In Need

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Things began to change between Megan and Severus.


It was an odd sensation to each of them to have acknowledged growing closer with the other. Severus had always been nearly universally unliked and he could not imagine what this amazing young woman could see in him. She was nice to everyone that he had eveen hen her interact with. Everyone seemed to like her, but she took it in stride and never seemed spoiled by her popularity. While she generally kept the extent of her abilities from common knowledge, Severus had now worked with her enough to be deeply impressed by the level of skill and natural ability she possessed, certain that it far surpassed the abilities of all but a few wizards and witches he knew of.


For her part, Megan was delighted to have made an impression on someone that wasn\'t based on who her family was, how much money she had, or what she looked like. Many things came easily to her, but Severus, unswayed by her popularity, held high standards for her and she appreciated it very much. She felt flattered that such a brilliant and powerful wizard, who had at first seemed to prefer time alone with his research, would choose to spend so much of his time on her.


From some of the comments she had heard others make about, sh, she knew that his contributions were largely taken for granted and that his unconventional wit and disregard for tact grated at people. To her, his goodness far outshone any of his less than pleasant traits, and she was able to see through his dark facade quite easily to the heart of gold that lay underneath.


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One evening, in a pleasant lull in the also pleasant conversation they were having, Severus gazed into the fireplace as he sipped his drink, and, watching the flames dance, stretched his long legs. His private rooms were attractive and comfortable, contrasting with the austere arrangement of his office and classroom. His furniture was tasteful and manly - dark brown leather armchairs flanked the green marble fireplace, which was topped by a scrolled mahogany mantelpiece. Across the sitting room was a deep sofa of dark green velvet, and in front of it stood a low coffee table with discarded books that he had not yet re-shelved. Instead of the torches or chandeliers that most other rooms had, his rooms were lit by thick candles set atop tall candelabras.


Severus broke the silence saying, \"I regret that I must say goodnight now, Megan. I have a rather daunting stack of first year essays to correct and classes to prepare for the week.\"
As hAs he led her to the door, he gave her elbow a light squeeze that made her flutter inside. \"Tomorrow evening then?\" he asked velvetly.


\"Actually, I can\'t meet for training tomorrow. My folks are visiting London and they want to see me.\"


\"I see.\"


She was tickled by the disappointment in his voice and said, \"I think you deserve a night off too. If you aren\'t otherwise engaged, and if it sounds like something you would enjoy, I would love for you to join us as my guest. We have a box at the opera and then we\'ll have a late supper after.\"


\"You wish for me to accompany you to an opera?\" he said with an unreadable expression.


\"Yes, I would like that very much.\"


\"And then to join you and your family to dine?\"


\"Yes…\" she said, looking at him, now convinced that he was going to say no.


He studied her for a moment, and then replied, \"I would be pleased to attend. And you don\'t need to look so surprised,\" he added dryly.


Laughing happily,an tan told him that they would leave at eight the next evening. Saying goodnight, she left for her own quarters. Calling out over her shoulder, she said, \"Oh, one more thing - my muggle name is Kelly. You should call me that in public.\"

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The next day went by in a frenzy. In one of Megan\'s classes, a third year Hufflepuff accidentally stuck himself to the ceiling when the repelling curse he was attempting backfired, and she had to break up a heated fight between a Gryffindor and Slytherin. The kids seemed to be testing her limits, and she fohersherself deducting house points more than once, something she rarely did at all. She made a brief appearance at supper, talking to Professor Sprout about some new specimens. She drank a glass of pumpkin juice and left, waving to Severus on her way out. He nodded in reply and continued his conversation with Dumbledore.


Megan soaked in a bath to relax and freshen up. She sank down into the scented pink bubble water that poured out of the tap and felt the day\'s stress melting away. Refreshed, she twisted her brown hair into a neat chignon and put on a black matte silk dress which had fluttery cap sleeves, a deep v-neckline, and an empire waist. It draped prettily over her waist and hips, flowing into a skirt that came halfway down her shins in front and touched her heels in the back. She put on black high heeled shoes and then finished the outfit with dripping diamond earrings and a platinum and diamond bracelet.


She put on lipstick, tucked it into her purse with her wand and mobile phone, grabbed her shawl, and went to collect Severus. On the way to his quarters, she had a fleeting moment of panic, wondering how wise it was to have invited him - hoping he would have a good time, hoping he would be presentable in a muggle setting, and suddenly uncertain about the likelihood of either. She then shook her head at herself, realizing that she really didn’t care what other people thought, because she liked him exactly as he was.


She was, nonetheless, extremely pleased when she saw him - he was positively dashing.


