Midnight Petal

A/N: Thanks to DrpnBlood4U for the kind review. I hope this chapter won´t dissapoint you.

Chapter 3


"What am I doing?" Severus asked himself for what seemed like a millionth time this afternoon. "Ruining my life," was the honest answer. "And I´m dragging her down with me." Snape looked at the girl beside him again. For the last six years she was his student, but when she entered Dumbledore´s office few hours earlier, no wave of recognition hit him. It startled Severus immensely. How can you meet somebody on regular basis for six years and not remember them?

OK, she was plain, mediocre in every possible way. She was of medium height, nor thin nor fat. Her thick dull brown hair, that reached just below her shoulder blades, framed a forgettable face. She had small full lips, straight nose and heavy-lidded eyes, that seemed to be of a very light colour, probably blue. There was nothing in her visage that attracted attention. But did this lack of beauty or originality justify the fact, that Severus forgot her completely? Hardly.

Snape felt anger rising in him again. He let Dumbledore explain the situation to the girl while he busied himself with watching her, scrutinising her reactions. She listened to Albus attentively, nodding now and then, her eyes never leaving the floor. She looked very calm and collected. Severus was sure that would change the second Dumbledore mentioned the wedding. He was trying to prepare himself for every possible outcome. Will she scream and run? Panick? Faint? Threat them? Will she be foolish enough to try to attack them?

He was so immersed in his thoughts he nearly jumped in his seat when she finally spoke. "Yes," she said in a low melodic voice, "it will be an honour to become your ally and professor Snape´s wife. I swear I´ll do everything in my power to help you overthrow the dark wizard and bring peace to this country." Silence broke out in the room after this statement. Snape was trying to process the second biggest surprise of his life. As the ´number one´ preceded this one by approximately an hour, it wasn´t an easy task. When he finaly managed to gather his thoughts he forced himself to stay seated, mask of indifference on his face.

"Will you let us seal your fate that easily?" he asked the girl, his voice cold and venomous. "Aren´t you gonna protest? Fight us? Reason with us? Beg us not to force you to do this? Aren´t you gonna do anything? Nothing at all?" He watched her shake her head, bewildered. How was it possible, that she stayed that calm? He should be impressed. He detested the people, who displayed their emotions freely, after all. Such people were weak and vulnerable. But somehow this girl, with her cold unreadable facade, enraged him to the point, when he felt the urge to shout at her, to shake her, to do anything, that would provoke a response more adequate to this situation.

"Professor Snape," the girl spoke quietly, "I don´t see the reason why I should oppose this marriage. It is in my best interest to conform to professor Dumbledore´s wishes. My life is in danger. I´m really sorry if I crossed any of your plans, but I promise you I will stay out of your private life as much as possible."

Severus felt like somebody performed a confundus charm on him. Everything was upside down, reversed, twisted. Was this little girl really patronising him? He looked at Albus, daring him to laugh at his expense, but Dumbledore´s face wore the same dumbstruck expression he was sure his face sported at the moment. "Excellent, excellent," headmaster seemed to snap out of his confusion, "while we all agreed on the plan, let´s proceed to its fullfillement. I allowed myself the courtesy to book a wedding official. He should be arriving in about... 15 minutes time. Miss McDawlish, please feel free to make any last minute preparations you consider neccessary. Severus, same applies to you. Let us not waste any more time by this chit-chat. I will see you soon." With that he waved his hand dismissively, preventing any discussion.

Half an hour later Severus was standing beside his soon-to-be wife, dressed in clean black robes. "We are like sheep," he thought angrily, "doing everything that old fool pleases." He glanced at Dumbledore, who was standing by his side, looking very serious. But his eyes gave him away, mischievous sparks dancing in them. Snape felt the sudden urge to do something unexpected. Maybe he should just say no and leave them all here, starring. He let himslef toy with the idea for a few seconds, imagining the consequences.

He almost failed to notice the directive to turn face to face with his bride and say the wedding vows. As he slid the golden ring down her finger, he had an opportunity to look into her eyes closely for the first time. He thought they were blue before, but he could see now they were actually colourless, nearly transparent. He had never seen eyes like this before. They were almost scary, evoking the idea, that their bearer can see right into your mind and read you like a book. Such an idea was laughable, of course, but Snape couldn´t bring himself to break off the eye contact with the girl nevertheless. It was she, who did it. Hastily, as if she has just realized her mistake, she averted her gaze, focusing on her new ring instead.

The ceremony was over soon, to Severus´s great relief. Dumbledore escorted them to the dungeons afterwards, trying to distract them with a small talk, but soon gave up and bid his farewel. "I´ll show you around," Severus offered to his new wife. "That will be nice, I´ve never been inside your quarters before," she replied matter-of-factly. He had to wonder again, what was the source of her serenity. She showed no emotions whatsoever, when he familiarised her with her new living space. The only time she displayed any interest in her surroundings was, when she entered his library and saw an enormous bookcase filled with hundreds of titles. It seemed to please her, when he assured her, she can borrow any of them, if she wishes to. The only room left to explore now was her new bedroom. It was a rather small chamber, simply decorated and furnished. Severus kept it as a guestroom, although he couldn´t remember the last time he had a visitor. Once again, the only reaction she produced was indifference. She asked to be left alone and Severus complied willingly. He was starting to wonder if there was something wrong with her. Maybe she suffered from some kind of strange disease, that affected her behaviour. Or was she mentally challenged? Did she not grasp the gravity of the situation they faced now?

Severus settled down in his library with a bottle of wine, intending to finish it by himself this evening, when he felt a familiar tugging in his dark mark. Voldemort was calling him. He had to go. He decided it was necessary to inform his new wife about his whereabouts, so he knocked softly on her bedroom door. There was no answer. With no time to waste, given the situation, he allowed himself to enter, only to encounter a unexpected sight. The girl was sitting on the bed, hugging her legs , chin resting on her knees. A single tear rolled down her face, touching her soft lips and then gracefully, as if in slow motion, slid down her chin and fell towards the ground. Severus closed the door quietly and left.