Travels With Severus:Severus Does New Orleans

Travels with Severus; Severus does New Orleans
Book One
Chapter Five

\"What the hell are you doing here?\" she asked. Severus Snape leaned casually against the frame of her front door and smiled. \"I told you to stay away.\"

\"If you knew me better, Miss De laVerne, you wouldn’t be surprised by my presence here this afternoon. Were you sleeping?\" he asked, noticing her nightgown and robe. Her eyes were heavy from her slumber and her right cheek was flushed from her pillow. He resisted the urge to throw her over his shoulder and carry her back to her bed.

She allowed her eyes to roam up and down his form. \"Black isn\'t a very good color choice for New Orleans in July even if the material is linen,\" she said of his shirt and trousers. \"You look hot.\"

He smirked. \"Thank you.\" She flushed bright red.

\"I meant you looked like you were feeling hot.\"

\"Oh I am Genevieve. I am,\" he replied with a velvet growl, causing her to duer her head and draw a breath.

\"I meant that-oh fuck it-never mind. Come in before the neighbors see you.\" She stood aside and allowed him to enter. He brushed her, ever so slightly with his shoulder as he did so. She shivered and busied her swithwith locking the door. Turning, she saw that he had made himself comfortable on her sofa. \"Make yourself at home then,\" she muttered at his reclining form.

\"Thank you, I shall. Have you got any coffee?\"

\"No, actually. And yes I was sleeping. I work nights. Remember?\"

\"Come, come it\'s nearly three. Surely you have had enough sleep?\"

Tired from her exertions the night before, Genevieve was in no mood for sarcasm in any form.

\"Look!\" she snapped out \"What are you doing here? I thought I explained myself quite clearly this morning.\"

He smiled at her tone. He knew she needed coffee, and needed it badly.

\"You did explain yourself very clearly this morning. I, however have no desire to leave town at present. After seeing what I saw last night in that alley, I have no intention of leaving until the matter of your stalker is resolved.\"

She opened her mouth to reply and found no words forthcoming. She snapped it shut again. Damn him and his presence here anyway! She needed coffee, but wasn\'t about to get up and make any. It would satisfy him entirely too much.

\"You are too kind, Mr. Snape in offering your help, but I really must decline. I work alone,\" she managed to say. Thi This elicited a chuckle from the wizard. \"Now now, Mademoiselle. Where is the famous southern hospitality I\'ve heard so much about? Go make coffee. You need it and so do I. You talked last night, now it\'s my turn.\"

With a frown she turned on her heel and strode into the kitchen. He smiled at the show of temper she was displaying by banging cabinet doors closed and slamming mugs onto the counter. This was followed by the sound of the coffee maker bubbling as it brewed. Finished with her preparations, she stomped out of the kitchen and made for what he assumed was her bedroom. She \'accidentally\' stomped on one of his feet as she made her way past him, smiling at his muttered expletive.

Severus leaned his head back against the sofa back and let out an amused chuckle. Annoying people was an amusing past time for him, one he hadn\'t indulged in since leaving Hogwarts. She promised to be a fun one to annoy.

The smell of coffee broke his reverie. Hse ase and made for the kitchen he had made himself so at home in the night before to prepare a cup for Genevieve and himself. He brought the cups into the living room and made himself comfortable on the sofa.

After a few minutes, she entered the room, dressed in loose fitting cotton slacks and matching top in a flattering shade of light yellow. She accepted the cup from his proffered hand with a muttered \"Thanks.\" With a grateful sigh, she sipped the hot liquid.

They sat in silence for a few moments, before Severus finally broke it by saying, \"I want to help you with your vampire problem.\"

\"I don\'t want you to help me with my problem, but thank you for the offer.\"

Severus let out an exasperated sigh, \"Your problem has become my problem, Genevieve. If this vampire saw me with you last night, then it is reasonable to assume he will come after me as soon as he kills you.\"

\"That\'s assuming he succeeds in killing me,\" she retorted.

