hear the water running.\"  

That was Snape\'s voice rising over the music, its tone impatient and
each word carefully enunciated.  Both she and the mirror knew
better than to keep him waiting any longer.  So Celia contented
herself
with a few quick strokes of the brush before setting it down and
heading
towards the bathroom.  Turning the water to the hottest setting,
she
began to slowly strip off her clothes.  It always seemed to take
forever
for the water temperature to become hot enough, and by the time she had
removed her underwear she was shivering slightly.  Stepping into
the
shower, she reached up to adjust the nozzle so that it was alternating
between
a powerful spray and a more gentle, massaging mist.  Using a
lavender-scented soap, she washed quickly, spreading the fragrant
lather all over her body and pausing, with a smile, to wash herself
carefully between her legs.
 She was just rinsing off the last of the suds when she heard the
bathroom door creak open.

\"I\'ll be out in a moment!\" she called, standing with her eyes closed
and allowing the water to run down her back.  \"Just going to wash
my hair.\"

She heard him laugh softly.  \"No need to rush,\" he answered, the
words drawled in an amused but husky timbre that never failed to arouse
her.

With a start, she realized that he was opening the shower door and
stepping into the stall beside her.

\"Why, sir,\" she gasped, turning around and leaning against the smooth
surface of the shower wall.  \"Are you chilled as well?\"  

\"No,\" he replied.  Rather unnecessarily, it seemed, for the next
moment he had reached out to pull her into his arms, at which point she
had little doubt that certain parts of his body were quite warm at the
moment.

Without her heels, the disparity in their height was more pronounced
than usual, and she had to raise up slightly to reach his mouth.
 As their lips touched, his arms tightened around her and she
found herself pressed so closely against him that her own hands were
effectively crushed against his chest, not allowing her to return the
embrace.  She widened her mouth as she felt his insistent tongue
flicking against her lips, and as he began to probe inside of her he
also managed to maneuver their bodies so that the water was flowing
over both of them.  Although she was
hardly able to move, she found herself able to thrust her pelvis
forward,
enjoying the feel of his hardened prick pressing against the slick skin
of her stomach.

She was caught off guard when he suddenly loosened his embrace and
brought his hands up to her shoulders, deftly turning her around so
that
she was now facing away from him.  His arm dropped down to circle
around her waist to keep her from falling as her feet slipped against
the
wet surface of the flooring.  

\"First things first, my Rosalind,\" he said, his voice murmuring into
her ear as his hands began to stroke up and down her arms.  \"I
want to make sure you are sufficiently clean before we begin.\"

He raised his hands to her shoulders, massaging them slightly.
 \"Have you cleaned yourself here?\"

\"Yes,\" she answered, shivering slightly in anticipation of where his
hands would roam next.

\"And here?\" he asked, his fingers gliding softly over her neck and
face.  

\"Yes,\" she whispered, rocking back against him so that she could feel
the warmth of his throbbing erection pressing against her again.  

His right hand dropped immediately to her buttocks, but she was
rewarded with a sharp pinch rather than a caress.

\"Behave yourself!\" he hissed.  \"I am not done questioning you
yet.\"

She moved slightly forward so that she was not as tightly pressed
against him.  As she did so, he placed his hands beneath her
breasts and
began to very slowly cup his fingers around them.

\"Have you washed these?\" he prompted.

\"Yes,\" she said, having to struggle to keep herself from arching up
against him again.

\"Hmm,\" he said, slowly beginning to rub his fingers against the firm
flesh.  \"Did you do a thorough job?\"

\"Oh, yes,\" she repeated, a small moan escaping from her lips as well as
he grasped her nipples and began to pinch them gently with his fingers.

\"Yes, what?\" he said, suddenly raising his hands from her breasts and
wrapping his arms around her waist again.

She giggled, recognizing the game.  \"Yes, sir,\" she answered
quickly.

\"You are learning, are you not?\" he said, his voice full of unexpected
approval as his fingers moved up to play with her bosom again.  

\"I am trying to, sir.\"

He continued to play with her nipples for a few moments and then her
grin widened as she felt his right hand beginning to snake down her
abdomen.  She had to struggle to keep from laughing again as he
twirled his
little finger gently inside of her belly button.

\"This appears to be sufficient cleansed and rinsed,\" he noted.
 \"Did you take such care with your other orifices?\"

\"Of course, sir,\" she answered.

\"I do hope so,\" he said, a trace of doubt creeping into his tone as his
hand continued traveling downward.

But before he reached what she had been sure was his intended
destination, he suddenly raised his hands to her arms once more.
Turning her around
yet again, he pressed her against the wall and then reached up to the
shower nozzle, changing the setting so that there was now a steady
stream of warm water falling upon both of them.  To her delight,
he sunk down upon his
knees and placed his hands between her thighs, urging them apart.

With a smile, she complied, closing her eyes and tilting her head back
as she placed her hands against the wall to better support herself.
 Her grin widened as she felt his large nose press firmly into the
wet mound of her pubic hair and heard him inhale deeply.