He was wearing a tuxedo in a cut that looked entirely suitable for both the occasion and his particular personality. His chin-length black hair, considered lanky and unruly by most around him, actually fit in with the latest muggle styles and really looked quite nice with what he was wearing.


Without the robes, his already tall and lean build seemed even more so. Standing well over six feet tall (they never switched to metric in the wizarding world, after all), he already was an imposing figure, striding along the halls of Hogwarts and terrorizing students with a cingcing glance. Dressed like this, however, he made a different impression.


\"You look wonderful, Severus,\" said Megan, smiling and suddenly feeling a little bit sh


The corners of his mouth turned up slightly as he put on his long blackak. ak. \"Thank you. Here,\" he said, handing her a poesy of tightly clustered exquisite deep red roses, arranged with the stems trimmed and wrapped so she could easily carry it. \"Though your beauty hardly needs such adornment, I saese ese earlier and hoped that you would enjoy them.\"


Admiring them and inhaling their sweet fragrance, she thanked him as he her her shawl from her hand and wrapped it around her shoulders. To his surprise, she broke off one of the roses and tucked it into his buttonhole. “There. Now we match.”


Privately pleased, he asked, \"Shall we, then?\"


He offered her his arm and they walked to the edge of Hogwarts\' grounds and apparated to Diagon Alley. From there, they crossed into muggle London and Megan hailed a cab. Severus was wary about entering into such a contraption, but had already determined to make the best of the strange muggle things he might run into, for her sake. As they rode through the streets, Severus watched as she took a small silver device out of her evening bag, pressed some buttons on it, then held it to her ear.


\"Hi, Daddy? It\'s Kelly. Where are you guys? Was your flight good? Mm-hm...mm.. .. Okay. I know! I can\'t wait either - you want to meet up in the box then? Ok, see you in a few.\"


Megan folded the silver thin hin half, put it back in her bag, turned to Severus, and smiled. \"They are looking forward to meeting you. Oh look, here we are.\"


They met up with her parents going up the grand stairway to their seats. Megan greeted her parents joyfully, both of them hugging her tightly and kissing her. Severus was introduced to Senator and Mrs. Waters, and was welcomed warmly by them. They all settled comfortably in the box, which had a perfect view of the stage, and chatted until the curtain went up.


The performance of both orchestra and cast was superb. Severus, who normally would have enjoyed the opera very much, found himself distracted. His lovely hostess stirred something powerful and restless within him that made him feel drawn to her to ease it. As the tragic climax of the story unfolded, he looked over at her as she watched the performance. She was engrossed in the story, and wiped tears from eye eyes and pressed a hankie to her face as the heroine sang her swansong.


Mrs. Waters discreetly studied Severus as he looked at Megan, and then turned back to watch the show a moment later with a serene smile on her face. Her daughter had been pursued by young men almost as long as they had had her in their care - some of them had been nice and some of them had only been looking after their own interests. None of them, though, had had the look that a mother hopes to see in a man interested in her daughter… except that this dark and quiet stranger did.


Severus had a strong urge to take Megan’s hand in his own, and gently reached over to do it. He marveled at the feel of her warm soft skin and her long slim fingers. She bit her lip, still watching the performance, and shifted her hand so that their fingers were linked together, loving the feel of big big strong hand as she gently stroked her thumb along the side of his. His touch, even in something as innocent as holding hands, radiated heat through her and made her want more of it. He sensed the feeling too and looked at her bare neck, wanting to kiss the delicate skin, and imagined kissing down her throat to the hollow between her breasts. Her dress was cut so low that her cleavage taunted him, and it was only her parents’ presence that kept him in check.

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After the opera, they went to Megan’s parents’ hotel for dinner. Some people had recognized Kelly and her family and were scrambling to talk to her and some started to take pictures. Severus was surprised to see the attention they drew - not realizing that between politics, successful businesses, and old money, they were a household name - and was uncomfortable to be hemmed in by the growing cluster of people around them. He looked darkly over at Megan and relaxed somewhat when he saw that she was greeting the people near her cordially, as if she was used to having to do it. The entire Waters party was grateful to be shown to a smaller room off the main dining room so they could have some privacy and enjoy their supper together without intrusion.


Several wonderful courses and several bottles of Châteauneuf du Pape later, the candles had burned much lower and the group continued their time together comfortably. Megan chatted happily with her parents, catching up with what had been happening over the last few months at school. The Waters’ loved Kelly as a part of their lives, but they had never been able to ignore that she was also Megan - Megan the witch who would need to return to that world someday. As the time for her to return to England and teach at Hogwarts had drawn closer, they had privately shared apprehension about what it would mean as far as their place in her life. They found themselves struggling as parents between wanting her to be happ goi going where she belonged, and facing the dreadful possibility that she might become distant from them in the process. They were happy for her and were relieved and content to see that there was indeed still a place for them in her life.


