Bound in Leather

oh look! i\'m back again. finally.... it seems ages since i was last here. but i\'m glad to see so many familiar and shining faces. you all know the drill. this is so not mine, other than a few plot twists and places and things. everything else belongs to the wonderfully talented j.k. rowling. i make no money from this. i simply write to keep myself off the streets and out of trouble. please don\'t hurt me.

only one warning this chapter. serious asshole ahead. no smut, i\'m sorry. but i think there might be some before too long. just be patient and please don\'t flame me for the way things are working. you\'ll see what i mean and it\'ll all come right in the end. i swear it.

finally, if you like this... please let me know. i do so love to hear from you all. whilre reviews aren\'t necessary, they do feed my hungry soul and, let\'s face it.... you don\'t want my soul to remain hungry. its a truly frightening thing.

Chapter TwentyTwo: Planting The Seeds Of Doubt
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\'Why such a glum face, Severus? Isn\'t the steak to your liking?\' the voice drawled from behind him and Severus was forced to hold back the sigh. He carefully set the fork and knife aside and glanced up over his shoulder. Lucius Malfoy never seemed to change and he always had the most horrid sense of timing. This was the second time the man had disturbed him during his evening meal. Only this time, Severus was in New York City and not his own home. The fact that Malfoy had chosen to interrupt him on tour was almost as disturbing as the fact that Lucius had even come looking for him in the first place.

\'My steak is perfectly acceptable,\' he replied, his tone cold. He knew it was a long shot, but maybe the blond would take the hint and go away. He wasn\'t so lucky as all that. Lucius gave a tight smile and pulled out the chair opposite where Severus sat and took it.

\'Then it must be the lack of dinner companionship,\' he purred as he watched Severus from across the table. It was a subtle barb referring to their last meeting, when Alasdair had been present.

\' I hate to disappoint you, old man, but I happen to like my solitude,\' Severus pointed out, knowing from the way Lucius\' eyes tightened that his univited guest knew that his presence was unwanted at the table.

\'Ah yes. Same old Severus. The most anti-social person I\'ve ever had chance to meet. Its a pity that you couldn\'t have a bit of company at your side,\' Lucius smiled, a cold expression that Severus ignored.

\'Correct, Lucius. I do so enjoy my peace and quiet. That is not something that I seem capable of having when you are near by. That must mean that you are not able to find such simple things,\' Severus leaned back in his chair and stared across the table at the other man. \' If memory serves me correctly, you were always the center of attention when you were at school. Perhaps your mother and father ignored you when you were a child. You seem to like to make a spectacle of yourself as an adult.\'

\'At least I\'m not playing at being something I\'m not,\' Lucius retorted snidely. One corner of Severus\' mouth lifted at the show of temper.

\'Ah, but you are, Lucius. I have never in my life seen someone play such a caring human being before. If it would not attract attention, I would stand and applaud you your efforts this very moment,\' Severus replied, watching anger darken the pale face across from him. \'While I might be playing at being something I am not, I can get away with it. It would tax you too much to keep up the pretence of being human for long periods of time.\'

For a moment, it looked as if Lucius would explode with anger. His face went as dark as Severus had ever seen it. There was an unnatural glitter in the man\'s eyes. Then the look passed, like clouds moving across the sun to cast shadows a moment or two before going on their way. Lucius\' smile returned and he once more calmed to his normal self. Severus was disappointed. \'I only play at one thing, Severus. You, on the other hand, seem capable of playing at so many. I wonder, how ever do you manage to keep the lies straight?\'

\' Is there a point to this visit, Lucius? Or are you only here to annoy me to within an inch of my sanity?\'

\'Of course there\'s a point, Severus. I came to explain to you just why it is you\'re wasting your talents on the mediocre minds of the Muggle population. They simply cannot appreciate who and what you truly are. No one believes in magic, Severus. They only believe in those things they can see. The minute you stop making music they like, they\'ll stop listening.\'

\'As if that matters to me, Lucius. I am only doing this because I was bored with Potions and wished for something more exciting. This fills my needs nicely.\'

\'But you are so much better than what you\'ve become, Severus. If you come back with me, I can find you the excitement you crave. And all the while, you\'ll be someone of great importance within the Wizarding community.\'

\'And if I have no desire to be a part of the Wizarding community?\' he lifted a raven colored brow. \'There is a reason I left, Lucius. And it has everything to do with not wishing to be a part of the magical world any longer. I have no desire to come back to a world that looks down upon me, despite the fact that I was most helpful in the downfall of the Dark Lord. They only see me as a former Death Eater. They can all bugger off and go to hell. As can you, Lucius.\'

\'This has to do with that Muggle wench, doesn\'t it?\' Lucius questioned with a snarl. Severus merely stared at him for several long moments without bothering to answer. Lucius would think what he wanted, no matter what Severus said to the contrary.