\"Quite, but I am willing to assume the worst.\"

\"Your optimism is astounding!\"

She was rewarded with a raised eyebrow.” Vampires are dark creatures, and I am sure you are aware of the fact that I have spent a great many years immersed in the Dark Arts. You on the other hand, are a jazz singer who happens to be a half- blooded witch with a dangerous hobby.\"

\"Hobby?\" she bristled, \"Might I remind you, Severus Snape, that I managed to disarm you last night, and hex you before you could say Boo!\"

\"Yes, and may I also point out that I managed to hex you in that alley.\"

\"You snuck up on me,\" she countered smugly.

\"Precisely why you need my help, Miss De laVergne.\"

She wanted to answer him back, but she could think of nothing to say to what was so obviously a good point. Instead she resorted to chewing on her lower lip and frowning. Severus repressed a grin of satisfaction and sipped his coffee

After a moment she took another sip of her coffee, \"Good coffee, by the way. Ever had sex in a cemetery?\"

He choked on his coffee, spitting it out of his mouth. \"W-what did you just ask me?\"

She smiled benignly, \"I asked you if-\"

\"I heard you,\" he interrupted, \"I don\'t kiss and tell.\"

\"I\'m being serious.\"

\"What are you thinking of getting up to?\"

\'Well, I think that we may be able to lure this stalker, as you call him, into a cemetery. I am proposing that we appear to be distracted. You know, guard down?\" she answered.

\"Then we attack.\"

\"Exactly.\"

\"And if the stalker fails to take the bait?\"

\"New Orleans is full of vampires, Severus. Odds are we bag one, even if it isn\'t my stalker,\" she said with a tight smile. Although her tone had been light, Severus felt the atmosphere in the room change from one of tension to one of danger.

\"Bloodthirsty little chanteuse, aren\'t you?\" he rumbled.

She met his eyes, her face expressionless except for the dangerous glint that flashed in her eyes. \"I do what I have to do,\" she said quietly.

\"To avenge Marcus?\" he asked. \"Tell me Genevieve, do you possibly think that you can kill them all?\"

She drew a shaky breath, anger rising in her breast. \"That is not your concern!\"

\"It became my concern the moment I walked into that alley!\"

\"No one forced you to walk into that alley, Snape! That was your decision! You are free to go at anytime you know. I don\'t need your help!\"

\"Free to go and spend the rest of my time looking over my shoulder for a vampire? I think not.\"

\"Then back off and stop questioning my motives!\" she hissed at him.

He clenched and unclenched his hands, trying to suppress the desire to throttle the witch. Instead he got up and walked toward the kitchen, intent on refilling their mugs with coffee.

Genevieve sighed then said, \"Well then there we are. Stalker will be suspicious if we just walk on into St. Louis Cemetery and start going at it for no reason, so for the sake of appearing normal I think you should take me to dinner and maybe some dancing afterward. You know some nice romantic music and close dancing. After a time we leave and go for a quiet stroll, start necking madly, you drag me into the cemetery etcetera etcetera.\"

\"And hopefully this stalker will follow us in and attempt to seize the opportunity to dispatch us into the hereafter.\"

\"That\'s about right.\"

He handed her the mug, now refilled, and sat down next to her. \"You know, Genevieve, if you want to sleep with me all you need do is ask, although I am flattered that you would go to all of this effort just for the excuse to seduce me.\"

She answered his statement with an arched eyebrow and a sarcastic, \"Please.\"

~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~

The restaurant had been suitably romantic. Their dinner had been delicious and Severus had enjoyed every bite of his meal, from the Turtle Soup to the Blackened Red Fish. It was the desert of Bananas Foster that had nearly proved his undoing, for he adored sweets and he allowed himself to say as much to his companion.
Genevieve was surprised by the pleasantness of his company, for he had been a gentleman all evening. She wasn\'t surprised to find him well read, he had been a Professor after all, but he wasn\'t what she had expected an ex-Death Eater to be. It was appreciation of the arts, especially music that pleased her. She was surprised at his knowledge of the Muggle world, for the prejudice toward Purebloods was a prevalent in America as it was in Great Britain. She said as much to him as they walked, hand in hand through Jackson Square. After a thoughtful pause he replied,

