Christmas Present

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xp 3

Chapter three



\"Oh,\" she said.

Just a single syllable, barely whispered, but somehow conveying
surprise, disappointment, and a tiny bit of fear as well. He turned
his head in her direction, the right eyebrow angling upward as he eyed
her balefully.  But for once his usual expression of disdain
seemed
unable to cow her.  She took a swallow and continued to stare back
at him, her jaw jutting out mutinously as she struggled to keep her
head
held high.

Damn you, why did you have to find it?  All I wanted was a tiny
little reminder of the fact that it was a holiday.  Why shouldn\'t
I have the right to put up some decorations if I want to?  It\'s
not like they were expensive.  And if you had bothered to tell me
that you would be here I wouldn\'t have brought it home in the first
place.
 Why the hell were you snooping in the hallway and why can\'t you
just leave it alone?

But even as these thoughts were racing through her brain, she
knew she would never have the courage to say them aloud. Instead, she
felt her shoulders sagging as her defiance evaporated into humiliation.
 She could no more fight him now than when she was a schoolgirl
standing
beside a cauldron full of one of her worthless potions.  

\"I\'m sorry,\" she said, her voice louder now but flat and devoid of
emotion.  \"I don\'t know why I was stupid enough to buy that.\"
 She started down the staircase.  \"I\'ll just go throw it in
the trash right now if you want.\"  Her voice was quavering just a
bit, and her eyes were rapidly blinking quickly as she fought back her
tears.

\"I never said-\"  

She stopped at the base of the stairs waiting for him to finish.

Snape closed his eyes for a moment, drawing in a deep breath between
his clenched teeth.  \"I never said,\" he repeated, bending down to
drop the tree gently upon the floor.  Drawing back to full height,
he rubbed his forehead tiredly with his right forefinger, shutting his
eyes again.  Opening his eyes, he stared up at the ceiling and
placed his hands upon his hips.  \"I did not forbid you to
buy a tree,\"
he said irritably.  \"But I should prefer-\"  He paused again
and
scowled down at the floor.  

She looked down as well and saw that he had already unpacked the rest
of the decorations and the musical CD and that they were stacked into a
neat pile next to the tree.

\"You would prefer to keep Christmas in your own way, which is
to say by \'leaving it alone\'?\" she asked, rather amazed at her own
audacity.

His black eyes snapped back to her face.  \"I see that although
Shakespeare was not on your school\'s reading list, you are sufficiently
well-acquainted with Dickens?\" he snarled.

Yes, Ebenezer, I am.

\"Well at least that particular story,\" she said aloud.

The silence dragged on between them for a long time.

\"Why were you out in the hallway?\" she asked, finally.

\"Oh,\" he said, another grimace crossing his face.  \"Two of your
neighbors knocked upon the door, wondering if we wanted to join
their little \'get-together\'.\"

\"John and Jim?\" she asked, striding over to the sofa and sitting down,
all the while struggling to wipe the smile off of her face at the
thought of a half-naked Snape opening the door to either of those
preternaturally cheery fellows.

\"I did not catch the gentlemen\'s names,\" he answered, drily.  \"But
they noticed the package sitting out in the hallway and officiously
insisted that I take it inside as it must be a present for you.\"

\"Did you manage not to bite their heads off?\" she asked.  

\"I assure you that I was firmly polite,\" he replied airily, moving to
stand in front of where she was sitting.

And as starchily formal as you can be when you are dripping wet and
dressed only in a towel.

\"So you got rid of them and decided you just had to open up
the bag to see what was in it.\"

A strange expression flitted across Snape\'s face.  \"You were
behaving rather oddly when you first arrived,\" he said.  \"I was
rather afraid-\"  He stopped suddenly and ran a hand through his
still-wet hair.  \"I began to suspect that you were returning from
an assignation,\" he admitted.

She stared up at him for several seconds before suddenly breaking out
in a fit of laughter.