\'That Muggle wench has a name. And she is nothing to do with my desire to stay in the Muggle world,\' Severus informed him. Lucius stared at him, the blond\'s face telling him without words that he didn\'t believe a single word to have come from Severus\' mouth. After several long moments of blessed silence, Lucius spoke again.

\'Does the girl know how accomplished a liar you are?\' Malfoy asked point blank, any civility once heard in his voice now gone.

\'Liar?\' he blinked. \'How in the world am I am liar?\'

\'You\'ve dragged that chit into a relationship with you under false pretences, Severus. She doesn\'t know you. Not really,\' Lucius replied, studying his manicure as if bored. \'You haven\'t told her a single thing about you, have you? How does one form a relationship without some measure of trust?\'

\'Whatever relationship I have with Alasdair is of no concern to you. Why do you not go back to haunting the pubs in search of glory once more? We do so know how much you love to be in the spotlight,\' Severus drawled lazily.

\'A relationship. Is that the polite term you\'re using for fucking the girl? I mean, its obvious to any who know you that you aren\'t the sort who has a relationship. You merely have sex. Or is this Alasdair that good?\' Lucius replied, unruffled by Snape\'s seeming disinterest with the conversation. \'Do you fancy yourself in love with the silly chit? Or is it more that she\'s just amazing in bed? Perhaps I\'ll have to find this out for myself.\'

\'Touch Alasdair and I will happily hex your testicles off. I think I could use them in a sterility potion,\' Severus replied. Though his tone hadn\'t changed, the deadly intent in his words was there for one and all to hear. Lucius smiled.

\'Ah ha. I see I\'ve touched a nerve with you. She simply must be that bloody good to make you forget who and what you are. What you\'ve done. What you\'re capable of. Come off it, Severus. We both know that the minute that girl finds out who Severus Snape really is, she\'ll run screaming,\' Lucius intoned, his eyes narrowing as he studied the man opposite him. \'Because we all know what a coward you are. You would never tell her who she\'s truly sleeping with. Her simple Muggle mind couldn\'t handle the fact that you\'re a Wizard, capable of such terrible things.\'

\'Seeing as she will never stay in my life long enough, I do not see how any of that is relevant. She is merely a passing fancy for me. When I tire of her, I will move on to someone else.\'

\'A passing fancy that has lasted for well over six months?\' Lucius lifted an eyebrow. \'What is it about her, Severus? Does she give good head? Or does she feed your darker desires? The ones born of becoming a Death Eater. Does she allow you to fuck her long and hard, to hurt her and abuse and humiliate her?\'

\'Whatever Alasdair does for me is none of your concern, Lucius,\' Severus replied, his face as blank as he could make it. All the while, he wanted nothing more than to kill the arrogant sod. Malfoy had always had an uncanny sense of knowing just where to strike when taunting him.Things hadn\'t changed any over the years.

Lucius stared at him a long time, his gaze calculating. There was an extended silence while Severus contemplated the many number of hexes he could use on Lucius.The man could die before a score of witnesses, murdered and no one would think any thing of it as it would appear to have been from a heart attack or even choking. He was brought out of his pleasant thoughts by a soft chuckle from the other side of the table. Severus focused on Lucius and noted that he was grinning and shaking with silent laughter. That never boded well. For anyone.

\'Something funny, Lucius?\' Severus drawled in a tone that suggested he didn\'t care if he got an answer or not.

\'You love the stupid Muggle, don\'t you?\' Lucius asked, his tone soft but full of triunph. Severus held his blank, bored expression. There was no way he would ever allow any kind of expresion to pass his face after a statement such as that. He\'d rather spend the rest of his days in the seventh level of hell than to allow Lucius to hold that kind of knowledge over him. Not that Severus loved Alasdair. That wasn\'t possible. But to even allow Lucius to think he did would be disastrous.