\"My father thought the only thing good about Muggles was their art. Music drew me to Muggle London, and I eventually came to appreciate other aspects of that world. My father, when he found out about it deeply disapproved.\"

Genevieve had the feeling he was understating his father\'s reaction, but choose not to delve into the subject any further. Instead, she brought them around to the subject they had been avoiding all evening. \"I suppose we should go somewhere to dance now. It\'s only nine o\'clock, so we have plenty of time to kill.\"

He squeezed her hand and answered her with a slight nod, \"Where to, then?\"

\"Why The Red Cat, of course.\" she answered and guided him to the door. He opened it for her and they entered arm in arm.
The dance floor was full, for it was Saturday night and Aaron Neville was performing. She calmly acknowledged the few greetings she received as she followed her partner to the dance floor.

She felt good in his arms, pressed up against him. Her perfume graced his nose with its light floral scent. Her hair was soft against his cheek and her hand soft in his. \'She looks stunning tonight,\' he thought.

When she opened the door to him this evening, she left him nearly breathless. She wore a black silk shift and high heeled matching sandals. The sheen and color of the material accenting the smooth, creamy skin of her arms and legs, which were bare. Her hair was piled on her head in loose ringlets. She was tempting and he once again resisted the urge to lock them in her bedroom for as long as they could stand it. Instead, he followed her into the apartment and accepted a drink.

There were no pleasantries exchanged, rather she got straight to business and began to hand him the weapons necessary to the destruction of Vampires. As they rode to the restaurant in the taxi, he amused himself by trying to figure out where she had stashed her weapons beneath the dress that clung so subtly to her figure.

Now, here they were, dancing as though they were an ordinary couple enjoying a pleasant evening together. The song ended, all too soon and they found themselves applauding as Aaron Neville was introduced and began his first number.

\"I put a spell on you
\'Cause you\'re mine

You better stop the things you do
I ain\'t lyin\'
No I ain\'t lyin\'\"

He pulled her into his arms again and they swayed to the music. This time she wrapped her arms around his neck and rested her head against his chest. He bent his head and nuzzled top of hers.
\'We are working. We are working,\' he said to himself over and over, trying to resist the temptation in his arms. Concentration was vital to their survival tonight.


\"You know I can\'t stand it
You\'re runnin\' around
You know better mamma
I can\'t stand it cause you put me down

I put a spell on you
Because you\'re mine
You\'re mine,\"


Genevieve was trembling inside as the words of the song and the rhythm of her partners\' heart washed through her. His hand had felt good in hers, but his body against her felt even better. It had been so long since she had been held this closely by a man, for she had allowed no one since Marcus so close.

\'Marcus.\' The pain of his loss no longer fresh, but instead a dull ache that would never go away. Marcus was dead, and instead of dancing with him, here she was dancing with Severus Snape, the very antithesis of him.
She shouldn\'t be trembling inside, like this. They were working not dating. They were colleagues, in spite of her reluctance to have him as one. He felt so very good against her, and it had been so long.

\"I love ya
I love you
I love you
I love you anyhow
And I don\'t care
if you don\'t want me
I\'m yours right now

You hear me
I put a spell on you
Because you\'re mine\"

Feeling as if she were under a spell, she lifted her face to his and placed a tentative kiss on his lips. She felt him stiffen in her arms.

\"I\'m sorry,\" she whispered. \"I shouldn\'t have done that.\"

He was about to respond, when he felt and then saw a pair of eyes staring at him. \"We are being watched.\"

Cupping her face in his hands, he drew her to him and pressed a passionate kiss upon her lips. With a sigh, she parted her lips beneath his and he accepted the invitation to deepen the kiss. He pulled her closer to him, his tongue gently probing the sweetness of her mouth.
He tasted and withdrew, ending the kiss that left them both slightly breathless.

\"Shall we go?\" he asked.

\"Y-yes.\"

She snuggled into him, as he wrapped his arm around her waist and led her from the floor.

