One Only Understands The Things That One Tames

~ Disclaimer: I own nothing but what springs from my imagination. Severus Snape, Hogwarts, and the rest of the Potterverse are the property and the children of JK Rowling. I have also used some of the words of Antoine de Sainte-Exupery at the end of this chapter and in the title of this fiction ~

One Only Understands the Things That One Tames
Chapter 5

Severus felt his heart stop for a moment as he took in her words.

“You’re not a goddess anymore?” he repeated.

“No,” she said, once again burying her face in his robes. He was so warm and smelled so comfortable, “the price I paid was my immortality.”

“Ariah…”

“Please, Severus, I made the right decision.”

“You gave up who you are.”

“No, I gave up WHAT I was. I’m still me, still Ariah. Just without all the accessories,” she said, sniffling against the rough cloth of his robes. She really hated this part of being human, the sniffles. Like sneezing, it was messy.

“I’m not worth giving that up for,” he said simply.

“Yes you are. You’re worth all that and more. The question, I guess, is do you still want me even though I’m mortal?”

Severus stared down at her black hair and held her tighter to him, “I could never not want you,” he whispered.

Ariah pulled him closer and languished in the comfort he gave her. His arms were strong. He smelled like the woods, grassy and herbal, with a hint of vanilla. Ariah knew she could happily spend her days in his arms. Severus felt a wave of anger bubble up inside. Anger for Ariah. What she knew for her whole existence was simply snuffed out by her family, by those who were supposed to care. He knew what it was like to have family turn its back and walk away. He knew the pain it caused. At that moment, he hated the gods and all they stood for.

“How could they do that to you?” he asked, his voice again sounding cold.

“I can’t behave myself where you’re concerned, Sev. I can’t contain my powers when you’re threatened. We…they have a code. It might seem random and unfair, but there is a modicum of logic to it. I blew that code out of the water that night. I interfered, I took a curse meant for you, I released it in revenge, I healed you completely when you should have been dead, and I erased the Dark Mark. I’m lucky I wasn’t stripped of my immortality and banished. Instead, I was given a choice. If I wanted you, I had to accept a life as a mortal. Be on the same playing field as you. If I wanted to remain a goddess, I had to give you up and never see you again. For me, Severus, there was no choice. I couldn’t give you up, no matter what it cost.”

“You…care that much?” he said, not daring to believe that it could be true.

“I love you that much,” she replied, looking up at him and smiling through her tears.

Severus scowled. Ariah reached her hand up and gently stroked his face; she loved it when he scowled. Sometimes his scowl made him look like a little boy, albeit a stormy and sometimes scary little boy. Without a word, she pulled his head down and pressed her lips against his. Severus felt himself respond to her kiss, sliding his tongue over her bottom lip. Ariah gave a little half sigh of pleasure and let one hand trail down his chest, playing with the buttons on his robes.

“Dammit, Severus, must you wear clothing with so many buttons?”

“Does it annoy you?” he responded, moving his kisses down to her neck.

“Uh huh…” she said, fumbling with the second button.

“That’s why I do it.”

“Bastard…” she moaned as he licked the hollow of her throat.

“So I’ve been called…countless times.”

“I want you so much…” she said, finally using a simple spell to release the remainder of the buttons on his robes and growling a little at the buttons on his crisp white linen shirt underneath the robes.

Severus undid the loose knot that held the belt of her simple white cotton bathrobe together. Her robe fell open and Severus pushed it off her shoulders. He held her back to look at her, his eyes betraying the love he felt for her. He ran a hand down the contours of her body. Ariah shivered from his touch. The sensations were greater now that she was mortal. She felt every touch magnified a thousand times. Her skin felt like one large erogenous zone. She managed to unbutton his shirt without the use of magic and ran her hand down his chest. He was a little thinner than she remembered, but the lean muscles still rippled under his skin. She looked down at his black pants and sco.
.

“I wasn’t aware scowling was contagious,” said Severus, smiling one of his rare smiles at her.

“Well it is when you insist on wearing so damned many layers of clothing.”

“It’s only inconvenient during times like this,” he replied, slipping off the rest of his clothing, “better?”

Ariah looked his long lean body up and down, “Oh yeah, much better.”

“Wouldn’t we be more comfortable…” began Severus.

“Yeah, we would…”

Severus picked her up and carried her to the bed, laying her down gently. Ariah gazed up at him through half closed eyes. He was even more beautiful than she remembered; his long black hair falling in his face, his black eyes so full of desire, longing, hope, despair, and yes, love. She couldn’t ever remember a time when she didn’t love Severus Snape, a time when she didn’t think he was beautiful. And at that moment, naked in both his physicality and in his emotions, he took her breath away. Severus slowly and gently worshipped her body, running his hands, lips, and tongue over every inch of her. Ariah lay back and allowed the sensations to envelop her. She moved only to give him access to parts of her that weren’t readily reachable. She allowed him to explore all of her, moaning with passion as he uncovered layer after layer of her desire. When he was finally finished with his explorations, she pulled his head down to her and kissed him deeply, drinking him in.