\'As you have pointed out on numerous occasions, Lucius,\' Severus said with a hint of boredom coloring his words. \' I am not capable of such a plebeian emotion. All Alasdair is to me is a willing receptacle for my lusts and desires. Nothing more.\'

Even as he said the words, Severus knew that they weren\'t entirely true. Not that he\'d ever acknowledge that to anyone. He wouldn\'t even consider the notion himself. Lucius, however, didn\'t look as convinced as Severus felt he should. The blond was looking at him with a considering gaze. Severus had learned long ago that any time Lucius Malfoy gave that look to anyone, it could only mean trouble.

\'Perhaps. And perhaps not. You are, after all, a different person now. You\'re no longer the same snarky Potions Master that taught my son. You\'re a world-reknowned rock star. Women and men throw themselves at your feet where, a few years ago, you had little prospects beyond perhaps a tryst with that wrinkled old prune, McGonagall.\'

Severus shuddered at the very image that statement conjured. Now he would need to scour his brain with bleach to remove the revolting images from his mind. \'Merlin forbid such a thing should ever come to pass,\' he muttered to himself. Lucius\' chuckle told him that the other man had heard him.

Lucius stood and stared down at the other man. \'Just take one thing into consideration, Severus. That girl knows nothing of who you really are. How do you suppose she\'ll react to the news that you are a Wizard? One who can do dark, evil magic? How will she react to the knowledge that you have done terrible things to people like her?\'

\'Considering she will never know, it does not matter. I do not intend to tell her. Our relationship will never go past it\'s current stage. So do not fret over how she would feel to know such things. She never will,\' Severus assured him. Deep down inside, he wasn\'t as sure as he sounded. Lucius watched him a moment, a calculating gleam in his eyes. Then, with a curt nod, he turned and strode away from the table. Severus sighed, glad to be rid of him though he had a sinking feeling that this wasn\'t to be the last he heard of this topic. Nor would it be the last he heard from Lucius Malfoy.

~*~*~*~*~

Al sat in the window seat, staring out at the grayness that shrouded the house like cotton. It was raining, sheets of water falling from the sky to dull the natural colors of the world and spatter the sidewalks with muddy water. Everything was soaked, the ground a soggy mess from the hours of pelting droplets. She didn\'t mind. She loved the rain and thought that it was nice to simply sit and watch it.

Watching the falling rain did nothing to stop her thoughts from running through her head, though. Her mind had been in turmoil for several weeks now. Ever since her date with Severus. It had been such a lovely night. The memories that she held of their outing kept a smile on her face and a fire burning in her belly long after normal memories would have given out.

It had been so wonderful to wake up in his bed. With him. Severus had stayed with her through the night. The two of them had found pleasure in one another again and again. In all of their times together, he\'d never been as gentle with her as he had that night. He\'d taken her to the heights of ecstacy time and again. The first time had been with the mere touch of his hands. The second time, he\'d lavished every inch of her skin with his tongue and lips, kissing and licking her from head to toe and back again. He\'d allowed her to sleep for a short while, then he\'d started again.

Al had lost track of how many orgasms he\'d brought her to, that he\'d given her. She only knew that it was well past dark the next night before he\'d finally left his bed and her. She\'d been saddened to see him go, but he\'d left her with such a feeling of completion. And even now, so many weeks later, she still felt as if she were whole. Completed. At peace with herself for the first time in so many long years.

They had talked that night, too. Talked about many things. Most importantly had been about the loss of their child. It was something that they hadn\'t done much of. Severus had admitted to her that he\'d been afraid to bring the subject up. He hadn\'t wanted to hurt her any more than she had been. He\'d also told her that he still hadn\'t found an acceptable way to deal with the loss himself.

She\'d known that he didn\'t care much for children. But there had been, during their discussion, the smallest flash of something in his eyes as he\'d talked about the baby. She\'d been able to see in them for that brief moment, hear in his words and his voice, that the loss pained him more than he would ever let anyone know. It had brought her closer to him and she\'d cried again with the sadness that plagued her. They\'d held one another while she\'d poured out more grief, then he\'d lowered her to the bed and made tender, gentle love to her for hours. He\'d kissed the tears away. He\'d never said a word about making new babies to help dull the pain, but she hadn\'t expected him to.