They walked, arm and arm through the night, stopping every few steps, to kiss each other and to make sure they were being followed. When they were finally in front of the entrance to a cemetery, Genevieve looked up at him, winked and pulled him to her lips.

It was by far, Severus thought, the most incredible kiss he had ever received. \'Blast her and her damn plan!\' he thought as her soft, wet tongue invaded his mouth. Her body, eagerly pressed against his, was stirring his baser instincts and his hands itched to tear her dress off of her and take her on the spot. Mission or no, she was flirting with danger, he was after all, a man. Tearing his mouth away from hers, he smiled wickedly at her.

\"Why Genevieve, can\'t you wait until we get back to our room?\" he purred as he stroked his hand down her back and brought it to rest on the curve of her bottom.

\"No, I want you now, Severus!\" she exclaimed breathlessly. Grabbing his hand, she pulled him toward the gates of the graveyard.

\"In the cemetery?\"

\"Yes. On Marie Laveau\'s grave to be exact. She was the local voodoo Queen. No one will disturb us there at night.\"

She pulled him through the gates and into the city of the dead. They walked along a path, leading them deeper into the cemetery, passing beautifully constructed mausoleums made of marble.

\"Because the city is so far below sea-level, it\'s impossible to bury the dead in the ground. The holes fill up with water. So we use mausoleums instead,\" she explained.

They took a left-hand turn down another path and after a few more steps they came a stop in front of a tomb that was marked with various drawings and inscriptions.

Genevieve walked up the steps that led to the doors of the monument carefully avoiding the bottles of whiskey and piles of coins that had been left in offering to the legendary woman.

Feeling the presence of the vampire nearby, she smiled and turned to invite Severus into her arms again, thus sealing the trap they had been so carefully laying. He had followed her he she steps, and was about to pin her against the marble door, when he was suddenly swept away. Genevieve watched in shock as he seemingly flew through the air and slammed against the hard surface of a tomb. She had her wand drawn in enough time to watch Severus\' still form, slide to the ground.

Crouching into a fighting stance, she cautiously made her way down the steps, wanting to get away from the confines of the tomb. Turning in a slow circle, she could see no one, the cemetery seemingly deserted. She knew better and willed herself against going over to check on the health of her partner.

\"Genevieve De laVerne.\" A soft, familiar voice shattered the silence, startling her. She swung around in the direction of the voice, her eyes searching the darkness for its source. \'This cannot be!\' she thought.

\"Over here,” came the voice from behind her.
She swung around again, wand at ready, looking for a target to cast her hex at.

\"No, over here.\" from a different direction again.

She had never felt such danger; the atmosphere seemed pregnant with it. For the first time in the years since she had killed her first vampire, she felt fear. Her partner, who shouldn\'t really be there in the first place, was lying dead or unconscious in a heap against a grave, and she was alone in a deserted graveyard with a vampire whose voice was agonizingly familiar.

\"Marcus?\" she said aloud.

Genevieve gasped as he slowly revealed himself to her. He was by far the most beautiful creature she had yet seen. His hair was dark as night, and flowed down his back and shoulders. She couldn’t tell where his hair ended and his suit began, for he was dressed entirely in black. The cut and style was modern and clean, sharp and crisp. It fit him perfectly accentuating his body, which was well formed although he was not as tall as she thought he\'d be. His face was flawless, and classically handsome. His pale skin seemed to reflect the moonlight that shone down upon them. Almost against her will, she felt the desire to kiss his full lips; to feel those lips on her neck, to feel those hands stroke her. She allowed herself to gasp at the knowing smile he flashed her way, revealing his lethal incisors.

\"My love,\" he whispered.

He came to a stop in front of her. They stood face to face; she could feel his strong presence washing over her in s, ts, threatening to carry her into their tide. She gulped, finding it harder and harder to resist his power.

\"Th-this is impossible!\" she whispered clutching her wand tighter in her outstretched hand. \"You\'re dead! I saw you.\"

\"No, my love. I am undead, like the creature that made me.\"

\"You\'re the one who\'s been following me? Why?\"

\"It\'s very simple really, I want you, Genevieve.\"

She gasped as he gently pushed her hand down to her side and grabbed her by the shoulders. Trembling and powerless, she allowed him to draw her closer until her body was pressed against him and she could feel is hot breath on her neck. \"You are so beautiful,\" he whispered, placing a kiss at the nape of her neck sending shivers of lust down her spine.