“Please, Severus…I need you…” she whispered against his lips.

Severus entered her, filling her completely. It never ceased to amaze her how perfectly they fit together. How evenly matched they seemed to be. He slowly moved himself in and out of her, making her gasp with every thrust. She loved the feeling of him inside her. She truly felt complete when they were joined in this manner. And he felt the same way. He had never been with a woman who made him feel the way she did. He never knew that sex could truly be an expression of love. He never considered what he had with Ariah to be anything as crass as “fucking” or “screwing” or even merely having sex. He’d had that. It left him empty and unfulfilled. With Ariah, it had always been making love. From the very beginning, from the very first time, being with her like this was an expression of love, the only way he thought he knew how to express it. Ariah gripped his back as she rode out a wave of orgasm, only to feel it build again. She moaned into his ear, causing him to release what had been held back for 2 years. He collapsed on top of her as she climaxed again, perfectly timed with him. Severus looked out the window and noticed the darkness descending on Hogwarts.

“Ariah…” he began.

“Yes, my love?”

“We appear to have missed dinner.”

“Damn,” she said, smiling up at him, “how’d that happen?”

“Dunno,” he replied, kissing her “guess we got a little carried away.”

“Must have. Fancy getting carried away again? My turn to explore this time…” she said, with a lascivious grin.

“I have no plans for the rest of the evening…”

“Good, because I do, Professor Snape, and they involve you and your amazing…” Ariah was cut off by a deep kiss from Severus. She knew they would be spending the rest of the night getting reacquainted with one another.

* * * *

Ariah awoke to her head resting on a presumably male chest and with a pair of strong arms wrapped around her. She slowly opened her eyes, not quite believing that Severus was still there and not gone off to his own quarters as he had every other time they’d made love. But no, he was definitely there. And it was definitely morning, albeit very early. She raised herself up slightly so as not to disturb him, and watched him sleep. He looked peaceful. He had a slight smile on his lips and his breathing was deep and even. Ariah lay her head back down on his chest, feeling his heart beat, absently running her hand through the surprisingly soft dark hair there. She planted small kisses on his chest and worked her way down his stomach and back up again. She felt him stir. She looked up at his face and watched as his eyes fluttered open. He looked down at the dark haired beauty in his arms and gazed into her vivid blue eyes, his look saying more than he imagined.

“Hey you,” said Ariah, with a little smile.

Severus returned it with a small sleepy smile of his own, “Hey yourself.”

“Fancy meeting you here,” Ariah quipped.

“Fancy that,” he bent his head to capture her lips in a soft and gentle kiss, “what time is it?”

“Early, I would imagine,” she replied, looking out the window only to see the familiar dark form of Poe outside the locked window, perched on the ledge, “oh, for crying out loud…”

“What?” Severus asked, stroking her hair.

“Oh, nothing more than a new breed of raven, Corvus Voyeurificus.”

Severus followed her eyes to the window and caught the glittering black eyes of Poe. He wondered how long the raven had been watching them. Ariah got up and flung open the window.

“Damn it Poe, how long have you been there?” she asked.

“Long enough to lose my breakfast. Damn, come up for air, wouldja?”

“Does the word ‘privacy’ hold no meaning for you?” Severus asked.

“It did when I was a man. Now that I’m a bird, nah,” was the reply, “You’d be amazed at the things people do in front of birds. The other day, I sat on a rock and watched some woman shower off under a waterfall. Something about running water musta turned her on because…”

“Spare us the details, OK Poe?” pleaded Ariah.

Severus got out of bed, planning a morning trip to the bathroom, considering that the mood for anything else was ruined by the presence of Poe.

“Oh, for the sake of all the gods, Snape, put some damned clothes on. Like I wanna see your scrawny naked ass and morning wood first thing in the morning.”

“Deal with it,” Severus retorted, “like anyone could keep i wit with you around,” he disappeared into the bathroom with a scowl.

Ariah pushed Poe out of the window, locked it, and conjured up heavy curtains, which she closed on the raven. She gave Severus some privacy while he showered and dressed, unsure of how much attention he liked in the mornings. When he was finished, she grabbed her bath things, gave him a lingering kiss, and shooed him out the door.

“We have to show up at breakfast, and if you keep standing there looking so damned good, we’ll never make it,” she said, closing the door. Severus stood in the corridor outside her quarters and allowed himself a smile before mustering up his ‘Snape the Bastard’ attitude in case he ran into any early rising students in the halls. He headed for the gardens before breakfast.

* * * *

Ariah arrived in the Great Hall before Severus but after Albus and Minerva. They both greeted her with sly smiles. As she sat in her usual seat between the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor, a position currently vacant due to an unfortunate incident with a boggart the week before Ariah returned, and Severus’ seat, she noticed the cause of their smiles. On her plate were a single late season rose and a note that read:

There is a flower… I think she has tamed me…

Ariah picked up the flower, inhaled its sweet scent, and smiled. It is the time you have wasted for your rose that makes your rose so important, she thought.