He\'d been so kind and tender with her. She knew that it was not within his nature to be such and it only made her love him more. When he\'d left, he\'d told her that he\'d come to her when the tour was over. There wasn\'t much left to it. Soon, the band would be coming to Europe to play off the last leg of their tour. And when it was over, he would come back to her. He\'d promised her. Not with words but with actions and touches. With sweet caresses that had made her body tingle and her mind soar with pleasure.

She knew he was coming back. And when he did, she was going to tell him that she loved him. She didn\'t think it would make him happy. And she didn\'t think that he would return the feelings. She didn\'t care. She only wanted him to know that he held her heart. It was a risk. A large one. But she was willing to take it. Even if he never loved her back, he would at least know that one person in all the world loved him. That one person cared about him.

Al knew she\'d be a fool if she couldn\'t admit to herself that she wanted the kind of happiness that her mother had found with Remus. The two of them had been inseparable since their date. And she was happy for them both. She\'d always thought that there was a sadness that lingered deep in Remus\' eyes, some painful memory that seemed to keep him from finding joy in his life. To see her mother erase such sorrow and replace it with life and love was a pleasure that Al would never regret.

But that didn\'t stop her from wanting some of the joyousness for herself.

It had taken her a few days after Severus had left to realize that what she\'d been feeling wasn\'t some kind of infatuation or hero worship. She was head over heels, deeply in love with him. The kind of love that she knew she\'d never find again. He was her once in a lifetime kind of love. It would be sad if he didn\'t share such feelings, but it wouldn\'t stop her from loving him. Nor would it stop her from telling him how she felt about him.

She wasn\'t so delusional to think that he would be in love with her. Severus Snape, the real Severus Snape, didn\'t strike her as a man who loved, trusted, or felt easily. He was silent and brooding much of the time she was around him and there was a look deep in his obsidian eyes that attested to a strength few could ever hope to have. The man knew pain. Real pain that ran deep and clouded each and everything he did, said, or thought. If he ever loved her, it would be a slow happening.

He wouldn\'t just wake up one morning and decide he wanted to love her. She thought, for him, it would start with possessiveness. He would suddenly find that he couldn\'t stand to be parted from the woman he cared about, that he would make excuses to seek her out. He struck her as the kind of man who would start fights to provoke passion in himself and his chosen one. Those fights would lead to bouts of near violent love making that would see the bed and \' linens completely destroyed. Furniture would be over turned and it would look, to an innocent bystander, as if a great fight had happened.

Severus Snape would gradually fall into love, unknowingly slipping and sliding down the slick slopes of emotion until he was mired in the intensity and desperate need that came with all-consuming love. He wasn\'t a man to ever do things half way. He would, when it happened, give himself completely to one person and one person only. And it would take all the power of the Gods to separate the two. God help any man or woman who came between Severus and the woman he fell in love with.

Al sighed, afraid that she would never know the full depths of his true passion. As far as she knew, she was the only woman he\'d been with since they\'d met all those months ago at his concert in the Twin Cities. She thought that, if he had been with other women, he would have been able to hide it from her with little more effort than it took to sneeze. Everytime she saw him, he seemed to think only of her and he was always earnest about her comfort. But he was so secretive.

She was decided, though. She loved him enough that she was going to tell him. Chances were good that he would send her packing when she was done pouring her heart out to him. She didn\'t think he had room in his life for a clinging woman. He was too busy for that. The band was taking off and soon, he would be caught in a constant cycle of writing, recording and touring. There would be no time for a wife or lover. And there certainly wouldn\'t be time for a family. She wanted children. The loss of their child seemed to have only made her want that more. He would never stay. He didn\'t want children and, if she did actually have his child, she thought that it would only drive him away.

Still, she owed him the truth. Her mother had taught her that honesty was more important than just about everything else in the world. Except, of course, for love. Drawing out of herself, she glanced out the window once more and watched the rain patter against the ground and window. Though it was gray and dismal outside, a weight had been lifted from her shoulders. No matter what came of things, Severus would know the truth. He would know she loved him with every ounce of her soul.

\'Not intruding, am I?\' the silky voice startled Al and she jumped before turning to see who had disturbed her. A frown pulled the corners of her lips down when she saw that she was staring at the horrid blond that had disrupted their dinner that one night. His smile was a little too broad and a little too knowing for her to be entirely comfortable with his presence. He\'d caught her deep in thought and, judging from the way he was studying her, the man likely had a good idea what she\'d been thinking about.