\"You find that humourous?\" he demanded, his voice full of silky menace.

\"No,\" she said, wiping tears away from her eyes.  \"But at least
now I know why you were so intent upon examining me in the shower.
 Trying to \'sniff out\' evidence of my infidelity were you?\"

Crossed arms and a scowl were his only response.

\"Well,\" she said, \"That must have set your mind at ease and I hope you
realize that as far as John and Jim are concerned-\"

\"Yes,\" he interjected quickly.  \"I am quite certain that neither
of them is a rival for your bed.  Their interests seem to lie-\"
 He paused and gave careful emphasis to the next word \"-elsewhere.\"

For some reason his words sent her off on a fresh wave of giggles.

\"I am so glad that you find my concern amusing,\" he huffed.  \"Now
that I have provided you with such bountiful entertainment, perhaps it
is time that I was leaving.\"  He turned and began to stride
angrily toward the staircase.

\"No, please don\'t!\"  she shouted, scurrying after him.  

He turned as he felt her hand upon his shoulder and he raised
his fingers to her chin, grasping it firmly.

\"You are an infuriating woman and I do not know why I continue to
provide for you!\" he snarled.

\"I do,\" she said with a smile, reaching down to remove her towel and
toss it onto the floor.  

\"It is not enough that you sat upon the couch wrapped in a towel?\" he
chided, removing his hand and crossing his arms over his chest.
 \"Must you clutter the floorboards as well?\"

\"Yes,\" she replied, reaching up to remove her turban and toss it to the
floor, shaking her head and allowing the damp curls to flow over her
shoulders.  \"I must.\"  With another quick movement, his towel
was on the ground also, and a quick glance confirmed that he was once
more quite aroused.

\"I suggest,\" he growled, \"That you pick those things up immediately.\"

\"Why don\'t you pick me up instead?\" she said, stepping forward and
throwing her arms around his neck.

A moment later his arms were around her as well, and he was kissing her
with a savage, possessive passion, biting down painfully upon her
lower lip before abruptly releasing his hold upon it.

\"If you insist,\" he said, moving to lift her up in his arms.  She
wrapped her long legs around his waist and they kissed once more as he
carried her up the stairs.

\"You\'ve decided to stay then?\" she whispered into his ear as he crossed
the bedroom floor.

\"Yes,\" he hissed, tossing her onto the end of the mattress.
 \"Unless of course,\" he said, suddenly peering up at the ceiling,
\"You have some damned mistletoe hanging over the bed.\"

She laughed and began to move over to the middle of the mattress, but
to her surprise he grasped her by both legs and pulled her back
toward the edge.

\"Oh, no,\" he said, a feral grin upon his face as he continued
to hold her ankles.  \"After all of your impudence, you do not
deserve a soft wooing tonight.\"  Spreading her legs apart, he
positioned them on either side of his head.  \"Quite the
contrary-you deserve a
thorough pounding.\"  Moving his right hand down for a moment to
guide himself, he thrust into her with one quick, deep stroke.  

She was more than ready for him, however, and she groaned in pleasure
as he began to pummel into her at a furious pace. Wrapping his fingers
around her ankles, he continued to hold her feet high in the air as he
thrust inside of her, his breath coming in deep, husky pants as he
studied
the stiff peaks of her erect nipples.  Her arms were stretched out
on the bed, the nails digging into the sheets as her pelvis bucked up
against him.

\"You have been quite naughty tonight, haven\'t you?\" he purred, reaching
down with his left hand to stroke the soft skin of her inner thighs as
he continued his frenzied stroking.

\"Oh, yes,\" she answered, closing her eyes.  She groaned in
disappointment as he abruptly ceased his motions and drew away, pulling
himself out of her.

\"What-\" she cried.

\"Turn over!\" he commanded.