Even though they were muggles, her parents were obviously comfortable and familiar with discussing magic and hlso lso obviously done a good job of keeping things secret over the years, so Severus felt comfortable answering their qionsions too. They were kind and intelligent people and he found himself as curious about them as they were about him. Megan’s parents liked Severus and found him to be exactly as she had described him. They found his reserve charming, and a refreshing chanrom rom the trying-to-impress-you chatter of some of Kelly’s other young friends thae hae had brought to meet them. He was impeccably polite, but they could tell by the way he worded some things that he was also very frank and direct and would not mince words if he ever needed to get his point across.


They decided to go to the lounge, a large room with clusters of comfortable couches arranged around low tables, dim lighting, and a crackling fire in the library-style flacelace. There was a jazz combo in there playing Cole Porter songs on a bass violin, a guitar, and a grand piano, and they had a singer with a lovely mellow voice. Megan balked when she noticed the cigar smoke which seemed to hover everywhere.


“Stinky,” she complained with a frown. “How can anyone actually enjoy those things?”


Severus murmured something quietly, and there was suddenly a discrete pocket of fresh air which followed them as they selected a table. Senator Waters smiled and put his hand appreciatively on Severus’ shoulder as they walked through the room. an, an, besides being grateful to be free of the smoke (he just knew so many spells!), was delighted to see her parents take to him so well. When they sat together on a sofa, she squeezed his hand and twinkled her eyes at him.


“Are you having a good time?” she asked.


“Yes. Your family seem like very nice people, and you - you are positively radiant,” he said, looking at her peacefully with his deep black eyes. “Thank you for tonight.”


“You’re welcome. I’m so glad you joined us.”


The women ordered coffee and desserts and the men ordered scotch. Megan tapped on the shell of her e bre bruleé, cracking it open and scooped out a spoonful. She adored the creamy sweetness of the custard and offered a spoonful to Severus who shook his head no, smiling slightly. He liked watching her - she was so purposeful in even her simplest actions, and her attention always seemed to be entirely on whatever she was doing.


When a particularly pretty song began, Severus asked Megan’s parents if they minded him taking her away for a short while to dance.


“By all meansaid aid Mrs. Waters, smiling serenely at him, “you young people go ahead - we’ll sit this one out.”


“Would you care to dance?” he asked Megan, who was still busy with her dessert.


“Really?” she asked, looking up and pushing her plate away. “I didn’t know that you danced!”


In lieu of an answer, he took her hand and led her to the floor, joining the couples that were already there. As irnedrned out, he was a fantastic dance partner, which Megan (possibly with the assistance of the wine from supper) suddenly found extremely funny and she started to giggle quietly. Seeing him put on his mean potions master face in response only made it worse, so she simply gave into it and enjoyed herself. She leaned into him and felt his strong arms as he led her smoothly along, impressed by his grace and ease of movement.


She calmed down and smiled at him, trying to think of how to explain to him what a pleasant enigma she found him to be. Fortunately, she didn’t have to - she felt his gentle nudging in her mind as he asked to be let into her thoughts. After wandering in them for a moment, he kissed her on the forehead and savored the way she felt in his arms. They made a striking couple on the floor, and they got a few sweet smiles from some of the older couples there who, seeing them, were reminded of what it was like when they first fell in love.


Severus was about to suggest going back to their table and joining her parents when the first burning stab of pain shot through his arm. He inhaled sharply and winced, and Megan looked at him, worried.


“What’s the matter?”


“Damn,” he growled as the burning got stronger. “I must go. My Mark… I’m being summoned.”


Megan paled and told him to hold on a minute. She knew he would need a more private place to disapparate , so, so she hurried to her parents and asked them to take him to their room. Looking concerned but being careful not to draw attention, they all went to the elevators and quickly made their way to the Waters’ suite. Once there, he drew out his wand and transfigured his evening clothes into wizard’s robes, pulling a silvery mask out of an inner pocket. Now they saw Severus Snape as he saw himself - dangerous and despised. He looked at them briefly, distressed by the anticipation of what xpecxpected to see on their faces, and was gratefully amazed to see nothing but concern for him.


“I apologize,” he said tersely, “that I need to leave so quickly.”


“It’s alright,” said Senator Waters. “Kelly explained.”


With that, Severus disapparated with a loud cracking sound to the meeting to which Voldemort was summoning him.

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