\'Oh, no. Of course not,\' she managed to sputter out, then got slowly to her feet. The man made her nervous. He was watching her like a snake watched a bird before it struck and the idea that he was there to swallow her whole lodged painfully near her heart. Panic threatened to take control, but she forced herself to calm and took a deep breath. \'Severus isn\'t here. He\'s still on tour, but I expect him to come home in a week or so. I can tell him you came by, if you like.\'

\'You expect him to come home?\' the blond arched a brow at her elegantly, his gaze glancing around the dark furniture that filled the living room before returning to rest on her. There was a flash of pity in his eyes, then he was smiling at her almost mockingly. \'This is home now, is it?\'

\'Yes, it is,\' she nodded, not about to let him see that she was frightened of him.

\'This is an awfully long way from...\' he broke off and, tapping his finger against his jaw, gave the appearance of deep thought. \'Oh, yes. How forgetful of me. This is an awfully long way from Minnesota, my dear. What will you do when Severus returns?\'

Al gave him a puzzled look, not ready for the question. She shrugged. \'What ever I have to,\' was the reply she gave him.

\' I see,\' he nodded in an almost sage like fashion. \'And if Severus were to kick you out?\'

\'Then I\'d find a way home,\' she shrugged again, hoping the pain his question evoked didn\'t show on her face. He smiled at her indulgently.

\'You\'re such an innocent girl, aren\'t you, Alasdair?\' he asked her, his tone full of arrogance and boredom. She stared at him a moment, then frowned.

\'Something tells me that Severus wouldn\'t be happy to know you were in his house. I suggest, perhaps, that you leave and don\'t come back until he\'s home,\' she said evenly, resisting the urge to point sharply at the door.

\'What Severus doesn\'t know,\' he shrugged. Lucius smiled and watched the girl. She was uncomfortable with him there and he was fairly certain she was afraid of him. Just the way he liked things to be. He pulled his gloves from his hands absently and settled himself in a chair. With a smirk, he watched her as she struggled to maintain some semblance of control over the situation. As a gesture of protection, she crossed her arms over the chest and stared down at him with as much displeasure she could muster.

Lucius smiled at the girl while he watched her battle herself. She was such an interesting Muggle. He could see why Severus had picked her. Not only was she pleasant to look upon, she was full of spirit. So much more fun for the breaking. And Lucius planned on breaking her. He\'d done some research into Alasdair Wyndham and had found out a few interesting things.

Lucius was nothing if not careful. He had a vested interest in seeing Severus return to his rightful place in the magical realm and that wouldn\'t happen with a Muggle wench completely fucking up his thought processes. So Lucius had decided to do what was best for the nasty bastard, whether Severus wanted him to or not. He was going to get Alasdair out of Severus\' life for good. So he had started investigating her. It hadn\'t been easy, as he\'d had no base to start from. But the gossip of House Elves was a wonderful thing.

It had been purely by chance that he\'d overheard the conversation between a pair of his House Elves. For some time, he\'d had a spy inside Severus\' house. It was how he\'d known Severus was there that night when he\'d disturbed his meal with the young woman presently standing over him. It had been easy to slip the Elf in, as Seveus was never home to monitor his own help. And this Elf, after his visit that night and his meeting with the unusual Muggle woman, had been ordered to find out all it could about Alasdair.

Once he\'d found out about the girl\'s origins, he\'d gone to America and Minnesota to seek out those who knew her and question them. Subtly, of course. He didn\'t want to arouse suspicisions, not knowing if the girl was still in contact with her friends. And there had been so much to learn. The best information, both in volume and quality, had come from a woman at the diner where the girl had worked. Brenda Jensen had been happy to hear Alasdair was fine and even happier to talk about the girl. Lucius had found out so many interesting things. Like the fact that the girl had been abused by her step-father.

The woman had been a veritable font of information for him. The prize jewel in his cache of information he\'d discovered about Alasdair had been the fact that she\'d been pregnant. With Severus\' child. He\'d nearly laughed out loud when the motherly woman had mentioned it. Severus? With children? The image had been too funny. Then to find out that Alasdair had lost the child had set the wheels in his mind turning. A plan had formed rather quickly and he was going to use it to his best advantage.