\"Turn over,\" he repeated, smiling maliciously as his hand closed over
his prick, now slick and shiny from the lubrication provided by her own
body.  \"Or shall I simply bring myself to climax?\"

She had barely managed to move onto her stomach, her legs still
hanging over the side when she felt his hands upon her buttocks,
grasping
them in a firm hold that was slightly painful.

\"Perhaps,\" he reflected, relaxing his grip and allowing his fingertips
to dance lightly over the soft flesh, \"Your disobedience warrants a
harsher
punishment?  I have not spanked you for quite some time, have I my
dear?\"

Her response was a low, unhappy howl.  The one time that he had
resorted to such discipline, she had found herself inexplicably
aroused, but right at the moment all she wanted was for him to continue
his furious thrusting.

\"Please no,\" she whispered.

\"Please, what?\" he asked, his tone one of slightly-confused solicitude.

She took in a deep breath, struggling to find the words that would
appease him.  \"Please just put it back in me?\"

\"What do you want and where to you wish me to place it?\" he growled.
 \"I do wish you would be more specific with your requests,
Rosalind.\"

She laughed nervously and clenched her fists.  \"Please, sir,\" she
said, her voice quavering slightly, \"Please place your penis back
inside
of my vagina.\"

\"Ah,\" he said, reaching down to place his hands between her knees,
spreading her wide and plunging into her again.  

He seemed even harder than before and now her own pleasure was
increased by the fact that his hands were upon her breasts, squeezing
the nipples
tightly between his thumbs and forefingers as his body slammed
rhythmically
against her.  The whole bed was shaking with the force of his
thrusts,
and when he stiffened and arched against her, it seemed to take forever
for
his cock to stop twitching and spurting inside of her.  As she
felt
him begin to soften and shrink, he pulled away and fell down on the
mattress
beside her.

As they lay with their bodies barely touching and their breath slowly
returning to normal, her stomach gave out a loud and prolonged gurgle.

\"You are hungry?\" he asked, propping himself up upon his elbow and
glaring down at her in a reproving manner.  \"

\"Famished,\" she said, turning to smile at him.

He placed a hand upon her abdomen and traced the soft, subtle curve of
her stomach.  \"Well, then you should be grateful that I brought
the
ingredients for a Caesar Salad with me this evening.\"  His fingers
continued their motion as he recited his list, \"Romaine lettuce,
parmesan
cheese, anchovies-\"

Her stomach emitted another large growl.

\"Sounds glorious,\" she said, closing her eyes and feeling the warm
wetness of his semen beginning to slowly drip down her thighs.  He
lifted his hand away from her and the bed jiggled again as he got to
his feet.  There was a soft thud and as she opened her eyes to
find the nightgown and robe on top of her.

\"Come to the kitchen when you are dressed,\" he said, bending down to
retrieve his boxers and shirt from where they were neatly folded upon a
chair.

\"Yes, sir,\" she answered.  She rested for a few more minutes and
then reluctantly rose from the bed, pausing to visit the bathroom as
well before dressing and heading down the stairs.  

As she padded across the living room floor, she noted that there
was now a Beethoven concerto playing softly on the stereo, and that he
had placed the cover upon Jaques\' cage.  The towels that she had
scattered upon the floor where hanging from the coat rack.  Snape,
clad
only in his underwear and half-buttoned shirt, was laboring in the
kitchen.
 As she neared him, she saw that there was a cup of eggnog sitting
prominently upon the counter next to a glass of wine that was
presumably
his drink.  Picking up the glass, she sniffed at it appreciatively
and took a small sip.  It was well-laced with the bourbon, but
that
was just how she preferred it.  And he had even gone to the
trouble
of sprinkling fresh nutmeg over the top.  Sitting down on one of
the
tall stools, she murmured her approval and took a larger swallow, all
the
while watching Snape\'s nimble fingers as he finished preparing the
ingredients
of the salad.  

\"You are not supposed to gulp it down like water, you know,\" he said.

