Midnight Petal

A/N: I must admit, this was a very difficult chapter for me to write. I wrote and re-wrote it several times, tweaking every single sentence at least once. I am still not satisfied with the result, but I refuse to play with it any longer. As always, please excuse any mistakes you find in the text (there will be plenty) and kindly pinpoint them to me. Cheeers.


Chapter 4


She woke up with a start, bathed in sweat. At first, she couldn´t recognize her surroundings. The windowless room she slept in reminded her of the cellar in her uncle´s house. She spent half of her childhood locked in that cellar, a memory she was trying to forget. Was it possible she apparated back to that devilish place during her sleep? She felt panic slowly creeping up on her. Her body tensed and started to shake violently while her stomach performed somersaults. With great effort she willed herself to calm down somewhat, scrutinising the walls around her at the same time. This definitely wasn´t uncle´s cellar. The room was smaller, but looked more inviting and comfortable. The torch on the wall emitted soft yellowish glow, compared to sickeningly green and bright light her uncle´s fluorescent lamp used to emanate. She let the torchlight comfort her a little longer, consciousness coming back to her.

Yes, of course, this was Severus Snape´s home. Her home. THEIR home, she corrected herself mentally. Althought she has spent almost two weeks in this refuge, she still felt like a stranger here. The space desperately needed a touch of warmth. Everything in here was so cold, intimidating, dark. Including the homeowner. He was as inapproachable as ever, their marriage definitely didn´t change his attitude towards her. Not that she expected that. She had to admit to herself, she was even content with the situation. For the first time in her life, she had a chance to do whatever she pleased, nobody controled her, nobody dictated her what she should or shouldn´t do. Of course, her new found freedom had its boundaries. She was advised to stay within Hogwarts walls, preferebly in Snape´s chambers, but she had no desire to venture out anyway. She spent most of her days (and nights) reading, Snape´s library offered a huge selection of books. She was positive some of the titles were on the forbiden books list, but she didn´t give a damn. She was planning to read them too, eventually. And now, when her sleep was disturbed, maybe she should start with it straight away...

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It was nearing 2am, when Severus finally stepped over his treshold, tired and aching. It wasn´t a pleasant night so far. For reasons known only to himself, Voldemort was in a particulary foul mood tonight, shooting cruciatus curses around him, not caring who he hits. Severus could count himself lucky, as he was on a receiving end only a couple of times. Still, his body was refusing to support his weight any longer by the time he reached the relative safety of his chambers. He stopped in the hall weighing his options. He could go straight to bed or have a drink to help him unwind a little. As the latter seemed more alluring, he guided his steps into a library. He regretted his decision immediately, when he spotted his wife, who was curled in one of the chairs near the fireplace. She was so absorbed in the book she was reading, she failed to notice his presence. He felt tempted to turn on the spot and leave, but thought better of it. He won´t be driven out from his own library by a silly little girl, be it his wife or not. He strolled inside stomping his feet loudly.

"Good evening," the girl said, her voice barely more than a whisper, "I am glad you decided to accompany me at this late hour. I couldn´t sleep so I took advantage of your kind offer and borrowed one of your books. Hope you don´t mind." "No," Severus replied coldly, "I told you already I have nothing against it. Maybe I could give you a few recommendations as to your choice of a reading material. If you don´t mind my curiosity, which treatise did you pick today?" Severus was a bit sceptical about the girl´s literary taste. He was pleasantly surprised then when she revealed the title of the book and he recognized it as one of his old time favourites. It was an essay on history and evolution of spells.

The teenager studied his face closely, taking time to judge the expression plastered there. "You seem to be startled by my selection," she finally uttered, "did you expect me to favour something more frivolous? A romance novel maybe? It would be a more appropriate read for the girl of my age, after all." Snape scolded himself mentally for letting his guard down. Did he really let so many thoughts display on his face? Or was this youngster exceptionally gifted in judging people? When will she finally stop surprising him? He came to conclusion he will have to excercise even more selfcontrol around her. He put on his trademark scowl promptly.

"I was merely deciding if I should be impressed or appalled by your preference. That book is considered by some to be a textbook of dark magic." "That explains why I found it in your library," the girl proclaimed, "you are, after all, considered by some to be one of the most accomplished dark wizards of our time." Despite his previous decision, Severus´s face fell showing his shock clearly. No student of his ever spoke to him in such a daring manner. Did she not realize who she was talking to? He should put her in detention for the rest of her studies! He should let her fail her potion class! It was in his power to make her life hell in this school! At this point Severus stopped his thoughts, suddenly aware of his own silliness. This girl wasn´t just his student. She was his wife too. She was a 17-year-old married to an old grumpy potions master. Her life was hell already!

He transmuted his face into a sneer. "You seem to be well informed," he remarked, letting himself relax again. "Were you always this interested in dark arts or is it an outcome of our cohabitation?" "Know your enemy," she replied mysteriously."If I ever find myself facing You-know-who, it would be foolish of me to fight this battle unprepared. I suppose it will boost my chances if I familiarise myself with the weapons my opponent uses." "So it is information you seek," Severus enquired, "I guess I could teach you a thing or two about dark magic and a noble art of dueling." "That would be very kind of you, sir," the girl responded enthusiastically. "I assure you you will not find a keener listener than I am. I will be grateful for any facts, any information you can share with me. I thirst for knowledge..."

At this precise moment something clicked inside Severus´s mind. A forgotten memory surfaced. A memory of this girl sitting in the great hall at lunchtime, studying a thick book, plate in front of her left untouched. "You´re a Ravenclaw," Snape stated, his dark eyes boring into his wife. She nodded once. Severus felt immensely relieved he finally remembered something about her. At the same time though, dissapointment washed over him. She was a member of a different house! Of course, the chances of her being a Slytherin were practically non-existent right from the start, but Severus had to admit to himself, he had been hoping, against all odds, she was, in fact, his housefellow, just a well disguised one. Now that desire was left unfulfilled, he felt cheated.

On the other hand, it could have been much worse. She could have turned out to be a Gryffindor. At least her kinship with Ravenclaw house granted there was some amount of brain in her skull.

Snape glanced at the girl again. She was still sitting in his chair, hands in her lap, eyes steadfast on the floor. She appeared as calm as ever, but he could sense her uneasiness. Was she worried he wouldn´t teach her because of their house differences? He let the silence stretch a little longer before he released her from uncertainty. "I think we can start our lessons tomorrow."