Lucius wanted Severus back where he belonged. Alasdair would make sure it happened. She was his ticket to returning things to the way they should be. And maybe, once things were back to normal, he would find out just what there was about this Alasdair that had Severus\' shorts in such a twist.

He allowed the silence to stretch between them until it was painfully thin and the oppressive nothingness was so harsh that the girl was nearly twitching with the need to break it. Finally, he smiled at her. It was his fluid smile, the one that he knew was reminiscent of a serpent about to strike. She shifted nervously, but didn\'t say a word. \'Severus hasn\'t told you anything about himself, has he?\' Lucius asked solicitously. Al shook her head, not trusting herself to speak. If the blond noted her discontent, he said nothing. He simply continued on.

\'No, he hasn\'t. Has he? That\'s because he hides so many secrets, my dear. Did you know that he doesn\'t care for children? He taught the obnoxious little gits all kinds of things for years and hated every living moment of it.\'

\'That isn\'t news to me,\' Al answered haughtily.

\'No? Funny, I would have thought you would hate him for such crass feelings. I mean, after all, he would have despised you and the child you bore him, had you managed so simple a task as to carry it to term,\' Lucius said with an ill-disguised air of superiority in his voice. Alasdair couldn\'t hide the pang of pain that sliced her heart at the mention of the baby. Couple it with the inference that she wasn\'t capable of giving birth to a child and she was trying very hard to hold back the tears that wanted to fall.

\'Oh my. Touched a sore spot, did I?\' he asked, a grin on his face. \'Yes, child. I know all about your pathetic attempt at motherhood. Whether he\'s said anything or not, I can assure you that Severus is most happy that you lost that baby. He really isn\'t the fatherly type. I\'m sure he would have left you eventually. I mean, look at you.\'

Lucius gestured at her with one hand, which did as he\'d hoped it would. Alasdair looked down at herself, then returned her gaze to his. There was an expression of confusion on her face. \'What about me?\' she asked.

\'You\'re a very pretty girl and I\'m sure Severus is attracted to your shapely and gracious form. However, if you\'d carried the child to term, it would mean stretch marks and swollen ankles. Do you think that Severus would find you attractive if you were misshapen and hormonal?\' he made sure to inject a small amount of what sounded very much like pity to her.

Alasdair said nothing, her heart twisted in pain.

\'Severus is ever the fickle one. He changes sides as easily as women seem to change their shoes. You shouldn\'t take this to heart. In all honesty, I\'m surprised he\'s stuck with you as long as he has. But I\'m sure he\'ll be on to new conquests soon enough,\' he told her, picking at his nails idly. \'Once he meets a Witch he likes, he\'ll toss a nothing little Muggle like you over quickly enough.\'

\'Muggle?\' she blinked at him. It was a word she\'d never heard before.

\'Someone who can\'t do magic,\' he returned, glancing up at her.

\'Magic?\' she could only stare.

\'Yes. Magic. Severus is a Wizard. As am I. Haven\'t you thought it odd that Severus has nothing electronic in his home? No stereo or television. Nothing of that sort,\' Lucius informed her, loving the look of complete confusion on her lovely face. He\'d known Severus wouldn\'t have told her about this and it was such a pleasure to break the woman\'s sentimental heart.

\' I honestly never paid much attention,\' she managed to stammer out.

\'No one raised in the magical world does with things like computers and televisions. We don\'t, for all intents and purposes, exist in your world. Seveurs is no different than the rest of us. This little rock and roll act of his is nothing more than a hobby for him. Soon enough, he\'ll come back to his rightful place in the world. He\'ll forget about you and those insignificant people who scream for him when he\'s on stage.\'

Al stumbled into the nearest chair and wrapped her arms around him. Part of her didn\'t want to admit that he was right. But so many things made sense now. Still, she wasn\'t ready to concede defeat. Not based on a few words from a man who obviously had reason to dislike her. Instead of allowing her fears to overwhelm her, she lifted her chin and glared defiantly at him. \'Somehow, I have a hard time believing anything you say. I\'d sooner believe that Severus is a vampire than believe that he\'s a.... a Wizard.\'

\'Oh, there has been speculation as to his drinking blood for some time now,\' Lucius said airily, his hand making empty gestures as he spoke. \'At present, however, there is no proof to substantiate such rumors.\'