\"I\'m not,\" she protested, setting the glass down for a moment.
 \"But you might as well tell me something now,\" she said.

Snape lifted his eyes for a moment without stilling the movement
of his hands.

\"Can I expect champagne next week, or do you disapprove of New Year\'s
Eve as well?\"

\"You may expect a bottle of the finest vintage next week,\" he replied,
reaching to move a large bowl to the middle of the counter as he began
to create the salad.  \"However,\" he said, pausing to wipe his
fingers upon the dish towel.  \"If you have any intention of
dragging me to a ridiculous celebration of any kind-\"

\"Oh, gee, and I already told John and Jim that we\'d be at their bash,
partying until the wee hours.\" she teased.

\"How droll,\" he snorted, returning his attention to the salad.
 \"If you are finished making jokes may I suggest you attempt to
reheat
the soup for us?\"

\"Okay,\" she agreed, sliding off of the stool and carrying her glass
with her.  She headed for the cupboard, intending to remove a
saucepan when she suddenly realized that there was something new and
different
occupying a prominent place on the counter next to the stove.

\"A microwave oven!\" she cried.

\"A combined microwave and convection oven,\" he informed her.

She glanced over her shoulder to see him leaning back against the
counter,
his arms folded and an exceedingly self-satisfied expression on his
face.
 \"It seemed eminently more practical than a mere heating device.\"

\"Oh, my,\" she said, bending down to examine it more closely.  She
wasn\'t quite sure what the \'convection\' part meant but she had no doubt
that
Snape, unhappy over his original ignorance of such appliances, had done
a
thorough study of the subject before deciding upon the model. In front
of
the oven lay a small manual, which she now recognized as the small
pamphlet
that he had been reading when she had first entered the flat.

\"I saw no reason in spending money upon one of the cheaper models,\" he
sniffed, moving to stand beside her.  

She smiled as she remembered a conversation she had overheard a few
weeks ago while doing her grocery shopping.  One woman had been
telling a friend how her husband had made the mistake (during their
first year
of marriage) of buying her an appliance of all things for
Christmas.  And how she had demanded that he return it and told
him firmly that such things might have been all right for his mother,
but it certainly
wasn\'t her idea of a suitable gift.

Well, it certainly was not terribly romantic.  But it was a
gift.  In fact, it was a Christmas gift, even if it lacked a bow,
wrapping or even a card.  Not that Snape would never admit to it.

\"Thank you,\" she said, turning to him.

He shrugged his shoulders. \"It was on sale for a quite reasonable
price,\" he muttered.  Turning back toward the bowl, he busied
himself
placing the finishing touches upon the salad.

She nodded and hesitated for a moment while she debated her next
move.  \"I\'ll be right back,\" she said, heading towards the bedroom.

\"I thought you were going to heat the soup,\" he said irritably.

\"I\'ll just be a moment,\" she called over her shoulder.  

As she neared the stairs, she could feel her heart begin to race again.
 She was afraid that she was about to set off another argument,
but
on the other hand, there was just the chance that he was in a slightly
better mood now.  At least he usually proved to be much more
congenial
after a vigorous bout of sexual activity, the sating of his need for
physical
release seeming to purge some of his emotional demons as well.
 She
even wondered how truly angry he had been with her, remembering his
initial
weariness and wondering again how he had spent the earlier part of the
evening.
 But if he tended to vent his frustrations out on her, she also
knew
that she was also the sole recipient of whatever gentler emotions he
possessed.
 

She knew him well enough by now to know that he would have been hurt
had
she not liked his gift, though his response to her thanks was to slip
into
his usual mask of indifference.  The fact that she had been
genuinely
touched by his gift meant that he was probably quite pleased with her
at
the moment, so there was just the chance that he would allow her to
reciprocate.


She knelt down next to her bureau and opened the bottom drawer.
 Pushing aside the other articles of clothing, she reached down
and pulled out a long length of dark silk.  Draping it over her
arm, she took a deep breath and headed back toward the kitchen.