\"Impedimenta!\" roared Snape and Genevieve felt herself flying through the air as her stalker shoved her away from him.

She landed against the doors of Marie Laveau\'s grave with such force that they flew open. She hit the back wall of the sepulcher with such force that the sound of her impact echoed out of the crypt and into the night. The last thing she heard and saw before sinking into the darkness invading her head, was Snapes\' shouted,
\"Incendio!\" and a red yellow arc of fire.


~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~


‘Blast and damn!’ he thought for the third time. The first time being when the vampire and managed to twist away from the flame and melt into the night. The second time was when he decided that he had better retrieve Miss De laVergne from the nearby tomb and make a hasty exit from the cemetery. Vampire hunting in unknown territory was an unwise move, and the possibility that the vampire would return for his prey was all too real. This blast and damn was because he had apparated outside of Genevieve’s door rather than inside. She apparently had cast an anti-apparition charm when they had departed earlier that evening.

A simple ‘Alohamora’ saw the door open and he walked inside. After kicking the door shut behind him, he strode to the bedroom and laid his charge on the bed. She moaned and her eyes fluttered open.

“Where-“

“In your room. You are safe,” he interrupted. He turned making his way to her door and as he did so he continued, “Stay lying down, I am going to brew something for your head.”

He spent the next half hour puttering around her kitchen as he waited for the cauldron to boil so that he could extract the contents. His puttering had a point; it helped him pull his thoughts together about the events of the evening.

Her kiss. Both of them had been different yet the same in their sweetness and desire. This he had felt flowing off of her in waves and he wondered if there had been anyone since Marcus. And Marcus? Was that the name he had heard her whisper as he slowly regained his senses? That would be impossible, she had seen him dead. Or perhaps it wasn’t so impossible. True, she said she had seen him dead, seen him laid out in his coffin and had seen him buried. But had the coffin been opened between the viewing and the burial. Did an evening separate the two events?

He knew that it was a tradition for muggles to ‘wake’ the dead. This harkened back to the days when sometimes a person was thought to be dead, only to be discovered alive when they came out of their comas and frightened the living with the furious pounding on their coffin lids. He also knew that a person was often ‘waked’ at night so that all could visit the body and extend condolences to the loved ones left behind. The funeral was often held the next morning. Had the coffin been closed when the mourners arrived back at the church for the funeral mass? Of course it had. So the question was then, was the body of Marcus in that coffin?

He carefully ladled the potion into a mug and carried it to Genevieve’s room. There was only one way to find out if it was this Marcus. If it was, then what did that do to her safety, let alone his?

Genevieve lay in her bed staring up at the shadows on the ceiling trying to quell the tears that threatened to spill from her eyes. The whole incident in the cemetery had taken on a surreal quality in her mind. She couldn’t quite bring herself to believe what she had seen before the world went black.

She groaned softly as she rolled to her side and faced the window, her eyes searching the night beyond for his shadow. Marcus. Her Marcus was back and was one of the creatures she hunted. ‘Impossible!’ she thought. ‘I saw him layed out, I saw him buried!’

The noises coming from her kitchen startled her for a moment and then she remembered who was there, remembered him telling her to lie there while he brewed a potion for her. Her body felt as if she needed a cast and a good dose of morphine rather than a potion. She blinked at the unfair thought, he had been just in the nick of time back at the cemetery for she had fallen so easily under Marcus’ control.

“Marcus,” she whispered his name at the thought of him.

“So it was Marcus then?” asked a soft voice from behind. She gasped and turned quickly toward his voice, wincing in pain from her effort. He glided over to her bedside and sat on the edge. “Drink this Jenna, it’s a pain relief draught.”

She took the mug from him and sniffed the contents. “Smells terrible,” she said.