She stared at him without speaking and he could see her stubborn nature flare to life in her eyes. He gave her a smile that looked entirely indulgent while he prepared to shatter what little there remained of her feelings for his former friend. \'My dear, Severus is indeed a Wizard. A dark one, too. He has done horrible things in his past. He\'s raped women and murdered people. Indiscriminately, I might add. He has no feelings. There is no remorse for his actions. And there is no way he could ever love an insignificant little Muggle like yourself.\'

\'You\'re lying,\' she whispered. But her face said she believed him. She was pale and on the verge of some kind of emotional break down. Lucius smiled at her, the smile that bespoke of a snake. \'You\'re lying! Get out! Get out of here now!\'

\'Very well,\' he nodded and stood. His work here was done. \'But I\'m not lying, my dear. If you don\'t believe me, simply go look into his personal effects. I\'m certain you\'ll find something that will prove I\'m telling the truth. Perhaps he kept a souvenier of his days as a Death Eater. If you stumble across a white mask and a black hooded cloak, that would be proof of my words. Oh, and look for a dagger. It has twin serpents twined about the handle to form the guard. That was a gift from our former Lord after Severus murdered an entire Muggle family for him.\'

As an after thought, Lucius drew his wand and pointed it at the wall. With a thought, the painting there exploded in a burst of flames. Then he turned and walked out with a large grin on his face.

She watched him go without saying a word. He was lying. It all had to be lies. Every bit of it. Severus wouldn\'t kill people. He just wouldn\'t. He was moody, but he wasn\'t a cold-blooded killer. Al waited for a long time after the sound of the front door\'s closing had faded from echoes into nothing before she moved. Her feet were silent on the wooden floors as she hurried up stairs.

~*~*~*~*~

Alasdair sat in the middle of the floor and stared blindly at the pile of cloth before her. It was a black hooded cloak, as the blond had stated. She\'d found it bundled up on the bottom of his armoire, stuffed into a small bag. Inside of it had been a white mask, the insides worn smooth as if the mask had been worn many times. The dagger had been tucked in with the mask.

Part of her knew that this wasn\'t what it seemed. The logical part of her knew that something fishy was going on. But the rest of her couldn\'t seem to get past what she\'d seen and heard. Severus had done those awful things. He\'d murdered innocent people.

And she loved him.

Leaving the items to lay on the floor where she\'d dropped them, Al stood and ran from the room. She hurried to the luxurious suite she\'d been allowed and dragged the drawers of the dresser open. She had to leave. She had to go home. She couldn\'t stay here any longer. She didn\'t have any money, but she was going to leave.

end chapter twenty two.
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as always, thanks go out to my normal crew. they always give me encouragement and keep my ass on track when i want to just chuck it all and say fuck it. i love them all very much and hope that they know how much they mean to me. thanks so much guys. big huggles to you all.

and, as always, this is self-beta\'ed. if you find mistakes, they are my own and i humbly beg your forgiveness for that. i also know this chapter seems a little evil. but don\'t fret. i have plans. things will work themselves out, i promise you that. if they don\'t, my Severus has informed me that he will hex me to within an inch of my life. i\'d rather things stay as they are.

and finally, a few thanks.

to Cathy N: i\'m glad to see Aletha and Remus together. i think she\'s perfect for him. she won\'t let him get out of line, but she won\'t hate him for things beyond his control. and he just loves her. he\'s greatful for someone to care about without conditions. the two of them will do well together. and yes, Al and Severus back together after so long. i\'m glad that happened. i think they would have exploded if it hadn\'t. i hope you like this chapter as much as the previous two, despite the serious tone of it.

to Pearle: steal my Severus? why ever for? i try to write him, and any of her other characters, the way i see them behaving. i mean, no one can be perfect to canon. the only one who can is the author. so i do the best i can. Zee once told me my Severus was so in character and i treasure those words always. so i hope that i\'ve once more lived up to them.

to dragon34: i hope this doesn\'t disappoint you. i\'m glad you\'re enjoying the story. i love this one, too.

to Yabo: here\'s more. i hope you like it.

to smfurgerson: not a demon? hmmm.... i suppose its possible. i\'ve read a couple of Kenyon\'s Dark Hunter books and i\'ve enjoyed them. i\'m sadly behind on my reading, though, so i\'ve not read many. and i\'m glad you like the story. its been so fun for me to write.