Snape had busied himself pouring the soup from the container into two
large bowls and was studying the brochure intently, apparently trying
to understand the directions.  He turned as she approached and his
eyebrows drew together in a slight frown as she unfurled the fabric and
held it out for him.

\"Here, sir,\" she said, trying to keep her voice steady.  \"Wouldn\'t
you be more comfortable in this?\"

He stared at the robe for several minutes and then reached out to take
it from her.  Turning the garment over in his hands, he studied
the rich ebony color, punctuated with a thin strip of green piping at
the collar and cuffs.  Upon the back the serpent design of
Slytherin
House was embroidered in pure silver thread.

\"Where on earth did you get this?\" he demanded.

\"I made it,\" she replied.

\"You made it?\" he asked, clearly astonished.

\"Oh, of course, I bought the materials.  But I had to recreate the
emblem
from memory and I made the piping out of silk brocade,\" she added,
proudly.

\"Just where did you acquire such skills?\"

\"Well, you see back in school we had a class on sewing.  For our
first assignment, we had to make the same garment twice-once using
magic and once doing these \'the Muggle way\'.\"  She bit down on her
lip before continuing:  \"And, of course, I was the only one who
did better this way than by using magic.\"

\"I see.\"  

He bent over the robe again, his sharp black eyes taking in every
detail
of the delicate stiches and intricate embroidery.  Then he
silently
handed the garment back to her, and for a moment she was afraid he was
going to tell her to take it away.  But then she saw that he was
beginning to undo the buttons on his shirt.  Once he had shrugged
out of the white linen and placed it upon the counter, he turned his
back to her and held out his arms, giving her leave to help him put on
the robe.  She kept her head down to hide her smile as he pivoted
back to face her and allowed her to tie the belt at his waist.

\"But where have you been hiding a sewing machine?\" he asked, his
voice once more tinged with suspicion.

\"Jim has one that he\'s been allowing me to use,\" she answered.  

A soft snort was his only reply.

\"Although I did do a lot of it by hand,\" she added.

Actually, she thought, if Jim hadn\'t been sewing one day
when I stopped by, the idea of making Snape a present would never have
occurred to me.  

But it had seemed such a logical solution.  She had despaired
of finding anything to buy that he would need or like, combined with
the fact that it did seem rather odd to say she was \'buying\' him a
present when all her money came from him in the first place.

Smoothing down the silky front of the robe, she stood back to assess
how it looked.  Since he never left any of his clothing in the
flat, she had been rather anxious about the measurements.

\"I hope it\'s all right, sir?\" she asked.

\"It appears,\" he said, looking down and studying the cuffs for a
moment, \"That the fit is more than adequate.\"

Coming from Snape, that was high praise indeed.

\"Now,\" he said, striding back to the counter. \"I believe you were going
to heat the soup?\"

He watched silently as she covered the bowls with waxed paper and
placed
them within the microwave, noting every movement of her fingers as she
set
the power and time settings.  She was sure that within a very
short
time he would be touting his expertise in the use of the appliance, but
tonight
he was graciously acceding to her superior knowledge.

************************************************************************************

There was little conversation over their dinner, except for her vocal
appreciation
of both the salad and the soup.  Snape proclaimed that the bisque
could
have used a tad more pepper and a little less salt, but magnaminously
agreed
with his Caeser had neared perfection with its exquisite balance of
flavors.

More surprisingly, he made no disparaging remarks when she timidly
asked
if he would prepare another eggnog for her, merely raising his right
eyebrow
for a fraction of a second before holding out his hand for her glass.
 Pouring
himself another cognac as well, they settled themselves on the couch,
turning
out all but one of the lights in the flat.  To her surprise he
seemed
in no great hurry to bed her again, and she lay contentedly with her
head
nestled against his shoulder, his hand occasionally reaching out to
gently
stroke against her hair as they sipped their drinks and listened to
several
more classical selections.