\"It would appear to be sufficiently clean,\" he said, his warm breath
drifting softly against her as he spoke.  \"In fact, it appears to
be scented with a delightful lavender smell at the moment,\" he noted
with
approval.  \"However,\" he said, bringing his hands up and beginning
to
gently work spread her labia with his thumbs, \"I do detect the hint of
another
perfume.  Could it be-\"  He paused and allowed his tongue to
flick
gently against the swollen flesh, \"the aroma of arousal?\"

As his tongue slid into her, she twined her fingers into the strands of
his long hair, just now beginning to become dampened by the spray of
the water.  The same thing could not be said of her, she thought,
groaning aloud as she moved her legs farther apart. Her pussy in
particular seemed to be drenched with moisture from both without and
within.

\"Oh, gods,\" she whispered, as his moved back slightly, spreading her
labia again and this time centering his attention upon her clitoris.
 Her toes were now beginning to twitch involuntarily as he
continued to expertly lick and nip at the excited nub of flesh. With
his teeth now firmly circled around her, he moved his hands up to play
with her nipples again and as
he continued to pleasure her simultaneously with his mouth and fingers
her soft sighs and moans quickly lengthened into a loud and prolonged
howl
of pleasure.

I wonder if this is my Christmas present.

But that was her last coherent thought as she felt her pelvis begin
to thrust forward.  Snape, sensing her imminent climax, brought
his hands back down to splay her wide again as his tongue continued to
lap furiously against her.  At the same time, she withdrew her
fingers from his
hair and placed them upon his shoulders, needing support to keep
herself
upright at the moment. Her scream of release reverberated loudly
against
the tiled walls and the echoes had just died away when they were
followed
by a another clamour as he expertly brought her to orgasm a second time.

As he bent towards her a third time, however, she struggled to push him
away, a weak, \"Oh, no,\" coming from her lips.  She seriously
doubted that she was going to be able to continue standing up if he
aroused her any further.  

Opening her eyes, she noticed to her shock that there were slight
scratches upon Snape\'s shoulders, unwittingly inflicted by her own
hands in her
frenzy.  

\"Do we need to cut your nails?\" he asked sarcastically, as he rose
from the floor.

\"Oh, no, sir\" she said, leering broadly at him.  \"I\'ll be much
more careful, I promise.\"  She reached down, circling her fingers
around
his still-engorged member.  

Placing his palms flat against the wall on either side of her head, he
closed his eyes and threw back his head, growling appreciatively as she
began to stroke him, the water that was still flowing over them
allowing
her palm to glide easily over his swollen shaft.  His body thrust
forward,
hungrily matching the rhythm of her own motions, but when she cupped
her
fingers around his balls to tenderly caress those as well he suddenly
backed
away from the wall and pushed her hands aside.

\"No,\" he said, bending down to place his lips over hers again.
 She moaned into his mouth as she felt his hands moving between
her legs, parting her softly and allowing the very tip of his warm cock
to prod gently against her opening.  Bracing herself against his
arms, she spread her legs
farther apart and tried to nudge him more deeply within her.  But
once
more she felt him shove her away.

\"No,\" he repeated, his lip curling triumphantly, \"I prefer that we
finish this on the bed.  Or should I say I prefer to finish you on
the bed,\" he taunted.  \"But-\"  he warned, raising his hand to
still her
protests, \"First you should wash your hair as you said you were going
to
do.\"  He turned and opened the shower door before pausing and
looking back over his shoulder at her.  \"Your other hair,\" he
clarified with a smirk.

\"The water\'s starting to go cold,\" she protested.

\"Muggle plumbing,\" he muttered, shaking his head in disgust.
 Stepping out onto the bath mat, she watched his hazy image
through the opaque glass as he reached out to retrieve something from
the counter.  A second later he reappeared at the door and pointed
his wand toward the faucets.  The water flowing from the shower
head immediately took on a warmer temperature.

\"Thank you,\" she said, at the same time thinking it was so
characteristic of Snape to never leave his wand too far away.

\"Do not keep me waiting too long,\" he replied, removing a towel from
the rack and winding it around his waist.  

\"Oh, I won\'t,\" she promised, gazing rather wistfully at the distinct
bulge which was still visible within the ample folds of terry cloth
before Snape slammed the door closed again.

She did to her best to hurry, but the length of her hair necessitated a
certain bit of effort to both work the shampoo into her thick mane and
to rinse it out completely when she was done.  She hesitated for a
moment before uncapping the bottle of conditioner, not wanting to keep
him waiting any longer than was absolutely necessary.  But since
she had not given the curls a thorough brushing before heading into the
shower, she
knew she would be faced with a tangle of snarls if she didn\'t.
 She painstakingly worked the cream through her hair, all the
while peering anxiously toward the bathroom door and half-expecting
that at any moment Snape would be charging through it, demanding to
know what was taking her so long.  He did not reappear, however,
and when she had finally managed to rinse every trace of the
conditioner from her tresses and shut off the tap, she was even more
surprised to realize that she could no longer hear the music playing.

With a strange, vague feeling of apprehension, she wrapped herself
in a towel and hurriedly twisted a smaller one into a turban around her
hair.  Venturing into the bedroom, she was perplexed to see that,
although the nightgown and robe were now tossed upon a chair and the
covers had been turned down, Snape was not occupying the bed.

\"Professor?\" she called, her voice sounding unnaturally tinny to her
own ears as she gazed around the empty room.  Tiptoeing over to
the staircase, she was about to call out again, but by this time she
could
see that Snape had not left the flat.

He was standing near the door, still clad only in the towel cinched
around his waist, a look of absolute repugnance upon his face. And
between his fingertips, held out at arms length from his body, dangled
her miniature Christmas tree.