His lips quirked into a half smile. “It tastes as bad as it smells,” he replied softly. “Best gulp it down. You can hold your nose if you like.”

She flashed a half smile half grimace at him and then gulped the contents down in three swallows. She shivered at the taste of it and gasped, “That was awful!”

He took the cup from her and set it on the bedside table. They sat in silence for a moment while he watched her body relax from its rigid pose as the draught too effect.

“Awful yes,” he whispered. “But effective,” he said as she let out a contented sigh and relaxed against the pillows. She closed her eyes and sighed again as the tears she had been trying to reign in finally rolled down her cheeks. He sat there and watched her cry silently her body shuddering as the events of the night finally lost the surreal quality they had taken on. He didn’t know what to do for her, tears made him uncomfortable and he usually criticized the person doing the crying. Of course, the crying person was usually a female student and Genevieve De laVergne was most certainly not a student.

He settled for patting her hand and looking around her room. Her bed was larger then he had thought and was covered in a thick cotton comforter. There was a mountain of pillows against the headboard, some of which he absently moved aside. He noted that the bed was in the center of the room, which was not too large but rather just the right size to allow for the usual collection of furniture. Off to his right was a door, which he assumed led to her bathroom and to his left was a large window, covered in a sheer fabric. The moonlight shone through the window making the pale yellow of her walls and her bed linens look ethereal.

Sensing an end to her tears he looked down at his charge who now grasped his hand as if he alone was the only thing saving her from drowning. Her eyes were closed, her breathing soft and even and the moonlight glinted off of the tracks of her tears. Without realizing what he was doing, he reached forward and softly brushed a tear from her cheek.

“I saw him in his coffin,” she said softly when she felt his touch. “I saw him buried. I thought he was dead.”

He pulled his hand back from her face at her words and matching her tone said, “I am sorry, Jenna.”

Her eyes snapped open and she gripped his hand tighter. “What am I supposed to do now, Severus?” she cried. “He wants me, he said he did. I almost surrendered to him!”

Severus said nothing but merely arched an elegant brow as he watched her emotions play on her face as she scooted up into a sitting position against a pillow. She laid her other hand on top of his and whispered in a ragged voice,

“You saved me. Thank you for that, I would have gone with him had it not been for you.”

He dropped her hands and stood abruptly. “You will not be thanking me tomorrow, Genevieve. Not when you realize what you have yet to realize. No! Don’t interrupt me,” he said as she opened her mouth to speak. “Enough talk for tonight. I am going to set some wards and sleep. I suggest you do the same. We can discuss this evening after breakfast.”

She closed her open mouth at the firmness of his tone, and waves of exhaustion swept over her. As he turned on his heel and strode from the room, she rolled over and closed her eyes against the moonlight.


Lying on what was possibly the most uncomfortable couch he had ever lay on, Severus Snape tried to sleep. ‘Impossible on such softness,’ he thought with a sneer and moved to the floor. He preferred his mattresses firm. The bright moonlight invaded his closed eyes, and with a muttered, “Blast and damn,” his fourth of the evening he muttered an incantation and the curtains snapped shut.

He let out a tired sigh and wondered what it was about him that made the Gods want to toy with him so. All he had wanted was a bit of peace and quiet. All he had wanted was to attend a performance of a singer he admired and yet here he was, in New Orleans on the floor of said singer who also happened to hunt vampire.

Yes, she was beautiful. Well maybe not beautiful in the classic sense of the word, but interesting. Yes, she had one of the sultriest voices he had ever heard, both in song and in speech. Yes her kisses had enflamed him, but then he had been without them for so long. He would have bedded her this evening had it not been for the events in the cemetery.

The long dead Marcus, or rather the long un-dead Marcus had reared his ugly head and nearly made off with her. The question was would she go with him the next time he came, for he would come for her again he was sure. Snape knew that he was in danger for sure now, because there was no way he would allow the creature to take Genevieve. Not because he loved her, not because he wanted her for himself but because he was obligated to protect her from this vampire.

‘ It was, after all, the gentlemanly thing to do,’ he thought with a sneer as he rolled over and let sleep overtake him.


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