When the last strains of music had died away he had remained silent for
several
minutes, and she had lain against him with her eyes closed, starting to
feel
quite drowzy.

\"Asleep?\" he asked, finally.

\"No, not quite,\" she murmured, opening her eyes and turning slightly so
that
her neck was at a more comfortable angle.

Snape took a final sip of cognac before carefully setting down his
glass.
 \"Have you never wished to contact your family here in England?\"
he
inquired quietly.

She blinked in surprise.  Of all the questions he might have
asked,
she had never anticipated this one.

\"No,\" she said, shaking her head.  \"They made it clear long ago
that
they didn\'t want anything to do with either my mother or myself.\"

\"And your mother,\" he prompted.  \"Are you still angry with her for
sending
you away?\"

She sighed and closed her eyes.  \"I suppose.\"  She felt his
hand
graze against her cheek for a moment.  \"At any rate, I don\'t think
either
of us is exactly pining for a holiday reunion at the moment.\"

Opening her eyes, she turned to stare up at him, the expression on his
face
unusually sombre and thoughtful.  She wished she had the courage
to
ask him about his own family, to know why he seemed so alone, and why
on
Christmas Eve of all nights he had come to her.  Did he really
have
no one else to turn to?  But she knew that she had not as yet
earned
the right to ask him those questions.  And that perhaps she never
would.
 

Instead, she leaned forward and kissed him gently upon the lips.
 \"Are
you staying the whole night?\" she asked.

\"No,\" he said, shaking his head.  \"I shall need to return to
Hogwarts
before daybreak.\"  His voice was tinged with regret.

She nodded and stared down at his lap for a moment.  Then, with a
mischievous
smile, she brought her hands to his belt and began to undo the bow.
 \"I
guess we\'d better hurry.\"

\"No,\" he said, slipping his hand under her robe, \"No,\" he repeated, \"I
do
not wish to hurry.\"

Their lovemaking this time was in stark contrast to their earlier
frenzied
coupling.  He undressed her slowly, his fingers and his lips
bestowing
tender kisses and gentle caresses before finally undressing himself and
moving
to cover herself with his body. Afterward, when she was cradled in his
arms,
neither of them made any comment as the faint sound of chiming bells
drifted
in through the windows, announcing the arrival of Christmas day.

When she opened her eyes early the next morning, his side of the bed
was already cold, indicating that it had been vacant for some time.
 He had probably departed the flat as soon as she had fallen
asleep.  When she went downstairs, she saw that the Christmas tree
and the rest of her purchases were still stacked on the floor, exactly
as he had left them
the night before.

Well, at least he didn\'t throw them out.

Turning to the parrot\'s cage, she pulled off the dark cover and roused
him from his sleep.

\"Wake up, Jaques,\" she cooed.  \"Can you say \'Happy Christmas\'?\"

\"Hello, hello,\" he squawked, bobbing his head up and down.  

\"Well, we\'ll work on that,\" she chuckled.  

As she turned to go towards the kitchen, the early morning sunlight
glinted off of the shiny exterior of the microwave.  She smiled at
it for a moment and then a sudden look of apprehension crossed her
face.  Striding quickly across the room, she hurried up the stairs
and peered around the bedroom.  Apparently not finding what she
was looking for, she frowned and walked over to the wardrobe, flinging
the door open.  To her relief, the robe was hung with great care
in the very middle of the rack.   

With a sigh, she reached out to brush her fingers against the soft
silk.  It wasn\'t fair after all to expect him to change overnight.
 This year she had to be content with the fact that he had not
only given her a present but had accepted her gift to him as well.
 Maybe next year they could work up to a Christmas tree.

Leaning down, she sniffed at the fabric, detecting the faint trace of
his musky aroma.  \"Happy Christmas, Severus,\" she whispered.
 A small grin appeared on her face.  \"Whether you like it or
not.\"